[People_Eater]

dtflick1 said:

What would I have liked? Like most people I would have liked to see OLED, better camera

Huh? Most people have no idea what "OLED" is.

[sanjun228]

oh,this is great~

[Voe]

Tethering is but one very welcome iPhone feature. Amongst other things it gives access to iChat but does that account for the absense of a front facing Camera?. Have I missed a technological beat, or does the idea of conferencing on iPhone appeal to no-one other than myself?.

[raveader2007]

There was no mention of updates or price reductions for either Apple TV or the iPod line. Can we expect something later?
The 3.0 iPod touch Software Update lists Stereo Bluetooth as a new feature but no iPods currently support Bluetooth. Was this a misprint or are they talking about a new third generation iPod touch yet unannounced?

[Chris Breen]

raveader2007 said:

There was no mention of updates or price reductions for either Apple TV or the iPod line. Can we expect something later?

Apple traditionally announces new iPod models in the fall. That will likely happen again.

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The 3.0 iPod touch Software Update lists Stereo Bluetooth as a new feature but no iPods currently support Bluetooth. Was this a misprint or are they talking about a new third generation iPod touch yet unannounced?

The current version of the iPod touch supports Bluetooth.

[mikem_sa]

People_Eater wrote:

How the hell are they going to give the phone a compass with only software? It requires a hardware device. Likewise, the camera hardware in the 3G is probably not optimized for video, and the voice recognition probably requires more processing power. Apple might be good, but they aren't magicians. Why do people expect their hardware to be upgradable by software?

There are a no. of 3rd party apps on iTunes which purport to be compasses. A bit rudimentary, but thinking outside the box and compasses nonetheless. I'm sure voice recognition doesn't require that much processing power. I mean, if my My Nokia 6230 has it... Also, the Google apple app on my 3G is meant to have it, but it's rather a bad implementation. It's not limitted to single words and you're supposed to say anything and it should find it and you don't have to record the search first. The scope is too big and it mangles everything up. There are probably other apps in the app store that have voice recognition in one form or the other. I would be surprised if the hardware differences between th 3G and 3GS are that significant to limit these things on the 3G. More like marketing gimmicks, which no doubt a lot of people will fall for.

Glad the entry point Mac Pro has backlit keyboard. Another marketing ploy to confuse the sense of reason.

[raveader2007]

I have the current 16 GB iPod touch but can find no mention of Bluetooth in the features or tech specs. Was this an undocumented feature that will not be accessible until the 3.0 software update is available? I've would like to get a Bluetooth stereo headset and was wondering if I would also need to get the Bluetooth transmitter also.

[Chris Breen]

raveader2007 said:

I have the current 16 GB iPod touch but can find no mention of Bluetooth in the features or tech specs. Was this an undocumented feature that will not be accessible until the 3.0 software update is available?

Pretty much. Apple didn't talk about the Bluetooth chip in the touch, but it's there (that's what allows the 2G iPod touch to work with the Nike + hardware). Apple has said that the 3.0 software will unlock the touch's Bluetooth capabilities.

[raveader2007]

Thanks Chris! This is exactly what I wanted to Know. It might be useful to list any undocumented features in the iPod that you know of in your MacWorld column that could benefit iPod users. I almost bought a Bluetooth transmitter that I wouldn't need with the 3.0 software update. Thanks again!!!

[edward3600]

Oh snap. I own a 13" aluminium MacBook. Ouch. =)

[feefer]

Voice recognition is hardly new or earth-shattering: more amazing is how the iPhone has been successful DESPITE lacking many basic features... I downloaded a program in iTunes (non-Jail-Broken 1st gen iPhone) that did voice recognition for dialing, but never used it much. Not all that important to me.

However, you cynicism of dismissing new features as ploys to confuse the dunder-headed Apple Bois is hilarious~ what ISN'T a ploy, in your book? Are all 'features' actually marketing ploys? For example, is Snow Leopard a ploy, too, designed to make users not realize their current Mac OS don't utilize multi-cores efficiently? Lol!

FWIW, I bought the 1st gen iPhone for $599 when it was introduced. Passed on the 2nd gen, waiting to see what happened this Summer, with the 3rd generation. Wow, $99 for the 2nd generation is a steal , and quite a hair-cut for anyone who bought one (and kills ANY hopes of getting decent re-sale price out of my 1st gen! Heck, if the battery needs to be replaced, I dare say it would cost more to have it done than simply tossing it out and getting a 2nd gen). I'm sure they'll move a lot of the $199 units, though.

[zarmanto]

feefer wrote:

However, you cynicism of dismissing new features as ploys to confuse the dunder-headed Apple Bois is hilarious~ what ISN'T a ploy, in your book? Are all 'features' actually marketing ploys? For example, is Snow Leopard a ploy, too, designed to make users not realize their current Mac OS don't utilize multi-cores efficiently? Lol!

I gotta say, I love this comment -- but hey, let's not stop there! What about all those other software updates? Windows 7 for instance? And let's take it down the line, too... Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 95... and then of course all of Apple's big cats too; aren't they all in some fashion, marketing ploys? And those are just the OSes! We could still talk about the different versions of Microsoft Office and Apple's iWork suite, Microsoft Exchange and Apple's Mac OS X Server, Microsoft Bob and Apple's Chess game.... the list of ploys just goes on and on!

Yeah... people make some really amusing comments when they're totally dead set on proving that they're right about everything and everyone else is wrong, don't they?

(Of course... I could have just said, "Don't feed the trolls,"... but where would be the fun in that? )

[mattmuir]

All in all, a good presentation. A few questions that have come up and require clarification... for those of you showing such passion around the iPhone OS 3.0 - find a spare hour or two, lock yourself into a room and watch the iPhone OS 3.0 preview keynote video presentation. It explains that the turn by turn navigation, whilst not complicated, requires maps, which is the reason for involvement from the likes of TomTom. The mapping software is far more detailed than Google Maps ( eg "move into right lane and take 3rd exit"). Don't expect to pay $10.99 for this app!

I owned an iPod Touch for almost a year before Apple unlocked the ability for it to play games. MMS is entirely possible on the current 3G iPhone - Apple believed that e-mail would be the better option (see the keynote presentation from LY). I personally will rarely use MMS - the photos are too low-res, & I never know which of my friends have MMS capable phones. I will use Copy & Paste, and I will appreciate the ability to forward an SMS, and the landscape keyboard in more apps.

In terms of OS X, the thing I appreciate the most is Apple's pricing - when did Redmond last offer a product for $29 upgrade? Even better, there is a multi-license version offering even better value. It appeared to me that more work had been done on OS X Server - with encouraging per seat fees for IT Departments - obviously to encourage OS X Servers deployment in mixed & non-Apple environs.

The hardware announcements were interesting, and whilst Apple now may lose sales $ from those of us who had to have a Macbook Pro rather than a Macbook, they have described the "premiumness" of an Apple laptop over a Windows laptop.

Friends of mine who own Netbooks do so for their battery life - the price paid is more of an offset for the poor performance. It will be interesting to see how the new Macbook Pros perform in real-life tests.

BTW - I will most likely be getting a new iPhone 3G S. Why? I "need" one.

[People_Eater]

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There are a no. of 3rd party apps on iTunes which purport to be compasses. A bit rudimentary, but thinking outside the box and compasses nonetheless.

And there is an iPhone application which purports to be a breathalyzer. Of course, it doesn't work, it's for "entertainment purposes only" as the iPhone has no hardware to detect blood-alcohol concentration.

If you actually look at these "compass" apps, they most definitely aren't compasses. They are freaking sundials. Call that "thinking outside the box" but it's not a compass, and Apple would be laughed at if they released a compass app that was actually a sundial. Since the iPhone 3G has no hardware to determine orientation in the earth's magnetic field, how is it possible to implement a real compass in software?

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I'm sure voice recognition doesn't require that much processing power.

On its own, no. But the iPhone has other software to run, which limits the amount of processing power available for real-time use. Perhaps the 3Gs has added DSP chips or something to handle the job?

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I would be surprised if the hardware differences between th 3G and 3GS are that significant to limit these things on the 3G. More like marketing gimmicks, which no doubt a lot of people will fall for.

Again, tell me how you do a compass without hardware. Do you think that processors can sense the earth's magnetic field by themselves, and pass that information on to the software?

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Glad the entry point Mac Pro has backlit keyboard. Another marketing ploy to confuse the sense of reason.

What the heck? How does a backlit keyboard "confuse the sense of reason"? And in what way is reason a sense?