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You Don’t Need 3G for the Best New iPhone Feature
By Dave Peterson | July 23, 2008
Despite the great efforts I’ve gone to trying to obtain an iPhone, I’ve got to admit (and agree with Cali Lewis), there’s not much truly exciting stuff in the iPhone 3G that isn’t available in an original iPhone with the 2.0 software. I had hoped for 32 GB of storage, and that I will not be getting. Still, the phone I’ve ordered (I’m in a 2 - 3 week wait list) doubles my current 8 GB, so that will be a nice bit of breathing space. Higher speed data access and true GPS will certainly be nice, but I don’t think they will change the way I use my phone. Is it kind of sad that one of the improvements I’m most excited about is a non-recessed earbud jack?
While in Texas recently, I was a little overeager and tried to do the somewhat unofficial 2.0 upgrade to my original iPhone the night before the 3G went on sale. Cali and Neal had both done the upgrade with no problem, which gave me reason to hope mine would go smoothly, but things did not go well. My iTunes froze during the “Preparing to Backup” phase and nothing short of a cut-the-power reboot would free it. After that, I couldn’t get the phone to accept a factory restore (kept getting an error code 2001), and it was looking like I was completely out a phone. After numerous combinations of reboots and unplug - re-plug of the phone to the computer, a factory restore occurred and I at least had a phone again, though one that had lost all my personal data and was still at software version 1.1.4.
After I returned home (still without a 3G), I decided to try again, this time working with the official upgrade path that is now being offered though iTunes. What could go wrong there? Turns out, the exact same thing. I had the same lock-up and the same error code, but this time at least I knew the odd sequence of reboots and re-plugging to convince it to restore. And miraculously (to me, at least), when the phone recovered from its error, it still had my personal data and had upgraded to 2.0! Success, though not without some effort.
Which brings me back to what most people will agree is the best thing to hit iPhones this month (and does not require an iPhone 3G): The App Store. For any who don’t know, The App Store is Apple’s official venue for distributing small applications that will run on the iPhone. This brings the iPhone one step closer to the broader, more computer-like functionality available on many smart phones. Everything from games and random time-wasters to some legitimate tools that will further productivity and communication are available. I won’t go through a set of detailed reviews as many others are already doing that. (Cali has been doing an excellent job of this over on her blog; I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t.) I am enjoying Super Monkey Ball and Electronic Arts’ version of Sudoku. Phone Saber is silly fun, great for amusing non-iPhone-enabled friends. But I think the single most impressive app I’ve seen is Remote, which allows you to remotely control iTunes and Apple TV from your iPhone. Very functional, nice interface, and it’s free.
The bottom line is both a bit puzzling and perhaps a relief to those with an old iPhone (or plans to buy one cheap): The best new functionality to come out of this iPhone-crazed month is a software upgrade that will work on any iPhone.
Topics: Phones |