MacMost Now 91: New iPhone 3G and MobileMe

Gary Rosenzweig runs down the keynote announcements from the WWDC: A new 3G iPhone with GPS, and the MobileMe service replaces .Mac.

Video Transcript: Howdy, Gary here with MacMost Now and the WWDC keynote is over, and the big news is a brand new iPhone. Let's run it down.
So, here we have it. The iPhone 3G is what Steve Jobs called it, and it looks pretty much like the old iPhone except it is a little bit different apparently around the corners. Plus, it comes in two versions: you can get the one with the black back or the one with the white back. Yeah, I know, not too much of a difference. But more importantly, it comes in two version of memory: it comes in an 8Gig version and a 16Gig version. And here's the best part: the prices. For the 8Gig version, only a $199 bucks. 16Gig version, $299. That's cheaper than the iPhone now, folks. And that means a lot of people are going to be buying this thing. But we're going to have to wait a while because the other big number is 11 - July 11th. That's when this thing's coming out. Good news is not just in the USA, but the USA and whole bunch of other countries as too. 
As a matter of fact, Job says by the end of the year, this phone will be in 70 different countries. That's a lot of different countries. Including Japan and China, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and a whole bunch in Europe and South America. So, a lot of people are going to be happy not only that they get a new iPhone, but that they get an iPhone at all.
Besides, 3G, which means faster downloads, this phone's also got another hardware upgrade: GPS - Global Positioning System. So it'll know exactly where you are not only by the cellphone towers and nearby wifi spots, but also by satellites. So you'll be able to do things like track your cellphone maps and, hopefully, be able to get directions. 
It looks like this will be released about the same time as iPhone 2.0, which is the new operating system. This operating system's going be a free upgrade for current iPhone users, it'll cost $10 bucks for iPod Touch users. And this OS is what's going to enable you to downlaoad third-party software and use the STK or the iPhone app. store. A bunch of apps. are actually demoed at the keynote including some from Sega and Pangea Software. Looks like these iPhone games are going to cost about $10 bucks. There's a bunch that's going to be released when the iPhone app. store opens up. I'm betting this is all going to happen about July 11, although, July 11 right now is just the date for the release for the iPhone 3G.
A bunch of more serious applications have been shown off including an eBay application that helps you track and make auctions and some medical learning software in addition to some really cool stuff like a piece of software that turns your iPhone into a musical instrument and allows you to make compositions. Looked really cool.
Another thing announced at the conference is MobileMe. Now, MobileMe replaces the .Mac service. Looks like it's going to have everything the .Mac has, but in addition, is going to have all these features that are kind of like Microsoft Exchange. In other words, if you contact an from your iPhone, it's updated on your Mac. If you update it on a webpage on another computer, it's updated on your Mac and your iPhone. So basically it's a single place to store a lot of your calendar and contact data and synchronize your e-mail. Those users that are already using .Mac are going to be automatically upgraded to this service. Those that are not can get a 60 day free trial.
According to the Apple website, which was just updated, MobileMe is going to be the same price as .Mac, so $99 a year. So, I'm going to be psyched to get this MobileMe because I've already paid my $99. 
So it looks like we've got a lot to look forward in July, centered around July 11 when I'm sure there will be lines around the block for people wanting to get their hands on the new iPhone. And MacMost will be there. If you want the details on everything that happened, you can go ahead and look at our blog post at MacMost.com where we covered it minute-by-minute, and by this point, there should also be full video from the even available at Apple.com. Until later in the week, this is Gary Rosenzweig with MacMost Now.

Comments: 3 Responses to “MacMost Now 91: New iPhone 3G and MobileMe”

MacTipper

16 years ago

Um, something went terribly wrong in the RSS feed. If I click on the image that says, "Click to play" it downloads the FLV file. Which is nice for me, but, probably not nice for other people.

MacTipper
My Mac-Tipping Blog

rosenz

MacTipper: What Podcatcher are you using? The RSS looks fine, with both the mp4 and flv in there as usual. Tried it with iTunes just now and it downloads the mp4 as usual.

Anonymous

Gary you have your facts wrong, very very misleading. You said that the iPhone will be released in China on July 11, but the stupid communists in China aren't having abit of it. They make the iPhone but won't sell.

Just trying to help you out with your show.

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MacMost Now 91: New iPhone 3G and MobileMe

Comments: 3 Responses to “MacMost Now 91: New iPhone 3G and MobileMe”

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