Apple Announces 3G iPhone (July 14, 2008)

The 3G iPhone from Apple is apparently here, according to a press release from Apple recently. Touted as 'twice the phone at half the price', it is available now in the US and Canada.

Sporting more memory and faster internet speed, it will finally catch up with other 3G phones like the HTC Touch that have been out since late 2006.

It will continue to be available exclusively in the USA through AT&T, and Rogers is the exclusive distributor in Canada. Both providers run the iPhone on the GSM network and so far, there hasn't been a CDMA version in north America. Although the new iPhone is capable of 3G speeds, the Rogers system in Canada is not 3G.

Pricing for unlimited internet in the US has been running around $60 per month, with extra charges for using the built-in WiFi. The original iPhone was not capable of being used as a modem (tethered), so we are curious to see if this new one will have this feature.

Apple will no doubt continue their policy of strict control over the platform, with very limited opportunities for 3rd party developers like ourselves. They have recently released a very restrictive SDK (Software Development Kit), but anyone considering software development for cellphones would probably find more opportunities on Windows Mobile devices.

The iPhone has a nice graphical interface, but we have seen several products for the Windows Mobile platform that look just as good and offer more flexibility. The SPB Mobile Shell is one of our favorites (pictured).

Rogers (the Canadian GSM provider) will be in an interesting position, because they will have to finally drop their very high data rates if they expect to compete with the likes of the Bell Touch 3G unlimited data plan at $7 per month.

Now that Rogers has released the iPhone in Canada, it looks like the best rate they have for data is $100 per month for 6GB (no tethering).

There are other restrictions and additional fees, but their website is too complicated for us, so take a look for yourself at rogers.com. One minor point: although the new iPhone is advertised as 3G, the Rogers network is not - you'll be stuck with the slower EDGE system they currently use.

Canadian consumers have been fleeced by all the cellular companies for a long time, and we'll be watching to see if the rates come more into line with international standards. Bell has fired the opening shot in these rate wars with their $7 per month unlimited data plan.

The Canadian regulatory agency (CRTC) has recognized that there has not been enough competition and has recently taken steps to remedy the situation by changing regulations that mandate tower sharing and spectrum allocations, allowing more companies to compete.

Some of the features we've heard that it doesn't have:

• Multimedia Messaging
• Copy and paste
• Video recording
• Voice command
• Bluetooth flexibility