The new iPhone is coming
By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance
If I had a friend who’d been in a coma for the past ten years, he might snap out and wonder things like, “Steve Buscemi didn’t turn out to be a serial killer?”, “Why isn’t Eddie Griffin the most successful comedian alive?”, and “You know what? I thought Lou Bega had what it took. I’m surprised.”
But he’d also wonder what an iPhone is. And while everyone knows what an iPhone is, not everyone knows that the newest version is on its way in the next couple months.
Coming off the success of its wildly popular iPhone 3G that debuted in Canada with Rogers last summer, Apple is being very hush-hush about details of their new model – the iPhone 3.0.
You can find variations on when the device will release all over the web, but the most common date estimate seems to be on July 17th in the U.S., with a Canadian arrival then or shortly thereafter.
And as has become common with the iPhone’s previous versions, the web has worked itself into a Christian Bale-like froth over what features will be included on the new model.
Before we get to that, while a larger 32GB version is an almost certainty (existing iPhones come in 8GB and 16GB), it’s worth mentioning that nothing physically is expected to change on the new model.
It’s likely to maintain its existing size save for some changes to the trim on the sides and back. Everything is also expected to stay the same operation-wise.
But, according to CNET, there is an extended list of rumoured changes insiders have been able to speculate upon. They include:
-more RAM and processing power
-a 3.2-megapixel camera that, unlike the 3G, can record video
-1.5x the battery life
-a built-in compass
-a built-in FM transmitter
There’s also some sentiment that direct-to-phone downloads of TV shows and movies through iTunes could come to the 3.0, which would save users having to be near a computer to load up their videos. Plus, if you’ve got a wireless Internet signal, you could do so without having to drain your data package.
Service-wise, of course, is where the big questions lay for Canadians. Unlike in the U.S., where multiple carriers offer the iPhone, Rogers has rights to all the goods north of the border, reserving the ability to pillage users with a gaudy price tag and chilling data usage fees.
It’s expected the 3.0 is to at least maintain the same initial charge with the Rogers network, though, costing new suckers – er – customers at least $200 with a 3-year data plan. Be careful if you’re an existing Rogers user and want to upgrade to the iPhone, however. It won’t be a straight $200 fee and you’ll likely be charged for “terminating” your existing contract even though you’re still sticking with the company. Rogers does us like that.
So will the 3.0 sell as well as the 3G, the phone that prompted wait lines at Rogers stores so long you’d think this was 1980 and Lipps Inc. tickets were going on sale? That remains to be seen. If anything’s for sure, if you get one and see your first bill, you might wish you were in a coma, too.
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