iPhone and iPod touch go 2.0

Make no mistake about it: Apple wants you to buy a 3G iPhone. But while technology companies (including Apple) have far too often thrown existing hardware users under a bus when new software is released, in the hopes that it’ll begrudgingly motivate users to buy the new hardware, Apple has decided to instead throw existing iPhone and iPod touch users a bone with the release of the 2.0 software. By “a bone” we pretty much mean “the opportunity to buy third-party software applications through Apple,” but nonetheless the release of 2.0 for existing users is a big deal that should make the existing user base (mostly) happy.



First things first: a software upgrade can’t turn existing hardware into something it isn’t. So anyone expecting their original iPhone to magically gain 3G network speeds or GPS functionality are in for a rude awakening. But what existing users will gain is the same new operating system as the 3G iPhone – to put it into computer terms it’s like being given a free Leopard upgrade for your Mac or a free Vista upgrade for your PC.


At least it’s free if you’re an iPhone user. For reasons that are rumored to have something to do with accounting laws in ways that defy any logic that anyone has attempted to apply, the iPod touch 2.0 upgrade costs ten dollars and can be “purchased” through iTunes (your cost and resulting functionality will be the same whether you purchased the twenty dollar January update or not). Maybe Apple is looking to punish you guys for not buying an iPhone, as by now it’s clear that while Apple is more than happy to take your money if you have your heart set on an iPod touch, they’d really rather you’d gone the other direction and bought an iPhone instead.



In any case, the 2.0 update will give you the ability to download third party applications from the App Store in iTunes (many of which are free, some of which carry varying price tags) and install them on your iPhone or iPod touch. Apps from companies like Facebook and PayPal, which are all about motivating you to use their services more frequently, are predictably free. Most games carry some kind of price tag.



Disappointingly, the 2.0 update doesn’t provide so much in the way of interface enhancements or revisions when it comes to the iPhone’s “iPod” application or the iPod touch’s Music and Video applications. This means that the same rough edges that were there when the iPhone first launched are still mostly present a year later. Also, don’t expect to be able to turn the screen sideways in the Mail application, turn automatic Cover Flow off in the music application, or copy and paste text in any manner – despite the fact that these seem to be some of the most-requested features from existing users.



That having been said, there are some noticeable improvements that do line up with complaints we’ve been hearing from users for the past year. The iPhone now sports a (searchable!) “Contacts” application, meaning that you no longer have to go into the “Phone” app just to look up a friend’s street address for instance. And the Mail app now offers the ability to delete multiple messages at once by checking them off and then hitting the Delete button when you’re finished.

While the “gripe list” of missing features and interface enhancements that users have been compiling looks like it will continue into the iPhone’s second year (and possibly into the iPod touch’s second year, as slowly as Apple has progressed with these things), the 2.0 update is a big step forward for users of both devices. And although Apple’s primary motivation for giving it to us for free or cheap is likely so they can sell us the non-free software apps, we have no problem with that since nothing says that you have to spend anything at the App Store – and from where we’re sitting, there’s no reason not to go ahead and install the 2.0 update on your iPhone or iPod touch.



To help get you started, we’ve highlighted our early hands-on experiences with five new applications for the iPhone and iPod touch, three of them free, in this issue. There are more than five hundred apps already available, so feel free to let us know which ones you’d like to see reviewed in-depth in future issues.