Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Mark Ollig Column -06/01/09



This July, Apple is expected to release their next version of the iPhone which will include some new and significant improvements and features.

Currently, the iPhone comes in an 8GB and 16GB model; the new iPhone version will be available in a 16GB and a larger capacity 32GB model.

The Apple iPhone “Apps blog” says the new iPhone 3.0 version will use the iPhone’s 3.2 megapixel camera with a new built-in video recorder.

The iPodtouch I am using has a 600 MHz processor, which is currently larger than the 400 MHz inside the iPhones used today. Apple is said to be installing the same 600 MHz processor in the new version iPhone, along with 256MB of Random Access Memory (RAM).

One of the other improvements in this new iPhone will be a longer battery life of about 1.5 times over the older models. This increase in battery life will be realized because of the use of an “organic light-emitting diode” or OLED display screen.

Searching, texting, and typing e-mail messages will be made easier using the “Landscape” or “Widescreen” texting format, which is obtained by turning the iPhone lengthwise to expand the keyboard size.

The YouTube application via the new iPhone version has been greatly improved. You will be able to sign in and out of your account, access your subscriptions, and “favorite” videos, read and leave comments, give ratings, and also add viewed videos to a play list or share them with others.

The new “Voice Memo” application does just that, it allows you to record multiple individual voice messages and even share them via e-mail. I like this one, as it would be handy to simply send a voice message via e-mail from my iPhone. I saw this feature demonstrated on the beta version 3.0 iPhone and it is very easy to use and looks like fun, too.

Another new feature inside the new iPhone will be a Global Positioning System (GPS), which will provide turn-by-turn directions to your destinations.

There will also be Google map technology incorporated, which will be used to mark and provide location information from street photos. This could be the start of what is called “Presence Technology.”

Presence Technology will be the reason why your favorite store will know when to “ping” your cell phone with an alert message to a “personal special” sales offer as you are driving or walking by.

The Apple online blogs are in high gear as rumors of new iPhone services are said to include “iTunes Movies,” “iTunes TV” and “iTunes Movie Rentals” using “TwitterFon,” which is one of the iPhone’s current Twitter applications.

One Australian blog called “MacTalk” says Vodaphone, which sells the iPhone in Austria, said the current 16GB iPhone is an “end-of-life” product and would be discontinued. This leads me to think the new iPhone will be available in only a 16GB and 32GB model version.

The 8GB iPhone may turn out to become the much rumored “$99 iPhone.”

We can expect to see the new Apple iPhone version to be made public at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), which is taking place in San Francisco Monday, June 8 through Saturday, June 13.

The WWDC will have over 1,000 Apple engineers in attendance talking about and demonstrating the latest Apple technologies. These engineers will also be providing “code-level” Apple programming advice to folks wanting to add applications and other new features to existing Apple products.

I like the WWDC “Hands-on Labs” session. This is where a person can bring in the programming code they have created and test it out in the Apple labs.

This interaction with Apple engineers would be exciting as one could gain insights into their development techniques, and ask them for their advice about software code.

The estimated cost of the new iPhone will be $199 for the 16GB model, and $299 for the 32GB model, along with a reported two-year contract.

I am still waiting for the “official” word about these new iPhone features from the Apple announcement, which will be given at the World Wide Developer Conference.

The new iPhone – according to everything I have read – will become available to the public starting Friday, July 17.

The tiny URL link for the Apple WWDC is: tinyurl.com/pl8qd7.

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