Firmware 2.0 and Keynote Summary
Apple has officially announced that on July 11th they will officially start selling the 3G iPhone in 22 countries around the world. Well what does that mean for people like us who have the current (soon to be or already old model) iPhone?
Current iPhone owners will get a free upgrade to Firmware 2.0. It is the same firmware found in the 3G iPhone. So all of the new features shown in the Keynote by Steve Jobs and others will be right there on your old iPhone. If you would like to have a closer look at all the features of firmware 2.0 check out Apple’s website, or have a look at the list below from TUAW.
2.0 Features for Current iPhone Owners (2G)
- AppStore
- Full Exchange support
- MobileMe
- Mass e-mail move, delete and save images
- Contacts search
- Additional language support
- Full iWork and Microsoft Office viewer support
- Scientific Calculator
- Possibly/Probably Unlocked!!
This update is free for all iPhone owners and will be a $9.99 upgrade for iPod touch owners (boooo). But the fact that developers know the old model iPhone inside out means that it will probably be unlocked very soon and we will have 2.0 firmware with the AppStore on any Carrier (how that will work with the new iTunes and AppStore is yet to be seen as each app is signed by Apple to run on the iPhone)
If you didn’t have a chance to check out yesterday’s Keynote Address, or you don’t have about two hours to watch the complete thing, check out the video below from MahaloDaily.com and you’ll get a better idea of whats going on.
Besides 3G (and GPS) there may not be much reason to upgrade, unless the battery life and other hardware upgrades really make it a superior iPhone even when used on Quad Band GSM. I guess until I get my 3G iPhone (if it can be jailbreaked and unlocked is another story) and install 2.0 on my old iPhone I will not know how I really feel about the two devices side by side.
Categories and Tags What's New, iPhone
