Best and worst of iPhone 3.0

Apple released details of iPhone OS 3.0 yesterday. It's got all kinds of great features - turn-by-turn GPS, copy and paste, MMS, tethering, to name a few. Here's my take on the best and worst features.

The Best

Stu Maschwitz from ProLost was particularly impressed with the new accessory APIs, which is probably the biggest new feature that no-one is talking about. Do not underestimate the importance of this - it is HUGE. This bridges the gap between software and hardware and takes the phone from a simple smartphone to a full-scale development platform.

No other phone developer is offering this. A lot of them are jumping on the app store bandwagon now but Apple just increased the gap even further. Apple is once again taking advantage of their control over hardware and software - I believe Apple's toughest rival is Google but it would be difficult for Google to replicate this with Android as they do not control the hardware.

Of course, hardware development is more complicated from a business perspective as you'd need to manufacture it, handle billing, arrange shipping and keep inventory (which is always a little risky, particularly in a recession). So this is purely aimed at companies and not bedroom developers. I don't know if Stu will get his wish for an iPhone scope (I hope so) but it will be very interesting to see what developers come up with. There are loads of on-set applications here ranging from remote operation/focus pulling to synchronized iPhone timecode slates to an app for editing camera/lens metadata. I could totally see the RED guys embracing this technology.

The Worst

The most worrying aspect is the new in-app payment system. I can picture only a few scenarios where this would be genuinely useful (such as an e-book reader or GPS app with its own maps) and I can see a lot of developers abusing this. It really will bring out the worst in developers.

The problem with the iPhone development platform is that it's far too easy for developers to charge money. If they were selling software on their own sites they would need to pay for marketing and sort out a system for billing. It's a lot more complicated and there are more up-front costs so they'd need to ensure they were selling something of value.

With the iPhone it is very easy for someone to create a poor application in five minutes and charge for it, and if some poor sucker buys it that's a win for the developer. If no-one buys it, then the developer hasn't lost anything either. It's win-win for them.

There are lots of applications on the app store for $0.99 that are completely valueless (for example the multitude of "flashlight" apps that display a white square on your screen). The devs are charging $0.99 because they can. It's too easy. And Apple's just made it even easier. I see this as a bad thing for the consumer.

Although I am certain this will be abused, I think the benefits of the accessory APIs will far outweight abuse of this feature. If developers need to keep inventory, they will have to ensure they have something worth selling. Sure, not every developer will choose to use in-app purchasing, and I'm sure many will offer excellent value for money. But when the new apps are accepted into the store, it will be important to read the small-print and be aware of exactly what you are getting for your money.

Having said that, I can't wait to see what developers come up with.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Wednesday March 18 2009 4:34 AM to Apple, Software, Analysis
Post ID: 373

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