jeffwongdesign

i just installed the iphone 2.0 software update (thanks to william!). as you know, my phone is completely hacked to work with tmobile, so it’s pretty tricked out. there are alot of cool things about the software—too many to list, so i’ll just highlight the ones that i use the most.

i just got push email to work on my phone today… and it’s incredible. now i get my work emails instantly, literally. this means better battery life… and more importantly, i’ll be able to respond to important work emails faster.

the iphone is a pda phone… and it does alot of stuff for such a small package. the most notable thing it’s becoming in this new software update is that it’s now evolving towards a social networking tool. what does that mean? well, how about staying in touch with your friends easier. how about reaching out to different communities and people that you never thought you’d reach. the most notable is twitter (one of the fastest growing micro-blogging services out there). paired with the iphone, i now can ask a simple question on twitter… and local people around me can actually respond. example: me, “how hard is it raining near you?” stranger 5 miles away, “it’s thundering like crazy here… bring an umbrella”.

there are ton of other social networking software such as an app for myspace and facebook. both of which work really well. the only disadvantage is that it takes time to go through both. eventually someone smart will design an iphone app that will aggregate those social networks into one service. don’t get me wrong, alot of people are trying to do that now… but no one does it well enough yet.

the only disadvantage of upgrading to iphone software 2.0 is that it’s slower. how much slower you ask? well, it’s annoying slower. the whole cool factor of the iphone is that it was snappy and extremely responsive. now typing can be a pain in the arse at times because of the lag. is it horrible? no. it’s just disappointing. i can’t believe the UI designers at apple allowed this to happen. is the new iphone 2.0 (the new phone itself) faster? nope. in fact, it has the same exact hardware… except that it’s 3G and has faux GPS. yes, it’s faster in terms of downloading data, but it’s UI is still laggy.

i’ll wait till apple releases the iphone 3.0 next year before i even consider upgrading my phone. it’ll have to be smaller, with video conferencing. yes, that’s right. i want skype on the next iphone… and maybe free wireless tethering… heheh.

anyway, i would have given the new software update two thumbs up… but the lag hurts the experience.