I downloaded and installed the new iPhone OS, v3. My 1st impressions? It’s finally on par, basic feature wise, with windows mobile and blackberry.  Yay!

So lets look at the list shall we? Cut and paste, check, universal search, check. This is good stuff and they have implemented it quite well.  When requiring Internet connectivity from an application and you are in range of a formally used hot spot, you are finally prompted for credentials without having to leave the app and go to a browser (Makes all those Optonline hot spots usable).  When a call is dropped, a very neat function prompts you if you want to reconnect.  I am liking the push notification, thought the AP application is the only thing I have installed that uses it.  And I can finally push an icon across screens and not have to pause and disrupt the arrangement of each screen.  And search, universal search… Welcome to the 1990’s Apple…

Now for some not so nice… I’ve noticed a slight amount of sluggishness, especially when you start something that needs keyboard input from within an application.  Cut and paste can be a bit temperamental, often being a bit overzealous in having the dialogue pop up.  The phone now seems to run a bit hotter and some of the third party apps on occasion crash where they had not before.  But it’s nothing I can’t tolerate when you consider what they have added.   If you scan the boards, many people are experiencing similar things and even including WIFI issues so I have no doubts that a 3.01 is not too far behind.

And what area do I think Apple made major misses?  I’m still a bit put off that they skipped voice recognition and video but again considering I bought the thing before that feature was a glimmer in Apples eye, I can also accept that.  Video is another place where I think they fell short.  Considering that a jail-broken iPhone can do video and voice recognition, I am fairly confident that apple could have done the same.  I believe this is a marketing decision that Apple makes to make it worthwhile to upgrade.  Now, knowing die hard Apples fan boys and girls, they would have upgraded even if all Steve did was change the colors.  But whatever adds shareholder value I suppose is a good thing as long and it allows Apple to maintain quality and innovate.

I can’t resist this last bit of aggrevation.  I was reading recently that the government is looking into the exclusivity agreements handset makers make with the carriers. Excuse me? The government? Why? We have failing banking system, almost 10% of our population out of work and this is what they are concerned about? Since when was buying the latest handset a right? Buying an iPhone is a very well documented and spelled out process. There is nothing in the contract that states one can move to any other carrier but AT&T. Yet, consumers have no choice? Sure they do, buy a Pre if you like Sprint, buy a Blackberry if you like everyone.  If the carrier was not exclusive, how many would be crying that the iPhone was too expensive because they lost the AT&T subsidies?

Bottom line is there is plenty of choice and if by carrier lock-in we get a significant discount on the phones, then that’s the price we pay. To say there is no choice when people can vote with their wallets, that’s just not true.