In the run-up to Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 unveiling, I found myself less interested in the specific details of what would or would not come with the actual release, but rather in whether my first generation iPhone would be party to the new features at all.
I expected the worst, anticipating Apple trying to force me into a hardware upgrade approximately two seconds after my existing service contract expired. Now I am well aware of the growing obsolescence of my iPhone – with its diminishing battery capacity and molasses slow EDGE data connection – so the new software seemed like a great opportunity to push cheapskates like me into some new hardware.
So I was pleasantly surprised when the news was not quite as dire as I expected.
While iPhone OS 3.0 will be available sometime this summer as a free download to all iPhone 3G users (under contract with a carrier, of course), as a “special bonus,” Apple will also let users with Gen 1 hardware install the update for free as well. Due to hardware limitations, 1st generation iPhones would be absent some features though, namely MMS and stereo Bluetooth.
iPod Touch customers (of both hardware generations) can also gain access to the new software for $9.95.