Hype keeps handset upwardly mobile

INBOX:EVEN AS Steve Jobs walked off the stage after unveiling the new 3G version of the Apple iPhone, the so-called Steve Reality Distortion Field started to dissipate. What had we just seen after all? Was this an elaborately styled upgrade with a price drop or was there more to this hype?

The announcement was always going to be anticlimactic: everyone has been expecting a 3G iPhone. That was taken as read. But at least there were a few more titbits to keep the Apple faithful happy.

Although slightly slimmer, the new iPhone still looks like the first iPhone. But it's more about what's inside that counts.

The new "iPhone 2.0" software will have support for enterprises and third-party applications, as well as support for a new service dubbed "mobile Me". This is essentially giving everyone access to the kinds of services the average business person has on their smartphone: push e-mail, synchronisation of address books and calendars between mobile and PC, and even Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. It also synchronises photos directly to the web and shares documents. Mobile Me will cost $99 a year (no European pricing yet) and will replace .Mac.

The App Store was probably the real news for the iPhone, enabling new exciting applications to be downloaded direct on the phone.

A "band" application that lets you play several music instruments looks fun. EBay has a handy application for tracking auctions. And games look stunning on the iPhone 3G. Sega showed its Super MonkeyBall, which uses the accelerometer to control the games. Enigmo and Cro-Mag Rally will also be available.

Better battery life has arrived with 300 hours of standby time, five hours of 3G talk time, and five to six hours of web browsing, or 24 hours of audio. But until the device is tested, that's just Apple's word.

And sure, the iPhone still sets a bar with its storage, the top new iPhone hitting a high of 16GB for a phone.

It also looks like it will be cheaper in Europe - up to half the price of the old iPhone. And at least now you'll be able to use any headphone jack.

But let's look at a list of the things the new iPhone doesn't have, and which any number of phones have today. The camera remains an outdated 2.0 megapixels with no flash. There's no ability to record video - standard on all camera phones today.

It's still not possible to cut and paste text from one application to another. Where is basic instant messaging? No sign of Apple's iChat. There is still no MMS on the iPhone. All of which makes a second-hand iPhone look good, especially now it will be able to make use of the App Store, assuming you don't care about GPS.

But while Apple's chief executive was unveiling a new "more affordable" iPhone with 3G and GPS, Korea's Samsung launched a new touch screen smartphone called Omnia.

Its wide screen for web browsing, viewing video as well as music, five megapixel camera, and Microsoft Windows Mobile software makes it look pretty good. Add GPS, the iPhone's accelerometer and an FM radio and you have quite a contender.

Also, Nokia is set to start selling the top-of-the-range N96 multimedia handset soon.

But one thing is for sure. The sheer amount of iPhone hype will lift all the other handsets and, darn it, still set the bar for the new wave of mobile whether we like it or not.