I have never felt easy about the exclusive deal between Apple and at&t. Not to say that Apple can’t decide which company they want to do business with, but it really undermines how much control we have as consumers to get the biggest bang for our buck. By not allowing other carriers to get involved with the whole iPhone movement, consumers are stuck with only two option: go with at&t or unlock the phone.

Many consumers feel helpless in the face of at&t and Apple’s determination to control everything. In reality, you can always jailbreak your phone and set your phone free. A few months ago, people still didn’t trust these jailbreak releases. Many were afraid of killing their phone. But the developers behind these applications are constantly upgrading their releases to address the latest Apple software changes. Should you jailbreak your phone? It really depends. If you are happy with at&t and have never had any desire to try any other carrier, maybe you shouldn’t. But if you are among thousands of disgruntled iPhone owners who want more from their phone, jailbreak can set your phone free. Hopefully, Apple will bring more carriers to the table once its at&t agreement is up.

The wait is finally over, and we know what Apple’s been up to in the past few months. Apple has working hard to improve the iPhone platform and at the same time has made enough improvements to iPhone 3G S to make it one in demand gadget in the next few months. For starters, we finally got the video recording capability that we have all been waiting for. Taking pictures with iPhone 3G is nice, but you always want to have the ability to take quick videos as well. Apple address this issue heads on by improving the camera’s resolution and making it easy to capture videos and edit them as well.

The third generation iPhone is faster as well. While we don’t know the exact specifications as far as the processor is concerned, we have to take Apple’s word for it. What I was impressed about was Apple’s dedication to bringing better battery technology not only to iPhone but also to its Macbook lines. You now can talk on your iPhone for almost 12 hours before needing a recharge (on 2G). That’s a significant improvement over the previous iPhone. It’s still a trouble area that Apple should work on improving.

The addition of a digital compass to iPhone 3G S was a nice plus. You can also get turn by turn directions from your iPhone, essentially putting the GPS makers in Apple’s sights. And if that’s not enough, you can use “Find My iPhone” feature to recover your phone when you lose it. Now if you have dropped your phone in a subway train, I wouldn’t be too optimistic about recovering it. But at least you get to erase its memory.

The introduction of iPhone voice commands now makes it easier to go truly hands free with your iPhone. You can use your voice to dial on your iPhone 3G S. Not earth shattering but essential. In fact, you could say the same thing about all features Apple has introduced on the new iPhone. It seems Apple has spent more time filling the gaps than introducing revolutionary features on the new iPhone 3G S. If you expected a brand new design with a lot of out-of-this-world features, the new iPhone 3G S may disappoint you. I do believe that the introduction of iPhone 3.0 OS will significantly go a long way towards satisfying disappointed iPhone fans. But I can’t recommend to anyone to upgrade to iPhone 3G S unless you are eligible for an upgrade with at&t or can come up with a good excuse to spend some cash.

Your take: what impressed you the most about iPhone 3G S? What was disappointing about it?

iPhone development has been one of the hottest field in the computer industry. Even though we have thousands of iPhone programmers around the world, the market is not saturated and there is money to be earned here. The only problem is there are many free iPhone applications, and a lot of paid applications don’t necessarily go viral. That leaves programmers scrambling to make money by either charging more (not a good idea) or writing more apps (not a good idea if you’re coding for the sake of coding). So it’s no wonder many developer where hoping for a new iPhone business model with the new OS, and they will be getting it with iPhone OS 3.0.

The new business model will allow programmers to sell add-ons from inside their applications. Let’s say you write a very cool puzzle game with 200 levels. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could charge to provide bonus levels for your application? We still don’t know whether you can sell the add-ons separately on iTunes, but that wouldn’t be too hard to add. iPhone development is not hard, but you still have to keep developers motivated, and the latest changes will certainly do that.

The new OS will give developers some break, but I would still like to see Apple improve its app review process. I don’t necessarily have a problem with the idea but rather the implementation. But to get it right Apple wouldn’t need a software upgrade, now would it?

Your take: what are you excited about the most with iPhone 3.0 OS?

We have heard rumors about how iPhone 3.0 update was going to come with some major improvements over the previous version. But now all the cards are on the table. Apple has finally decided to address some of those nagging issues that man of us have had to deal with. And it does help that Apple has updated the SDK to provide developers with more flexibility and power to develop even more powerful iPhone applications.

Here are a few things that I love about this new update:

• Copy & Paste: after months of waiting, we are finally going to get the copy/paste feature on the iPhone. I know a lot of you think it should have been there all along. Still, it’s a nice addition.
• Send MMS: that’s right. We can finally send those precious multimedia messages from our iPhones. Another feature many of us have been asking for a long time.
• Game Sharing: you can now connect with other iPhones using Bluetooth. That is an awesome addition that will make multi-player games more convenient. You can share other information as well, so the sky’s the limit here.
• Landscape keyboard: iPhone 3.0 OS now allows you to type in landscape mode. Wider screen, easier to type.
• App improvements: Apple has grand plans for its application platform. With iPhone 3.0 OS, application developers can sell more levels/features from within their apps. Who knows what else Apple is planning for iPhone 4.0.

What I like about Apple is not that it has one of the best gadgets in the world or shiny apps that you can put on it. It is constantly improving and taking what customers think into account. iPhone 3.0 addresses a lot of issues. It doesn’t solve everything, but it’s a great start.

Your take: what other changes would you like to see in the next Apple OS release?

If you have been following the iPhone since the very start, you are probably familiar with the underground world of the iPhone. It all started when a few smart folks decided to take matters in their own hands and jailbreak their iPhones. Since then, Apple has been fighting to stop folks from messing with their iPhone. Applications such as Cydia have allowed folks to get their hands on some very cool iPhone applications that are not available to the rest of us.

Cydia is not that complicated to install, and it is open source (see a walk-through here). That means you can put it on your iPhone if you are tired of the original installer or want to have an alternative installer. Some of the applications on Cydia are innovative enough to make Cydia a must-install on any iPhone. Of course, Apple doesn’t want to give up any control, and I am sure they are going to keep fighting the rebels in the iPhone community.

A lot of folks use their iPhone on a daily basis without realizing that there is a whole other iPhone world out there. But Cydia is not just for geeks. It’s very easy to install, and it does give you easy access to a bunch of cool apps. If you plan to join the rank of elites in the iPhone community, you’ve got to try Cydia.

Via ZuneScene

It’s surprising to hear from a company such as Microsoft that is not afraid to get into any business. There have been rumors for some time now about Microsoft possibly upgrading the Zune and making a phone out of it. But a lot of those discussions were contingent on Zune’s success in the market place. We all know that Microsoft doesn’t give up easily but could they really be conceding the fight to Apple?

I just don’t buy it. I know Steve Ballmer believes that the Zune is a better device than the iPod (and if he doesn’t believe it he puts a confident front forward). So the next logical step (“Microsoftian” logic) is to create a phone built upon Zune platform, and that will surely be better than the iPhone, right? Only Microsoft knows the answer to this dilemma. I thought the iPod killed Zune every time they went head to head, and the Touch is just in another world. Zune 3 or Zune Phone looks like an impressive device but it won’t dethrone the iPhone.

Your take: will Microsoft give up the fight for dominance in the smartphone market?

Adobe + Apple = match made in heaven, right? Not really. Apple and Adobe have been at odds for a long time. When the first iPhone was released, I remember asking some of my colleagues about the reason these two giants couldn’t work together. I get what Steve’s all about here. He is not going to put a software on iPhone that may take away from the overall experience of the iPhone holders. But Flash does matter, and there are a lot of folks who want to finally see Adobe and Apple work together.

Will we ever get Flash on iPhone? I thought so a few weeks ago, but I am not as sure today. Apple and Adobe were expected to work closely together to bring Flash to the iPhone platform. But it seems Apple is getting cold feet with Adobe. Adobe’s latest Flash Lite is still not compatible with the iPhone, and there doesn’t seem to be any progress in Apple-Adobe talks. Apple has been demanding about what it wants to see from Adobe. And Adobe does need iPhone’s base to continue its growth. But it seems Adobe is a like a desperate bride and Apple’s got cold feet!

Developing iPhone applications is one of the hottest skills you can have these days. I can’t tell you how many regular programmers I have met who have either quit their jobs or on their way after their first or second iPhone applications. Now, you’ve got to have a viral application that sells, but if others can do it, why can’t you?

One thing that you shouldn’t do as an iPhone developer is copy a game that is already been created by others (especially large companies such as Nintendo). You may think that you can borrow ideas and nobody would care. But in reality you are going to open yourself up to nasty letters and possible legal action (though more likely you are going to have your game removed from the iTunes). You can always learn the hard way, but why spend hours and days copying others when you can come up with your idea and avoid trademark infringement.

In order for the iPhone to get to the next level, Apple will have to add more processing power to it as well as its API. The device is very capable as it is, but in order to move to the next level, the graphics will have to get better, and the API will need provide more wiggle room for the developers.

I agree with the guys at Wired that dominating the mobile gaming market will be a goal for Apple in the upcoming years, but the real goal for Apple will be to dominate the mobile application market. With the majority of folks going mobile by 2020, that is some lofty goal.

Apple Insider has a story that somewhat confirms these suspicions. While economists claim that the tech sector will feel the full effects of the fragile economy soon, Microsoft just laid of 5K folks, it seems Apple has been doing enough in the past months to be able to keep pushing its new products. I fully expect Apple to release a new set of iPhones (with new prices of course) to keep the demand going.

What’s your take: how should Apple avoid the pressure that the other tech companies are feeling in these tough times?