The new model also comes with updated firmware that will synchronize e-mail, contacts and calendars with Microsoft Exchange servers, giving those mean old corporate IT bosses one less excuse for treating the iPhone as a second-class citizen. Along with servers that can "push" e-mail and other data to the iPhone without requiring you to log on - like the popular BlackBerry - the new features turn the iPhone into a serious business tool.
And like many other improvements that don't involve hardware, this one is available as a downloadable upgrade on older iPhones.
Also new in the iPhone 3G is a hybrid, GPS-Wi-Fi-cell tower triangulator that pinpoints your location on the iPhone's Google Maps application and updates it as you drive, walk or bike. It won't replace a dedicated GPS receiver (it doesn't speak street names), but it's free, useful and integrated with Google's vast database of pizza parlors, coffee shops, hotels, restaurants and other points of interest. Just don't fixate on watching your position change while you drive.
Now for the really cool stuff. Apple has opened the iPhone to third-party developers - which its competitors have done for years - but none has the astonishing variety of iPhone and iPod Touch applications now for sale by download through Apple's iTunes App Store.
Some of these programs are sublime and some are just goofy, but most take advantage of the iPhone's superb display and unique features. Prices range from free to $80 or more, but most apps are priced well under $10, which makes them great impulse buys.
There are dozens of games, ranging from fully authorized versions of Crash Bandicoot, Super Monkey Ball, Scrabble and Tetris ($10 each) to freebies that give new life to old favorites such as Othello. Many take advantage of the iPhone's built-in accelerometer, which senses movement and lets players control games by tilting and waving the phone itself.
There are also some bizarre titles such as the Cow Toss (no real animals are injured), a Cow Bell, which rings when you tap the screen, and Moo, which makes the iPhone moo whenever you turn it over. I don't know what to make of this bovine fixation among Apple developers.
Among the cool things I downloaded for free were the complete works of Shakespeare, a nifty game called TapTap that combines elements of Tetris and Space Invaders with hip-hop music, and Phone Saber, which turns your iPhone into a Star Wars light saber, complete with sound effects. You have my permission to punch out anyone who inflicts this on you in the office.
