Getty Images
I’m one of those lucky people who have an iPhone. It’s a 3G, and I got it as an unexpected Christmas gift from an extremely generous friend in December 08, which means it’s still nice and pretty and mostly unscratched. It also means that I’m well under the minimum time period with my AT&T plan to be able to get a new iPhone 3G S for under $499.
When I first realized that the subsidized 3G S price did not apply to me and that I would not be upgrading any time soon, I was totally pissed, as were many other folks. I’m a valued customer, and this is how you repay me? Then I read a few articles that explained what was really going on, and I decided to change my attitude. I already have a really great phone (which in my case was free of charge, for eff’s sake), and besides, I *do* get to enjoy iPhone’s 3.0 software, which starting pushing out to all iPhone users today.
Here’s a rundown of pretty much EVERYTHING you can do with 3.0. It’s a very thorough list and definitely worth reading in detail. I’m having a blast trying all the new features out on my v3. It’s just like a new phone! Well, if I ignore the scratches.
But here’s one of the coolest new features of all: push notificiation service for apps. At first I couldn’t find any official literature on it at all… turns out it’s just buried inside the developer center. So, what does this mean for users like me? Well, let’s say I don’t have the AIM app launched. Before today, nobody would be able to IM me until I had the app launched, and if I left the app, I’d be cut off again. Now, developers of the AIM app have the opportunity to “push” out a notification to me that I’ve received an IM, even if the app isn’t open. That’s huge!
From Apple:
There are a number of ways to send a push notification. Send a message with text that lets the user launch your app. Trigger audible alerts with your own custom sounds. Add a numbered badge to your app icon when it’s important to let the user know how many things are waiting for them.
Mind you, as far as I know the AIM app isn’t doing this yet, but I sure hope they do soon. I’m excited to see who else incorporates push notifications into their options menu. For now, here’s a preliminary list of apps that have. Know of any others?
June 18th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Someone’s a lost fan.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
What does that mean? That’s I’m lost, or that I watch “Lost”? Because I’ve never watched “Lost”.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Damn Sarah! Thanks for sharing all those links. Those are some good resources to show everyone how to get the most out of their iPhone device. Very cool!
June 30th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
of course the favorite thing is No. 40 – yeah the new 3.0 software is nice, but jailbreaking is just more fun with any of the iphones. Plus you can learn more about how your phone works, and have fun too
Just be careful, and know that if something happens, well you are responsible..
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
I say the extra 100$ for the 3G S is not justified so I started off with the 3G +3.0 love it!
waiting for the 4G I found on crag’s list today
October 1st, 2009 at 8:11 am
Nice work.