Welcome IPhone 3G?

I may not have the 3G iPhone this time, but I can say that I’m one of the firsts who were able to touch and use it, thanks to "DubEdition" who brought not one but two 3G iPhone

My first reaction was how did he get hold of one and how was he able to make it work here in the Philippines?

The 3G iPhone is rumored to arrive here in the country on August 22, 2008 - but it’s a big ‘maybe’ still.

So with all the marketing activities including the by-schedule release of the iPhone 3G, is it really worth the wait? To answer this question, let us take a look at the features of the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G is three products in one — a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device with rich HTML email and a desktop-class web browser.

With iPhone, making a call is as simple as tapping a name or number. All your contacts appear in a list you scroll through with a flick of your finger. Visual Voicemail plays your messages in any order you want, just like email.

With its beautiful 3.5-inch widescreen display and Multi-Touch controls, iPhone is also one amazing iPod. Browse your music in Cover Flow and watch widescreen video with the touch of a finger.

Scroll through songs, artists, albums, and playlists with a flick. Browse your music library by album artwork using Cover Flow. Even view song lyrics that you’ve added to your library in iTunes.

Access the web with Safari whether you’re connecting via EDGE, faster 3G, or even faster Wi-Fi. iPhone automatically connects you to the fastest network available.

With 3G and Wi-Fi, you can browse the real Internet really fast. iPhone also syncs your bookmarks from your PC or Mac and has Google and Yahoo search built in.

What’s New with the iPhone 3G?

3G technology gives iPhone fast access to the Internet and email over cellular networks around the

world. iPhone 3G also makes it possible to do more in more places: Surf the web, download email, get directions, and watch video —

even while you’re on a call.

3G stands for third-generation mobile technology. It’s a wide-area wireless technology that allows for much faster data transmission.

Find your location, get directions, and see traffic — all from your phone. Maps on iPhone 3G combines GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell tower location technology with the Multi-Touch interface to create the best mobile map application ever.

iPhone 3G finds your location via GPS or by triangulating your position using Wi-Fi and cellular towers. It also finds points of interest by keyword: Search for "coffee" and iPhone shows you every cafe nearby.

App Store

Tap into the App Store and you’ll find applications in every category, from games to business, education to entertainment, finance to health and fitness, productivity to social networking.

These applications have been designed to take advantage of iPhone features such as Multi-Touch, the accelerometer, wireless, and GPS. And some are even free. You can download them wirelessly and start using them right away.

iPhone in Enterprise

With iPhone 2.0 software, iPhone does even more for your enterprise. It supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, delivering push email, calendar, and contacts. And it gives mobile users secure access to corporate resources with Cisco IPSec VPN and wireless network services with WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1X authentication.

Support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and industry-standard corporate security allows IT professionals to seamlessly integrate iPhone into their corporate environments.

Features wise, I think the iPhone 3G is a hands down choice among the tech savvy and stylish users. The only remaining issue to be resolved here is the price - how much will the iPhone 3G once it is launched here in the Philippines?

Our hunch is the iPhone 3G will be offered below 10 thousand pesos (P10,000) but you will be entered into a two-year contract with Globe Telecom.

How much is the monthly rate? Our guess is around two thousand (P2,000) to three thousand (P3,000) per month.

Another issue that I want resolved is the Internet connection rate?

Considering that it’s a 3G phone, then connecting to the web is its finest feature which means iPhone 3G users would be connecting to the web often or even most of the time.

How will Globe charge its users? Will it be time-based? Will it be by file size? Or will they offer unlimited connection?

All these will be answered once the iPhone is launched in the Philippines. Apple said that the iPhone 3G will go on sale in 20 more countries on 22 August 2008 but Apple did not specify which countries would be added to the iPhone’s reach.

Since the Philippines is part of the 50 countries under a Coming Soon list - I wish the Philippines will be part of the second batch release. And why not - we are the texting capital of the world, right?

Let me be among the first to say this - "Welcome to the Philippines, iPhone 3G."