Thoughts on the iPhone 3G

Gadget lovers everywhere were hanging on every liveblogged word of the WWDC Keynote today, where Steve Jobs announced the new iPhone 3G. Thanks to the rumor mills, there were few surprises, the biggest of which might have been the one-month wait until the release date! That aside, there’s plenty to talk about.

35% of the Fortune 500 in the iPhone 2.0 Software Beta
Amid all the talk about which features the new iPhone included or didn’t, I think this statistic was mostly overlooked. We all knew that Apple was going to make a push for Enterprise business, but to have such a high level of participation in the software beta is a big deal. It certainly bodes well for their chances of making a dent in the growing market for business-class smartphones. I also believe this move will position Apple well when (not if) they decide to push Mac sales to the enterprise. A big challenge with the iPhone was convincing CTOs that it was more than “just a toy” and addressing their real concerns about business-related features and security. Watch this video of IT executives talking about the 2.0 software — Apple understands needs of this market. They will surely take the lessons learned and apply them to the Mac.

White is the New Black, Again
When the iPod Classic was introduced in only black and silver, the color that started it all was suddenly gone from the iPod lineup. Now it’s back, as a “limited edition” color for the 16GB iPhone 3G. The white iPhone will be the new tech status symbol come July 11th. Gizmodo has a fun post on the resurgence of white in the palette: Apple Says White is Cool Again, But Is It?

The Future of the iPhone Line
There has already been a lot of griping discussion about the “missing features” from the iPhone 3G. As the WWDC approached, rumors were flying about everything from a front-side video camera for iChat to solar power panels. (Okay, the solar panels were far-fetched.) I think it’s safe to agree with John Gruber that the iPhone 3G is Apple’s big push for market share, not an attempt at a second revolution. What Gruber doesn’t say, but I am inclined to believe, is that Apple will add a higher-end iPhone product to the line at some point in the near future. They will be happy to sell tens of millions of iPhones at $199 and $299, but they also know there’s still a market for $399 and $499 iPhones with more memory and features. They would be foolish to pass that market up, so just as the iPod eventually became a line of products at different price points, so will the iPhone.