Second Generation iPhone

Innovations From the Original

No one could have fathomed how much of an impact the original Apple iPhone would have on the marketplace. It's quite clear that the iPhone was a resounding success, despite its relatively expensive price point. After the iPhone was released, countless other cell phone brands also started to make consumer-level touchscreen phones. Just take a look at devices like the LG Prada, Samsung Armani, and HTC Touch.

That said, the display on the iPhone wasn't just any touchscreen. What made it extra special was that it was multi-touch enabled, allowing more than one finger to be used at a time. Furthermore, many commands were gesture-based, allowing users to flick their fingers to move on to the next photo.

Here are a few other highlights:

• Mac OS X mobile user interface
• Up to 16GB of internal memory
• Built-in accelerometer automatically orients display as landscape or portrait
• 2 megapixel camera
• Integrated music and video player
• Safari web browser with full HTML
• Virtual on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• Built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity

But there were iPhone complaints too. Will the second generation address these?

Second Generation iPhone Features

With all these great selling points on the first iPhone, people have started to draft up a wish list for what they want to see on the second generation iPhone. Some of these are clearly more plausible than others, but with so many Apple fans on the 'net, you can be sure that Steve Jobs and the rest of the team in Cupertino are listening.

What might we see in the second generation iPhone?

• 3G high-speed data: Surfing the mobile web has become increasingly important to consumers and a 2.5G EDGE connection just won't suffice when 3G is so readily available.
• Higher megapixel camera: The 2 megapixel camera on the first iPhone is remarkably good, but Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and other manufacturers already have mid-range phones with 5MP cameras. The iPhone camera should also gain video recording capabilities.
• Removable/replaceable battery: The iPod, Macbook Air, and iPhone all have batteries that are heavily integrated into the design. As such, a user-replaceable battery on the second generation iPhone is unlikely.
• iPhone nano form factor: The first few generations of the iPod eventually paved the way for the iPod nano. A smaller second generation iPhone could be quite the hot product.
• Stereo Bluetooth A2DP: Seeing how the iPhone is supposed to replace both your mobile phone and your iPod, it's a little strange that Apple didn't include stereo Bluetooth in the first generation iPhone. A2DP should definitely be on the list for the second generation.

Estimated Launch Date and Price

As with all things Apple, they're playing their second generation iPhone cards pretty close to the chest. It's really hard to say when an iPhone successor will hit the market, but many industry analysts are predicting that a replacement device could hit stores before the end of 2008 (probably to AT&T).

In fact, because a 3G-enabled iPhone is so likely, there is a distinct possibility that the second generation iPhone will sell in Europe first before being introduced to the American market. We have no reason to believe that pricing will not be similar to the launch pricing of the first generation, though existing iPhone models will likely receive a rather major price cut prior to the second generation launch.

Apple Always Amazes

Whenever the second iPhone makes it to market, however it is configured, you can definitely bet on Apple having another winner. Steve Jobs and the rest of the Cupertino team at Apple know their stuff when it comes to marketing, so expect nothing but the best for the iPhone's sophomore entry.