Yesterday was the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2008, basically a gigantic geekfest for Mac OS X and iPhone OS. The over 150 technical presentations and hands-on labs were great for the thousands of Mac engineers, but what everyone really cared about was Steve Jobs’ keynote address.

Biggest reveals (although no surprises): iPhone 3G, App Store, and MobileMe.

The iPhone 3G is the new version of the iPhone, twice as fast and half as expensive (but more on that in a bit). It operates on 3G (duh), making its internet connection about twice as fast as old iPhones running on EDGE. Other hardware updates are a slimmer body, flush headphone jack, longer battery life, and….drum roll please…GPS. (Run and hide, lil GPS manufacturers.)

Much more significant, however, is the new software: App Store and MobileMe. From The New York Times “Why the Boring iPhone Software Stuff Matters”:

The most important battle here isn’t between the iPhone and the latest from Samsung or Nokia. The fighting now is over what will become the dominant platform for mobile computing. In that fight, Apple is competing with Microsoft, Symbian, Google’s Android, Palm and R.I.M.

If Apple can rise above its formidable competition, we will remember the impact of the SDK long after the 2008 iPhone looks as ancient as the 2002 10-gigabyte iPod.

As cool as the iPhone 3G seems, it is inevitably going to become obsolete. How Apple will remain competitive, and really gain market share, is through the iPhone platform. This platform includes the AppStore and related iPhone SDK (basically, the programming language and software store for the iPhone), but also the MobileMe service. By enabling users to EASILY, SEAMLESSLY, and SILENTLY track emails, contacts, and files across all of their internet devices, Apple is making the use of any other services just dumb.

Moreover, it is important to note that the MobileMe service comes free for anyone purchasing an iPhone 3G. This really softens the blow from the fact that while the iPhone itself is dropping to $199, the phone plan will cost an extra $120 a year (the data plan is rising from $20/month to $30/month). I am not convinced MobileMe is really worth $120 a year*, but it at least is not a terrible value.

* MobileMe is, for the most part, a pay version of Gmail and its ilk. The difference is that you can use the iPhone’s built-in Mail and Calendar applications, rather than having to open Safari and log into Gmail. And mozy.com will get you 2 GB of backup for free, or unlimited backup for $60 a year.

PS – The next OS X will be called Snow Leopard. How original.

You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>