Kaufman on iPhone 3.0

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu has released an analysis of yesterday's iPhone 3.0 software preview, calling the new firmware "evolutionary," with six strong features. The announcements do not carry a big "wow" factor, says Wu, but are thought to be progressive, allowing the iPhone to evolve and stay ahead of competition. The firmware is also believed to be a precursor to new iPhone hardware, which could ship in the June or September quarters.

Out of over 100 new features, Wu notes that six are particularly interesting. Enhanced push technology is a leader which may help Apple close its gap on Research in Motion, though it is currently argued to be geared towards IM and social networking. In that regard e-mail is said to be an important question, as Apple continues to base its efforts on pull delivery via Microsoft's ActiveSync, rather than true push.

Spotlight search is thought to show more evidence of Apple's horizontal integration efforts; Wu is also positive on iPhone 3.0's universal widescreen, turn-by-turn navigation, voice recording and stereo Bluetooth capabilities. The analyst claims to be disappointed however that text-to-speech and speech recognition are absent from the new firmware, especially since they can be found in existing third-party applications. Recording and turn-by-turn abilities are seen as possible precursors to speech technology, though.

by MacNN Staff