It’s that time of the year again, where speculations have finally come to a halt, the Apple stores are down worldwide, and tech media are gathered in the Moscone Center. What am I staying up late for this time? Its the World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) 2008.

With my can of soda and music from Trentemøller and Sneaky Sound System to accompany me, here we go…

iPhone 2.0 Software

The SDK, although totally foreign to me, seems pretty cool since developers will finally have Apple’s API to be able to create apps for the much coveted iPhone. And from what people are saying so far, looks like the quality of graphics on this thing is pretty sharp, better than what is currently available on mobile phones and is comparable to the Nintendo DS.

It’s nice to know that iPhone apps such as eBay and TypePad are free. I myself am using WordPress, so it would be great to have an app similar to TypePad for my CMS of choice… just in case I get the urge (or the opportunity) to take a photo using the iPhone, write an entry and immediately have it posted on my blog.

The way things are going (endless demos), it looks like this event really is just for developers to showcase their stuff. Its good to know they’re out there, I’m not really interested with most of them. Is this a sign that Apple’s just killing time? Hold on a minute, the last demo of an untitled game looks great! If future games for the iPhone come out this good, then it may sway some to ditch their PSP.

Looks like Cupertino has been listening to users by finally making instant messaging available for the iPhone. Using the Apple Push Notification Service, the IM client need not be running to be able to receive notifications and whatnot, thus saving heaps of power. And iWork support is a wonderful addition, enabling users to create and edit documents on the go. Available on July, free for iPhone users and again for a fee for iPod Touch users (US$9.95).

App Distribution

Users can download apps wirelessly using the App Store. Companies can distribute their own apps via the Enterprise solution, and there’s Ad Hoc for certified app distributors to mail around their creations.

MobileMe

A new service that enables syncing between devices such as a Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch and yes, even a PC. It uses the same Apple push technology for synchronization. Web 2.0 app interfaces abound when you type me.com in your favorite browser. Using these new apps and MobileMe will enable you to basically have your files with you wherever you are. Looks like Apple is starting to make the local applications obsolete in favor of cloud computing. A$109 a year for 20GB of storage (individual) and A$159 a year for 40GB (family pack)… goodbye .Mac!

iPhone 3G

Black, full plastic at the back, solid metal buttons, thinner at the edges. Steve says the iPhone is 36% faster than two other 3G phones namely the Nokia N95 and the Pal Treo 750. Battery life is 300 hours for standby, between 8-10 hours 2G talk time and 5 hours for 3G. High-speed browsing is between 5-6 hours, video 7 hours and audio 24 hours. What’s more, the iPhone finally has built-in GPS!

Aside from 69 other countries, the Philippines will finally get its hands on the iPhone in the next several months. Unfortunately, no exact date has been given. But 22 of the biggest will get theirs on July 11th… and Australia is one of them! The price? $US199 for 8GB (black only) model and US$299 for the 16GB (black or white) model. Watch the ad.

And that’s it. Sorry kids, no new portables today!

Update

The Australian Apple Store is back online with the new iPhone 3G. And upon investigating the tech specs of the new iPhone 3G, I am pretty much dissapointed to discover that despite the new features, the camera remains a lowly 2 Megapixel. I guess they opted for the battery life and other services first. Maybe a 5 Megapixel (or higher) version and a 32GB or higher will come in the next few months?

iPhone images courtesy of Apple Inc.

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