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Time.com begs the question as to whether consumers would be, and should be, willing to pay for App Store apps:

So why can’t all iPhone apps be free? Well, quite simply, because people are still willing to pay for them.

Er… No. All apps can’t be free because all developers don’t get free housing, food, and a healthy cash allowance for themselves and their families to live off of while they develop all these fantastical free apps.

It’s the same reason why the Time.com writer probably doesn’t work for free, even though the web page containing the article has advertising on it.

There will, no doubt, be tons of apps offered for free. We’ve already heard about Apple’s iTunes remote as well as free apps from Ebay and AOL AIM from the looks of the recent Guided Tour video. These will all be released because their business model supports releasing them for free. Their companies feel that they will either be able to generate sufficient revenue from other sources (like advertising, or paid pro versions) or are willing to eat the cost as part of their marketing (hoping it will serve as a loss-leader to drive the products or services that really pay their bills).

Personally, I’d love apps to be free. I’d love gas to be free. I’d love a new Mac Pro to be free. But it’s really economics 101 at work here, isn’t it?

I’m sure I’ll find a free app or several that’ll be useful, just as I’m sure I’ll find some commercial apps I feel are worth paying $9.99 (or whatever) for. And if I don’t think a particular app is worth paying for, I just won’t buy it. Simple as that.

What about you? Do you think there will be some apps worth paying for?

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Quel surprise: Google’s Android will be delayed. It looks like Google and their hefty consortium of partners are struggling a little with getting a new mobile OS deployed across a wide array of hardware connected to all sorts of different networks. Who coulda predicted it? (Yeah, okay, basic high school chaos theory, given complexity growth and propensity for system break down and all, but other than that…)

Originally slated for second half 2008, its now looking more like fourth quarter, if not 2009. Seems like the T-Mobile launch is so Google-tention intensive, it’s pushing Sprint’s launch further back. Also — wait for it — Sprint doesn’t want to just deploy a clean Android build, they want to wall it off brand it up all personal like (couldn’t see that one coming?). Meanwhile, mega-carrier China Mobile is “running into issues” pushing its launch back as well.

To top it off, Android is more challenging to develop for, which is also a startling revelation, given the alpha/beta status of the SDK. Hitting deadlines is one thing. Hitting them through an asteroid storm of OS changes is another entirely.

Not to beat a dead horse, but all these problems were wicked obvious going back to launch day. In fact, Fake Steve satire’d it up brilliantly from the get go, and Daring Fireball sums it up nicely now.

Keep reading after the break to find out how this effects the iPhone…

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So you might have heard that the iPhone 3G was going to retail for $199 from AT&T. I’ve already covered how it isn’t technically $199 for current iPhone users. And you heard Rene tell you that $199 is less than the notorious price DROP of the iPhone. Well TiPb has been wondering how Apple settled on dropping the price so dramatically.

And we settled on a story, kind of—more like a collection of reasons. We’ve analyzed the outcome back and forth, from reverse and from the beginning. And we think we have come to a conclusion (or at the very least, a conspiracy theory). In a purely speculative story, I’ll give you my opinion on how we reached $199.

Read on for Apple’s Path to $199

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Back in April, sister site Crackberry.com posted a hypejacking article detailing their “Top 10 Reasons the iPhone was NO Blackberry“. Rather than a purely facetious “And thank Jobs for that!”, TiPb kept tongue firmly in cheek but responded with the “Top 10 Reasons the iPhone is Incomparable” and a more considered (meaning they didn’t let me write it!) 10 Reasons to Ditch Your Blackberry for the iPhone. (Though in my defense, I did think there was something the iPhone could learn from its Blackberry competitor…)

Now, however, as the iPhone 3G and its 2.0 software are poised to take on the enterprise market, where RIM is still clearly the sales (if no longer the mind) share leader, perhaps it is time. So, as Crackberry.com pushes their “Top 10 Reasons the iPhone is STILL NO BlackBerry“, let’s just strap our business plans on and see if there really is any way the Blackberry can compare to the iPhone 3G.

Read on to find out!

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There’s been some chatter here, and in the blogsphere in general, that the iPhone 3G isn’t a compelling enough upgrade for current iPhone users. 3G speed is nice, but not everyone has it in their area. GPS rocks, but Google cell and Skyhook WiFi triangulation is good enough for a lot of location services. And the flush headset jack? Already bought an adapter. So aside from some internals, like rejiggered sensor arrays, better speaker quality, and more radio-friendly plastic back, some just don’t feel like the iPhone 3G brought enough new stuff!

But what if it had? What if it had brought the mother of all firmware updates?

Steve Jobs takes back the stage at WWDC 2008, thanks Scott Forstall and everyone, says how wonderful the SDK looks, goes over all the new features coming to the platform with 2.0, and then reaches into his pocket and says: “But there’s one more thing…” And pulls out something just a little sleeker and blacker backed. “All those 2.0 features, all the enterprise and SDK goodness…” He holds it up and the light flashes against its more tapered sliver bezel. “Are coming EXCLUSIVELY to the new iPhone 3G!”

Boom.

Crazy? Sure. It probably would have broken the internet in half and set off a mountain of protests that would have made the $200 price drop nonsense seem like a molehill. Arguments and counter-arguments would have raged, Apple fanboys would have been split, Apple-haters would have pounced…

But it would have made the iPhone 3G a much more compelling upgrade, wouldn’t it?

Sure, maybe the iPhone 3G we got was somewhere between tweak and evolution on the typical Apple product roadmap, but –

“iPhone 2.0, Available Exclusively on 3G…”

– Would anyone seriously have preferred that?

 

In an article over at Brighthand, Antoine Wright raised an interesting and thought-provoking point, that Apple should have ignored developer’s wishes and maintain their web app platform. He believes that Safari, one of the most capable mobile browsers available, could have paved the way for an even better web experience by offering very polished web apps. He lists examples such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and banking sites as those who have created great web apps.

Apple, with its own browser, Safari, and a fresh mobile platform, had the opportunity to really change the game when it came to making web applications. These could have become a standard type of software platform model for mobile devices. The company chose instead to listen to developers.

His main problem with native applications is that it doesn’t port as easily to different phone platforms and devices. Native applications have to be re-packaged and even re-built from the start to fit a specific device. He cites Google Gears as an example of great web applications, and wishes that the iPhone could create a similar experience.

Though we at TiPb would have loved to see Apple make some headway in Web Apps and do see a future in it, we just don’t think straying away from Native Apps would have been the answer. Native Apps provide a distinct advantage, they work without an internet connection and offer a more immersive experience. Native Apps aren’t trapped to the confines of Safari and theoretically, offer limitless potential. TiPb’s vote goes to Native Apps FTW.

What do you guys think? Web Apps all the way? Or did Apple make the smart decision in admitting an error and allowing 3rd party native apps?

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Now that the iPhone 3G has been officially announced and the details have been released, we are holding the first ever: TiPb vs TiPb. In the two articles we will detail reasons why we SHOULD upgrade and why we SHOULDN’T upgrade to the iPhone 3G. No hard feelings, No blood spilled, just good old fashioned point-by-point debate.

My first computer was an Apple II. Sure, I flirted with DOS (KDS 7860!), then had a fling with an Amiga before falling in with Windows 3.1 through Vista (now tucked safely away in a VM). But even in the Dark Days, I had a Mac Performa for a while, and now for the last year, I’m back on Mac full time. I say this to show that I don’t believe in being loyal to company that just sees me as cash. I believe in a company being loyal to me if they want my cash. They have to earn it. And the moment another company, platform, car manufacturer, game system developer, or cola maker does a better, more innovative job earning my cash — they get it.

So, for me, just because Apple released a new iPhone didn’t mean they “had me at 3G”. If they wanted my cash (and my enslavement to a carrier — more on that later), they had to wow me.

And wow me they did.

Read on the top 5 reasons you SO need to upgrade!

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Now that the iPhone 3G has been officially announced and the details have been released, we are holding the first ever: TiPb vs TiPb. In the two articles we will detail reasons why we SHOULD upgrade and why we SHOULDN’T upgrade to the iPhone 3G. No hard feelings, No blood spilled, just good old fashioned point-by-point debate.

More so than any other Apple release, the iPhone 3G was probably the worst kept secret in the history of Apple. There was plenty of speculation, some wild (video conferencing) and some tame (black casing). Some were right, some were wrong.

I flagrantly participated in the rumorpalooza. I was excited for every nugget of news even though it didn’t contain a kernel of truth. So maybe I hyped myself into thinking the iPhone 3G was going to be the be all, end all device that the iPhone was. After my initial excitement subsided, I realized, hey, the iPhone 3G isn’t a necessary upgrade! I could wait a little until all the kinks are worked out, so these are the 5 Reasons Why I’m NOT Upgrading to the iPhone 3G.

Read on for the 5 Reasons to NOT upgrade!

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Out of the closest iPhone lover and WinSuperSite maven Paul Thurrott once again proved a picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to just some of the complaints TiPb and our readers have leveled at the new MobileMe branding.

Particularly poignant, coming from the man behind the site in front of Windows, the above logos show how linking The Next Big Thing to The Last (Before Vista) Big Flop maybe wasn’t the best marketing discussion in the world.

In related news, what does Thurrott think of the new iPhone 3G?

I’d like to point out a simple bit of advice, and I cannot stress this enough: You need to get an iPhone. Sooner rather than later. With Apple dropping the entry price on this innovative device to just $200, while fixing all of the major issues I described in How Apple Can Fix the iPhone in 2008, there are precious few reasons to ignore this seismic shift in mobile and cloud computing. (One potential reason is the cost of the data plan: It looks like the minimum monthly outlay for an iPhone in the US is going to be $70 before taxes, about $10 more than it was before.) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The iPhone is a dramatically important computing platform and one you should not ignore. Trust me, once you’ve used an iPhone, that Blackberry or Windows Mobile device you’re settling on now will seem like ancient Soviet-era technology by comparison.

Warning: We may get medium-geeky here for moment. Adjust your pocket-protectors accordingly.

Apple is using the iPhone to crack their way into the enterprise. No big surprise there. What is surprising, however, is just how Sun Tzu their being about it. How so?

Bottom line, for an end-user, the interface is the app. Sure, we recognize names like Exchange, ActiveSync, even BES, but for most typical users, firing up Outlook or switching on their Blackberry IS their email. They don’t see what’s going on programmatically behind the scenes, don’t care what protocol is hand-shaking and packetizing their data as it zips from server to server in its chaotic relay from sender to receiver. They just see their email, and they just know that it was there when they needed it.

Given that, Apple licensing Exchange ActiveSync becomes more than just interesting. Why? Because they didn’t buy Outlook. They’re making their own MobileMail app which will seamlessly handle Exchange, but, oh by the way, will also handle MobileMe (the new .Mac refresh already billed as Exchange for the rest of us), as well as the usual Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.

So, for the end user, ActiveSync disappears behind the MobileMail iPhone interface. And if they have a home account, be it MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo!, or whatever, the differences become less and less apparent (especially as push-like technologies propagate the different services), and in the end, ActiveSync disappears and people just think of their MobileMail app.

Meanwhile, the technologies behind MobileMail, with the advent of Snow Leopard Server, get more interesting, especially with Apple offering open, standards-based protocols like IMAP IDLE, and developing and releasing to the Open Source community similar code like CalDAV for push calendar and now, CardDAV for push contacts.

All of a sudden, a business could run an Exchange-like server without any Microsoft like licensing fees (which anyone who has dealt with them can tell you are money trap unto themselves).

Most interesting of all, if a business had deployed iPhones and they decided to switch from Exchange to Snow Leopard (or any *nix server using the FOSS implementations on their own), their end users may not even notice.

Roughly Drafted has more on Snow Leopard and its possible implications for Exchange/SharePoint users.