As I begin writing this post, I am watching the live coverage of the Apple press conference where they are talking about what is coming with Iphone 3.0.

First of all, why does this matter on a computer site? Simple. The Iphone IS a computer. It is so much more than a phone. Don’t underestimate the impact this one device is having and will have on the future of mobile computing.

Essentially, Iphone 3.0 is opening up a lot of new options to app developers. This adds new potential to the Iphone platform because it is the third-party apps which make this work.

Some of the highlights include:

• Over 30 million Iphones sold.
• Subscription model as well as in-app purchases supported by App Store.
• Downloadable content from within apps.
• Increased API usage for Maps.
• Iphones will be able to “sense” and talk to each other without wifi, using Bluetooth and Bonjour. Allows peer-to-peer gaming.
• New push notification system. Supports sounds, too.
• Ability to “talk to” and control accessories from the Iphone itself.
• Still no background processes. Tests showed it drained the battery about 80% faster. This is the reason for the new push notification system.
• Copy/Paste! Finally! What took so long, I have no idea.
• Landscape mode for all Apple’s key apps.
• Support for MMS. Think text messaging with attachments.
• Voice memo app now native from Apple.
• Exchange support within the Calendar app.
• Improvements to the Stocks app. Personally, I don’t care much about that.
• Search functions being added to all key apps. But, doesn’t include message content in Mail (that’s stupid). Plus, Iphone gets spotlight to search across all apps. Will be interesting to see how many apps support that.
• Wifi auto-login for hotspots.
• Stereo Bluetooth.
• Anti-phishing now in mobile Safari. Safari will now also remember log-in credentials to sites. Gets parental controls.
• Youtube app now allows login to your Youtube account, management of your account.
• Tethering will be supported, however they still need support from the networks.

The developer beta is available as of today for all Iphone developers. Everybody else will get it in the summer. Current Iphone models WILL support it. No hardware upgrades necessary. Iphone 3G will support all new features.

As I was watching this, I thought of a HUGE opportunity for companies like Garmin. The Iphone will not natively do turn-by-turn GPS and this is because of licensing restrictions imposed by Google on their maps. However, the OS is capable of it – if you “bring your own maps”. So, Garmin can create an Iphone app and SELL the maps from inside the application. If all of North America takes up too much space, then they can sell smaller geographic areas. Somebody will do this.

The other possibilities for Iphone developers are seemingly endless. Apple is practically building a new sub-economy here. At the event, they demoed games that talked to each other. They demoed medical apps.

Just like any new announcement from Apple, there are always some things we had hoped for that don’t get done. This time around:

• Still no background processes, although they’ve tried to address this with the new push alert system.
• Still no ability to record video
• No mention of Flash in Safari.

I’m still trying to figure out why Apple doesn’t allow mobile video streaming. If the concern is AT&T bandwidth, why not just require the apps to use wifi when streaming? It can be done. The new UStream viewer app requires a wifi connection.

All in all, Iphone 3.0 looks like it is going to be an impressive update.

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