Investment bank Piper Jaffray is urging investors who typically focus only on Apple's hardware announcements to also pay attention to the company's iPhone software strategy, particularly its upcoming App Store, which could balloon into a $1 billion market by next year.
Existing iPhone owners on the UK's O2 wireless network are being offered a free upgrade to Apple's just-announced iPhone 3G if they agree to a new 18-month contract and sign up for one of the carrier's pricier tariffs.
Addressing one of the most outstanding complaints regarding feature limitations in third-party iPhone applications, Apple on Monday said it has developed a push notification service that will feed programs with data even when technically shut down.
Apple in the US will attempt to stifle the proliferation of unlocked iPhones by requiring that all of the new handsets be activated at the time of purchase. Meanwhile, first-gen iPhones purchased after May 27 will reportedly be eligible for a free upgrade to the 3G model.
AT&T confirmed in a press release Monday that it will remain the exclusive U.S. provider for Apple's new iPhone 3G, adding that unlimited data plans for the new touch-screen handset will fetch $30, an increase of $10 from the plan offered alongside the original iPhone.
As part of its introduction of iPhone 3G, Apple has also unveiled the final version of its iPhone 2.0 software, including the App Store, iWork and Office document support, and numerous other features not mentioned during the March SDK event.
The website of a little-known case maker was pounded with traffic and essentially knocked off line early Monday afternoon after it posted renderings of a so-called "iPhone 3G" protective holder and said the product was available for shipping.
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Katie Marsal
Sam Oliver
AppleInsider Staff
