Word: apps
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Application alerts. The iPhone's main limitation prior to this upgrade was that it could typically run only one application at a time. Now, an application can contact you even if it's not running, meaning you don't need to be using, say, an instant-message app to be alerted that you received a message. This fix, which lets apps alert users via text messages, also means that all those cool-sounding social-network apps that let you know when a pal is nearby will finally work. In geekspeak, this alert system is known as "push notification...
...Palm will have to compete with Apple's iPhone. Launched two years ago, the iPhone has created nothing less than a new way of doing business. By last January, more than 21 million iPhones had been sold; nearly 50,000 applications are now available for download at its online App Store. Rubinstein, an easygoing guy, smiles when we discuss this and points out that the market is large and expanding; Palm doesn't need to steal any of its competitors' customers to thrive. The smart-phone race is a marathon, not a sprint. "We're only at the beginning...
Finally, the user interface is especially cool and does something I've never before seen on a smart phone: it can run a dozen applications simultaneously. Each app is represented by a virtual card after it launches; switching between programs is as easy as leafing through the cards. To close an app, you simply flick it away...
...hooks that developers can tap into, third-party iPhone programmers are having a field day with the 3.0 operating system. The iPhone is becoming a platform for precisely the kind of cheap and disruptive technologies that fuel start-ups. The car-rental company ZipCar, for instance, showed off an app that lets you lease a car from your phone and points you to the parking space of the car itself. When you get close to the car, the iPhone can unlock the automobile as if it were a key. Seriously, how cool is that...
Palm-Sized Lonely Planet. Now you can get Lonely Planet guidebooks on your iPhone, with apps for 20 cities, such as London, Barcelona, Tokyo and Miami. GPS mapping allows you to see all the nearby bars, restaurants and cultural landmarks in your vicinity. To get you hooked, Lonely Planet is offering the San Francisco app for free until the end of June; after that, it retails for $15.99. Click here to download...