Yeah, Apple rolled out some new features and bricked a few phones but my thoughts vary on the update. Sure I will buy more music through the Wi-Fi store but since these updates are being pushed out to combat hackers by enticing them so it means newer features more often. We have to make a difficult decision: put aside Apple’s full onslaught against hackers and choose which side will give us the better features.

Now with that out of the way, a rundown of the new update, the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:

The iTunes Wi-Fi store is truly a money maker for Apple, the very least a great advertising propenent. See, people are lazy and sometimes we like to splurge now and again to use these lazy features. Case in point: Me buying $15 worth of iTunes credit just to test out this new feature. But you know what, I like it, a lot. Now I can be lazy and waste money like a madman.

Anywho, the iTunes Wi-Fi store is everything desirable in a mobile music store. The interface is snappy but there’s a noticeable delay in loading images.

I can’t complain too much, you can only pack so much information in such a small interface. But be wary of your spending if you have a credit card or paypal account tied to iTunes: I quickly used my $15 and was prompted with an error in activating my credit card (I never bothered to update the info after activating my iPhone). Since there is no way of knowing how much credit you have left, you could use up more than you bargain.

The Bad:

It’s true, not all updates from Apple are graced with the appropiate amount of RDF, there are some downsides to the new update but the bad are nothing more than a few bugs and glitches.

Since Apple allows you to utilize the home button to bring up your iPod controls or address book favorites, there is a noticeable delay when going to the home screen as the iPhone is awaiting your second click. Here is the thing though, if you have the double tap set as your home screen, the delay is still there.

Also, Apple has you tied down with cables if you want to consider outputting video from your iPhone or iPod for that matter. I’d have a review up here of the video out functionality but unfortunately the iPod AV cables do not work with the iPhone and to my surprise there are two different versions. I found out there is a USB version with composite and component outputs and a headphone jack version with only composite.

So I plug it in my iPhone, it’s an almost snug fit for a recessed headphone jack but no video out. I admit It was my fault but there is a problem, the USB jack is $50 with an included AC adapter! There is no way I am paying that much for a bundle of cables and something I already have.

But it’s also great advertising on Apple’s part, since the AC adapter can be hooked up to the output cables, you’ll be tempted to buy a universal dock too, that’s about $100 already, oh and don’t forget that wireless remote, after all, 6 feet is quite a distance to change what’s playing from your iPhone, wham that’s up to $130 plus tax. I know not everyone will do that but it is tempting.

The Ugly:

As great as this update was, it showed the grizzly side of Apple. First, we know the update bricked some iPhones and there is a mass colobaration going on to unbrick them but also 3rd party Apps were disabled.

Let me play Devil’s advocate here, 3rd party Apps are a very sensitive area, I know some slowed my iPhone and messed a few things up. Oh and don’t forget every process runs as root so that opens a massive security hole. Unlocked iPhones on the other hand are losing Apple monthly revenue from AT&T for every iPhone on a different GSM network.

But there is a tremendous amount of irony here, Apple states modifications made by unlocking programs seriously disrupt the phone’s functions. The only way the iPhone’s functions are disrupted is that Apple chooses to make a massive deal about this and their inability to grasp a single concept: the people who are not on AT&T are on different networks for a reason.

These are people who are not going to switch networks regardless, it’d be easier to swap out different phones than succumb to a different cellular network. I’ve been on AT&T for 3 years already, i’ve had no problems with them so far but if the iPhone had been released on Verizon I would never switch, ever, no matter how tempting it was. My experience with Verizon has been dreadful, horrible phones coupled with a signal as stable as a wooden shack in a typhoon.

It’d be better for Apple to make money from the initial sale of an iPhone owner who will unlock it than screw over someone who afterwards will never go near another Apple product. It’s an idiotic move on Apple’s part, sadly the idea that of vigorously keeping users trapped in dominates over attracting customers to a good product.

3rd party Applications on the other hand are a different subject. I can understand that developers are anxious to created Apps for the iPhone, Apple needs to take advantage of this quickly, they’re willing to make it a better platform while experimenting with an undocumented API.

However, Apple will need time to create a stable way for third party Software to be created and should something that’s officially available need tweaking, the decision between breaking Apps or supporting old Software which would be sure to stifle progress and anger some users. But we need to be told about these things instead of twiddling our thumbs until a major Apple event.

Final Word:

Even though this update brought some pretty cool things like the iTunes Wi-FI Store and some minor enhancements, it did more harm than good. The breaking of 3rd party Apps and unlocks was done intentionally, not something that was in the way.

I’m going to have to rate this update a 2/5, it wasn’t enough to excite but it does show Apple’s dedication to adding on to the iPhone platform. This doesn’t exclude the fact that after the update, the iPhone is locked down, more so than ever.

But the whole hacking dilemma is kinda good for us, since Apple will try to entice users into bricking their unlocked phones with new features us “honest” users will get better updates more frequently.