So, by now everyone knows everything there is to know about the iPhone 2, so I don’t have much to add. I thought I’d mention how disappointed I am with it though.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, 3G is a big deal, and GPS is nice, but really… is that it?

The thing is, I don’t even know what I was hoping for; it just wasn’t this: the device that should have launched a year ago. I mean, they didn’t even up the storage to sweeten the deal.

Obviously, I’ll be getting one, due to the device’s only really compelling new feature: its price. O2’s somewhat aggressive pricing means that I can upgrade to one with double the storage and a better data connection for a scant £60, which, I suppose, is nothing to be complaining about.

In fact, maybe it’s churlish to be complaining at all; the iPhone was already a very desirable device – I certainly have yet to regret getting mine, even with only 8GB storage and 2G data – and increasing the spec at all while lowering the price isn’t something you’d usually complain about.

I just can’t help feeling that if the most exciting new feature is a price reduction, that the hype might be a little misplaced this time round.

In a surprise (to me) move, o2 have announced a major shift in their tariffs, including a significant change to their iPhone charges. This is great news for customers, as the inclusive minute and text allowances have generally been significantly increased.

Being on the £45/mo tariff, I gain the least; I only get double the inclusive minutes (up to 20 hours a month) now, the £35/mo plan has three times the inclusive minutes (up to 10 hours) and two and a half times the texts. The £55/mo tariff is gone, replaced by a totally over-the-top £75/mo one that I, honestly, can’t see anyone going for. All tariffs continue to offer unlimited free data over GPRS, EDGE and WiFi (via The Cloud.)

It’s not likely to sell the iPhone to anyone who wasn’t convinced, but it’s done a lot to improve the customer satisfaction of at least one consumer.

Apple have finally announced plans to allow third party developers to develop for their iPhone platform, bringing the device one step closer to the smartphone it always wanted to be.

If the quality of shareware and freeware available for the Mac platform is anything to go by, this should lead to a plethora of high-quality, reasonably-priced add-ons for the phone, which should really increase it’s appeal to the more tech-savy consumer.

Personally, this combined with actually having seen one the other week is probably enough to sell me one. Now all I need to do is find the money, and convince o2 to let me out of my existing contract early…

Hey, it could happen!

Apple announced an entire new line of iPods at yesterday’s keynote. Asside from redesigning the Shuffle and the Nano, and doubling the capacity of the standard iPod (now called the “iPod Classic”,) the really exciting news was the announcement of the much anticipated iPod Touch, which is effectively an iPhone with more storage and without the, well, phone.

Now I have to say it’s a very sexy device indeed; it’s got a big screen, a new UI and it looks gorgeous, but there’s no way on earth I’d buy one. Why? It’s got a maximum storage of 16GB, that’s why. It’s a move I just can’t understand. Why on Earth, would they give what is clearly their new flagship iPod 10% of the storage of the old-style one? Why would they give a device that is clearly intended for video playback less room than I need to store all my music, never mind something more to put some movies in? It’s a real shame, too. I have no intention of buying an iPhone – not unless it’s a lot cheaper in the UK than the US – and the prospect of an iPod that could play movies well, and be used as a handy wifi web browser is quite appealing, but only if it also meets all my requirements for a music player, and paramount amongst those requirements is that is simply must have enough storage for my music.

At the same time, the iPod classic has just too muchspace. Not that that’s any bad thing, and it’s the iPod I’d be looking at getting if mine were to break, but given that my current model, with 100GB less space, has enough room for my music and then some, there’s just no point upgrading there either.