iPhone and Updating

Apple has updated iPhone software pretty significantly; you can rearrange your home screen and the map now uses some sort of cell-triangulation-based location system to act like a GPS. Without, I should say, the long wait to get a fix on satellites, the flaky routing software, and byzantine directions provided by the Nokia devices I've used with real GPS built in. 

I don't often find myself in need of a device to tell me where I am. In fact, it's quite possible I've never needed that. What's more interesting is when it can tell me what's nearby. This is the real value of the iPhone update, and as Google begins to take it into use, it will probably be reasonable to expect location to be integrated into searches and other services. 

I say Google because they're designing things for the iPhone more than anybody else but Apple. The Google search page is now tailored for the iPhone pretty nicely, and if you use gmail on your iPhone, the latest software update gives you a more complete picture of your account. Now it includes all your folders (the ones you see when you open gmail on your computer). 

I'm not sure the gmail update is better. It's certainly not simpler. I'll try to pay attention as I use it, but I already liked the very basic display of inbox/sent/trash, which is what you get from a plain POP3 email account on the iPhone. Dot-Mac mail also adds drafts, but keeps things pretty plain. Yes, I do have too many email accounts, thanks for mentioning it.

Apple has been doing more with iPhone software updates than I remember seeing in any software updating, ever. This is Apple, of course, which in addition to turning out excellent product design, is a finely-tuned moneymaking powerhouse. Maybe the fact that there's an ongoing revenue stream from iPhone users will keep these updates free of charge, but I won't be surprised to see them begin to cost something.