June 9th, 2008 – A year after the original iPhone went on sale, Apple (AAPL) rolled out its successor, the iPhone 3G. Combining the revolutionary features of the iPhone with 3G networking, the device was touted as being twice as fast as the original model. It also came with built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, offering more storage, and a lower price point. The new iPhone 3G also made it easier to multi-task with simultaneous voice and data communications, giving users the ability to browse the web, get map directions, or check their email while they are on a call.
Another important achievement from Apple around the 3G model of the iPhone was the launch of MobileMe™, “a new Internet service that pushes email, contacts, and calendars from an online “cloud” to native applications on iPhone, iPod® touch, Macs and PCs,” according to the original press release.
This removed the need for users to manually check their email and wait for downloads as it kept contacts and calendars up to date, making it so that changes made on one device were automatically updated on other Apple devices.
However this offering sounded much more glamorous than it actually was in reality. It ended up having a rough debut due to technical issues and was retired just a few short years later with the release of iCloud.
