Iphone Case

iPod products or in the iPhone, which also relied on flash memory. As of mid-2008, Apple had sold more than 150 million iPods. According to most estimates, the device commanded 70% or more of the U.S. market for portable music players. Rivals in the MP3 player market included Creative, Samsung, and Sony. The most prominent challenge to the iPod came from Microsoft, which introduced its Zune line of music players in late 2006. At the hardware level, Zune players roughly matched comparable iPod models and included features—wireless music-sharing capability, an FM tuner—that the iPod lacked. According to some reviewers, though, Zune software and the Zune Marketplace content store were inferior to iTunes offerings.

In July 2008, just a year after launching the iPhone, Apple reinvented it. The new offering, called the iPhone 3G, came not only with faster network service, but also with an entirely new pricing model and with a new platform for adding third-party applications to the device. As the product name implied, a key difference between the iPhone 3G and its predecessor was that it supported 3G network coverage. The device's battery life had improved enough to allay Jobs's concerns. The iPhone 3G was also cheaper than the first iPhone—at least with respect to the initial purchase price for the device. The chief benefits of the iPhone 3G essentially matched those of the first iPhone, and they reflected Apple's prowess in designing user interface (UI) technology. Unlike most mobile phones, the iPhone had no embedded keyboard. Instead, it featured a 3.5-inch "multi-touch" widescreen display that took up most of its surface area. Critics raved about this UI, which allowed users to manipulate content on the screen by tapping, pinching, and dragging their finger on it. The device also featured "accelerometer" technology, which enabled it to sense when users were moving and to adjust its screen orientation accordingly. Its screen quality, meanwhile, marked a big step forward for iPod video functionality. Partnerships with Google and YouTube allowed Apple to provide customized search, mapping, and video features. In addition, users could buy music for the iPhone directly from the device, via the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store.

In conjunction with launching the iPhone 3G, Apple introduced a new benefit for iPhone users: a platform for third-party applications. An updated software package, called iPhone 2.0, enabled users to install programs distributed through Apple's new online App Store. Users could visit the store and download applications directly from their iPhone. Offerings ranged from popular games (Scrabble, Sodoku) to business programs developed by Oracle and salesforce.com. The first iPhone did not support such applications. But now even users of the older model, as well as iPod touch owners, could download iPhone 2.0 software and equip their device for the new platform. By