Vincent Arnold

Note: After downloading and installing the patch with no issues, it looks like the security vulnerability initiated from the home screen/emergency number dial has been fixed in this release. Now, that being said, Apple should have addressed this flaw quicker instead of waiting to address it in a “.1″ release. Adoption in corporate environments will require a much faster response to security vulnerabilities.

Patch Update

Apple today released their latest patch, version 2.1, for the iPhone 3G. I am still trying to determine from the release notes if they have fixed the security flaw in the home screen lock that was mentioned a few weeks back. Regardless, I am going to download it now and apply.

As I have stated before, I am a Windows Mobile/CE guy. I have been in that camp for at least 9 years, owning numerous Windows mobile devices dating back to the Casseopeia E105 that ran Windows CE. In all those years, the one thing I can say that was consistent about my Windows Mobile/CE experience was slow patch/os upgrade release and delivery. To compare, I have had my iPhone a month and they have patched the iPhone 3G OS at least 2 times and from what I have been told they patched the first gen iphone many times over the past year. It was nice to not have to wait for a handset manufacturer, like HTC or Samsung to finally decide to upgrade their handset OS build of Windows Mobile that might have been release 5 months prior. HTC, who manufactures the popular HTC Tytn II and AT&T Tilt is notorius for slow patch/os upgrade releases. That’s why I moved from my HTC Tytn II to the iPhone 3G. It seems Microsoft needs to come up with a better process for mobile device patch delivery and OS upgrading similar to what they do on the desktop.I haven’t given up on Windows Mobile just yet. Windows Mobile 7 is just around the corner and I am looking forward to taking it for spin.

Mini iPhone Review

Featurewise, Windows Mobile wins. No contest. The handset manufacturers like HTC and Samsung, have many Windows Mobile supported options they can choose or not choose to enable in their phones. Windows Mobile/CE has been around for ages, mutlitasks (unlike the iPhone which I think was a ridiculous feature to leave out since most PDA phones running palm and symbian OS, multitask), has a huge software library including free, free and more free, as well as some pretty slick apps of the quality that you would see running on Windows XP or Vista. I also like being able to access the registry and underpinnings of the OS which Microsoft gives access to like in Windows XP and Vista. But when comparing the average non-technical user’s user experience between Windows Mobile and the iPhone, the iPhone wins hands down.

Ok, i digressed. Back to the original topic, os patching…Apple gets it and their customers are happy. ‘Nuff said.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Mobile Tech.