Just a few weeks shy of the iPhone's first birthday, someone has finally issued a bona fide iPhone killer.

This puppy features a 3G connection that almost 3 times as fast as the iPhone's pokey Edge connection. It also sports better battery life, a sleeker profile, GPS, and an SDK that puts Apple's lame Safari-based apps to shame.

On top of all that, it costs a full $100 less than the current iPhone and a whopping $400 less than an 8GB iPhone did at its debut.

Yes, this bad boy truly does put the iPhone to shame. Unfortunately for the rest of the industry, it's made by the same company that makes the iPhone.

10 Jun 2008

When you look at what has changed from iPhone 1 to iPhone 2, you can't help but feel amazed and even a little sorry for the people that shelled out six bills in June of 2007.

A year ago, everyone was making excuses for why Edge wasn't THAT bad. This year, Apple went out of its way to show just how much Edge sucks in comparison to 3G. If you take Saint Steve's word for it, only a sap would want an Edge phone.

A year ago, businesses wouldn't touch the iPhone. Bringing an iPhone into your corporate network was akin to a third-grader sneaking a Playboy into his math book. This year, Apple claims that some of the largest companies in the world are falling all over themselves to support the iPhone.

Last year, Americans were the only ones expecting to get their hands on the iPhone. The rest of the world could only hope to buy one on holiday and showcase its wifi and movie-playing abilities back home. This year, Apple is planning to make the iPhone available in roughly 70 countries.

Remember how, a year ago, running an iPhone application on anything but Safari would void your warranty and get you laughed out of the Apple store? Not any more. The SDK isn't due until September, and Apple is already parading forth the developers who have working versions of once-forbidden native apps ready to go.

And finally, who can forget the good old days when getting an iPhone meant taking out a second mortgage on the house? The new 8GB iPhone will cost $199... one third, I repeat, one third the cost of the 8GB model in June of 2007. You can't help but feel sorry for the poor saps that paid a college kid $150 bucks to wait in line only to drop another six bills on a phone that, after today, looks like an antique.

Indeed, what a difference one year makes.