iPhone 3G Update: T-Minus 16 Hours Edition

With the imminent release of the iPhone 3G here in the states (beginning at 8AM EST tomorrow), we've started to get a whole explosion of iPhone 3G news, including the crazy folks at iFixit who flew over to New Zealand (the first country to have it on sale, due to their time zone - it's already Friday there) in order to be one of the first to get their paws on an iPhone 3G and break it apart.

You can take a look at the carnage of the disassembly at iFixit: iPhone 3G Disassembly.

Things to note from the disassembly: the screen is easier to service than the first iPhone, and the battery is not soldered onto the board, making it easier to replace yourself.

The Engadget folks also flew over to New Zealand to get some first impressions of the iPhone 3G, and have posted answers to many questions, including:

Jon: Whats the GPS like? Well, one neat new tidbit is the little hovering, animated location ring as it tries to lock on your location. If it can't get an exact lock on you with proper GPS, it does as before, it pulls in as close to the map as it thinks is accurate, centering approximately on where you're at.

If it CAN get proper GPS, it gives you a blue dot with a transparent blue halo, which pings outward every second or so. So far we had a hard time getting the proper GPS lock without going outside.

paulmjoyce: How does the AGPS keep up when in a car? Does it work well inside or an urban canyon (or is it like the N95)? How long does it take to accurately pinpoint your location indoors and out?
We'll test the GPS in a car as soon as we can. Most GPS devices have spotty service inside urban areas, so our hopes aren't high for the iPhone 3G, nor most devices. An accurate GPS lock with a clear view of the sky took between as little as two seconds or so. Really, realy fast.

Three hours after the New Zealand launch saw the release of the iPhone 3G in Japan to huge lines: Apple iPhone debuts to lines in Japan, elsewhere.

The 2.0 iPhone firmware is now available via Apple's servers (though not quite publicly accessible via iTunes yet.) If you want to install the 2.0 firmware on your current iPhone, you'll have to first install iTunes 7.7, as mentioned earlier today by Jesse James, and then follow the directions at MacRumors for how to download and install the iPhone Software v2.0.

The App Store is also live and ready for your downloading pleasure, and more than a few sites are showcasing some of the new applications available, including Engadget and Boing Boing Gadgets:
iPhone firmware 2.0 is live (plus hands-on) [Engadget]
Tapulous shows iPhone Apps: Friend Book, Tap Tap Revenge, and Twinkle [BBG]

Boing Boing Gadgets showed us a neat app called Friend Book from Tapulous that allows iPhone 3G owners to exchange contact information merely by placing the phones together and giving them a shake. You can watch a video of it in action after the break!

I'll be making the line for my own iPhone 3G (I still haven't decided between the black or white 16GB iPhone 3G, help me!) very early in the morning tomorrow at The Falls in Miami. If you're in the Miami area and want to meet up, send me an e-mail by tonight, or ask for Den Den Boy among the line of folks at The Falls.

I'll be bringing along the camera to take pictures of the event and my acquisition of the new precious, which I'll bring to you when I get home (and finish playing with the new precious.)