As I wrote last week, 3rd party applications have the potential to fill in some of the iPhone’s blind spots. Another example popped up this week and this time, unlike TomTom’s on-again, off-again, turn-by-turn GPS navigation, this one is really going to happen. Perhaps more importantly, this one is a HUGE deal that everyone is going to welcome!

So what is it that the iPhone is lacking and 3rd Party apps are bringing?

One of the disapointments emerging from Monday’s WWDC Keynote was the fact that the 3G iPhone won’t be released until July 11th and the App Store would be "coming soon". Many of us assumed that meant "about the time of the 3G iPhone". In other words  in mid-July.

You can say "Patience" in the language of any of the 70 different countries that will be getting the 3G iPhone and it still means a full month of waiting.

All may not be lost, however. According to a post over at TUAW the wait might be a whole bit shorter.

One of the questions that emerged from Monday’s WWDC keynote was, "How’d the do that?"

How did they up the specs on the new iPhone but drop the price down to $199 for the 8GB model and just $299 for the 16GB?

Moreover, how did they do that AND end their revenue sharing with AT&T?

Sure, they saved some money by dropping the metal  back in favor of a plastic one.

Sure, they saves some cash by not including a sync/charge cradle as they did in Gen. 1. (We all saw that coming didn’t we!)

But $199??? That is just amazing.

So how DID they do it? I had our suspicions but now I/we know…

For the life of me I still can’t figure out why Apple released the original iPhone with an application for tracking stocks but nothing for task management.

I mean, come on, even a Palm Treo has a decent to-do list. Sure, there are ways to use the calendar or email for some to-do list needs but none really work all that well. I just don’t get it.

The result of this glaring omission is that, since getting my iPhone, I have tried a number of different approaches and services to help keep track of my (always) overwhelming to-do list while on the go.

In my experience Remember The Milk and Toodledo are among the best and most powerful web-based to-do lists out there. Both work well, are highly customizable, and have versions designed for both full-browsers and the iPhone’s Safari browser. In both cases the iPhone optimized version makes accessing your to-do list while on the go a breeze . (In fact, I almost prefer the iPhone sites to the desktop versions of both.)

The problem is- both rely on a data connection. When Edge or WiFi are available all is well in the world. When there is no data connection, however, there is no access to you task list.  This is a potentially HUGE issue for me since there are many times in my day when connectivity IS limited. Toodledo (which I currently use) has an "innovative" approach to solving this problem- it allows you to easily create and print a paper "booklet" of your most important tasks. That kind of defeats the purpose… don’t you think?

As you might expect, among the iPhone resident applications I have been most eagerly awaiting are (hopefully) a resident version of either Toodledo or RTM. And, up until now, I have been curious as to which would come out of the gate first.

Today I got my answer… NEITHER. 

The applause shook San Franscisco’s Moscone Hall when Steve Jobs announced built-in GPS in the 3G iPhone.

Although I’m pretty satisfied with the location approach taken by the current iPhone, I am happy the 3G will have built-in GPS.

Then this came from Gizmodo–

iPhone Built-In GPS Official, With Live Tracking (But No Turn-by-Turn Navigation)

This time last year that would have been the end of the story. This time last year if Apple said "No Turn-by-Turn Navigation" on the 3G iPhone THERE WOULD BE NO TURN-BY-TURN NAVIGATION ON THE 3G iPHONE. PERIOD END OF DISCUSSION!

But that would be so… 2007.

The question has been lingering during the weeks leading up to today’s WWDC kickoff as to whether or not the new iPhone hardware and software would be released at the same time.

The release of iPhone 2.0 is a bit more complicated than it might first appear since it really consists of three different, and equally important, components. There’s the 3G hardware. There’s the 3G firmware. There’s the iTunes AppStore.

All three need to be in place and functional in order for us to move into the next stage in the iPhone’s march toward world dominence.

The good news is… it is looking increasingly like that is the case!

According to a post over at Engadget the firmware for the 3G iPhone (you know- the one that’s going to be revealed in less than 5 hours) has been released to carriers for field-testing.

Add to that numerous reports that unmarked, sealed boxes have been arriving at Apple stores everywhere and it looks like we are locked and loaded.

Five hours and counting before we start seeing all kinds of application goodness.