Many people are still using dated iOS devices. Nothing wrong with that, since they still work fine (even if the home button does seem to wear out eventually), but Apple does not seem to be very keen on them. After all, Apple doesn’t want you using your original iPhone 2G, an iPhone 3G, or an iPod touch first or second generation. Apple wants you to buy a new iPhone 4 or iPod touch 4. It is a company that wants to make money you know.

So what are users of older iOS devices to do? AirPlay printing has now been cut for the iPod touch 2. The iPhone 2G and 3G don’t get GameCenter. And only the new iPhone 4 gets HDR (high dynamic range) photography features. Not to mention multitasking, which is only available in the iPhone 3GS (and iPod touch 3) and higher. Apple certainly has no problem cutting features which are technically feasible on older devices. Just look at the iPhone 3G and its lack of video recording features. A quick jailbreak and a trip to the Cydia jailbreak store reveals plenty of video recording software apps that can let the 3G shoot video.

While it might not be nice for Apple to cut features for older devices with each operating system upgrade, it has a point. The 128 MB of RAM in older iPhones and iPod touches isn’t really enough to allow multitasking to function as well as should be expected. The camera in the 3G—when in video recording mode—can be a bit choppy. Sometimes we forget how much Apple updates the internal hardware in its iOS devices each time a new model comes out. For those unwilling to jailbreak to get new features on older hardware, either going without or buying a new model really is the only option. And sometimes, just getting a new device is easier and better than jailbreaking.

Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and upgrade. No one expects Windows 7 to run on a Pentium 3, so why would everything in iOS 4 work on an iPhone 3G? Regardless of how you feel about Apple, every other smartphone manufacturer in the world makes you upgrade for new features as well. Android 2.2 won’t be showing up on quite a few existing smartphone models. At least Apple does what it can.