Eli, the truth is, whether this was pre-meditated or not, people who bought iPhones at its release two years ago are again going gaga over a new one because it has 3G.
If they had released the original one with 3G (like every other phone that costs more than $50), they wouldn't have this surge for the second generation.
Now, whether this was done on purpose to boost sales later, or if it was simply an oversight on Apples part to release a phone (with specs a generation old), is something only Apple knows for sure.
The same could be said for all these other missing features. Oh, you want an iphone that also has a flash and video recorder? Gosh, well ok, here's a NEW iphone, spend your money again!
Its clever marketing, I'll give them that. But its a game people like me don't have time to play and that's part of the reason I'm not at all interested in this phone.
Even when the original iPhone came out, I said I'd rather get a "free with contract" phone that has video recording, 3G, Stereo Bluetooth (a2dp) support, MMS and spare batteries for those long trips.
At least the iPhone has 3G now. Still doesn't make me want one.