iOS 4.1 Will Bring Game Center to All but iPhone 3G

Sometime this week, Apple will release iOS 4.1 to most iPhone and iPod touch users (iPad users have to wait for 4.1 in November).  The update will fix a number of bugs such as the wonky proximity sensor on the iPhone 4.  It will also bring a number of new features, though apparently not to all devices.

The biggest added feature in iOS 4.1 was actually promised to be a part of iOS 4 by Apple, and that’s Game Center.  Game Center is seemingly Apple’s version of Xbox Live for iOS games.  It will feature achievements, and allow you to challenge your friends that have Game Center compatibility.  The feature will be coming to all iOS devices that are capable of upgrading to 4.1, with one exception.  Though the iPhone 3G will be upgraded to iOS 4.1, which should improve stability and the speed of the OS, it will not be able to handle Game Center apparently.  The second generation iPod touch, which came out around the same time as the iPhone 3G will have Game Center, so it seems that small increase in performance (iPod touches always seem to have more powerful processors as the same generation iPhones) is the minimum for Game Center. {Gizmodo}

This isn’t the only feature that’s been left out on the iPhone 3G.  It, as well as the second generation touch weren’t able to support  home screen backgrounds which were introduced in iOS 4.0.  Nor were the devices able to support the multitasking in iOS 4.  So it’s really nothing new, but it’s obvious that Apple is trying to keep people to the two-year refresh model, which perhaps not coincidentally lines up with the timeframe of most contracts.