At their WorldWide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco today, Apple ploughed through some of the notable new features of the iPhone 3.0 OS update. Among the most requested new features, the Apple iPhone will now support MMS messaging and tethered modem support, though both of these features are dependent upon the regional carrier. At press time, AT&T had offered only vague support for MMS, and no apparent support at all for tethered modem access.
What we already knew
We've covered most of the key features in the past, but a few key features are worth noting. Apple confirmed that cut and paste functions will be available to all developers. The landscape mode, with the superior landscape keyboard, will only be available in a few key apps, including messaging and notes. Search features will grow more powerful in Apple iPhone 3.0 OS. Users will now be able to search calendars, music tracks, notes and even e-mails, stored both locally and on the e-mail server. This feature comes at a time when competitors, especially Palm with the Palm Pre and HTC with their latest TouchFLO 3D phones, are beefing up contextual search options on business phones.
Can you hear me . . . wait, where'd I put my phone?
One of the coolest new features on the Apple iPhone 3.0 OS update ties into the flailing MobileMe service. With the new Find My Phone app, MobileMe subscribers will be able to visit a special Web site that can display the phone's location on a map. You can then send a text message to alert anyone in the vicinity of your phone number and pertinent information. Even if the phone is set to vibrate or silent, you can send a special audio alert, and the phone will sound an alarm so that you, or presumably passing Samaritans, will hear the phone's cry for help and respond.
Of course, we've seen this feature on other devices and from third-party providers, but this is the first time we've seen these alert services tied together so well, and linking them to the MobileMe service is a great way to add value to the service. In fact, it's perhaps the only feature on MobileMe that you can't get cheap or free elsewhere.
More buying power, for better and for worse
There will be newer and better ways to spend money using the Apple iPhone 3.0 OS. First, the App Store now allow micro-transactions. Say you buy a racing game, the application itself will now have built-in options for buying new cars and tracks to race in the game. Book reading programs will now offer books for sale within the app itself, instead of needing separate apps for each. The service makes sense, but we hope developers don't fall down the slippery slope and start overcharging buyers for pieces of the app that should have been included from the start.
In addition to these micro-transactions, iPhone 3.0 OS users will now be able to buy TV shows and movies directly from the device. Apple wasn't clear on whether this would work over 3G networks or simply Wi-Fi, but the option has been missing from the iPhone even as music downloads have been available in some form from the start. Also, media previously available on the iTunes U education store will now be available for download directly to the device.
Keeping up with the Joneses
A few of the features we'll see on Apple iPhone 3.0 OS have been promised almost from the start, and are finally appearing on the device. Turn-by-turn navigation apps have never explicitly been prohibited by Apple, but now these apps are officially supported, with the promise of access to the Core Location APIs. At the WWDC keynote, TomTom was on stage to promote an upcoming navigation app, as well as an accessory that will enhance GPS performance and offer other improvements for navigation in the car.
Push notification features will finally appear in Apple iPhone 3.0 OS, though we have yet to see a real, working demo of this service in action. With the new movie download service comes enhanced parental controls. This should also help app producers with potentiall adult content, as apps will now be assigned age ratings, so minors won't be able to download questionable content like the Kama Sutra without a parent's okay.
Will they leave me out?
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Apple iPhone 3.0 OS is the level of support it will see for legacy devices. Every Apple iPhone OS device will support the new OS. Even first-generation iPod touch and Apple iPhone users will be able to download the new OS, though all iPod touch owners are expected to pay a $10 fee. The new software will be available on June 17th, 2 days before the new Apple iPhone 3GS hardware is released. This should give experience users a short stint of bragging time until the line-up for the new device begins.
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