From the Forums: iPhone 3.0 Edition

Well now we all know what to expect with iPhone 3.0… Rene has even been so kind to lay out a complete feature list for all of you to enjoy.

Is iPhone 3.0 it what you expected? Happy? Not so happy? In either case be sure to stop by in this thread and let us know what you think!

This next iPhone 3.0 related thread is started by my good forum friend Dizzy, he brings up a good question: After the announcement of iPhone 3.0 today do you think Apple will release 3rd gen iPhone in 2009? I’m with Dieter on this one and going with no, we will not see major hardware changes this year. We could be wrong, but I just don’t see anything major coming this summer in terms of hardware.

[Oh, it's on: I expect to see new hardware, iPhone 2,1, in June at WWDC! - Rene]

This last 3.0 thread has to do with release date. We all know it will be available this summer. But when exactly? Vote in this poll on when you feel the software will be ready to roll out to the public!

As always, be sure to register to get in on the forum 3.0 action!

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: iPhone 3.0 Edition

iPod Touch (2nd Gen) DOES Have Bluetooth, Gets iPhone 3.0 for $10

So much iPhone news came today that it’s tough to keep track of it all. One thing we wanted to make sure didn’t get lost in the shuffle was the iPod Touch news that came out today. Specifically, the iPhone 3.0 software will come to the iPod Touch for a $10 upgrade fee and will include an “unlock” to give the iPod Touch the Bluetooth functionality that’s being added in iPhone 3.0.

Wait, what? Yes, the iPod Touch (at least the 2nd gen version) does indeed have a Bluetooth chip in it. We don’t know exactly where or how the thing is hidden away inside, but Apple came clean today and said they could ‘unlock’ it. Longtime readers may remember that back in September this very issue raised its head and the verdict was that, well, we didn’t think it was there. The deal is that modern devices like Smartphone and the iPod Touch often cram multiple radios and other functionality into a single chip. Back in September it looked as though the chip on the iPod Touch could support Bluetooth but that, well, it was more likely that it was there for Nike+’s “proprietary 802.11 protocol.” So rumor smashed — incorrectly.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPod Touch (2nd Gen) DOES Have Bluetooth, Gets iPhone 3.0 for $10

Apple Announces Copy and Paste for iPhone 3.0

As widely rumored (yep, Kevin Rose was right!), Apple announced Copy and Paste today for iPhone OS 3.0, with “cut” relegated to apps that support it (?).

It works differently in different apps, this is what we can figure out:

Mail & Notes (and 3rd party?): double tap to begin. Drag small delineator icons to start and end of text string you want to copy.

Safari (and embedded browsers): Tap and hold to begin. Selects blocks of text.

Photos: Tap the action button to begin. Select multiple photos to paste into email. (Unknown if Apple will scale or compress before sending?)

Universally, it appears you can shake the iPhone to undo which while gimmicking, is also all kinds of awesome. You can also select paragraphs by holding your finger down on them, and Copy and Paste WILL pick up HTML including text formatting and links!

[Photo via Gizmodo]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Announces Copy and Paste for iPhone 3.0

iPhone 3.0 feature roundup

Filed under: Other Events, iPhone, iPod touch

If you've been listening to all the clamoring on Twitter, or perhaps have seen the updated Apple page, then you know there was an iPhone event today to discuss a new version of the iPhone OS, version 3.0. While you will have to wait until the summer to get the new version (unless you join the developer program), Apple showed off over 100 new features that we're all excited about. iPhone developers are also getting some love from Apple with over 1,000 new APIs.

Some of the biggest updates include:

• Push notifications will be standard in iPhone 3.0. Apple claims that there was a scaling issue when they first announced this feature last year, with thousands of developers clamoring to use it, so it had to be delayed. Developers will be able to build message, sound, and badge alerts into their applications.
• iPhone will support cut, copy and paste -- copy text and pictures, then paste them in any application on the device. If you change your mind about the newly pasted data, just shake to display a menu asking if you wish to undo the paste.
  
• In-App purchasing -- developers will have the ability to charge a fee from within the application for more levels in a game, magazine subscriptions, eBooks, etc. This solves the problem of the 20 ebook readers that only allow you to read one book each.
  
• MMS -- you'll be able to use MMS on your iPhone 3G (yes, 1st gen iPhones will not get the fortune of using MMS due to the use of a different cell radio). The new Messages application will be taking the place of the SMS app and will allow you to send voice memos and pictures to your friends.
  
• Peer-to-Peer connectivity -- allows iPhone apps the ability to find other iPhone users over WiFi or Bluetooth. This can be using for anything from gaming to sharing data.
  
• Third-party Accessories -- app developers can now access third-party accessories attached to the iPhone. This could allow for developers to interface with their own accessories to create a truly unique experience on the device. One of the demonstrated uses was a prototype blood glucose meter for the iPhone, from a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, which is already getting attention from our readers; it's not for sale yet!
  
• Apple will now be allowing applications the ability to get GPS coordinates from Core Location and turn that into software that provides Turn-by-Turn directions for iPhone users. However, due to the terms of use with Google maps, developers will be required to license their own maps for this use (meaning that Turn-by-Turn GPS applications will almost certainly be paid apps). This isn't a problem for vendors like TomTom or Telenav, who already have licenses for their map data.
• A landscape keyboard option is now available in all iPhone applications, including the infamous Mail.app.
• Voice memos will allow iPhone users the ability to capture audio and then email it, or send it through the Messages application as a multimedia message.
• System-wide Spotlight searching is built right into the home screen. To the left of the first home screen, there is a magnifying glass, so by flicking to the left of the first home screen will show this search app. You can search for anything, including mail, music, and notes. There is no word yet on how this will interface with third-party applications.
  
• Stereo Bluetooth audio devices are now supported through the use of A2DP technology.

iPhone owners should note that A2DP technology and the use of MMS will not be available on 1st generation iPhones. This is probably due to the iPhone Bluetooth spec used, and Apple has confirmed (during the Q&A session after the keynote) that MMS is not available because of the cell radio used.

iPhone OS 3.0 will be available for regular users "this summer." iPhone developers will be able to get the beta of OS 3.0 sometime today -- Apple is still busy updating their iPhone Dev Center, but we'll let you know when it is available.

iPhone 3.0 feature roundup originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone 3.0 feature roundup originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Zen Bound for iPhone

Beautiful, low-lit graphics and a calming soundtrack distinguish Zen Bound, a surprisingly relaxing way to pass the time.

iPhone OS 3.0: What Didn’t We Get? Video! Push Gmail! Flash! Improved Notifications! Background Multitasking! Palm Pre Features! More

While at times it felt like a tidal wave of features were announced today during Apple’s iPhone 3.0 Preview Event, several features were still conspicuous by their absence. Here’s what comes immediately to mind… after the break!

• Mobile iChat: It will break Chad’s heart, but Apple still hasn’t put those Mobile iChat patents to use. Are they waiting on new hardware (with a front facing video-chat camera, perhaps?)

• Unified messenger: I asked for this a long time ago, and Palm answered it with the Pre. Apple could certainly give us the perfect UI for something that combines mail, SMS, Twitter, IM, and other social/communications status and messages into a single feed. But will they?

• Unified Email Inbox: Some people hate them, some people love them, but it takes a lot of clicks to switch between multi-account email inboxes on the iPhone right now, and to have even the option of a unified view would be good news to a good many users.

• Push Gmail:: Admittedly, Gmail’s IMAP implementation is so… eccentric… we worry what they’d do with IDLE, but the Android G1 has push Gmail, so we know it’s possible. Google Synch has already licensed ActiveSync, which the iPhone uses as well, and while corporate users on Exchange would be locked out, we’d take what we can get at this point. Google, where is it?

• Premium App Store: We heard rumors of a premium App Store Plus, but nothing mentioned so far. Plenty of news with turn-by-turn, subscriptions, and in-app purchases for the store, but nothing to separate out +$20 apps.

• Cloud contact integration: Another from the Palm Pre gameplan, Apple made no mention of pulling contacts from other clouds, like Google and Facebook, and of seamlessly merging and managing them on device. Maybe we’ll see a MobileMe 2.0 pick this up at WWDC?

• Background multitasking: It was rumored as well, but Scott Forestall said tests of Windows Mobile and Android showed 80% battery drain with a single background IM client running (though we’re sure our friends on WMExperts, Android Central, and PreCentral.net would beg to differ on that…) so Apple stuck to Push Notification instead. That doesn’t solve the problem of streaming internet radio, however, so is Apple again waiting on more RAM in better hardware come WWDC?

• Improved notification system: Both Android and Pre, in addition to multitasking, have superior notification systems. With Apple’s new Push service, we really needed this in the iPhone as well. As we mentioned in the article, what if 30 apps push 10 model message dialogs all at once? How does the iPhone — or more importantly, the user — decide which to handle and which to ignore?

• Video recording: Kevin Rose nailed cut and paste, and also the lack of video recording. He said it was due to hardware limitations on the built in NAND Flash RAM inside the iPhone. We’re not sure what he meant, or what his source(s) told him, but the iPhone of course lacks SDHC card support, so you can’t swap out your storage. Flash memory also has finite write cycles — every time you change a bit, it decays the barrier between bits, meaning eventually it fails and you can’t write to it any more. Is Apple afraid users will shoot so much video, and write to the built-in memory so much, it will fail and won’t be replaceable? If so, maybe yet again we’re waiting on newer hardware…

• Adobe Flash: Still no love, not even video player plugin support for Adobe’s Flash, Flash Mobile, Flash Lite, or Open Screen project. With the speed in which Apple is adopting HTML 5, CSS, 2D/3D animation and transform, we’re guessing they’ll just never be that in to Flash…

• Theming: No custom home screen backgrounds, icon sets, etc. — hey, Apple has to leave you with some reason to Jailbreak, right?

• Hexagonal grids: Heh, we’ll leave that for Windows Mobile 7…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 3.0: What Didn’t We Get? Video! Push Gmail! Flash! Improved Notifications! Background Multitasking! Palm Pre Features! More

Apple’s Mobile OS X Now On 30 Million Devices! 17 Million iPhones, 13 Million iPod touch

As part of the iPhone 3.0 Preview Event today, Apple announced that their iPhone OS, which powers both the iPhone and the iPod touch, is now on 30 million devices — including 17 million iPhones (presumable 2G and 3G) by December, 2008. And while we’re admittedly mathlexic around here, but that sounds like the first admission of iPod touch sales to us, which would peg them at 13 million?

Along with previous stats that have been guestimated (like 25,000 apps in the App Store), Apple also announced over 800 million app downloads (!!) to date, and 800,000 iPhone SDK downloads as well.

Staggering. Numbers. Indeed.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple’s Mobile OS X Now On 30 Million Devices! 17 Million iPhones, 13 Million iPod touch

Apple Announces (Again) Push Notification Services for iPhone 3.0

We’ve asked what happened to the Push Notification Service that iPhone Software VP, Scott Forestall first announced back at WWDC 2008. We’ve even wondered if Apple had changed their mind and gone with a true background multi-tasking approach. Or whether they’d simply scrapped the idea entirely?

Turns out Push Notification took a little longer to polish up than Apple anticipated, in addition to developers requesting features above and beyond what Apple initially expected (though, in all “truthiness”, we didn’t see anything new above the surface yet ourselves).

Apple claims to have tested Windows Mobile, Android, and other devices running background IM, and that battery drain was 80% compared with 20% for Push Notification. We’re not buying that yet, but we are happy Apple is taking their time with this. Better a rock-solid implementation than anything approaching MobileMe’s disastrous launch.

So what is Push Notification and how does it work? Read on after the break!

Let’s say you’re running a 3rd party IM (instant message) client on iPhone 2.0. When you exit the app, you no longer know if you’re receiving more messages. (Sure, there are work around over SMS and Email, but the app itself is dead to you).

With Apple’s Push Notification Service, if you close that same app in iPhone 3.0, anytime someone sends you a new IM, an alert will be sent from the developer’s servers (yes, they’ll have to keep a session open for you on their end), to Apple’s Push Notification Service (PNS) servers.

Apple’s PNS server will have a constant TCP/IP connection to your iPhone (yes, they’ll be keeping connected to you, like they already do for MobileMe push if you use that service). Once they get the alert from the developer, they will “push” it out to your iPhone 3.0.

PNS currently supports 3 kinds of alerts: badges (like Mail uses to show you unread messages), custom sounds (like a beep or bell or anything already built into the app by the developer), or modal message boxes (like the kind that pop up to tell you your battery is at 20%).

Apple isn’t making any promises on up-time for the service, and any new service will have delays and downtime — and Apple was quick to point out even SMS isn’t 100% reliable when asked about it.

What PNS doesn’t solve, however, is the lack of good notifications on the iPhone, and applications that require multitasking for something other than notification (i.e. streaming internet radio apps).

Imagine if 10 apps try to push out 10 alerts at the same time, how will Apple manage those on your device? Will you have to “cancel” or “accept” 50 modal message dialogs, or be hit by a cacophony of 30 random sounds? We don’t know yet, but hopefully Apple will address this.

Streaming internet radio apps, however, seem out of luck with this solution…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Announces (Again) Push Notification Services for iPhone 3.0

Turn by Turn Apps Coming to iPhone 3.0 App Store

As we reported earlier today (before the Apple event, even), the iPhone 3.0 update will allow real, turn-by-turn directions on the iPhone. It looks like Apple isn’t bothering with enmeshing themselves in the confusing licensing issues surrounding turn-by-turn and is instead simply lifting the SDK Ban on turn-by-turn directions. The first app may very well come from Sygic (that’s what they’re claiming, anyway), which we had the chance get some eyes-on time with during Mobile World Congress.

Apple is simply allowing 3rd party apps to extend their access to Core Location (the iPhone’s built-in location service that includes both GPS and tower-based location) to include turn-by-turn. Of note: Apple says that developers need to “BYOM” (Bring Your Own Maps). What that implies is that the licensing issues referenced above prevents Apple from allowing developers to use another new iPhone 3.0 feature: embeddable maps. iPhone 3.0 allows (almost) any app to include embedded Google maps, complete with pinch, zoom, and the like, within the app itself. Using that embedded map for turn by turn directions, however, is verboten. Instead developers will either have to require a large download of maps and/or provide them over-the-air as TeleNav does.

It’s also possible that developers will be able to use the new in-app purchasing feature of iPhone 3.0 to allows users to purchase maps as well. It’s unclear who else besides Sygic is getting a turn-by-turn directions app ready, but you can probably rest assured we’ll see such apps from the big players in short order once 3.0 is released this summer.

Update: TeleNav is still staying quiet about their plans.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Turn by Turn Apps Coming to iPhone 3.0 App Store

iPhone OS 3.0 SDK Beta: 1000 New APIs! Maps! iPod! P2P! iPod Access! Dock Access! More!

As part of their just concluded iPhone OS 3.0 Preview Event, Apple refreshed the iPhone SDK and announced over 1000 new API for developers which, according to Senior Vice President of iPhone Software, Scott Forestall, are designed to better help developers make great apps. (And a boatload of money for all involved, ‘natch).

Highlights include:

• In-app purchases, which means if you’re play a First Person Shoot, you can pay $0.99 (or whatever they choose) to get yourself a better gun.)
• Peer-to-Peer connectivity, which should allow multi-user, or multi-player interaction for games or information exchange using Bonjour and Bluetooth (no pairing needed).
• Push Notification Service, which was first announced at WWDC last year, will finally make an appearance and allow developers, through Apple’s server, to trigger badges (like Mail’s unread message counter), custom sounds, and modal alerts (like the new SMS message box).
• Maps lets developers embed Google Maps functionality in their own applications with full interactions, but also custom annotations.
• Accessory support means developers can now interact with “made for iPod” certified accessories either via Dock port or Bluetooth — no word yet on Bluetooth keyboards, however.
• iPod Library access — which we’re sure Steve Jobs wrestled from Big Music’s petrified hands — let’s developers access onboard audio content, so users can listen to their own stuff, in 3rd party apps.

There’s a lot more to it, of course, especially at the deeper and more fundamental levels it looks like. Hopefully if Apple can get the App Store sorted out in similar fashion, iPhone Apps could be steamrolling into the second generation!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone OS 3.0 SDK Beta: 1000 New APIs! Maps! iPod! P2P! iPod Access! Dock Access! More!

What’s new with Bluetooth in iPhone 3.0?

There were plenty of things we were hoping for with iPhone 3.0, but that list definitely included improved support for the many things we can do with Bluetooth. The list was as long as the feature list for Bluetooth itself and though Apple didn’t get everything, they certainly got a lot. Here’s the list of what you can (and can’t) do with Bluetooth on iPhone 3.0:

• A2DP Stereo Bluetooth. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And come this summer, your bluetooth stereo headphones and speakers will work with the iPhone 3G. Note, it will not work on the original iPhone 2G.
• Peer to Peer. This is a big one, folks, but it’s a little strange. You can share files and talk to other apps over Bluetooth. This means you’ll be able to do multiplayer games, for example, or ‘beam’ your contact card from one iPhone to another. Or heck, play a trombone duet. No pairing is required, either. Discovery of other iPhones happens with Apple’s Bonjour ZeroConf autodiscovery protocols
• Control Accessories. In addition to the dock accessory control, you can now control Bluetooth accessories from within an app. The example from the event was a glucose meter, but the possibilities are honestly endless.
• Tops on my Bluetooth list: Bluetooth keyboard support. Technically, you will be able to do with with iPhone 3.0. The weird issue there, however, is that this keyboard support would have to happen on an app-by-app basis instead of happening device-wide. That, friends, is a bit of a bummer.

Biggest Bluetooth surprise of the event: confirmation that the 2nd Generation iPod Touch DOES have Bluetooth and they can ‘unlock’ it to reveal Bluetooth features.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

What’s new with Bluetooth in iPhone 3.0?

iPhone 3G to Support MMS, Original iPhone Won’t

image by gdgt

Whew! The feature announcements in the iPhone 3.0 event came fast and furious. One of the most-wanted features, MMS, will be supported when 3.0 is released to consumer this summer. That’s the good news. The bad news: Apple claims that the radio on the original iPhone 2G can’t support MMS, so that feature will not make it to 1st gen iPhones.

MMS on the iPhone 3G looks to be almost full-featured. You will be able to send and receive photos, audio, vCard (contact cards), and ‘location.’ One thing that won’t be supported on MMS: Video. The iPhone 3G still can’t record video and therefore, one assumes, receiving video MMS will be difficult.

Still - it’s lovely to see the iPhone finally support a feature that’s common not only on other smartphones, but on nearly every feature phone made. iPhone 3.0 can’t come soon enough!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3G to Support MMS, Original iPhone Won’t

Highlights of Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 Preview: Copy and Paste, A2DP, MMS, Much More

Apple today hosted a preview event for its upcoming iPhone OS 3.0, highlighting a few of over 1,000 new APIs for developers and over 100 new features for users. Full details are available in our live updates, but here are some of the highlig...

Cut and paste, MMS highlight iPhone 3.0 improvements

iPhone 3.0 will add cut, copy and paste, MMS support and, in total, more than 100 user enhancement when it debuts this summer.

Live from Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 preview event

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Engadget_Live_from_Apple_s_iPhone_OS_3_0_preview_event';
9:15AM We're on the ground in Cupertino, waiting outside for the big show to start. Hang tight, we'll be heading to our seats momentarily!

Continue reading Live from Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event

Filed under: Cellphones

Live from Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple previews iPhone OS 3.0, adds copy and paste, Spotlight search, plenty more

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_previews_iPhone_OS_3_0'; As promised, Apple just debuted its upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. Much of the news seemed developer-centric, but there are certainly plenty of consumer implications down the road, along with long-awaited functions like copy and paste, A2DP, MMS and universal Spotlight search. Improvements include:

App and developer functionality (more here)

• Peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth for gaming and other info-swapping.
• Paid apps will have the potential to be subscription fee-based, and can include optional paid content that can be bought from right inside the app.
• Developers can now build apps that call out to Google Maps, and can also finally bring Apple-blessed turn-by-turn to the phone.
• Devs can also connect with hardware accessories over in their apps now, such as a blood pressure monitor -- or perhaps a keyboard? Connectivity works through the dock connector or over Bluetooth.
  
• Long-promised push functionality will at last be included, but apps won't run in the background.
• Developers can add streaming video and audio to their apps, along with in-game voice use.

General functionality

• Cut, copy and paste. At last! You can shake the phone to undo and redo the action, and it works with both text and photos, allowing Mail to send multiple photos at a time. (more here)
• MMS, along with forward and delete for multiple messages. (more here)
  
• A2DP stereo Bluetooth.
• Unlocked Bluetooth functionality on 2G iPod touch. (more here)
• Spotlight has been added to a new home screen page to the left of existing pages, allowing for universal search on the phone. (more here)
• Tethering is built into 3.0, and Apple will work with carriers on that -- who will have the last say on its implementation, most likely.
• App Store will be available in 77 countries.
• Parental controls for TV shows, movies and App Store apps.
• Auto-login for WiFi hotspots.

Apple apps

• A new app called Voice Memos which lets you record notes and reminders.
• A revised Stocks app, with news stories and a landscape view.
• Landscape view available for Mail, Text and Notes.
  
• CalDAV support has been added to Calendar, along with subscriptions support in the .ics format.
  
• Apple's major apps have all been expanded with search functionality.
• Note syncing to Mac and PC.
• YouTube account support.
• Form auto-fill.
• Phishing protection.
• Shake the shuffle iPod playback.

A developer beta of OS 3.0 is available today, and the 3.0 update will be coming to consumers this summer as a free update to all iPhone 3G customers. It'll also work for 1st gen iPhone owners, though they won't receive A2DP or MMS due to hardware limitations. iPod touch owners will be able to update for $9.95, just like last time.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Apple previews iPhone OS 3.0, adds copy and paste, Spotlight search, plenty more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3.0 features new homescreen with Spotlight search

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_3_0_features_new_homescreen_with_Spotlight_search'; Apple's making a big deal out of search on iPhone OS 3.0, and it's all being wrapped up in a new Spotlight search homescreen. A flick to the left from the first screen of apps brings it up, and from there you can search contacts, mail metadata (but not message content), calendars, media, and more. Definitely nice if you've ever struggled to quickly access something on the iPhone in the past, but again, we can't help but wonder why it took so long to get here.

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3.0 features new homescreen with Spotlight search originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMS finally comes to Apple’s iPhone 3G via OS 3.0

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_getting_MMS_in_upcoming_OS_3_0'; Apple's done a decent job of implementing features that we've all been clamoring for into its forthcoming OS 3.0, and aside from copy and paste, there's probably no one single feature add bigger than this. You heard right -- multimedia messaging (MMS) is at long last coming to the iPhone 3G (sorry, first-gen iPhone owners) after years of dealing strictly with SMS. During the keynote, Apple was pretty remarkably short with details, simply noting that MMS "support" would be added. Frankly, we don't expect anything mind-blowing; it'll probably look a lot like the current SMS setup, and it'll definitely make AT&T happy when you start firing away picture messages without first subscribing to an unlimited messaging plan.

Update: Apple's official PR on the subject has given us just a bit more to chew on. We're told that MMS will enable iPhone 3G users to "send and receive photos, contacts, audio files and locations with the Messages app," hinting that Apple may just smash MMS and SMS together into a single 'Messages' app in OS 3.0. Also of note, owners will also be able to "forward and delete multiple messages."

Filed under: Cellphones

MMS finally comes to Apple's iPhone 3G via OS 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple touts iPhone and App Store stats

Ahead of introducing new features in its iPhone 3.0 software, Apple talked about the success of the iPhone and App Store to date.

iPhone finally gets copy and paste!

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_finally_gets_copy_and_paste'; No surprises here: Apple just announced that iPhone OS 3.0 will support copy and paste. A double-tap auto-selects the text you want with movable "grab points," and a pop-up edit bar display buttons for cut, copy, and paste. Finally! It works in every major app, including SMS and Safari, and what's more, there's also "shake to undo," which is exactly what it sounds like: a quick shake brings up a box that allows you to undo and redo c/p actions. It's a pretty nifty implementation, sure, but it's a little silly we've had to wait this long for it, don't you think?

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone finally gets copy and paste! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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