The new features on the iPhone OS 3.0

The main protagonist from yesterday’s Apple Event was the new iPhone OS 3.0 with its many new features. The objective, according to Apple, is to attract the developers by releasing the update and 1000 new API, which allows the iPhone platform to take a step forward.

The main new features on the iPhone 3.0 will be the following:

• Copy/Paste (also for web and SMS) with the “shake to undo” feature. Copy and Paste for multiple pictures to be sent through email
• Message forwarding
• MMS support
• Voice memo
• calDAV and subscription support
• Internal search engine enhancement and implementation of the Spotlight feature that allows users to perform searches within native applications such as Mail, Calendar and Notes
• Peer-to-peer connectivity: thanks to the new APIs, the system is capable of finding other devices that use the same application through the Bonjour technology (via bluetooth) and it’s possible to create a connection through IP, in order to play the same game, for example
• Developers will have the possibility to create applications that interact directly with the hardware
• Special APIs will allow users to insert Google’s maps in the applications
• Background replacement to enhance the battery duration and performance, also, sound and text warnings will be available
• VoIP with data detector APIs (telephone number and address recognition, for example)
• New video player that adapts itself to the network speed in order to provide a better video streaming
• Panoramic keyboard and view to all built-in iPhone applications

Also to be highlighted is the new business model that Apple will provide through its App Store: The new update will allow developers to create applications featuring “in-app purchase”, which means the possibility of selling extra contents inside each application, such as gaming levels, new maps and so on.

The iPhone OS 3.0 was made available in beta for developers yesterday, while for the normal users it will be available from this summer as a free update for the iPhone 3G owners and for $9.95 for the iPod Touch owners.