With the arrival of a new stable of iPhones comes a new version of the trusty iPhone OS. Looking through the list of features gives us a daytime soap opera sized dose of ups and downs, so we broke it down to the essentials as follows.

First up are the two most complained about shortcomings from the iPhone since day one.

Cut, copy  and paste. This long overdue feature seems to be implemented very cleanly but still begs the universal question, “Really? Took that long?”

Multimedia Messaging. Again, a feature that most dumbphones have already, yet was fully lacking in this otherwise powerhouse device. The bad news here is that this feature is included in the OS, but AT&T still will not be capable of turning it on until “later in the summer”. A point that makes you wonder, is this some bass ackwards marketing stunt, or is someone asleep at the wheel?

The rest of the features of the OS are new additions that make you wanna forget about the first two epic FAILs.

iTunes now supports the rent and purchase of movies, downloaded TV shows, iTunes U access as well as giftcard redemption. Sweet, those last minute creepy uncle Charlie Christmas presents won’t go to waste!

Tom Tom is on board the new OS providing turn by turn directions. Catching up with the likes of VZ Navigator and Sprint Navigation this feature should help level the field with the other smart phones already implementing this. The details of service/cost/features/etc are scarce at the moment but things should get clearer as we get closer to release.

Peer- to -Peer connectivity is available in the new OS allowing games to be played between other iPhones in the proximity and should not require pairing or anything more complex then a simple search.

iPhone locator service will be available to MobileMe users, allowing them to find their lost iPhone on a map via a computer. Or, if need be, send the phone a message giving instructions to call you so that anyone who might find it knows to get in touch with you. The phone will also be capable of emitting a locator noise even if the speaker is off. Also available is the remote wipe feature allowing those who suspect their iPhone to be stolen to remove all data from it remotely. Ya know, in case you’re all up into the espionage stuff, or you’re worried people will see how many times a day you text the phrase LOL.

Tethering is also on the radar in this release. However, AT&T will be the bottleneck of progress again by their announcement that this feature will be available in the future. Again, asleep at the wheel fellas or just like to laurel-rest?

Finally for you devs out there the newest round of integratable pieces may tickle your fancy. OS 3.0 will include the option to embed purchases, Google Maps and Push notifications. Yes nerds, drool away.

All in all, good positive release. Would be nicer to not have to wait for AT&T to get their crap in order, or to have to qualify a few of these with, “Shouldda been there from the start” but in the grand scheme of things a good forward step in the right direction. But for those out there that can’t ever get enough here are a few honorable mentions in bullet form:

* Stereo Bluetooth

* The ability to forward text messages and delete individual messages in a thread

* Forward meeting invites and contacts

* A voice memo recorder

* A shake-to-shuffle feature like on the iPod Nano

* Wi-Fi auto log-in

* Http streaming audio and video

In: Blog Archives Asked By: Sleepers [34 ]