IphoneOs3.0
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iPhone 3.0 video recording interface, compass support spotted? (Update: voice dialing, too)
iPhone OS 3.0 is riddled with hints that video recording is on the way, and the latest is this supposed screenshot of a revised camera app with a video toggle. MacRumors says it comes up when certain config files are edited to make it seem like a video camera is present, but it's not clear exactly what steps have to be taken, so we're treating this one cautiously until we can confirm it. Other secret features buried in the plists are said to include "auto-focus camera," "voice control," and "magnetometer," which is assumed to be a compass. Yep, all stuff we'd expect from an iPhone revision around, say, June, but nothing earth-shattering -- and if the video features are as mediocre as the current iPhone camera, we don't think the Flips of this world have too much to worry about.Update: Boy Genius Report has scored some other 3.0-culled goodies, including what appears to be voice dialing ("Voice Control" as they're calling it), a digital battery strength readout, and further evidence of video support. Beta 3, where are you?
Nilay Patel04.07.2009
Apple and Stanford to offer free iPhone development courses online
Would-be iPhone developers struggling to make their apps do more than fart and crash take note: Apple and Stanford have partnered to offer videos and course materials from Stanford's undergraduate iPhone app development course through iTunes. The course is being taught by two Apple engineers, and it sounds like videos will go up regularly -- the first is scheduled to post on Friday. Alright, let's all practice together: "Yeah, I took a class at Stanford." Sounds good, doesn't it? [Via Wired]
Nilay Patel04.03.2009
iPhone OS 3.0 beta 2 gets the jailbreak treatment
The jailbreakers have managed to keep their speed record intact. Just one day after Apple releases an update to the iPhone OS 3.0 beta, QuickPwn updates its wares to support the new firmware. According to the related writeup, it should work with all iPhone / iPod touch models. After going through the jailbreaking process, you'll need to open icy and follow a few more steps to finish the job. As usual, download at your own risk, and for now, crack is for Windows users only.Update: The Dev Team has chimed in with the usual list of caveats and warnings. If nothing else, you've now got tacit verification that this release of QuickPwn isn't some malicious hack.
Ross Miller04.02.2009
iPhone 3.0 beta 2 is available to developers
Earlier today, iPhone OS 3.0 beta 2 was released to developers. The big news is that push notifications and in-app purchasing followed this release, giving developers a chance to try them out. Engadget has reported on significant instability with beta 1, so here's hoping that's been improved.There's also good and bad news with this release. The good is that MMS and tethering are supported in beta 2. The bad news is that Apple asks developers not use them. It's like owning a Ferrari without wheels.If you're a developer, you know how to get this. Let us know how it goes, and have fun.
Dave Caolo03.31.2009
iPhone 3.0 beta 2 released, push notifications are a go
The rest of the mobile industry might be gearing up for CTIA to start, but Apple's phone elves are toiling away -- iPhone OS 3.0 beta 2's just been released to developers, along with the go-ahead to start developing for push notifications. Thankfully, beta 2 also apparently includes a number of stability and performance enhancements, which will hopefully make our tester phone tolerable again -- we've been restarting beta 1 basically every day since we sacrificed it to the hands-on gods. Devs and beta testers know what to do to snag the upgrade, let us know how it goes!
Nilay Patel03.31.2009
iPhone OS 3.0 brings the speed for JavaScript
Ars is reporting the 3.0 speed improvements to Mobile Safari's JavaScript engine range from 3x to 16x -- a blessed boon to web developers everywhere. No one seems to know if Mobile Safari will be sporting Nitro or SquirrelFish or what, but whatever it is, it'll be faster. If you check out the benchmarks originally posted on Wayne Pan's blog, iPhone OS 3.0 blazes past 2.2 in every category except divisions (the benchmarking tools are available at Craig Hockenberry's blog here).It's nice to see progress, but I don't think anyone expected Apple to let the JS engine in Mobile Safari lay fallow for long. Every day browsers like Opera Mini and Android's WebKit-based browser are getting better. Heck, even WinMo's version of IE is supposed to support H.264, Flash and Silverlight. Will the upgraded js engine and technology like CSS3 and Canvas draw more developers to iPhone web apps? I doubt it, but the speed improvements will make many browser-based services feel more responsive. That's certainly a win for consumers.
Victor Agreda Jr03.27.2009
O2 and Vodafone relatively mum on future iPhone tethering
At Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event last Tuesday, Sir Scott explained that it was "working with carriers around the world" to build tethering support in. We can't say for sure what that means, but it certainly sounds like it'll be up to the operator to activate (or not) iPhone tethering when OS 3.0 is launched to the masses. Pocket-lint took the opportunity to ping both O2 and Vodafone over in the UK, though neither company seemed particularly interested in giving a solid answer. The former simply stated that it was "working [with Apple] to ensure new features, including tethering, are fully supported on O2's network," but wasn't "making any announcements yet." The latter simply proclaimed that it was "discussing the situation" but didn't have anything to confirm. To us, it sounds like both carriers will eventually allow it, but we aren't too sure they'll be doing so with no extra fees woven in.
Darren Murph03.21.2009
Switched On: Taking the iPhone to tasks
Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Apple may be right that the benefits of multitasking do not outweigh its costs at this point, and the company will address at least some of the needs that have traditionally been met with background apps via its reworked push service and in-app e-mail due to launch this summer. However, the rationale presented at the iPhone OS 3.0 event this week against background apps is an incomplete argument at best. First, let's turn back to when Apple first announced that the iPhone would not support background applications at WWDC last June. Apple's Scott Forstall showed a screen shot of Windows Mobile's busy Task Manager noting, "This is nuts." He pointed out how background applications consume cycles, sandbagging performance, and consume battery life. But since when does Apple accept that Microsoft's implementation of something is the last word? And at the iPhone OS 3.0 preview, in a quantitative justification of the background process ban that included relaying testing on Android, Apple talked about how running a background IM client can reduce standby time at least 80 percent, whereas a push system reduces standby time only 23 percent. However, the case against background applications is not so straightforward.
Ross Rubin03.20.2009
iPhone 3.0 beta firmware FAQ
Does it work? Is it awesome? Will it enable WiMAX on your iPhone 3G? Will it give you an embarrassing rash? Many of these questions aren't addressed in our dear Ryan Block's 3.0 FAQ -- but the important ones are. Read on over at Engadget!
Chris Ziegler03.19.2009
Mobile OS shootout: iPhone OS 3.0 enters the fray
Now that we know what iPhone OS 3.0 holds, we wanted to circle back and take stock of all of the major mobile platforms. Who wins? Who loses? Who's in the penalty box? Head on over to Engadget for the in-depth look.
Chris Ziegler03.19.2009
USB tethering, Publish Video and Find my iPhone found in OS 3.0
Apple touted quite a few new iPhone features at yesterday's OS 3.0 event, but now that the beta build is trickling out, there's been a bevy of unearthed discoveries to further pique our interests. First up, the gang at Boy Genius Report found an option to enable the "Find My iPhone" service in the MobileMe settings. Unfortunately, that's all we've got, but we wouldn't put it past Cupertino to build some me.com-linked location tracker that'd be the envy of Orwell himself -- hey, that'd be pretty useful if you accidentally left the mobile in a taxi. Also in the MobileMe section, it now says Publish Video when you go to publish an image. It's an odd typo, to be sure, and while video recording has been near the top of our wishlist for some time, we're not about to get our hopes up. Finally, Mac Rumors is reporting that a hacker has dug up and successfully activated the USB tethering capabilities. Apple's Scott Forstall had mentioned the devs were building it in, but were still in talks with the carriers. As to whether any or all of these functions will actually end up in the final OS 3.0 build, your guess is a good as ours. For now, check out more pics of the MobileMe additions after the break.[Thanks everyone who sent this in!]Read - Find My iPhoneRead - USB Tethering
Ross Miller03.18.2009
Video: iPhone OS 3.0 walkthrough
Many of us -- okay, a small handful of us -- wouldn't dream of putting beta firmware on our day-to-day devices, so we wanted to treat that very special group of safety-minded individuals to a once-over with iPhone OS 3.0's finer points on video. Odds are this is about as close as they'll get to the goods until Apple blesses the binary a few months from now, after all, and there's no harm in living vicariously through an Engadget editor's load-firmware-first, ask-questions-later lifestyle -- trust us. Video after the break.
Chris Ziegler03.18.2009
iPhone 3.0 feature predictions: TUAW report card
As is our wont, we predicated today's iPhone press event with our own predictions and wishes for what would be released. Let's look back and see how we did.Copy and pasteAs the event wore on, and everything but copy and paste was being announced, I started to worry. "Someday," I thought, "This event will be known as The Great Copy And Paste Debacle." The attending geek corps were about to slip into Angry Mob Mode, replacing their laptops with torches and pitchforks, when Scott Forstall gave them what they wanted. Crisis averted. How did TUAW score? Quite well. Mike Rose, Cory, Steve and Aron all called for copy and paste. PushRemember Apple's promise of push notification for developers? We nearly forgot, too. It was finally announced today, and Aron was the only TUAW blogger to call it. Incidentally, we shudder to think of how fart apps will make use of push notification.Landscape keyboard in MailOnce again, Aron comes through and calls for a landscape keyboard in Mail. I would have done the same, but I've found that my muscle memory has acclimated itself to the portrait keyboard, and I now make more mistakes when it's in landscape mode.Notes syncWhile Aron was the only TUAW blogger to wish for notes synchronization, he wasn't really alone. Fortunately, he got his wish. Score: we're at 4 out of 4.Lock screen changesThis would have been a good one. Both Aron and I have wished for a customizable lock screen. Instead of the time and date, I might like to see the weather, number of waiting emails, calendar appointments for the day and so on. Apple let us down. TetheringWe've been hearing rumors about this for quite a while now. Steve, Cory and Mike Rose all called for it this time around, and their wishes were granted. Thanks, Apple! Score: 4 out of 6.Wireless keyboard While we saw a slew of cool accessories today (I'm not even a doctor and I want the blood pressure cuff), there was no official keyboard from Apple. While hackers have paired a Bluetooth keyboard to a jailbroken phone, blogger Steve saw his wish for the real deal fall flat. Sorry, Steve.Springboard changesThis could use some work. Not because it's bad, but because five screens of apps quickly become disorganized and cluttered. Plus, jumping from a collection of games to a collection of utilities is a real swipe-tastic pain in the butt.There's a concept video floating around that demonstrates how this could work via iTunes. It's neat, but I'd rather see something on the iPhone itself. Similar to how Dash Board enhances the experience on a Newton. Mike Rose, Cory, Aron and I all called for this change. It's due.Enhanced searchCory and Mike Rose both asked for greater search capabilities, and Apple delivered. The other features we were after, namely greater call reliability, MMS and calendar enhancement, received one vote each. The enhanced calendar and MMS (for 3G owners at least) are coming for sure; we'll have to wait and see about greater call reliability.As for the final tally, we went 7 out of 12, or 58%. Not too shabby. What did you miss?
Dave Caolo03.17.2009iPhone OS 3.0 hands-on!
We're not saying how, but we got hooked up with the beta of iPhone OS 3.0. Overall, things feel about the same until you flick left that extra time and hit the Spotlight screen, which works just as advertised. It's definitely a beta, though: it's laggy all around and some things don't work, like taking a photo directly in the MMS app. We took some quick snaps, check 'em out below and let us know what you want to see in the video!Update: Added a few snaps of the landscape keyboard in Messages and Mail, anything else?
Nilay Patel03.17.2009
2G iPod touch to have Bluetooth capability unlocked by iPhone OS 3.0
Looks like that Bluetooth chip in the iPod touch 2G we've always thought was for Nike+ suddenly got a lot more useful: Apple's Greg Joswiak said that Bluetooth can be "unlocked" on the device during the iPhone OS 3.0 Q&A session. That's two years of rumors put to rest, right there, and a solid move, seeing as three of the major 3.0 features are A2DP, wireless accessory control and peer-to-peer connections over Bluetooth. Any touch owners feeling more inclined to drop the $9.95 now?
Nilay Patel03.17.2009
Live from Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event
11:48AM And that's that! We're outta here. Thanks for reading, and thanks to the amazing Blogsmith team and our Weblogs design crew for keeping this ship steady!
Joshua Topolsky03.17.2009
Apple previews iPhone OS 3.0, adds copy and paste, Spotlight search, plenty more
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.
Paul Miller03.17.2009iPhone 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.
Nilay Patel03.17.2009
MMS finally comes to Apple's iPhone 3G via 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."
Darren Murph03.17.2009MMS finally comes to Apple's iPhone 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."
Darren Murph03.17.2009