iPhone OS 3.0 Event Recap

Apple's special iPhone OS 3.0 event is finally over, and we are here to give you all that information in one neat package so sit back and take it all in. The event itself took nearly two full hours to complete.  It started out slow, offering up a glimpse of all the new APIs developers may now utilize, but no word of the features we have all asked for. Eventually, in regular Apple fashion, they unleashed a flurry of new features that should make most of you quite ecstatic. Cut, Copy, and Paste

You all asked for it, and Apple has delivered. Cut, copy, and paste functionality will be available for all applications on the iPhone, including third-party. To utilize the feature, you must double tap on the text you wish to select. The text becomes bracketed and a new set of buttons pop-up above it allowing you to cut, copy, or paste. To select more than a single word, simply slide your finger across the words. You may copy regular text, HTML, and even photos. A simple shake of the device will undo the selection. Messaging

Apple has added more texting features including the ability to forward and delete multiple messages, but the big news is MMS support. Now iPhone users will be able to send and receive even more content including photos, audio clips, and even contacts. Another new feature, voice memos, will have the ability to be sent through email or MMS. We just have to wait and see how AT&T deals with charging for this new feature. Push

Push notifications will finally be implemented. Apple claims that developers came to them with ideas on how to use push in ways they never even considered so they had to re-architect the entire server structure. Who cares, we have push notifications and that's all that matters. On a different note, Apple claimed that allowing applications to run in the background simply consumes too much battery power so you won't be seeing it in the iPhone OS 3.0 update. Searching

A search function will be available in all of Apple's key applications. Apple has also implemented an iPhone version of Spotlight. The new Spotlight search will be permanently placed as the leftmost page on your homescreen. Spotlight will work just as it does in OS X, allowing you to search for anything throughout your iPhone. Landscape

The landscape ability will be added to all of Apple's major text applications including Mail, Notes, and SMS. This has to be one of my favorite features. Stocks The stocks application will be adding support for news stories at the very bottom along with an added landscape view. APIs

Apple is giving developers 1,000 new APIs to work with, and of course they only showcased some of them, but here is a rundown of some of the more interesting features.

• Apple will allow developers to add "In-App Purchases" to any paid application. This feature won't be available for any free software, we assume to avoid spamming. You won't have to set up a new account for every application, the same info you use for iTunes paid services will be used for in-app purchases.
• Peer-to-peer connectivity will allow you to connect directly to another iPhone or iPod wirelessly over Bluetooth to play multiplayer games among other things.
• With the new APIs, Apple will allow accessory developers to build custom applications that talk directly to the hardware. One of their examples was an FM transmitter with a custom built application that can automatically find the correct station and tune it in.  Accessories will be allowed to use the dock or Bluetooth to interface.
• Developers can now embed maps into their applications, instead of having to launch the included Maps application separately.  On that note, developers will now be allowed to use Apple's core location for turn-by-turn directions.
• An API will be available to add in-game voice chat for applications such as online multiplayer games. A very nice feature for you gamers.

So that is just a basic idea of what Apple is offering developers. The new iPhone OS 3.0 will be available to developers starting today. Apple has even created a forum for developers to discuss and work together to implement the new features. This of course will be protected by some sort of NDA. You, the consumer, will eventually see the new iPhone OS as a free update for iPhones this summer. The original iPhone will also be supported but won't include a couple of features including MMS. iPod touch users will have to pay the usual $9.95 to upgrade, just like version 2.0. A small price to pay for a boatload of new features. Now that Apple has given us MOST of the features we have been clamoring for, how do you folks feel about it? [via Engadget]

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