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iPhone OS 3.0 revisited
Since Apple first unveiled the iPhone OS 3.0 last March, we've been impatiently awaiting its full release. Yes, we did manage to get a beta version of the update on the CNET iPhone--I even did a preliminary review--but we prefer to wait for the real thing to give our official evaluation.
Fortunately, we got our wish Monday at the WWDC 2009 keynote. During his portion of the presentation, Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iPhone software, announced that OS 3.0 will be released to the world June 17. We'll still have to wait until later this summer for AT&T to activate multimedia messaging and tethering, but all the other new features will go live next Wednesday for iPhone 3G, iPhone Classic, and users. Two days later, the new will launch with the full update.
In total, Apple is promising that the update will bring 100 new features, but we've barely scratched the surface. Once we fully evaluate OS 3.0, we expect that we'll find more. We were hoping that OS 3.0 would also include video recording and voice dialing, but those features will be available only on the new iPhone 3G S.
Though we've detailed most of the OS 3.0 improvements already, we wanted to revisit them following the keynote. Forstall mostly gave a recap of what we already know, but he provided more detail in a few areas and covered topics that we had not heard before. Here's what he had to say.
Multimedia messaging
We've ranted endlessly about why it took so long for Apple to achieve multimedia messaging (MMS), so we're glad that it's finally on its way. Besides photos you'll also be able to send photos, contacts, audio files, and map locations. At long last the iPhone can do something that every other cell phone can do.
But, and this is a big "but," AT&T doesn't have things ready on its end. We don't know the real reason for the delay nor do we have a timetable for deployment--Forstall just said that AT&T will support MMS "later this summer." Indeed, we were able to compose a multimedia message in a few quick steps on our CNET iPhone, but the connection times out before we can send it. It's more than a little annoying that the AT&T has had since March at least to get prepared. Also, because it wasn't integrated with the proper radio, the iPhone Classic will not support MMS.
Landscape keyboard
Formerly just available in the
Safari browser, the landscape keyboard now works in e-mail, text messaging, and notes. We've used it quite a bit and love it, though we admit that the two-fingered typing took the smallest bit of acclimation after using one hand on a portrait keyboard for so long.
Cut, copy and paste
Cut, copy, and paste
Forstall said that this sorely-needed feature can work with all iPhone features and apps. When we first started using copy, cut, and paste back in March it was working only in Notes, but since then we've used it in e-mail and text messages. As I mentioned in my early OS 3.0 review, the process is very easy to use and the "shake to undo" feature is a nice touch. Developers will be able to use the feature in apps.
iTunes
The iPhone's iTunes store is updated in a few ways. Now you'll be able to rent and purchase movies, download TV shows and audiobooks, and access iTunes U. You'll also be able to redeem iTunes gift cards on the phone in the iTunes App store. Previously, you could only redeem in the iTunes music store.
Turn-by-turn directions
In March we heard that audible turn-by-turn GPS directions were coming to the iPhone in the form of third-party apps. That was all I knew at the time so I left the presentation with more than a few reservations. And even now, after a TomTom exec appeared on stage at the WWDC keynote to demo what looks to be a promising service, I still have a few questions.
I'm primarily concerned with how much the app will cost. Forstall said TomTom will offer a "range" of U.S. and international maps, but that's as detailed as he got. GPS maps are not cheap, so I'll be interested to see how TomTom will package and price the content to make it affordable for consumers and profitable for TomTom. Will you be able to buy only the maps you need or will you have to buy a large package? Also, will you have to pay each time the maps are updated? And how much memory will they consume?
What's more, I'm curious as to how the app will integrate with the iPhone's other features. From what we understand, you'll be able to make hands-free calls and play music on your car's radio while getting directions. Unlike the Palm Pre, however, the iPhone doesn't multitask. If the GPS feature had to suspend because you get a call--just as the iPod player suspends when you take a call--then things could get tricky. I suspect, though, that Apple has this down.
The TomTom app won't be available until later this summer. But on the upside, TomTom will offer a car kit that will secure your iPhone to your windshield or dashboard while charging it at the same time. That's good news for a device that sucks up juice quickly.
Find my iPhone
If you're prone to losing your iPhone, OS 3.0 will give you some peace of mind. If your handset goes missing you can use a computer to find its position on a map. You can then send it a message that instructs anyone who finds your phone to call you. It plays a tone to get a passerby's attention, and it even plays the tone when the sound is off. Presumably, however, it won't play the tone when the phone is off.
It sounds like a great service, but there are a couple of caveats. Find my iPhone is only available to MobileMe users. and your phone will need to be in GPS range in order to be found. Also, you'll need someone on the other end who is responsible enough to notify you that he or she found your phone. Luckily, if that doesn't hold true, you can use a remote wipe option to swipe your iPhone clean of data. This is the first time remote wipe is available to the average consumer.
Correction: The Find my iPhone can be estimated using GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell tower location technology.
The new search feature
(Credit: CNET)
Full search
We already knew about the search feature that allows you to search calendar entries, music, notes, contacts, and e-mail. Yet, Forstall also said that you'll be able to search e-mail messages stored only on your mail server.
In-app purchases
As expected, Apple now can take your money when you're using an app. For example, you can renew a magazine subscription and buy a new game pack without going through the iTunes App Store. It's convenient, sure, as long as you keep a limit on your impulse buying. But on a related note, free apps will always be free--you'll never have to shell out money for an update.
Safari browser
Forstall promised a faster browser. To demonstrate, he showed results from a SunSpider Javascript benchmark. Without iPhone OS 3.0 the benchmark result was 2 minutes, 10 seconds. In comparison, the OS 3.0 result was just 43 seconds. Exactly what that means to the user we'll have to see. Other Safari improvements include support for HTML 5 and autofill for fields on a Web page.
Peer-to-peer networking
With peer-to-peer network you can automatically find nearby iPhone users to pay games or use social applications. It works via Bluetooth and no pairing is required.
Tethering
In March we heard that tethering would be possible with OS 3.0, but that it would be completely carrier-dependent. At the WWDC keynote, Forstall gave us good and bad news. The good news is that several carriers will support tethering starting next week, but the bad news is that AT&T won't be one of them. As my colleague Maggie Reardon wrote, AT&T is promising that tethering will come later, but we don't know exactly when. Also, I'm very curious whether AT&T will charge extra for it.
Google maps
With OS 3.0, developers will be able to embed Google maps right in their apps. For instance, a nifty Zipcar app will let you find a car in your area, make a reservation, sound the car's horn when nearby, and open the door.
Parental controls
These were mentioned briefly in March, but we got more details here. Parents or guardians will be able to control movies and television shows according to their ratings, restrict apps that are age inappropriate, and limit use of the browser and YouTube app. The controls are accessible through the Settings menu.
Push notification
We knew about this as well, but Forstall gave a quick demo. Developers can use push notifications with sounds for text alerts and instant messages.
Languages
Multilingual users can use a small globe icon on the keyboard to access additional keyboards and a graffiti pad for symbols. Apple also added support for Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Korean, and Thai.
What's left?
The update also offers the following additions; read our initial OS 3.0 report for more information.
- Stereo Bluetooth
- The ability to forward text messages and delete individual messages in a thread
- Forward meeting invites and contacts
- A landscape stock chart with news stories and additional information in company profiles
- A voice memo recorder
- Syncing notes with your Mac
- A shake-to-shuffle feature like on the iPod Nano
- Antiphishing technology
- Wi-Fi auto log-in
- Http streaming audio and video
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
I could send an MMS 6 years ago you can't tell me the iPhone can't do it.
i understand AT&T and Apple want to make money by selling new iPhones, but don't insult my intelligence.
It has NOTHING to do with the hardware limitations. Thats a loada bs. They just want you to upgrade. Plain and simple.
and YES Apple is a corporation, as any corporation their first obligations are to its shareholders, not its consumers.
I am movin on, F*** apple products
And in response to robvspec; it's not Apple's fault for upgrading the iPhone line every year, do you honestly think they're going to wait up for your approval before they make new products? Enough said.
Not to worry though all of the applications for the 3G S will be made available to jailbroken iPhone's in due time... gee I wonder how those applications will work.
Like tcr071 well said it, he seems to be too deep up jobs behind to see what apple is trying to do once again.
If you remember how over priced apple's first iphone was, we have an idea of what apple is capable of.
Since you like myself have an iphone 3g jailbroken, you would know about installous and cydia. I think they will do something fenomenal with this new os 3.0 to give us what virgin users have + more to us jailbroken iphone users.
The fact is the fallowing: if they were able to make great application such as 3g video record and Swirly MMS when not even apple was willing to do it, i say just give them time, and we'll also be getting all the native support iphone 3g s is going to have in our 3g. Jail brake rules!
If I may, it seems your arguments point to you feeling like you've been taken, conned by Apple. That you were misled. That they hype their products. And that no other company does that. If you feel that is true, then I suggest you no longer purchase Apple products. But I would also suggest that you do your research to make sure that what you perceive is actually true so as not to be embarrassed by being proven wrong by facts that counter your feelings. Apple is simply a company that makes products, advertises them, and competes against other companies for marketshare. That they do it differently, and that they have built brand loyalty is by no means a negative. If they were as deceitful as you imply they wouldn't have been as likely to be as successful as they are.
A similar comparison would be Microsoft and what they did with Vista Ultimate. They released specific games, wallpapers, themes, and dreamscenes for Vista Ultimate users and they did it for free because it was promised, much like Apple promised free updates to the OS, that they would deliver them. Now imagine that instead of Microsoft releasing all of those packs for Vista Ultimate users they instead decided to hold off on them and release them with Windows 7 and make you pay for a full fledged release to get them when they work PERFECTLY FINE on Vista Ultimate. That is a much similar comparison than the crap car analogy you are trying to pull and if Microsoft ever did some crap like that all the Apple fanbots would be in here having a laugh storm.
@whycall:
- Last I checked, T-Mobile has 3G service, albeit not nearly as widespread and fast as the competitors. Nonetheless, that wasn't my argument. I simply stated that it would be difficult, not impossible. And definitely not the level of experience that Apple tends to attempt to provide. That also doesn't negate the point that Apple didn't implement it at first as they felt (rightfully) that email was a better medium for sending multi-media content.
- Nice ad hominum, btw. I stated that it was exceedingly rare to offer OS upgrades, not that it never happened. And even more rare is it that any upgrade is more than fixes as opposed to offering more features. I, nor anyone else it seems, could offer a counter that you would accept to your belief in Big Bad Corporations controlling us by leaking out technology just to nickel-and-dime its customers. Yet, I would offer, in vain perhaps, that it would be more profitable and beneficial to blow away the competition by offering the best product that you can produce at a given point in time. You reach a point in your R&D where you say, "Okay, we're going with this" and you release it, all the while you're still developing new stuff to try to beat the competition again in the future. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don't. Apple tends to more often then others, hence their success.
T-mobile has had 3g service for less than one year but, I hear where it is deployed it is blazing fast. However It was never difficult to send MMS over Edge.
It is probably equally pointless to try to convince you that Apple has every intention of nickel and diming every single customer they can. What is the Itunes store if not the biggest nickel and dime collection device in the history of man? Granted it's all voluntary.
As far as the inevitable annual major announcement from Apple, damn that r&d is humpin over there. I would ask you if you have ever heard of planned obsolescence but I am sure you would deny Apple ever has even if you had.
Overall I am not complaining about business practices, Steves gotta feed his babies but, I am not wearing Apple colored glasses either
While I am an Apple fan, your comment about the MMS is completely off base. 5 years ago I had a Moto Razr (non 3g) which could send tons of MMS. I would send pics like crazy and I even sent several second long video recordings to friends via MMS. Did they send instantaneously no, but they were fast enough at the time.
Here is the truth, Apple didnt think MMS was going to be a big deal at first, but I dont think they were against adding it, and the flip side is that AT&T didnt want it because they new how Media rich the people with these phones would be and didnt want the bandwidth hit.
Apple set the second phone up for MMS but AT&T still didnt want it. Honestly this is more an AT&T issue then an Apple issue.
Apple approached verizon first and VERIZON turned them down because apple refused to sell the iphone in places like best buy.
And look at what apple is doing now anyway.
shows how much you know. At least all my verizon phones have been able to send MMS for oh 6 six years
Sorry I was too busy to attend when you were in the meetings between Verizon and Apple. Thanks for straightening me out.
I used to sent MMS with my Verizon phone too...and my Sprint...and my T-Mobile...and now I can email a Picture to anybody I knows phone, except for yes you guessed it my friends that use Verizon. If you read what I said, I dont have anything against Verizons service but they are infamous for crippling phone features. Not the lame ones like MMS mind you, you can send anybody in the universe your crappily lit 1.3 megapixel picture of your d+d tournament but Verizons idea of a free tether is the wrist strap that comes with the phone.
I cant believe people actually take pride in their phone company.
Great! That was on the news yesterday. Anybody knows when/how to get hold of OS 3.0?
Cheers,
Jimmy
I mean, if you are already on the web, you might as well just go search in the right place................
how about apple.com?
Really? Really? your think? these vulture wont miss an opportunity to grind few more $"s out of the loyal customer
I there no legislation that can be brought against these telecoms?
In the good ole' days if you didn't like what a company was doing you voted with your dollars. If you can't stand AT&T then go to another carrier and then shut the **** up about it. The government needs no involvement in any private industry.
You bought the phone when you did, at the price you did. If you always wait for a lower price or something better, you will never buy anything new. If you want the newest technology right when it comes out, you will pay more than the person who waits for it to be almost outdated before purchasing it.
Anyone else remember DVD players for $500+?
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by salayyad
June 14, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
- I really wish there is a day where i can build my own phone and load my own Os and pick my own carrier. just like i can build my own computer. load ANY Os i want on there and choose my internet provider. that would make life so much better.
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