iPhone OS 3.0 Features

Hey, guys Jon Rettinger here and I'm going to walk you through the features of the new iPhone OS 3.0. So today March 17, 2009 Apple hold a press conference at their campus in Cupertino to go over the new features of iPhone OS 3.0, so as you can keep in track the iPhone 3G is running 2.0 or version of 2.0 and the first genre on iPhone 1.0. People are really excited about this announcement whether 3.0 is going to bring in a new phone or just bring you features, it ended up just bringing new features and I want to walk you through each of them individually.

So let's get started and both of this in the order that Apple announce them so you guys can keep track. The first thing they said they're giving out or announcing 1000 new API’s. For those of you who don’t know what API is an Application Program Interface. Essentially it lets developers build application, access a new feature of the iPhone. So the first instance of this API is they now gave developers access to Google map, so programmers can actually embed Google maps into their applications, so it works very cool.

Also with the full feature functionalities built a Pentium zoom in different applications that are used in Google maps. So that was kind of fun. So the next and long overdue is one of the API they announce as well as they were giving developers access to turn by turn directions. So finally you can turn your iPhone into a bona fide GPS. The only catch is the developers have to bring their own maps to it. They couldn’t get license as opposed from Google to put the maps into there. So look for turn by turn directions coming to the very near future. I get lots really. It's like that I always have the GPS with me, so I am very thankful to have this.

Next, thing Push Notification, well this isn’t the true background of the app like people wanted Apple claimed that backgrounds, application is running at once and more than one going at the time, it drains battery too much. What they did, well they establish an out push notifications. So that does essentially it's up in the server somewhere sends information to your application. So if you have let's say instant message program won't work, it doesn’t have to be a server they’re running but when you get instant message that gets pin to a server in this guide and that can sit right down to your phone and you get the message that pops up.

Actually it's a great way to have application in running without having them actually run and you get instant notifications which are actually very cool. So we’re talking about the Push Notifications. One of the applications they showed off that use this is an ESPN application you can actually get in-game scores. You can now actually now watch new video in the applications. So if you're a sports fan like me and you're out the back you wanted to know who won the game, you automatically get an update. So it shows up right on your phone and telling you in game scores and who won which is actually really nice. So Apple is also positioning the iPhone and iPod Touch to really give you a strong gaming platform it may announce a lot of gaming centric features today.

So those versions they announced is in gaming voice. So imagine playing with a friend being on top of each other, it's actually a very cool feature and speaking of talking with each other you also announce peer to peer app kind of activity. So meaning if you're playing game with a friend and your buddies got game at home, you can actually connect wirelessly and play against them. Use this Apple Bonjour System which I'm not going to be technical with you guys but essentially in what you guys link up. No, you have to pair Bluetooth devices or anything. It will do that automatically, it's actually really nice. So it seems like Apple really positioning the iPod and iPhone could be a really strong gaming platform that they may give the DS, the new DSI and possibly the PHP a really big run for its money.

They got ton of developer support, so that’s what you look for that. And now they got, see if they were a couple developers if you have some games Smool, the company who made the app and start a new game but then they got to the big announcements, the big consumer features and the first one was cut, copy and paste and all I can say is freaking finally. So it was cut, copy and paste is one of hundred of new consumer features that will be in OS 3.0.

Essentially what you do is you’ll double tap text and it pulls out kind of a big magnifying glass. You can just pinch over to where you want and as soon as you pinch over you get to cut, copy your text bubbles like it will show up on your screen. Click it and you can go anywhere you want, tap the screen and you got paste it right in and that will work in mail, it will work in text and it will even work on Safari because that is so long overdue feature and the feature that has a lot of iPhone haters were saying you know it definitely need it. So I was happy that it got tap in here.

Second thing they added and with their copy and paste. The ability to send more than one photo in the mail, you can actually cut multiple photos and send them right off of the mail. It's actually really nice. So one of the other big missing features in the iPhone and one of the things that I have been saying for quite a long time is Apple has a fantastic landscape keyboard but you could only use it when you're typing a URL. You can now use that landscape keyboard in all of Apples key applications. So that it means text mail again like I mentioned, the internet applications Safari, calendar you can use it anywhere in Apples if you need applications which will be really nice. It will certainly increase the accuracy in typing. I'm not so good when you're typing nerving on the iPhone keyboard but I get much better when I have a landscape keyboard. So that will be very, very nice.

And the next big feature to that one is and one that most phones have had for quite sometime with the iPhone seriously didn’t was MMS. That’s the ability to send picture and voice messages similar to what to you sent text messages. And as Apple is going through and talking about these new features a couple of things have done without me. First really only a company like Apple can get people excited for features that were available on phones six or seven years ago namely MMS and copy and paste. They’ll also made me think when they're announcing these features and making a big deal about it, fairly how upset I was that we didn’t have this to start.

An iPhone is such a revolutionary device and really keeps changing the mobile community and the mobile world. But I had some really big glaring of holes and I think these updates are going to help patch those holes. I don’t know if this were kind of when you react into the some of the Pompree features or if Apple had this in the pipeline for a while but it is nice and the competition is driving new features.

So the next thing they talked about in addition to the MMS was voice memos which are just exciting as it sounds. Hit voice memos record your voice memo, I've got an apartment appointment tomorrow either at 10, that’s it look into of those settings. This is my phone at least you can tell. Next thing they announced was updates to the Stocks Application. There are now is support for news and landscape mode. So you can get some news and turn it on inside your small landscape information. I use the Stocks App so it would be nice to have and put up a thing fairly accepting.

So they got this some more interesting things. So with Software 2.0 they announced search functionality in contacts. Now, with 3.0 they're bringing that same search functionality all across the operating system which is actually really nice. You build the search and mail calendar, iPod or notes, type in a word it will search it all for you. It's actually really handy, so imagine if you get a lot of emails, I use my phone for business a lot and if I kind of search from email you have stored from say John Smith. You go and type John Smith it will pull up all the messages that have come from him and you can find the one you want. That obvious scroll through days and weeks pass to it even months of messages.

You can now go into your iPod and search type in what you're looking for, let's say you want is into Green Day, type in Green Day, and boom! There is it nice and easy. So the search functions are actually going to be very important to when I'm about the same next. When Apple launches the first generation iPhone, the app wasn’t there and really you only have one home screen. You had your greatest icons for the built-in applications and that was it. With 2.0 we got the App Store and kind of a new sliding home screens to accommodate your multiple screens of applications.

So Apple announced today a new home screen option. It's not a replacement for your home screen that you have now, it's a new option and thing you can use and they're calling it Spotlight. Essentially a Spotlight lives in your recent applications, essentially they’ll just load like an icon. You click it and it will pull up this new kind of quick launcher and you can choose all your applications that you want from right there. It also has all the search functionality built right in so you can search for anything you want using this new home screen called Spotlight. That actually is very cool and it has again at universal search.

They’ve also added in a ton of other cool features, Stereo Bluetooth also known as A2DP. It essentially means you can use a Bluetooth speaker and set a music right to it which is something Windows Mobile and the Nokia’s had for years and Apple was definitely missing so that’s a nice kind of catch up feature.

The big question in everybody’s mind is when is 3.0 going to be available? Well, the good news is if you're a developer they’ll be available today. If you're not a developer like most of you and I are not, it would be available this summer. It will be a free upgrade to iPhone 3G owners. It will be in $9.95 upgrade for Touch 2G owners.

So it's something to keep in mind. If you have original iPhone you will be able to upgrade but you're not going to get the MMS and Stereo Bluetooth features unfortunately. But you will still get the improvement I assumed stability and the other cool things that come with 3.0. Now, maybe this is going to come preloaded on a new iPhone. Apple didn’t announced any sort of new hardware but this summer you will be able to get OS 3.0.

So guys in conclusion, I'm really happy that Apple announced these new features. They were much needed in the ways of just catching up to the competition. They're so far and ahead beyond in certain ways like touch screen technology and ease of use, intuitiveness but they were far behind some of the key features namely MMS and cut, copy and paste and that really has been rectified right now.

So the big holes that were in the iPhone platform have now been filled and I guess now the next you do is up to the competition to see how they respond and see how they can push Apple and Apple can push them in return to bring new features to you and I both. So guys, I hope you enjoy. These are kind of a real quick overview of what was announced today. I can't wait to get my hands on the new software and as soon as I do, I will be sure and give you guys demonstrations of them. So be sure to stick around for the channel and for exclusive content be sure to follow me on Twitter@Twitter.com/Jon4Lakers. I’ll see you guys in the next video, bye-bye.