A
few days ago I downloaded the iPhone OS 3.0 (beta).
There are some very cool features and some other aspects are so-so.
I dropped my Windows Smartphone about a year ago and haven't looked back
since.
When the first iPhone came out, quite frankly I thought the hype was much greater than the product itself….however the concept was revolutionary. I suspected the next generation iPhone would be impressive and sure enough, it was and is. When the iPhone 3G came out, I had to have it (I’m a recovering gadget junkie). My wife often jabs me because of my gadget addiction and “there are too many cell phones in the house!”
I
was extremely impressed with the iPhone 3G, but like a lot of people
I had my gripes; no landscape keyboard, no pic texting,
no Bluetooth stereo (that really irked me) and no removable hard disk
(like the iPod) and no cut and paste like the Windows Mobile OS offered. When
I first viewed the presentation of the iPhone 3.0 OS on Apple’s
website, Apple appeared to really listen to their users and make the
appropriate changes and improvements.
You
can view the video at: http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/
Significant iPhone 3.0
OS (Beta) improvements:
Landscape Email &Texting
Landscape mode for texting, emailing and other iPhone applications. This is a big perk for me because I have clunky hands with fingers like sausages. You can also text pics (finally).
Spotlight Search
This feature is simple to use and intuitive. It’s the first screen, left of the home screen. Just enter the data into your search box and it will search your iPhone for emails, contacts, songs and videos. You’ll also see this search box on top of your email program you set up on your iPhone, and for those of you who use Microsoft Exchange, this search feature will not only search the email on your phone, but your Microsoft Exchange Server. Pretty Cool.
Cut and Paste
This simply rocks. You can select a word, sentence or paragraph by simply tapping, holding down and a pop up appears and the rest is a snap.
Bluetooth Audio (A2DP)
For many of you, you may not care about this feature but for me it’s a significant perk. My Motorola Bluetooth Headphones sound remarkable and the streaming Bluetooth audio sounds extraordinary in our Crossover SUV (powered by Microsoft Sync). A2DP is finally here in iPhone 3.0 OS Beta, which will allow Bluetooth controls over volume, pause/stop but it doesn’t recognize fast forward or rewind. Hopefully the 3.0 official release will fix this glitch. Also a note, considering A2DP is for audio, watching movies on your iPhone via Bluetooth stereo headphones doesn't work all that well.
Voice Memos
This is a iPhone application that comes standard with 3.0 which allows you to record voice memos to yourself.
Back Up Encryption
When you sync your iPhone, you can backup your iPhone with password encryption.
Auto fill
Auto fill feature are prevalent in browsers such as IE or Google Chrome, Safari (in iPhone3.0 OS Beta) offers the option to auto fill and store your usernames and passwords.
Rumors
have it that AT&T will start selling the iPhone without long-term
contract commitments (pay as you go) we’ll see how that goes.
iPhone 3.0
OS will slated to officially release in June of 2009, which can be updated and
downloaded on your iPhone from iTunes, just connect
your iPhone to iTunes and click "check for update"
and the steps to install 3.0 is self-explanatory (just make sure you back up
your iPhone first).
Keep in mind this review comes from a staunch Windows guy, so Mr. Jobs should take pleasure in my slow conversion from the dark side.
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