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What's new and what's missing in iPhone OS 2.2
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Apple released its much-anticipated iPhone OS 2.2 update late last week, roughly two months after dropping update 2.1. The update offers few surprises for anyone following the advance leaks and speculation: Enhancements to Maps include Google Street View, public transit and walking directions, address displays for dropped pins and location sharing via email, while enhancements to mail include the resolution of fetching schedule issues and improved wide HTML formatting. Apple also touts improved Safari stability and performance, improved sound quality of Visual Voicemail messages, a new Home screen shortcut and the flexibility to turn on or off auto-correction preferences in Keyboard Settings. Ars Technica also notes a series of App Store improvements like new sorting options--e.g., Top Paid, Top Free and Release Date--allowing for more granular user control, while a new slideshow feature offers application screenshots. iPhone OS 2.2 additionally encourages users to rate applications when removing them from the device.
The biggest surprises derive from what iPhone OS 2.2 does not include--most notably, an over-the-air iTunes retail application. A few weeks back, reports speculated that Apple would launch the iTunes app after leaked screenshots depicted an iPhone user downloading a podcast from iTunes via 3G connection. Pundits (myself included) theorized that it makes no practical sense to debut a free podcast service but not a premium music service, especially given that T-Mobile USA's Android-powered G1 arrived at retail with an Amazon MP3 digital music application preloaded...and yet OS 2.2 offers nothing of the sort, although the podcast feature did still make the cut.
Also MIA: The unified push notification service Apple promised all the way back at June's Worldwide Developer Conference. The push service--which alerts iPhone users running one application when fresh data is available for another application not in use--became necessary when Apple declined to include background applications in the iPhone SDK; many developers cited their concerns about such a limitation, arguing it could restrict the usefulness of applications like instant messaging. Speaking at WWDC, Apple senior vice president of iPhone software Scott Forstall told developers that work on the push service would be completed by September, but it failed to surface either in OS 2.1 or 2.2. iPhone OS 2.3 should appear in late January--perhaps the third time is the charm. -Jason
Comments
Posted by Jose Roberto M. Kamikawa | November 25, 2008 - 12:52pm
Hello, Jason.
Excellent article, thank you.
I think iPhone is not a phone + excellent features, I think it is a totally different gadget that eventually you can use as a mobile phone. iPhone is so revolutionary in so many aspects that I prefer to classify it as smartgadget category that is much more that smartphone.
Why not Apple buys Motorola Mobile Devices unit? Don´t you think it is a kind of perfect M&A, perfect match? Because, in my humble opinion, Motorola´s mobile phones suffer from lack of innovative OS, applications, cool features...then, the excellent mobile devices engineering/ product development teams that Motorola has can use these strong points from Apple as well Motorola team can use the cool things from Apple. And the final brand will be Apple. Or maybe Apple plus Motorola make a joint venture like Sony Ericsson.
I think that from product development point of view this make sense and can give a great chance for the jobs of all engineers, developpers from Motorola and Apple and even build the mobile device of this 21st century.
Regards,
Jose Roberto M. Kamikawa
jrmk@uol.com.br
Visit my profile at Linkedin
Posted by Anonymous | November 26, 2008 - 10:36am
Will Apple ever allow its iphone users to send a Multi-Media text message? I just don't understand why they don't give us this option.
Posted by Anonymous | November 26, 2008 - 9:07pm
What's the point? MMS is poor-man's email anyway...
Posted by Anonymous | November 26, 2008 - 9:15pm
The inability to copy-paste, IMHO, is what's most notably absent... again.
Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2008 - 10:02am
BASIC FEATUES!
End of the day its one highly safisticated piece of equipment that lacks BASIC!
Bluetooth file sending & recieving
A half decent camera, or one that AT LEAST has an auto focus???
MMS, it has a camera, it has free web access, why the hell cnat i send a picure txt to a friend?
AND WHERE THE HELL IS MY FLASH PLAYER!
Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2008 - 10:09pm
all i wanted was landscape sms and flash player! did we get enither? no!
Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2008 - 10:10pm
all i wanted was landscape sms and flash player! did we get either? no!
Posted by Anonymous | December 2, 2008 - 9:00pm
How about the ability to cache maps so that the GPS feature is actually useful when out of cell/wifi range? As in, when a GPS is MOST USEFUL!!!!!
Posted by Anonymous | December 3, 2008 - 4:05am
MMS was the biggest request. what happened to that??
I want MMS, Landscape e-mail/txting, video recording, flash, and copy and pasting options (I used to be able to do that with my Razr, why can't I do it with my iPhone?
Posted by Anonymous | December 3, 2008 - 1:07pm
Flash Player? And get spammed with pop ups and images that are unneeded? If it's for online gaming that doesn't really work--the screen isn't big enough to compensate most gaming boxes--you would have to scroll up and down and over to play. If you're in that dire need of games, download some from the app. store--that is what it is used for. And if it's for Myspace--I'm sure most people can control that urge. It just bogs down the Iphone speed of loading.
Also--how about getting an actual camera if you are wanting better quality pictures or flash. The App. Store has plenty of enhancer apps. that work wonders to a plain photo. Especially Camera Bag. I don't know too many people that take photos at night that they need flash to begin with.
Posted by Anonymous | December 3, 2008 - 1:08pm
Flash Player? And get spammed with pop ups and images that are unneeded? If it's for online gaming that doesn't really work--the screen isn't big enough to compensate most gaming boxes--you would have to scroll up and down and over to play. If you're in that dire need of games, download some from the app. store--that is what it is used for. And if it's for Myspace--I'm sure most people can control that urge. It just bogs down the Iphone speed of loading.
Also--how about getting an actual camera if you are wanting better quality pictures or flash. The App. Store has plenty of enhancer apps. that work wonders to a plain photo. Especially Camera Bag. I don't know too many people that take photos at night that they need flash to begin with.
Posted by venice_guy | December 12, 2008 - 3:50pm
Yes, what of Flash Player. The Safari/iPhone experience is so limited without it...
Posted by Sathya | December 13, 2008 - 11:37am
Previously i used window Mobiles, I'm a big fan of A2DP(Bluetooth Audio) which is missing in iphone. I'm desperately waiting for this facility
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