iPhone software 3.0 Beta 1 is now available to developers, and as we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it, we asked our guest reviewer Darryl Mitchell to have a play with the new software and let us know what’s new and if it’s any good. This is his review:
I’m going to start with the Home screen and work my way through. The new things about the home screen that are noticeable so far is there are a few new icons. Its not all that noticeable, but the phone icon, the ipod icon and the messages icon have changed, and now have a more contemporary brushed effect. You’ve also got the new spotlight feature which is really helpful if you want to search for songs, emails or contacts, it searches everything. You just swipe to the right and it brings up the spotlight search screen. Its a really good feature and is surprisingly fast, I thought it was going to lag for quite some time, but it’s quick and snappy. That is it for the new home screen.
Moving on to the phone features, there’s not much added to the this bit, however, when you get a missed call or it shows you your recent calls, it now shows you what they called you from, for example if you called them on their mobile, or work phone you can now see this in the Recent calls screen. So that’s a really easy way of showing where they called you from.
Considering they only do one phone, the amount of attention drawn to the Apple iPhone is quite surprising, and at this time of year the Apple rumour mill kicks into overdrive. Apple are well known for introducing yearly updates for most of its products. The iPod for example has been updated around September almost every year since its introduction. It seems as though Apple are keen to follow in the iPod’s footsteps by announcing a new iPhone around June/July. We had the first generation iPhone announced in July 2007, and the current iPhone 3G was announced last June at their annual Developers Conference (WWDC).
Apple have just announced that this years Developers Conference is scheduled for the 8th June, and its already been discovered in the code of the new iPhone 3.0 operating system that there could be 2 new iPhones and 2 new iPod Touch models being announced. So what are we likely to see?
Our money is on the announcement of the iPhone Pro and iPhone Mini, and the renaming of the current iPhone to iPhone Classic.
iPhone Classic:
The current iPhone has been a massive success for Apple, and I can’t see them finishing it any time soon – having said that, stores around the world are already beginning to clear out their stock rooms to make room for the new models that will no doubt be on sale in July. I’m expecting to see an increase in storage on the iPhone 3G, along with a few other minor changes (OLED Display improved battery, improved camera), but overall the appearance of the phone isn’t going to change much.
iPhone Pro:
Rumours of an iPhone Pro have been around since the iPhone 3G was released, if not before. Reasons behind wanting the iPhone Pro vary greatly, but the main one seems to be that hard core business user miss the presence of a physical keyboard, and while the on-screen keyboard is good, some say it can take up too much screen space, limiting what you can do. Being a slightly larger device, an iPhone Pro would be expected to have more powerful processors, and be able to support an iPhone version of Apple’s Office software iWork, giving them the chance to be able to be much more productive when out of the office. Other additions would be a forward facing camera for video chat, along with support for iChat, an OLED display, improved camera and battery life.
Several website have created mock-ups of what they would like to see as the next iPhone. 9to5mac.com have a collection of ten of the best mock ups and Matt Brady’s concept also gets a lot of attention. Our attempt at an iPhone Pro Concept is shown above, click on the image for a larger version.
iPhone Mini:
There has been lots of talk in the past of an iPhone Nano, but the whole concept of the iPod Nano is that they’re unbelievably small, and given how much Apple (and everyone else) seems to love the iPhone operating system, I don’t think they’re going to change it as drastically as they would need to in order to make a really small touchscreen phone. Apple themselves have said that by making the screen smaller, it would cause problems with 3rd party apps, as well as usability. Having said that, surely if they were to increase the screen resolution, they could reduce the screen size a little, without causing too many problems? It wouldn’t surprise me either if the iPhone Mini had less features than the Classic or the Pro. To appeal to a new market, they would need a phone with a lower price point – to do that would mean cutting out a few features (GPS, App Store, Internet). Having said that the App Store and Internet Access are two of the iPhones big selling points, so I’d be surprised if they do.
iPhone 3.0 Software:
Regardless of the hardware that gets announced, pretty much every iPhone user is looking forward to the release of the latest version of the iPhone 3.0 Software. This update will add features that many say should have been on the iPhone since its launch back in 2007. Features such as MMS, Stereo Bluetooth, the ability to search your phone, forward messages and share contacts are features that are standard on most other phones on the market, but these are only just finding their way onto the iPhone.
The announcement earlier this month by Apple certainly got a lot of media attention, and a large round of applause from developers, but I can’t help thinking that they held back on something – Apple have another trick up their sleeve that they’ve not shared yet, something that relies on hardware in the new iPhones. I might be wrong, but from what I’ve seen in the past, Apple never reveal all their cards and are well know for saying “One Last Thing” at the end of their big announcements, and surprising most people with something unexpected.
Well, that’s what we think. What about you? What do you want to see the next version of the iPhone? Is the screen size/resolution theory a possibility? Will we get 2 new iPhones? What surprises do you think Apple have up their sleeve? Leave your thoughts below or discuss it on our Forums
UPDATE: Apple have confirmed that the iPhone 3.0 software update will be available to download on the 17th June and will be free for iPhone users and there will be a small charge for iPod Touch users. More Information
In case you may have missed it, yesterday, Apple announced a new version of its iPhone software (iPhone 3.0) that also runs on the iPod touch. While a lot of the new features will only be available on the iPhone, there are a few new features that will make it onto the iPod Touch.
Applications will be smarter and able to do more, Copy & Paste will be added for email, but probably the most exciting addition to the iPod Touch (and iPhone 3G) is the introduction of Stereo Bluetooth that will allow you to listen to your music using Bluetooth Headphones, Bluetooth Car Kits and Stereo Bluetooth Speakers.
Did you say Bluetooth? On an iPod Touch?
You might be thinking I’m going a little bit crazy as the iPod Touch doesn’t have Bluetooth. Well, no I’m not crazy, the iPod Touch 2G does infact have Bluetooth built in, but Apple chose not to use it.
When the 2nd Generation iPod Touch launched last September, several people decided to take it to pieces and examine the components. Amongst them they found a Bluetooth chip, that until iPhone 3.0, has been lying dormant. This new version of the operating system will enable the chip to allow Bluetooth connections for peer-to-peer connections and the use of Stereo Bluetooth accessories.
Great news for all you music fans who are fed up of getting tangled in cables. Looks like its time to dig out my Motorola S9′s.
Apple are still to confirm whether you will be able to control your music using controls on Bluetooth Headphones, or whether it is only going to play music, either way its still an unexpected feature that will be more than welcome on the iPod Touch & iPhone 3G. The only bad news is that Stereo Bluetooth is not going to be available on the first generation iPod Touch or iPhone.
iPhone 3.0 will be a free upgrade to iPhone users and is expected to be available in June this year. iPod Touch users will have to pay a small fee for the software, which I’m guessing will be around £15.
Since Apple launched their original iPod back in October 2001, the range has grown and evolved. Although iPod’s look fairly similar, each one is individual, and has its own range of accessories. Here you can determine which iPod you have, and find out what accessories are available for it.
What does the “G” mean? When Apple launched the early iPod’s, they weren’t given names like they are today. The original iPod was replaced by a newer model also called iPod. As the newer model had several advanced features over its predecessor, it was dubbed the new generation of iPod, this over time change to 2nd Generation, which in turn got shortened to 2G.
The number preceding the “G” just determines where that particular model sits in the range of iPods. Even now with the Nano iPod, we are seeing 2nd and 3rd Generation models. The original style of iPod is now called the iPod Classic, and no doubt as time goes on, more generations will follow. The only exception to this is the iPhone 3G, where the 3G refers to the technology within the phone, and not the generation of iPhone.
Fed up of cables trailing across your desk? Do you find yourself constantly crawling under your desk to find the end of your charger? Well this Wireless Charging Pad from WildCharge could be the answer that you’re looking for.
Wireless Charging has been floating around for a while, but never really taken off until now. WildCharge is a simple concept. You have a charging pad that is connected to the mains, and a protective skin for your phone that has built in contacts to supply the power to the battery. To charge your phone, simply place it on the pad. It doesn’t matter how your phone is placed on the pad, as long as its facing upwards. The pad is completely safe and can be touched with no risk of getting a shock.
Now, I have to admit I was a bit weary of wireless charging, but was extremely surprised at how well it works. As soon as your phone is placed on the pad it starts charging, and charge times are the about the same as they would be using a standard charger.
The WildCharge is available now for the BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry Curve and is priced at £49.95. Replacement charging skins will be available to purchase separately, so when you replace your phone, you’ll only need to replace the skin. Wireless charging for the iPhone and iPod Touch are coming very soon.
Check out the Video below to see the WildCharge in action.
I’m going to start with the Home screen and work my way through. The new things about the home screen that are noticeable so far is there are a few new icons. Its not all that noticeable, but the phone icon, the ipod icon and the messages icon have changed, and now have a more contemporary brushed effect. You’ve also got the new spotlight feature which is really helpful if you want to search for songs, emails or contacts, it searches everything. You just swipe to the right and it brings up the spotlight search screen. Its a really good feature and is surprisingly fast, I thought it was going to lag for quite some time, but it’s quick and snappy. That is it for the new home screen.
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The current iPhone has been a massive success for Apple, and I can’t see them finishing it any time soon – having said that, stores around the world are already beginning to clear out their stock rooms to make room for the new models that will no doubt be on sale in July. I’m expecting to see an increase in storage on the iPhone 3G, along with a few other minor changes (OLED Display improved battery, improved camera), but overall the appearance of the phone isn’t going to change much.
Rumours of an iPhone Pro have been around since the iPhone 3G was released, if not before. Reasons behind wanting the iPhone Pro vary greatly, but the main one seems to be that hard core business user miss the presence of a physical keyboard, and while the on-screen keyboard is good, some say it can take up too much screen space, limiting what you can do. Being a slightly larger device, an iPhone Pro would be expected to have more powerful processors, and be able to support an iPhone version of Apple’s Office software 
There has been lots of talk in the past of an iPhone Nano, but the whole concept of the iPod Nano is that they’re unbelievably small, and given how much Apple (and everyone else) seems to love the iPhone operating system, I don’t think they’re going to change it as drastically as they would need to in order to make a really small touchscreen phone. Apple themselves have said that by making the screen smaller, it would cause problems with 3rd party apps, as well as usability. Having said that, surely if they were to increase the screen resolution, they could reduce the screen size a little, without causing too many problems? It wouldn’t surprise me either if the iPhone Mini had less features than the Classic or the Pro. To appeal to a new market, they would need a phone with a lower price point – to do that would mean cutting out a few features (GPS, App Store, Internet). Having said that the App Store and Internet Access are two of the iPhones big selling points, so I’d be surprised if they do.
Regardless of the hardware that gets announced, pretty much every iPhone user is looking forward to the release of the latest version of the iPhone 3.0 Software. This update will add features that many say should have been on the iPhone since its launch back in 2007. Features such as MMS, Stereo Bluetooth, the ability to search your phone, forward messages and share contacts are features that are standard on most other phones on the market, but these are only just finding their way onto the iPhone.
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