iPhone 3.0: Now with copy and paste, MMS, sat-nav

Apple has announced that iPhone users around the world have lots of great new features to look forward to coming in the form of a software update (probably around June) including most of the things users have asked for like copy and paste, MMS messaging and Spotlight search.

There was no sign of Steve Jobs this morning, but the stage was shared by Phil Schiller, Greg Joswiak and Scott Forstall who gave a bit more information about the iPhone juggernaut including some telling stats about the App Store and the controversial app approval process, including that 96% of submitted apps are approved (contrary to the discontent about Apple's apparently haphazard and hypocritical app approval process), and that 90% of apps are approved in 7 days or less.

For the first time Apple combined iPhone and iPod Touch sales to report that the iPhone OS platform was 30 million devices strong at the end of 2008. There are now 50,000 members of the paid iPhone developer program, and of these developers 60% were new to the Apple platform.

Since the App Store went live 8 months ago, there have now been 800 million downloads from the App Store. That's a big number, and shows that Apple will easily hit a billion downloads before the twelve months is out.

While the details are still thin, Forstall announced that the new SDK would include 1000 new APIs for developers including the ability to purchase content within an application. The examples he gave for this was the ability to buy eBooks within an eBook reader (ala Kindle) and buy new levels of games within a game.

The Maps API will be open to developers which means that turn by turn navigation is coming to the iPhone, and nav apps will be able to use the new functionality to download and install maps direct to the iPhone.

Apple is also adding APIs so that third party devices can communicate with iPhone 3.0, so speaker manufacturers can automatically set the EQ on the iPod app, for example. Forstall talked about other examples of this too, like medical equipment that talks direct to the iPhone for monitoring and reporting (think blood pressure cuff).

Unfortunately, there's still no background processes, but push notifications will be a big part of iPhone 3.0. Developers can use this to keep notifications coming through to the iPhone even in a sleep state. Forstall said Apple had tested various different models of push notification and background processes and determined that when apps ran in the background, stand by time dropped by 80%. Using push notifications, stand-by time only decreased by 23%.

New features for developers are good for users in the end, but Apple announced a few new features coming in iPhone 3.0 to silence even the loudest critics.


Cut, Copy Paste, MMS, A2DP stereo bluetooth, Voice memos, Notes syncing, Support for more CalDav (including subscriptions) calendars, Better Stocks App, Universal Search (Spotlight). All in all, Apple announced 100 new features.


The 3.0 update will be available as a free upgrade to all iPhone 3G users, and older iPhones too (although MMS will be limited to iPhone 3G). In a Q&A session at the end of the presentation, one journo asked about a new model iPhone, to which, as expected, Phil Schiller said 'there's nothing to announce today.'