Hands-on with iPhone 3.0

On June 17th, Apple releated version 3.0 of the iPhone operating system as a free download for all iPhone users (and as a $9.95 download for all iPod touch users). Here’s what you need to know…

First off, the main thing with 3.0 is that the entire phone gets a slight increase in speed. Previous software versions will seem a bit clunky and slightly slower once you start using 3.0. Responsiveness seems to have improved in the new software, and things seem to be snappier.

Another major change in 3.0 is Spotlight. This function is extremely useful and will make you wonder how you ever got by without it. Spotlight will let you search from all the default apps such as Contacts, Mail, Calendar, iPod, and even search for third party apps (but not within those apps). So even though Apple has not integrated an easy way to organize your dozens of apps, Spotlight eliminates the need to flip through your pages of apps. So if you’re tired of having to reorganize all your app icons after restoring (when you get your shiny new 3G S), the Spotlight will become your new best friend.



Copy and Paste – the legendary ‘mistake’ that has been haunting the iPhone since launch, is now here. Did they take their time to implement the feature to perfect it? I would think so, because the way they have it implemented is really quite amazing.

The feature is spread throughout the entire OS, so it’s not just limited to Apple’s stock applications. It works with any text, not just in text-entry fields such as other devices like the Palm Pre. Double-tapping a word will bring up the bubbles over it that show ‘Cut/Copy/Paste’, and you can drag the markers to cover what you want to cut or copy. To paste it somewhere else, just double-tap in a text entry field and a bubble saying ‘Paste’ will appear. Voila, that’s Copy-n-Paste on the iPhone.

While the 3.0 software won’t give your 3G a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, it does seem to actually improve the current camera on the 3G. From what I’ve noticed, images seem to be a bit crisper and less blurry, and images taken in low-light conditions seem to have improved as well, by not as dark and grainy as before.

Also in the Camera app with 3.0, once you snap a photo, that photo will be placed in a thumbnail view next to the capture button. Tapping this thumbnail of the most recent photo will take you directly to the photo, where you can also access the camera roll. 3.0 simply enhances the current 2 megapixel camera on the 1st gen and 3G models and also adds a convenient and quicker way to access the Camera Roll.

The ability to get landscape keyboard is a plus for everyone that’s been asking for this since Day 1, although it gets quite annoying when the keyboard changes from portrait-to-landscape, and vice versa, when you don’t want it to (laying down is an example). Personally, I am not a fan of the landscape keyboard (it slows me down), but it is nice to see that the feature is now not just limited in Safari. It’s also nice to view your emails and text messages in a wider screen.

It’s a bit disappointing that there is no option to turn the landscape off though, if you’re like me – or just find it frustrating when it changes when you don’t want it to. Also, I’ve noticed that it takes the accelerometer a while to recognize what orientation it should be – for example, it goes in landscape view for my email, and I hold it upright to go back to portrait. Sometimes it will be instant, other times it will take a while, sometimes I just get impatient and exit the app and go back to it. So mileage may vary on constantly switching back and forth between portrait/landscape modes – it can be instant or take a while.

With 3.0, there’s also a minor – but convenient – change to the Contacts app as well. Now when you view a contact, you can simply swipe over a piece of contact info to choose to delete it. No more hassle with having to choose ‘Edit’ then hit the red minus button to delete info – just simply swipe and it’s gone in a matter of seconds.

There’s also the introduction of tighter parental controls that was not present in previous software versions. Restrictions can be applied to Safari, YouTube, iTunes, Installing Apps, Camera, and Location. It also has ‘Allowed Content’, which you can allow In-App Purchases, and control the content that can be on the device determined by its rating. So this may be a step towards allowing ‘objectionable’ content through the App Store with better parental controls, but this is no guarantee – just mere hypothesis.

There are changes to the iTunes app as well as the on-device App Store as well. Now within iTunes, you will be able to download and rent (when available) movies and TV shows. These can all be done via EDGE/3G/Wi-Fi. So this adds more to the making the iPhone an all-in-one multimedia device, with the ability to purchase entire movies and seasons of shows directly from your device.

Safari now can store your login info, which is an added convenience. So if you login to a site once, it will prompt you if you want to save that info for that particular site. Visit that site again and the login fields will be filled out for you already. Also, if you connect to wifi hotspots, the phone will login to those automatically once you put in your login info.

The Voice Memos app that is included in 3.0 is actually pretty decent for a default app, and is about up-to-par with those recorder apps in the App Store (such as iDicto, for example). The ability to trim down your voice memo is pretty neat and you can get rid of stuttering or unwanted audio without having to re-record, unless you made too many mistakes, which it would then be better to just do it over. These voice memos will sync into iTunes whenever you plug your phone in, so if you want something that will sync wirelessly, I would suggest Evernote (it does voice memos).