Wednesday night was an exciting day for me because the official release of the iPhone 3.0 software update was about to be available. I have read rumours in the HWZ (Hardware Zone) forum that it was going to be released at 12am, so I waited till 12am and clicked the update button for 5 whole mins. Nothing happened though …. So I checked the forum again and someone mentioned that the update might be at 1am. The eagerness of wanting to update my iPhone made me repeat the clicking process at 12.59am (Thursday), using all my mmorpg clicking kills to try to be the first to update.
I clicked for around 4 mins before something amazing happened…. the update screen appeared right before my very eyes … yahooooo!!!
Then there was the process of waiting for the download and installation of the new software…
After around 30 mins, my iPhone is finally updated to OS 3.0 with lots of new features!! The feeling I had was like getting a brand new phone. =)
Let me go through some of the new features I tried during the past 5 days …1) MMS, forwarding of sms and landscape keyboard for sms
Finally, I can do all these stuff without jail breaking my iPhone! I just love the mms function, it’s so pretty. All the images appear just like my normal sms, in speech bubble form, and if want to enlarge the image I just have to tap on it and I can see the image in its full glory! Contacts can also be sent through mms and all I have to do is tap on it and I can add it to a new contact, update an existing one or share it with others. The landscape keyboard and forwarding certainly makes smsing easier now. No more mocking by other phone users regarding the lack of mms and forwarding now heh. For those who have updated their iPhone, please take note that group sms and forwarding are somehow being sent as mms. There is actually a hack to make them smses instead, for Singapore iPhone users, go to the HWZ forum to find out how. =) Gotta love those helpful guys over at the iPhone Chat Room Room section of the forum.2) Spotlight Search function
This function enables me to search for anything in my iPhone! All I have to do is type out what I want to find, and everything which contains the terms I search for will be listed out. Contacts, songs, apps, notes and even emails containing the terms will be shown in the results! Because of this search function, I can also install as many apps as I want as long as my iPhone has enough hard disk space. Previously, the amount of apps are limited to the number of pages my iPhone has (update increased the amount of pages), but now, because of the search function, I can install them even though all the pages are full (I wonder if the 32 gig iPhone3GS can hold all of the 50k apps). All I have to do is search for the app using the spotlight search function and the hidden apps not displayed will appear in the results. I don’t have to choose what app to delete to accommodate new apps now! By the way, I have 132 apps on my iPhone at the moment heh, a little more space to fill before requiring the spotlight search.3) Copy and Paste
I used to be able to do this on my windows mobile phone, but now I can do it on my iPhone too. I feel that it’s actually easier to use then the windows mobile version of copy and paste. For more on the copy and paste function, go to: Copy/Paste in iPhone OS 3.0 kicks Windows Mobile copy/cut feature by light years!4) iTunes and App Store enhancement
Before the update, I could only buy music from the iTunes store. Now with the OS 3.0 software update, I can also purchase movies, TV shows and music videos through my iPhone anywhere I am. You need a US iTunes account to access iTunes though. To find out how to get a US account, go to this link. As for the App Store, screenshots can now be viewed on the app page without having to tap on the picture to load up another page. Before the update, I had to connect my iPhone to my computer to switch between my 2 accounts, now I can switch accounts from y iPhone. It sure makes things much more convenient. =) I need to stock up more iTunes Gift Cards soon.5) Internet Tethering
I have tried it on my iPhone with a Starhub line and it works! For Singtel users, I think the settings are already configured for you, so you do not need to change anything to use internet tethering. For the rest of us (Starhub and M1), we have to do it the hard way. To find out how to get tethering to work if you are using Starhub or M1, go to the iPhone Chat Room at Hardware Zone Forum, you will many helpful guides there. Remember to read the instructions very carefully. I did not, and spent 1 hour trying to configure lol. I have already set up my iPhone and now all I have to do is connect my iPhone to my laptop via usb cable (haven tried Bluetooth) and it automatically starts the internet tethering mode.For other useful new features on the OS 3.0, you can go to:
How To Use The Best 40 Features of iPhone 3.0
For the list of apps that use the new push notification function, check this site out:
appadvise – apps that push you.
You can bookmark that page as it will be constantly updated with all the latest apps that have the push notification function.
I love my iPhone even more now with its free update. =)
(Images Taken From: my iPhone, my digital camera)