iPhone Software

Wouldn't it be great if every time you jumped to the iPhone home screen Pandora kept streaming music? The only application that Apple currently allows to run in the background is the iPod, however if recent reports are correct, this could all change.

Pandora is just one example of how useful allowing apps to run in the background could be. Another likely use would be keeping an instant messaging chat connected. Rumors have been swirling about just how Apple would implement background processing considering the limited resources of iPhone hardware.

Only a week after the previous release, Apple has made iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5 available. Several new tweaks and features are apparent as the final release date for the new operating system approaches. Apple has also announced that all AppStore applications submitted for approval must be OS 3.0 compatible going forward.

First of all, leaked screenshots have confirmed rumors of a built-in digital compass (magnetometer). Along with the GPS and accelerometer, the compass could improve navigation and make a variety of "augmented reality" applications possible by overlaying graphics on top of live video.

Amazon has purchased Lexcycle, the company that developed the free iPhone eBook reader Stanza. The software is widely seen as a rival to Amazon's own Kindle application. Stanza provides free access to over 100,000 books in ePub format, which Amazon's Kindle does not support.

Details such as the cost of the acquisition were not revealed by either company. Over one million copies of Stanza were downloaded by the end of last year. Amazon's Kindle iPhone app is free, however users must pay for content. The Kindle 2 electronic reader is now priced at $349.

Jibbler? The name may be awkward, however the code buried within iPhone OS 3.0 it refers to could make the iPhone much more talkative. Jibbler works with the SpringBoard and Spotlight in iPhone OS 3.0 to recognize and synthesize speech.

With improved processing power, it's possible the next iPhone could be controlled by the user's voice. In addition, the iPhone could read off contact names, calendar entries, or song titles on demand. A new Voice Services class has been discovered which may mean that Jibbler will be available to developers in Apple's Software Development Kit (SDK).

Anticipating one billion iPhone app downloads, Apple has announced the best selling iPhone applications of all time. Two lists show the top 20 paid and top 20 free apps downloaded since the AppStore opened in July 2008.

According to Apple, over 953 million apps have already been downloaded. The company is holding a Billion App Countdown Promotion, offering the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro to those downloading apps before the total hits one billion.

The list just keeps getting longer. Soon we're going to expect iPhones to finish up the laundry and walk the dog. More details have leaked about the extensive capabilities being developed for the next generation iPhone. Of course, hardware improvements are going to work hand-in-hand with the new OS.

Apple recently ordered 100 million 8GB flash chips, twice the number they ordered last year. Video recording is the perfect way to fill up 32GB of memory on your iPhone 3.0. Not only this, but Apple has ordered both 3.2 and 5 megapixel cameras. The iPhone camera will definitely see an upgrade, but there is even speculation that a front-facing camera could be added to the next iPhone.

Finally, the moment has arrived. Apple Push Notification service is live and ready for testing by iPhone software developers for the first time. The service promises to extend the usefulness of a wide variety of AppStore applications by allowing them to receive data even when not running.

This method eliminates the need for apps to run in the background constantly and drain the already taxed iPhone battery. All registered developers can now participate in the testing program and use the service immediately.

Apple has released the second beta version of iPhone OS 3.0 to developers (build 7A259). They are making progress and the latest beta includes several new operational features. Application developers can finally start developing for push notification service, as well as in-app purchasing capabilities. Apple will soon provide live testing services to a limited number of developers.

The home screen in iPhone 3.0 beta 2 allows for up to 11 pages of apps instead of the current 9 pages, which including the dock will provide space for a whopping 180 applications. Stability and speed have also been improved in the latest version.

With the initial excitement of Apple's iPhone 3.0 preview already passed, users of the iPhone OS 3.0 Beta have been finding several new features that appear to be in the works for a next generation device. One such feature is video recording, which reports have indicated would come along with an upgraded camera and possibly a multi-core GPU (graphics processing unit).

Backing up the claim are screenshots from the MobileMe upload screen in iPhone OS 3.0 that say "Publish Video" at the top of the app. Of course, a better camera would mean higher-resolution still photos, too. Other features that look interesting have also appeared in leaked screenshots of iPhone OS 3.0 Beta.

Apple held their widely anticipated iPhone OS 3.0 preview today in Cupertino, California. There are 100 new features on the way in the new operating system, which will ship this summer and cost nothing for existing iPhone users (iPod Touch users will pay $9.95 for the update).

Scott Forstall, the head of iPhone software development, described iPhone OS 3.0 as "a major update to the operating system." Here's a list of the features announced at the event: