iPhone update

iPhone 3GS and 3G owners are expecting the iPhone OS 4 release from Apple today. Renamed iOS 4, the new firmware adds 100 new features including multitasking, folders and more. Apple watchers are predicting that the company will make the update available on its servers by 10 am Pacific time (1 pm EDT).

Demand is sure to be high as millions of devices, including the iPod Touch, are eligible to receive the operating system upgrade for free. Users will certainly flood Apple's servers with requests, much like the iPhone 4 pre-order swamped AT&T and Apple. iOS 4 requires iTunes 9.2.

Apple has made the iPhone OS 3.1.3 update (7E18) available and as usual users can update their iPhones and iPod Touch devices via iTunes. The list of bug fixes and security improvements includes this item: Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS.

Could this mean that users plagued with widely reported battery problems have finally received a fix from Apple? Ever since the 3.1 update, some users have complained of drastically shortened battery life on iPhone 3GS models. Maybe the meter is the problem- we will keep you posted.

The latest iPhone firmware is live. Steve Jobs announced the release of iPhone OS 3.1 today at Apple's Rock and Roll media event. The latest iPhone firmware can be downloaded using iTunes.

The software adds new features and includes bug fixes. iPhone Dev-Team has recommended against updating your firmware until further notice if your iPhone is jailbroken and/or unlocked.

The (inaccurate) furor over an impending iPhone Nano just got a shot in the arm. Apple patents described by MacNN have revealed a device that looks remarkably like a smaller version of the iPhone.

The device is approximately the size of the current iPod Nano, only 1/4 inch thick. Although the patent describes a front screen, the biggest change from current designs is a pressure-sensitive tactile control on the back.

You may have wondered why it's taking so long for the augmented reality application Nearest Tube to hit the App Store. This time the delay isn't really due to an Apple approval issue, it's just the small fact that the developers of augmented reality apps are using unpublished APIs (application programming interfaces).

That's right, Apple hasn't even released these development tools yet. The good news is that intrepid developers are soon to be vindicated by iPhone OS 3.1, which promises to include many new APIs that make augmented reality applications possible.

During the keynote address at WWDC 2009 the head of Apple's iPhone software development, Scott Forstall, revealed major new features coming to iPhone OS 3.0.

The new iPhone OS will be released worldwide on June 17th. The cost to upgrade firmware will be $9.95 for iPod Touch and free for iPhone.

Last chance people! The WWDC keynote speech is tomorrow, but that hasn't stopped more spy photos from leaking out. This blurry image from iSpazio shows the iPhone in an active iChat videoconference.

We see a dark bezel and green light matching some other spy photos that have been released. The quality of the image is poor... this wouldn't be a difficult image to fake. Is it a requirement that "leaked" photos are always out of focus or motion-blurred?