Moloth - The M-Forums

In case you missed the presentation today, here's the highlights. Due out in the summer. Free upgrade for iPhone, $9.99 upgrade for iPod Touch. Lots of exciting and promising new features coming.

New end-user features:

- MMS (finally). Text app has been renamed "Messages" and allows you not only to send text and photos, but also contacts (vCards), location info, and voice notes.

- Cut, Copy, and Paste (finally). Very simple to use. Tap and hold to start a selection, then drag the boundary points to cover the content you want to copy. Pick cut or copy from the sub-menu that appears. Tap elsewhere to paste. Shake the phone to undo. Shake again to redo. Copy works across apps, both native and third party. Text and also HTML from Safari can also be copied and pasted, plus pictures from the photo app.

- Calendar app will now support the CalDav standard (Used by Google and Yahoo) and also subscriptions (.ics).

- Landscape mode in core apps. Not only Safari, but now Mail, Notes, Messages, etc. And now you get to use that nice big landscape keyboard in those apps too.

- Search. Sliding to the left of the home screen, you can perform a system-wide search. Results could be apps, emails, contacts, bookmarks, music, just about anything. Email search also will optionally also search the server, supported by Exchange and IMAP.

- Stereo BlueTooth support (finally).

Stuff for developers:

- Push notifications. Rather than allowing for apps to background, which reduces battery life and chews CPU cycles, new data for apps can be pushed via Apple's servers to your device. Notifications for pushed content include a badge for your app icon, a sound, or a text notification that pops up similar to an SMS message. Lots of examples shown for applications using push.

- Peer to peer connecting. Devices can auto discover services available on each other (via Bonjour) and connect to exchange data. Obvious examples include games played together. Demonstration given using a new FPS shooter. Two people playing against each other. One sends a request to play to a third person, it's pushed to his phone. He accepts, and joins the game in progress.

- Over 1000 new APIs available.

- Subscription models now available for apps. Can be used to purchase additional content within the app, seamlessly tied to your iTunes account. Examples shown were magazine subscriptions, content in games (like DLC), city-specific packs for apps.

- Google Maps can be embedded in an app

- Email support for sending email directly from an app

- Core Location API updated for turn-by-turn navigation, to allow for GPS apps to be developed (caveat: bring your own maps)

- Apps can now be developed to communicate with new accessories, using standard protocols and methods, or custom ones. Examples given: Speaker with iPod docked in it, equalizer app pulled up on the device to control the output. FM transmitter with app that finds best signal and automatically tunes to it. Glucose meter that tracks stuff for diabetics.