14 DAY TRIAL // iPhone 2.0 firmware and the iTunes App Store have been confirmed for launch in early July. Apple's Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iPhone software, showcased some of the key additions in iPhone software 2.0 during the first hours of WWDC '08 yesterday, talking about iPhone in Enterprise, Microsoft Exchange support, third party apps, MobileMe and more. Below you have a detailed list of highlights from iPhone software 2.0.
First off, everyone should know that iPhone users get the upgrade for free, in July, when the new firmware is made available. iPod touch users, however, will have to pay a small upgrade fee - $9.99. This is because Apple (Steve Jobs) thinks folks are mostly out for the iPhone at this point in time. He's not wrong.
Applications Since everyone's crazy about apps and games that make beautiful use of the iPhone's touchscreen and accelerometer, Apple has decided applications under 10 MB can be downloaded over the cellular network. Users looking to download pieces of software larger than 10 MB will have to get them over WiFi or by syncing to iTunes.
Applications are downloaded directly from the new App Store. Most apps leverage all the groundbreaking technologies crammed inside Apple's handset. Besides the accelerometer and multi-touch capabilities, iPhone also sports 3D positional sound and GPS. "They're only a tap away at the App Store," the company claims.
The App Store The App Store is accessible from just about anywhere. You can browse categories, do a keyword search, or take a look at recommendations to ultimately download and install applications directly onto your iPhone. After downloading and installing an app, iPhone tells you whenever an application update is available, by displaying a red number (much like the Apple Mail notification) on the App Store icon.
iPhone in Enterprise We've already mentioned this today, but since I promised iPhone software 2.0 highlights, iPhone in Enterprise counts in. With support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, iPhone 3G delivers push email, calendar, and contacts and uses enterprise-grade networking with Cisco IPSec VPN and WPA2 Enterprise support. The iPhone is now an even better business choice than it was before.
MobileMe Support Apple's new Internet service that automatically pushes new email, contacts, and calendar events to your Mac, PC, iPhone and iPod touch, makes sure all your information stays up to date, everywhere. MobileMe also provides support for push email, calendar, and contacts on your iPhone and any computer. The changes you make on one device are automatically "pushed" to the MobileMe "cloud," then back to every device you use.
