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Scott Forstall, senior vice president for iPhone Software, discusses the iPhone OS 3.0 software and its applications - Source: Reuters -
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Apple Inc unveiled new software for the iPhone that will support
some long-anticipated features, such as copy-and-paste of text and
picture messaging, as the company pushes to stay competitive in the
phone market.
Apple also gave its vast network of software developers a slew of
new options for upcoming applications, such as support for
subscription models and automatic alerts, a move applauded by
analysts.
"They've taken a few more steps ahead of the pack in the race,"
said CCS Insight analyst John Jackson, adding that, in spite of the
omission of certain features until now, the iPhone was still the
most high-profile cell phone.
"Two years on they still have the cool phone and business model
that everybody's talking about and trying to emulate."
While Apple's touchscreen inspired many imitators, some users
complained it lacked functions common in other smartphones such as
multimedia messaging and the ability to copy and paste text.
Such features already exist on rival devices such as the BlackBerry
from Research In Motion Ltd and Treo from Palm Inc and phones based
on Windows Mobile from Microsoft Corp. iPhone is central to Apple's
plans, as growth in its Mac computer and iPod music player
businesses slows.
On Tuesday, Apple, represented by iPhone software senior vice
president Scott Forstall, as Chief Executive Steve Jobs is out on
medical leave, lifted the veil on iPhone 3.0 software with 100 new
features, including some long-wished for updates.
An early version of the software is available to application
developers today and will be available to consumers this summer.
IPhone users will be able to download the software upgrade for
free, while iPod touch customers will be charged $9.95.
The updated software kit for developers will have more than 1,000
new programming functions, including peer-to-peer capability, an
interface allowing applications to communicate with iPhone
accessories such as docking stations, as well as access to the
phone's music library.
Analysts said that while most the of software updates were long
expected, improvements to the developers kit could help increase
revenue made from applications.
Gartner analyst Van Baker said the message of the event was clearly
targeted at the developer community. He expects the new development
kit to enable third-party vendors to create better and more
expensive applications.
"This is a pretty significant release ... it will certainly help to
drive commerce," Baker said.
New app features
The next-generation iPhone operating system will enable so- called
push notification, allowing developers to build applications that
can provide automatic alerts of items such as sports results or the
arrival of an instant message. The alerts would show up
automatically even if the user is in another application.
It will also allow developers to offer subscriptions and sell
content within their their applications.
In addition, a peer-to-peer capability will enable iPhone users
near each other to interact for features such as gaming.
Apple also promised multimedia messaging capability with the new
3.0 software, allowing users to send each other photographs from
the phone.
On top of that, the company unveiled a widely anticipated universal
search feature called "spotlight," which can scour key applications
on the phone such as e-mail and iPod.
Apple, which sells iPhones in 80 countries, said Wednesday
consumers had already downloaded 800 million iPhone applications
from its store, which offers 25,000 applications so far.
Apple said it will expand its App Store to 77 countries from
62.
Apple declined to comment when asked about plans to release a
netbook computer or a new iPhone model. Many analysts expect to see
a new iPhone this summer, while some speculate Apple will also
introduce a stripped-down version for as little as $99.
Apple's second-generation, 3G iPhone was an immediate hit when it
was released last July. The company sold a total of 13.7 million
iPhones in 2008, topping its 10 million target.
The iPhone App Store has become something of a consumer phenomenon,
helping boost interest in the device. The store features a wide
array of applications, some for free and some for a fee. Under
Apple's model, 70% of the revenue goes to the developer.
"What they did with this blew us away," Forstall told the audience,
referring to the applications developers.
Apple shares closed up $4.24, or 4.4%, at $99.66 on the
Nasdaq.
