Mar
19
Just released to developers on Tuesday, the iPhone OS 3.0 beta addresses some of the issues users have been recently clamoring for. Not only will the beta give the users a chance to see new features, but more importantly, it will give developers the time to test these new features in their programs.
As a budding developer, I closely watched the webcast and noticed how Apple methodically went over all the so called shortcomings of the current iPhone OS and showed them off as part of the new 3.0 features.
As rumored, here’s a quick rundown of what exactly was announced. The major points were:
- In app purchases - you’ll be able to conduct micro-purchases in your applications
- PNS - yes it’s the infamous Push Notification Services…if you’ve been following this column you’ll know how I talked about that many a time
- Accessories - this one to me is HUGE, 3rd party hardware developers can now tap into the iPhone and create new and exciting devices…i can’t wait to see what the market will bring
- Peer to peer connectivity - it’ll be easier for iPhone-ers to find eachother and developers can make social networking even easier
- Maps - maps can now be integrated into applications, no explanation needed
- iPod library access - access the users library from within you app
and to top it off there are over 1,000 new APIs, in other words, more ways for developers to do new things and provide new functionality for iPhone users out there….
If you want to read about the beta, the information is available on Apple’s website as is the webcast…have a look, it’s quite interesting.
