Numerous improvements to the iPhone SDK was announced. This included enablement of peer-to-peer connectivity no prior pairing required so two iPhone can talk to each other without prior setup, Streaming audio and video over HTTP, Data detectors, built in VoIP API, and more. Push notification finally arrives for developers to add to their applications.
The hotly rumored and confirmed by Kevin Rose’s source last week, Cut Copy & Paste was demoed at the event. During the demo, Apple’s Scott Forstall, SVP iPhone Software, also included multiple selection of photos in the Photo app for sending them in an email.
Landscape mode keyboard will now be available in all Apple applications and will be available to developers to enable in their own application.
Finally, no more Jailbreaking to get the ability to delete or forward individual SMS messages. These features are now built into the new Messaging application. Audio files and contact cards can be sent via the new Messaging application.
There is a cross application search feature to search in the Mail, Contacts, Calendar and Notes applications, it is OS X Spotlight feature for the iPhone. If a result is not found among the local application, it will hit the server for possible results.
Finally, you do not have to worry about loosing your Notes stored on your iPhone, the new iPhone software will synchronize the Notes content with the Mac and Windows computer via iTunes.
Auto login for WiFi hotspots is built-in. So will this see the end to Devicescape’s “Easy Wi-Fi” and 3rd party application like “Seremgeti”?
Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) is now available in the new iPhone software but still does not include the other Bluetooth services in the Bluetooth standard.
For the end-users we will have to wait until this Summer. As this new firmware and SDK is only available in beta form to developers in the iPhone Developers Program. The upgrade will be free to iPhone 3G owners. Again iPod Touch users will have to pay USD9.95 for the firmware 3.0 upgrade.