iPhone 3.0 beta firmware reveals more features on upcoming iPhone

Five days ago Apple released the latest beta version of the iPhone 3.0 firmware. Those with an Apple Developer account (or with a P2P-client) can download and test the lastest release – iPhone OS 3.0 Beta 3. As testers get to play with it more details about the new iPhone are revealed.

According to many rumors we can expect a new iPhone in June or July. Let’s say the Apple Developer Conference in San Francisco from June 8-12 could be a great place to announce the new iPhone.

I won’t bore you with the technical details in the iPhone OS 3.0 Beta 3, but instead tell you what you can expect from the new iPhone.

• Close all open Safari windows. In iPhone OS 2.x you can’t close all Safari browser windows. You have to open a blank window to close the “last” window. With 3.0 you can close even a single window.
• Numeric update on the battery indicator. If you have a jailbroken iPhone, then you probably already have this, but with 3.0 you can toggle battery percentage on/off.
• Push notifications. Do you want your notifications from 3rd party apps as sounds, alerts and/or badges?
• Data detection in more apps. The iPhone recognizes phone numbers and emails now, but the detection will be enhanced in 3.0. You can now add the info to your address book (yes, that’s very advanced.)
• Video recording and auto-focus. It might take more than just an upgrade to OS 3.0 to record video. According to rumours the new iPhone will support video recording, but no video on iPhone 3G. (Again if your iPhone is jailbroken you are probably already recording videos.)
• Voice control. No many details on this yet, it sounds fancy, but most cell phones (Nokia) already support this.
• Playback and scrubbing. You can now listen to your podcasts at variable speeds and better navigate tracks.
• Copy and Paste.

Some of these features might seem pretty standard, but they are dearly missed.