• iPhone 3.0 Hands-on

    iPhone 3.0 Hands-on

    Prasad Naik, Jun 19, 2009 2013 hrs IST

    An update you wouldn't want to miss out on

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Cut, Copy & Paste


 




When the iPhone was launched, everyone and their dog complained about the lack of a feature as basic as the cut, copy and paste text. Apple kept ignoring this feature in subsequent firmware upgrades making people think that they would never add this feature to their device. Earlier there were many apps that could be installed on jailbroken devices, which enabled the copy, cut, paste feature, but they had their share of limitations.


 


The fact that competing devices had this functionality only made things worse for the iPhone. But not any more, in the iPhone 3.0 Apple has finally enabled cut, copy and paste functionality. And it is better than what you would have seen on any other device. The copy paste functionality on the iPhone 3.0 is not only useful but also superbly executed.



To start copy pasting you tap the text field once and you get a pop-up asking you to select text or to paste it if you have already copied it. Once you tap select, you get two blue dots on the screen which marks the beginning and end of the text you need to copy. Just the drag the dots around on the area which you want to copy and then select copy or cut.


 
Tap the area where you want to paste it and select Paste and that's it, you are done! But here comes the best part. If you made a mistake while pasting the text, just shake the iPhone once and you get the option to undo it. Simply brilliant! The cut, copy and paste feature is available across all applications. So you can copy text from one app and paste in the other.



The iPhone 3.0 not only allows you to copy text, but you can also copy an entire section of a web page, with all the text and images and paste it into, say, an MMS. After pasting you'll notice that the iPhone has preserved the formatting of the text as on the original web page.



So there you have it. One of the most sought after feature in the iPhone has been executed brilliantly. I guess it was worth the wait after all.




Landscape keyboard


 





This is silly actually, if you think about it. The previous versions of iPhone OS only allowed the landscape mode and associated keypad in Safari, while every other app would be restricted to landscape mode. In the new 3.0 however, Apple has enabled landscape mode in all of their apps. Not only that you also get the full landscape keyboard. Now typing messages will be an even better experience.


 



MMS


 





Let me be honest to you. I was never a fan of the MMS or Multimedia Messaging Service feature and even though my own phone has it, I never use it. In today's day and age when it is far simpler and economical to send an email, that too with no data cap, using MMS felt superfluous at best. Still it has to be the user who decides whether he or she wants to use a particular feature in the phone or not, and it was wrong on Apple's part to not include MMS on the iPhone.


 

Now they have finally heeded the plea of iPhone users (and of the iPhone haters, who found the lack of MMS in the iPhone a reason to whine about it incessantly, even though many of them probably didn't use the feature) and finally included the MMS support in the 3.0. You can now add images, vCards, music and your location on Google Maps along with text in your messages and send it over the GPRS/EDGE/3G network (and admittedly get charged an arm and a leg in the process).



However, it must be said that not all networks support the MMS service right now. Even AT&T in US does not support it and have given 'late summer' as the date of availability of the service. So before you jump with joy at the thought of sending an MMS to your buddy from your iPhone, please call your service provider and see if they offer this service on the iPhone. This feature however is not available for users of the original iPhone, but only iPhone 3G users.




Another small little addition to the messaging app is that you can now forward your messages and delete them as well.

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Discussion Board
(11) Comments
Gaurav Vyas
,Mumbai, on Jun 20, 2009 05:19 PM
i have updated to 3.0 today successfully but disappointed with bluetooth connectivity. It does not even detect a bluethooth enabled phone or laptop
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Dharmesh
,Mumbai, on Jun 25, 2009 02:08 PM
hey.. i have 2G iPhone which was code broken.. I would like to update to the new v3.0 where did you do it..
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Ashok
,New Delhi, on Jun 22, 2009 12:13 PM
Just because they make good tires, not necessarily mean they will make good Car. Admitted iPhone/iPod touch has the real "touch" technology...and rest is all crap. In 21st century they are bringing stone age tech's.
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Dev
,Mumbai, on Jun 25, 2009 02:07 PM
If you find this technology stoneage, What is new technology according to you ?
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Chethan
,Rockville, on Jun 20, 2009 02:03 AM
Is it true that Iphone First Gen does not support stereo bluetooth?
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Jun 22, 2009 10:34 AM
Yes, the original iPhone does not support stereo Bluetooth, MMS or internet tethering. These are only available for the iPhone 3G and 3G S
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manish
,navi mumbai, on Jun 20, 2009 12:53 AM
champ ! u miss the most hype one "BLUTOOTH".can we transfer file from ipod touch /iphone to any mobile with blutooth connectivity
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Prankur Sharma
,New Delhi, on Jun 20, 2009 01:34 PM
No. if apple would have included the feature it would have been great,considering it is only a software limitation and not a hardware one.
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sam9s
,New Delhi, on Jun 20, 2009 08:41 PM
are you sure, AFAIK this is still not possible, have you personaly tried this...confirm
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Prasad Naik
,Mumbai, on Jun 21, 2009 09:52 AM
No, you cannot transfer files over Bluetooth. This is one feature, which I'm afraid, will never be a part of any iPhone or iPod Touch. All you can do now is listen to music using wireless headsets and play multiplayer games over Bluetooth.
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Toddsy
,Logan, on Jun 20, 2009 11:32 PM
I'm using the JayBird Bluetooth headphones with my iPhone 3G running OS 3.0 - loving it ... good to loose my wires, not my mind. I was ready to offer burnt offerings of my wired buds.
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