Gadget Tech Review: Apple Introduces iPhone OS 3.0

A demo of the new cut and paste feature for iPhone is seen on the screen during an event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“The new iPhone OS 3.0 is a major software release packed with incredible new features and innovations for iPhone customers and developers alike. It will keep us years ahead of the competition,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing in a press release.

Apple recently unveiled its new Operating System (OS) for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but the iPhone OS 3.0 isn’t set for release until this summer.

The 3.0 OS will include more than 100 new features, many of which users have long been anticipating.

Perhaps the most important features are those that grant users the ability to share multimedia with friends. You can now send anything from photos and songs to contacts—which can be directly added to your phonebook—as well as maps and other navigation tools.

Users can now use cut, copy, and paste features across all applications—just double-tap a word to select it, and a bubble appears above your selection with several options. Landscape view is available for mail, text, and notes; and to make finding your way around a bit easier, a newly expanded search engine can now be accessed from the Home screen.

We can also look forward to the availability of some higher-end applications, as Apple has already released its updated Software Development Kit (SDK), giving application developers an early start. The new kit includes more than 1,000 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Among them are in-App purchases, which offer Peer-to-Peer connections, Push notifications, and other useful features.

The 3.0 OS will be available to iPhone users for a free download; however, iPod Touch users will need to purchase it at $9.95.