iPhone OS 3

Apple has finally announced the new version of the iPhone system software: iPhone OS 3.0. It won’t be available for download until summer of 2009, but already developers and hard core fans are scrambling to get their hands on the gem.

The new OS will introduce over 1000 new APIs for developers. For you non-developers, that means that software will be able to do infinitely more than it can today.

I’m excited that FINALLY we will have copy and paste, peer to peer connectivity, in-app internet actions, and the like.

What really impresses me is that we will finally have access to the iPhone/iPod library from within applications now. This means our apps can be used to play music an videos on the iPod - without switching to the Music or Videos applications.

Developers will also like the External Accessory Framework. Apple is finally releasing applications from their chains. They can now communicated directly with accessories plugged in to the device.

People who like player vs player gaming on the iPhone will love the new peer to peer connectivity iPhone OS 3.0 will bring. Applications will be able to use Bluetooth to connect to another device to play games, transfer data, share files, and the like.

Apple seems to have listened to our cries for these changes. Don’t get me wrong, I love the 2.2 version of the iPhone OS. It’s solid, stable, and fast. But.... it could be better.

If you want a quick preview of what is to come with the new software, you can head over to the Apple website and watch the Keynote presentation and download the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK).