Apple also stated that 125,000 iPhone developers are registered into the iPhone Developer Program.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

• View files on your iDisk
• Access Public folders
• Easily share files from your iPhone
• Quickly access recently viewed files
• View iPhone-supported file types-including iWork, Office, PDF, QuickTime and more. (Files larger than 20MB may not be viewable.)

The MobileMe iDisk iPhone app requires a MobileMe subscription and iPhone OS 3.0 or above.

Build 9M2736 of iPhone SDK 3.0 includes several fixes and feature enhancements:

• Organizer: the iPhone Development grouping now collects crash logs, install bundles, and provisioning profiles in a single location
• iPhone OS 3.0 Simulator uses frameworks more closely matching the device
• Mac OS X: GCC 4.2 & LLVM GCC 4.2 optional compilers for use with 10.5 SDK
• Toolbar uses a single popup to choose platform, target, and debug/release
• Integrated SCM support now works with Subversion 1.5!

Below are a few screenshots from iPhone OS 3.0 Beta 4.

More screenshots will be published as discovered.

Of note in the latest seed is that Apple advises developers, “Applications targeting devices prior to iPhone OS 3.0 beta cannot be tested in this seed. This bug is intended to be fixed in a future seed.”

Changes to the iPhone OS 3.0 beta 3 will not become apparent at first.

Also bundled with iPhone OS 3.0 beta was a new SDK build, seed notes accompanying the SDK can be seen below.

New in Xcode IDE 3.1 and later

• The assistant interface has been completely revamped, making it easier to create “New Project”, “New Target”, and “New File” resources. This release of Xcode also adds new assistant templates for both Mac OS X and iPhone OS applications.
• A new Overview toolbar item lets you see and set the project’s active Target, Configuration, Executable, Architecture, and SDK with a single control.
• It is now possible to set a global “override” SDK as the Active SDK, making it easy to test the build of your entire project against a different platform.
• New interface shortcuts have been added to the Build Setting inspectors making it easy to set the desired compiler, architectures, and SDKs
• You can now add Libraries and Frameworks directly into the Target window and relate them to the project’s SDK.
• The Xcode UI now allows you to designate a library or framework as weak-linked, to support building with newer SDKs while targeting older OS versions.
• New “Edit all in scope” option within the Xcode source editor makes it easy to update all instances of the selected symbol within the current scope of code.
• You can now have conditional build settings assigned for any combination of architecture and SDK.
• LLVM GCC 4.2 is a new optional compiler based on the LLVM.org open source project. LLVM GCC 4.2 provides an LLVM-based back-end optimizer using the GCC 4.2 front-end parser. This compiler is both source and binary compatible with GCC 4.2 and requires the Mac OS X 10.5 SDK or “Current OS” SDK.
• GCC 4.2 is a new optional compiler with stricter C and C++ language enforcement, security enhancements, performance optimizations, and bug fixes over GCC 4.0. Requires the Mac OS X 10.5 SDK or “Current OS” SDK

New in Interface Builder 3.1

• New drag & drop functionality allows easily re-parenting objects with the normal drag gesture
• The document outline view has been enhanced to support full drag re-ordering.
• A new string table interface allows localizers to make quick text changes across documents.
• Generates XIB files that are more diff friendly while retaining full backwards compatibility with Interface Builder 3.0.
• Now supports previewing image resource content in Carbon controls.

New in Dashcode

• You can now use Dashcode to create web aiPhone, as well as Dashboard widgets.

The device will also hook up to an external credit card reader thanks to the new iPhone 3.0 OS and the POS software will reportedly offer concierge, ordering and store management features according to AppleInsider.

The system is expected to hit stores in July with a full rollout by September.

Start testing your applications using the Apple Push Notification service today. Log in to the iPhone Dev Center and review the Apple Push Notification Programming Guide and Getting Started video.

The Push Notification service is Apple’s answer to background applications on the iPhone. The system which is set to be released alongside iPhone OS 3.0 in the Summer will allow applications that are not currently running to listen for notifications which can be delivered in the form of icon badges, text messages, and alert sounds. For example an instant messaging application will be capable of notifying the user of new instant messages without the application actually running.

Apple claims that running applications in the background would damage battery life of the iPhone, adding that the Push Notification Service will only have a 23-percent hit on battery life when in standby mode.

As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks – a billion. Download an app and you’ll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. Just go to the iTunes Store, browse the App Store, and download your best app yet.

Apple offered a similar promotion when nearing one billion iTunes Store song downloads.

Additionally, reports point towards a new menu appearing in the system preferences labelled “Store” but it currently contains no data. Finally Apple has confirmed that MMS and device tethering would not be working in iPhone OS 3.0 beta builds.

Apple announced iPhone OS 3.0 to the public on March 17 with a beta release being given to developers on the same day.

• Notes sync to Mail
• Backups from the iPhone can now be encrypted
• SMS messages send in the background allowing a new one to be typed while the old one is sending
• Spotlight searching is said to be fast and efficient

Engadget and Gizmodo have each posted videos giving walkthroughs of the software update.

For a list of sites with live coverage see here.

Live coverage can be seen below.

• Event due to start soon
• Journalists are seated and the lights are dimmed.
• Greg Joswiak on stage, going to show us some future plans.
• 17 million iPhones sold through December 2008. 30 million iPhones and iPod touches sold.
• Over 800,000 downloads of free iPhone SDK, 50,000 developers signed up to iPhone paid program.
• 96% of applications submitted to App Store have been approved, with over 25,000 apps available.
• 800 million app downloads in the 8 months the App Store has been operating.
• Scott Forstall on stage to show off iPhone OS 3.0
• 3.0 software a major update for ALL iPhone and iPod touch devices
• Taking a look at how Apple is helping developers, making the SDK even better.
• 3.0 brings 1000 new APIs to developers
• Enhancement to the App Store called In-App purchase. The ability to renew subscriptions, buy new game levels and purchase ebooks from within an application.
• Purchasing is done with an “intrusive” pop-up
• Tied to App Store, when user hits buy a standard iTunes authentication panel appears.
• This is or paid apps only.
• Next up, support for peer to peer connectivity.
• Peer to peer connectivity adds the ability to game over Bluetooth using Bonjour.
• Isn’t just for games, for example business cards can be exchanged in a handshake manner.
• Next up accessories.
• With iPhone 3.0 SDK developers can get an application to talk directly to an attached accessory.
• Accessories can talk to applications via dock connector or Bluetooth.
• Next, Maps.
• Maps can now be embedded into apps.
• Maps are fully interactive with pinch-zoom, custom annotations, satellite views and location tracking.
• Developers can now build turn-by-turn applications but must use their OWN maps due to licensing issues.
• Next up, Push
• Push is late because Apple felt the need to re-architect the server stricture. “Now we’re good to go”
• When testing background applications running Apple saw an 80% or more drop in battery life when the phone was in standby.
• Apple says background processing “not good for the customer”
• Using Apple’s Push Notification System battery life dropped by 23% when for example an IM app is listening for messages.
• Showing how the Push Notification System works.
• Push preserves battery life, maintains performance and is optimised.
• APIs now allow in-game voice chat, access to iPod library, use of proximity sensor, audio recording, streaming audio and video, data detectors and text selection.
• Showing some applications built using 3.0 SDK.
• Applications such as Sims 3 and Meebo being demoed.
• Previewing future games from ngmoco:)
• iPhone OS 3.0 has over 100 new features including cut, copy and paste.
• Demoing cut/copy/paste. Double tap on text and it is selected, bubble appears above the selection with the ability to cut/copy/paste.
• Shake to clear selections.
• Photos can now be copied and pasted into an email.
• Landscape viewing in key apps such as Mail, SMS and notes.
• Landscape keyboard in these apps too.
• Forward SMS messages and delete multiple messages. Added support for MMS.
• Ability to send photos, audio VCards and your location over MMS.
• Ability to take voice memos.
• Added CalDAV to Calendar app, ability to subscribe to calendars (.ics format)
• Support for headlines as well as highs and lows and PEs in Stocks app. Also landscape view.
• Also added Search to Mail. Searches from, to, subject and all headers.
• Search in other key applications such as calendar and iPod.
• New app called Spotlight allows iPhone wide searching.
• Demo of search.
• Spotlight can be accessed by scrolling left of the iPhone home page.
• Other new features include shake to shuffle, WiFi auto login, notes sync, YouTube acounts, VPN on demand, Anti-phishing, auto-fill, EAP SIM, LDAP, Stereo BlueTooth and loads more.
• Greg Joswiak back on stage.
• Developer beta available today.
• Adding 15 more countries to the App Store for a total of 77.
• iPhone OS 3.0 will be available to all this Summer. A free update to iPhone owners but 1st gen devices will lose functions such as MMS and A2DP. iPod touch users can update for $9.95.
• Short Q&A with Scott Forstall and Phil Schiller.
• Q: Why did copy/paste take so long?
  A: Forstall: It’s not that easy. There were security issues.

• Q: How about Flash?
  A: We have no announcements on Flash today

• Q: Will peer to peer work with other devices?
  A: It’s limited to Bonjour.

• Q: What’s with tethering?
  A: Tethering is in iPhone 3.0, working with carriers to get it in all countries.

• Q: Netbooks?
  A: Nothing to announce today.

• Q: Allowing BlueTooth input devices such as keyboards?
  A: Nothing to announce.

• Q: Is OS “lagginess” being addressed?
  A: Yes, definitely

• Q: Is it a physical issue that prevents first gen iPhones using MMS?
  A: It’s a different radio, so yes.

• Q: With peer to peer can you access another iTunes library?
  A: You can see them but not sure if they can be played from.

• All done.

It is unknown what kind of welcome the app will be greeted with when submitted to Apple’s App Store. Despite having the ability to run turn-by-turn GPS navigation many companies have in the past stated interest in creating an app, but Apple’s SDK terms prohibit the creation of such applications.

The iPhone ships with the ability to send and receive SMS only which has caused some people to become aggravated that even very basic phones on the market can send and receive MMS messages but the iPhone can’t.

MMS messages allow for the transfer of images, audio, video and rich text.

In the report it is said that Telia will be pushing the MMS application to users in Sweden in the next couple of months, there is no word whether other carriers will also be creating similar applications.

[Update] It has been revealed that Mobispine is the provider of the MMS solution for Telia in Sweden. The company has released a press release about its MMS application for the iPhone (PDF).

Mobispine AB (MOBS) the market leader in delivering
mobile solutions to operators announced the availability of the world’s first true Multimedia
Messaging (MMS) for iPhone. Mobispine is now offering a “white label” MMS service for iPhone
to global operators. This new and innovative service will increase revenue per user (ARPU) and
generate profits for operators.

Mr. von Tetzchner said that Opera’s engineers have developed a version of Opera Mini that can run on an Apple iPhone, but Apple won’t let the company release it because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser.

It is speculated that the decision has been made by Apple because the company doesn’t want applications available that compete with the pre-loaded apps.

The accompanying notes also state that line-in audio accessories are now supported.

iPhoneYap has posted a selection of screenshots from iPhone OS 2.2 beta 2.

The new NDA continues to protect “Apple Confidential Information” including “any Apple pre-release software (including related documentation and materials) and any information disclosed by Apple to you in connection with Apple Events or Paid Content.” Paid content is defined as “certain proprietary content (including, without limitation, video presentations and audio recordings) that Apple may make available to you from time to time for a separate fee.” But the NDA now allows developers to collaborate with each other and conduct training and offer books and online guides on using the iPhone SDK.

On a related note Apple has also opened the official iPhone developer forums.

Apple technology evangelists and engineers will soon be traveling the globe bringing iPhone development expertise to a city near you. Learn about the tools and technologies you’ll use to create great iPhone applications, then work with the experts to optimize your code, refine your user interface, and apply the knowledge you gain from the sessions to enhance the capabilities of your iPhone application.

The 12-hour sessions will focus on Objective-C, interface design, game development, maximising iPhone performance, submitting apps to the app store and much more.

The talks will be available in the following cities on the following dates:

North America

• Oct 22 San Francisco(FULL)
• Oct 24 Los Angeles
• Nov 03 Austin
• Nov 05 Chicago
• Dec 02 New York(FULL)
• Dec 04 Toronto
• Dec 09 Seattle

Europe

• Oct 22 Paris
• Oct 24 Munich
• Nov 03 Amsterdam
• Nov 07 London
• Nov 10 Berlin
• Nov 11 Madrid
• Nov 14 Copenhagen
• Nov 17 Zurich
• Nov 19 Rome
• Dec 08 Stockholm

India

• Nov 24 Bangalore
• Nov 27 Delhi

Asia Pacific

• Oct 30 Tokyo
• Nov 04 Singapore
• Nov 10 Hong Kong
• Nov 19 Sydney
• Nov 21 Melbourne

“We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don’t steal our work. It has happened before,” reads a company statement.

“While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.”

Within the statement Apple admits that the NDA caused “too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone’s success, so we are dropping it for released software.”

Apple also announced that it is currently drafting a new agreement without an NDA covering released software that developers will have to sign later this month.

iPhone OS 2.2 which was released to developers late this week reportedly includes some changes to the layout of MobileSafari. As seen in the screenshot (old MobileSafari on left, new on right) Apple has moved the refresh button into the address bar and given Google search its own box.

[Image courtesy of Wired.com]

Apple simply lists “compatibility testing” as the description of the release so it is still unclear whether the latest build has background push notifications built-in.

Mac Rumors also points towards a post on its own forums where one user claims to have received a response from Steve Jobs on the where abouts of push notifications.

We’re running a bit late. We want to get it 100% right the first time.

Steve

While I enjoy the updates, editing of playlists is not implemented as well as it could be. For example, deleting songs from a playlist must be done one at a time, which is reminiscent of deleting mail prior to the 2.0 update. Adding songs allows you to select multiple songs at once, but neglects to allow you to deselect them if you change your mind. In the end, however, it is nice to be able to have more control via the Remote app and I welcome the update with open arms. Head on over to the App Store to download or update to Remote 1.1 (iTunes link)

Via AppleInsider, one of their readers received the following response from Jobs:

“This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September”

And while the latest firmware update (2.0.2) was supposed to correct the 3G performance issues, there are still some users claiming that it had absolutely no beneficial effect.

Apple needs to fix these problems soon or the hoped-for halo effect will turn into a sinkhole.

Many report the iPhone 2.0 firmware suddenly failing to load non-default apps regardless of their nature, briefly loading them before abruptly jumping back to the home screen.

The bug occurs both with freshly downloaded software and with updates, but is reported as never having a definite fix; although some report successfully deleting and re-downloading apps to regain access, others find the solution either having no effect or gradually decaying over time to where the apps again fail to run. Restoring the iPhone also seldom works.

Jobs replied with a one-line answer:

“This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September.”

Beta 4 of iPhone firmware version 2.1 comes with the usual “bug fixes” description but completely removes any support for Apple’s Push Notification Service which will help apps communicate via the Internet in the background without the app running.

Apple does offer an explanation for the removal of PNS stating that “further development” is required, but offers no timeframe on when it will return.

iPhone firmware 2.1 is expected in mid-September.

“We have made our navigation system run on the iPhone; it looks good and works very well,” said Dutch-based company TomTom, in a statement to msnbc.com. “We will have to look more closely to Apple’s strategy before we can say more about what kind of opportunities this will bring us.”

It is currently unknown what exactly the delay is in bringing such applications to market but it was believed that a limitation in the iPhone SDK prevented deployment of GPS navigation applications. This was later debunked by Greg Joswiak who said that the situation was “complicated”.

Version 2.1 (beta 1, build 5F90) of the iPhone OS is said to include new Core Location features suggesting that turn-by-turn GPS could be on the horizon. Core Location is said to be able to track your direction and speed.

Also included within the new OS is some early push notification APIs that allow applications to receive notifications in the background.

In addition to GearLive’s report MacNN is noting that some developers have found hints relating to copy and paste functionality.

One notes that in exploring the Localizable.strings entry under English.lproj in the current iPhone WebKit framework, there are entries for several commands the firmware does not currently support, including cutting, copying and pasting.

Apple’s own Greg Joswiak has recently stated that copy/paste functionality has not been high enough on the priority list so far, but suggested that there it could be coming in the future.

Apple also seeded a new version of the iPhone SDK to developers but the new SDK can not be used to submit Apps to the current App Store.

The majority of apps appear to be Free or priced at $9.99 (£5.99).

Apple has also included an application that it has built in-house called Remote (iTunes Link). Remote is available for free and is described as having the ability to control music on your computer or Apple TV from an iPhone or iPod touch.

To ensure your application can be considered for the exciting launch of the App Store, submit your application by 12 PM PDT, on July 7, 2008. We will continue to accept applications after this time, however your application may not be available until after the launch of the App Store.

The update will be a free update to current iPhone owners and should come pre-installed on the iPhone 3G.

Gizmodo also posts some screenshots from iTunes 7.7 which includes preferences to look for iPod touch and iPhone remotes.

The App Store is expected to go live on July 11.

The iPhone firmware version is 5A345, builds ending in numbers are usually of a stable nature.

In the readme for the iTunes installer, there is a hint at some kind of remote control application that can be installed on the iPhone/iPod touch:

Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.

The application will presumably allow the control of iTunes over a WiFi network from an iPhone or iPod touch.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 2.0 firmware and App Store on July 11.

According to the post users will be able to choose between a QWERTY-keyboard and a Japanese mobile phone style keyboard and from there can select either a multi-tap style kana keyboard or a sliding keyboard.

The post explains, “Japanese kana letters are organized in groups of five according to a beginning letter and corresponding vowels (a i u e o), so you can either put in the first letter and then hit the same key between 1-5 times to get the right sound (multi-tap), or you can put the first letter in and then tap and slide through to see all five sounds and pick the right one.”

Video after jump.

We have a version that’s working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it work. So we are pleased with the internal progress that we’ve made to date.

It should be noted that Steve Jobs and Apple have been critical of Flash so Adobe doesn’t only have a technical hurdle but also a business one.

Also a good time to remind readers of Walt Mossberg’s announcement last July that Adobe would be bring Flash to the iPhone in an upcoming software update.

The article details how applications are uploaded using iTunes Connect and have a maximum file size of 2GB, Apple has reportedly not stated whether this is a technical limitation.

Certain applications can be limited to geographic regions and games are given content ratings. Apple has stated that no games with an adult rating will be allowed on the App Store.

Pricing of applications is limited to between $0.99 and $999.99. Alternatively applications can be given away for free.

Although Apple has officially stated that the App Store will launch in early-July, but those familiar with the matter suggest that the App Store will launch on July 11 the same day as the iPhone 3G release.

“Our navigation system runs on the iPhone already,” the TomTom spokesman said after Apple announced a new version of the iPhone that will include global positioning (GPS) capability.

Registered iPhone Developers can download the latest beta from the iPhone Dev centre.