World of Apple

iPhone Atlas is reporting that the latest version of the iPhone OS incorporates some minor interface adjustments.

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]

Mac Rumors is reporting that some select developers have received the first beta of the latest iPhone firmware. According to the rumour site the new version is labelled as iPhone OS 2.2 beta 1 and is also accompanied by a new beta of the iPhone SDK which lists a build number of 9M2611.

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

Apple recently released an update for its Remote application for the iPhone. Remote allows users to control iTunes via the iPhone over a WiFi network. The 1.1 update adds the ability to create and manage Genius playlists as well as the ability to create and edit playlists in iTunes.

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)

Apple has posted three new iPhone commercials at their site: Lonely Planet, Cro Mag, and Vicinity. The first two ads demonstrate how easy it is to purchase, install, and operate third-party applications, and the third shows off integration of the Vicinity application with Google maps to locate and obtain directions to nearby cafes. I found the last one most effective in creating a child-like sense of wonder.

Some iPhone owners are reportedly locked out of third-party applications after their phones crashed on start-up.

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.

The iPhone shows a lot of promise as a gaming platform and input device, but it’s obviously difficult to say whether it will take off on a whole. Now we see some kind of reassurance in the form of an announcement from a Cyan Worlds employee. Myst, an extremely popular and commercially successful game from the era of CRTs and CD-ROM drives is being ported to the iPhone! If I wasn’t missing the fourth disc, I’d play some Riven right now to celebrate. Reminisce about your days (or months) spent playing this game and how it was totally worth it in the comments.

In an email to a customer purported to be from Steve Jobs it has been acknowledged that an issue exists where third-party applications repeatedly crash on iPhones.

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.”

Apple’s latest Beta of iPhone firmware 2.1 reportedly disables any previous implementations of Apple’s Push Notification System.

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.

MSNBC recently spoke to several companies who have intentions to bring turn-by-turn GPS navigation to the iPhone via a third-party app. Although offering few details TomTom confirmed for a second time that they still intend to offer a GPS navigation application:

“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”.

Gearlive reports that Apple has seed the latest version of the iPhone OS to iPhone developers who registered before July 11th 2008.

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.