Hey guys and gals, Just in case you hadn’t noticed, Apple has made the iPhone 3.0 highlight event online for all of you to watch and enjoy and wish you had that iPhone 3.0 firmware update already!

You can watch the live event at apple.com

Enjoy! and remember to follow us on twitter! We’re @iphonedashhacks

Apple highlighted the iPhone and the upcoming iPhone 3.0 firmware update today in a live event in the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA. Some of these features are freaking awesome!

• In-App Purchasing: Allows developers to sell additional content from within applications. Highlighted uses include magazine subscriptions, eBooks, additional levels and items for games.
• Peer-to-Peer Connectivity: Find other devices running the app via Bonjour over Wi-Fi of Bluetooth. Good for gaming, but also other applications for sharing data.
• Third-Party Accessory Apps: Allowing accessory manufacturers to create applications to interface with their hardware accessories.
• Push Notification: Rather than using background processes that hamper battery life, utilize third-party server to push badge, text, and audio alerts from applications.
• Turn by Turn: Apple will allow developers to use CoreLocation for turn-by-turn GPS directions.
• Cut, Copy and Paste: Available across all apps. Shake to undo or redo.
• Landscape keyboard: Available in all key applications, including Mail.
• MMS: Picture messaging now available.
• Voice Memos: Record notes, lectures, interviews, etc.
• Spotlight Search: Available across all applications. Systemwide search available from main home screen by flicking to the left.
• A2DP Bluetooth: Support for stereo bluetooth headsets.

You might notice that tethering is no where to be found in that list, it was addressed in the Q&A section of the event. Apple is building the client side of tethering into OS 3.0, but cooperation from carriers is also required in order for it to be offered.

The iPhone 3.0 update is available to all registered iPhone Developers as a free beta today and it will be fully released this summer. Shame that Apple dropped the details on this amazing update and are making us wait a couple of months before it releases! This update will be free to all iPhone users and as always, it will be $9.95USD for iPod Touch users.
Some of the above features will sadly not make it to the first generation iPhone (iPhone EDGE/2G) because of hardware limitations. The features that wont make it include, MMS and stereo bluetooth. So if you got an iPhone 2G go upgrade! Apple also revealed that bluetooth support can be activated for the second generation iPod Touch.

Apple has posted an iPhone OS 3.0 Preview page listing a few of the highlights. A video of today’s media event will also be posted to the page later today.

- sources:
macrumors.com
apple.com

Digg.com’s Kevin Rose has a great track record on being right about rumors, including Apple iPhone rumors . During a live taping of Diggnation, Kevin Rose revealed details about the expected “Copy and Paste” functionality in the upcoming iPhone 3.0.

From MacRumors:

According to Rose, to invoke Copy and Paste, you simply double tap on the word, and a magnifier bubble will appear with two quotes that you can drag around your selection. Once you make your selection, you can copy, paste or cut. Rose has been accurate in the past with details about upcoming Apple product revisions. As well, we have also heard that Copy and Paste will be arriving in 3.0 alongside a much improved homepage/springboard with the ability to organize in categories.

While BoyGeniusReports claims that the upcoming highly anticipated iPhone firmware 3.0 will have features everyone has been craving for since the launch of the iPhone, yeah, you know what I’m talking about right? Right, MMS, Tethering via USB and Bluetooth, and copy/paste — No mention of A2DP or Flash

MMS will allow users to send photos not only via email but via SMS which would be awesome, while tethering will allow you to share your iPhone’s internet connection (3G or EDGE) with your Mac or PC.

Thirdly, Macworld’s John Gruber gives us an interesting report which is labeled his iPhone 3.0 “wish list”

First, a new home screen app (a.k.a. SpringBoard), designed from the ground up for a system where users have a few dozen or more extra apps installed. Managing dozens of apps on the iPhone today is simply a pain in the ass. Second, maybe an answer to the question of where the background notification API is you know, the one we were told at WWDC to expect a few months ago, but which we haven’t heard a word about since. And maybe pretty please, Mr. Forstall, with sugar on top copy and paste.

We have good reason to believe that we may see some of those features in the new iPhone firmware. A revised Springboard (Home screen) could allow us heavy iPhone users to have more applications and have them better organized, and that would be awesome! The push notification solution would be helpful if you use instant messaging a lot.

Apple will reveal what’s really in the iPhone 3.0 software update tomorrow at 10AM Pacific. Stay tuned!

Took awhile, Apple has released firmware 2.2.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch. This update, like all the previous released updates, fixes bug issues and improves the iPhoneOS

iPhone 2.2.1 Software Update

This update contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
- Improved general stability of Safari
- Fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll

Products compatible with this software update:
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G

The same update is available for iPod Touch users

In case you care:
2.2.1 (Build 5H11)
Modem Firmware 02.30.03

Beware though, installing this may render your iPhone or iPod Touch ‘unjailbreakable’ - Don’t say we didn’t warn you

Download at our iPhone Downloads section:
iPhone 3G 2.2.1 ipsw Download
iPhone 2G EDGE 2.2.1 ipsw Download
iPod Touch 1G 2.2.1 ipsw download
iPod Touch 2G 2.2.1 ipsw download

A new firmware is approaching for the iPhone and with it comes another warning about the dangers of blindly installing new firmware versions before iPhone hacking teams have had a chance to rip it apart and update their software accordingly. Here is the latest note from the iPhone Dev Team on this matter:

in the past and we’ve warned against the immediate installation of these updates without knowing what they do to your device.

This is indeed true of the iPhone 3G’s upcoming 2.2 release. Installing ‘2.2’ straight away on the iPhone 3G using the iTunes auto-updater could affect your chances of any software unlock in the near future (should one be found and released), so when you see an update in iTunes await our instructions first!

Please don’t blindly install the update and then complain about it later ;-)

Tired of searching around the internet for where to download ipsw files? Kalieb has created us a nice little Windows application to make downloading iPhone firmware ipsw files a little easier. It is a simple program that lists all the iPhone firmware with a download and info button. The manager uses direct links to Apple’s servers for all versions of the iPhone software to date. Kalieb promises the software will also update itself with new links in the future.

You can grab from our iPhone Downloads section under “iPhone Utitlities”::”Windows” or use this direct link: Kalieb’s iPSW Manager.

Note: We always have the iPhone’s firmware files along with some custom ones hosted here:
iPhone ipsw Downloads

justinomg has put together this amazing post at MacRumors documenting all the undocumented changes in Apple’s latest iPhone 2.1 firmware.  Obviously quite a bit of time went into creating this list of new features, so thank justinomg and all the other contributers noted in the article.

justinomg’s post:

Undocumented features/fixes:
All screenshots have been taken and uploaded by myself unless stated otherwise. Please do not use them without crediting me.
Feel free to post any more new undocumented features and I will happily upload a screenshot to the thread, crediting you for the find of course.

• Although it isn’t exactly a “new feature”, some bluetooth headsets which didn’t originally work with visual voicemail and other features on previous firmware versions have been reported to be working on 2.1 by different users.
Confirmed headsets:

• Plantronics 520BT Headset (Credit to trunksu).
• Plantronics 925BT Headset (Credit to diesel).
• Plantronics Voyager 510BT Headset (Credit to QuarterSwede).
• Bluespoon AX2BT Headset (Credit to galenmd).
• Any Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep vehicle with U-Connect (Credit to mklos).

• You can now pause apps by clicking the icon while it downloads/installs.

• Tripple clicking the microphone button (attached to included headphones) now goes to the previous song played/in a playlist. (Credit to Sealit). (more…)

Apple has released the 2.1 system software update for the iPhone & iPhone 3G today. If you have a jailbroken or unlocked iPhone we do not recommend updating until software like PwnageTool, QuickPwn & WinPwn have a chance to update for this latest iteration.

Update: Some risk takers have reported it is safe to upgrade to iPhone 2.1, if you have an unlocked first generation iPhone. You will lose your jailbreak but the modem will remain unlocked.

Here’s what’s new:

• decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
• significantly improved battery life for most users
• dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• faster installation of 3rd party applications
• fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party applications
• improved performance in text messaging
• faster loading and searching of contacts
• improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

As always we’ve mirrored these firmware files in our iPhone Downloads section under “iPhone Firmware”::”iPhone System Software Updates” or just use these direct links:

iPhone 2.1 ipsw Download
iPhone 3G 2.1 ipsw Download

For those of you who have upgraded already let us know your impressions in the comments.

Minutes ago at the Apple “Let’s Rock” event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs finally made the official announcement that iPhone 2.1 will be available this Friday September 12th. No word yet on the expected not so surprise new features.

If you have a Jailbroken or Unlocked iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod Touch Do not upgrade on Friday. Make sure to check back here for updates on when it’s safe and how to do it.

…This is a big update, it fixes lots of bugs. Fewer dropped calls, big battery life improvements. No crashes with Apps. Backing up is faster. Some great new performance enhancements… free to all owners, available this Friday.

Apple has released a new iPhone System Software Update this latest version is 2.0.2. This is another mysterious bug fix release with no new features being added (any new features would appear in a 2.1 release). Mysterious due to the fact Apple won’t tell anyone what those bugs are. Maybe this is the rumored 3G coverage bug fix? Apple has been receiving a bit of bad press lately with reports of users having 3G coverage issues that could be fixed via a firmware patch.

If you have a jailbroken or unlocked iPhone do not upgrade to this firmware yet. You will lose your jailbreak and unlock. As always we’ll have to wait a little bit while iPhone developers patch their tools.

As always when a new firmware is released we have archived and mirrored it in our iPhone Downloads section under ‘iPhone Firmware’ :: ‘iPhone System Software Updates’ or you can use these direct links:

iPhone 2.0.2 ipsw Download
iPhone 3G 2.0.2 ipsw Download