iPhone 2.1 represented both a large leap of stability across the OS and a brisk stride of new features in key areas like the iPod app and even SMS. Now that folks have dug through recent builds of the beta iPhone 2.2 updates, Apple will apparently maintain a casual jogging pace with new features, though you wouldn't know it from the release notes.
According to MacRumors, three significant features have so far been found in beta builds of iPhone OS 2.2 currently available to developers. Probably the most interesting is Google Street View, a feature that T-Mobile's Android phone has been touting over iPhone. There's no word on whether the iPhone's version of this feature will use the same accelerometer-based gimmick that Android does. We can tell you, however, that at least a couple of us in the Ars Orbiting HQ would prefer to see other Google Maps features in lieu of Streets, such as the excellent public transit (bus, train, and subway) integration that Google supports for some major metro areas.
The next feature is support for Japanese emoji icons, for which MacRumors created a screenshot. Emoji is made up of picture characters that are all the rage in the Japanese mobile market, and analysts have cited the iPhone's lack of support for them as a key factor of slow iPhone adoption in the country.
Last, but probably not least, is a new preference for shutting off the iPhone's system-wide auto-correction spelling feature. Apparently, some people have a nasty case of the "wanna-write-the-most-illegible-e-mail-evar-itis," and iPhone 2.2 may finally grant their wish.
There is no word, however, on whether the much-anticipated push alerts system is back on the table. As you may remember, Steve Jobs previewed iPhone push alerts at WWDC 2008 in June as a compromise between allowing applications to run rampantly in the background and giving the iPhone's battery a shot at lasting through your morning commute. The system was slated to arrive in September, presumably in iPhone 2.1, but was pulled mid-August.
No comments:
Post a Comment