iPhone firmware 2.0 hands-on
By Ryan Block 
posted Mar 18th 2008 1:07PM
posted Mar 18th 2008 1:07PM
- Exchange is so on! Changes are pushed over the network, but over WiFi it does check-ins, so it's not as instantaneous.
- There's no contact search that we can see, so far. Maybe that only gets turned on if you have thousands of contacts (which we definitely do not).
- There's a new button in the calendar, but we don't know what it is and can't make it do anything.
- The App Store is there, of course, but doesn't do anything yet (except error out that it can't connect).
- Wondering when Apple will make good on its agreement to license Cisco technology? Well, the branded Cisco VPN screen has definitely been added to the VPN settings. We couldn't really test this one, but assume it works as advertised. We don't yet know if it supports SecurID or other hardware token authenticators.
- Parental controls most certainly work. Marvel as we turn off YouTube!
- You can now order your preferred WiFi networks.
- In addition to having a new sideways scientific mode(!), the basic calculator now does commas and has new, useful functions for the math nerds; both the calc and the iTunes icons have changed.
- By far our favorite new feature is multi-select in mail, though. Now when you hit edit you can select as many messages as you want and delete or move them as a group. Friggin' finally. Now where's that two-pane client?
Update: Video after the break!
no 3g yet i still dont care. or other better features.
Am I the only one sick of hearing, "No 3G = No buy!"?
We get it. Keep holding out brother.
The rest of us are sick of Engadget pretending to be the TUAW.
Will there be 3G yes or no??
on my iphone calendar the buttons are at the top, not the bottom. is that a preference choice somewhere or a change in 2.0 that wasn't worth commenting on?
iPhone 2.0 is a software update.
3G is a property of the hardware.
you know when you said "the TUAW", you should have said just TUAW because in that statement you have said, "the the unofficial apple weblog".
nice job.
These comments just remind me of something... nothing directed at the opening comment, but it worries me that people are so concerned that 3G is not included in this update. 3G would mean a hardware upgrade, not software.
What concerns me is that people aren't purchasing the phone because of 'this 3G thingy', yet don't even know what it is or does. It's more like they are just following what everyone else says. If you aren't aware of what it is or does, you probably shouldn't be too concerned about it.
Still, I will purchase my next iPhone when 3G comes out, I want streaming internet radio!!!
@Sam
Yeah i get annoyed by that stuff too like people saying the "atm machine" instead of just the atm like it should be.
I don't know why it just bothers me.
How many Firmwares this phone need to go through? Or is it their excuse to brick people's phone?
James,
You can't actually brick an iPhone. That's because Apple was smart in how they set it up. People often talk about bricked iPhones but they are using the term incorrectly because it's not difficult to recover from. A software update for the iPhone is technically NOT a firmware update because unlike a Windows Mobile phone, the OS is not stored in ROM (Read Only Memory). I believe only the bootloader is stored in ROM. Therefore, updating the iPhone OS is a much less worrysome event compared to other phones and this is why we will see many more updates for iPhone users...and that's a GOOD THING.
Another benefit of storing the iPhone's OS in the general flash is that it has a lot of growing room for more features. Other phones can not be upgraded as much because the ROM memory capacity is only slightly larger than what the OS requires.
@ Ionecow I am just tired of apple pushing firm wear (on purpose) I want some better over all tech. My 2 year old samsung has a better cam quality and voice quality. Tired of apple flaunting un real changes.
all i can say to the rest is the like apple. they are spiff even though i only like windows
okay! we get it! you want 3G WE want 3G but you know it isn't here YET. How hard is it to simply accept what we have from apple so far or wait for 3G. Its their first phone whether you hate apple or not you cant get everything in one hit.
Here is a BIG BIG question. Where the heck is Bluetooth for the IPOD side of the Iphone??? I mean, my old LG phone with MP3 player would work with my BT Stereo Headset but the Iphone DOESN'T???? What's up with that! What is the point of having a phone with Ipod and you still have to have a wire hanging from your EAR!
The BT works on the phone side of things, which is expected...but if you were like me and shelled out 100 bucks for a Stereo headset, you will be PEAVED for sure!
PLEASE tell me that a firmware update will fix this!!! and that it's coming soon!
if my iphone had 3g i still would be left out because of at&t service
i want side ways text and then i think i would be happy
@ lonecow, just b/c you have low expectations for your phone, why should the rest of us??? I wholeheartedly agree with Robert...
3G is much faster!!!
3G can be used while you are on a voice call (great if you are using Gmaps or browsing the internet and taking a phone call over a bluetooth headset)
3G does not consume as much battery life as wifi!
3G auto/switches to EDGE/GPRS when not in use so as to conserve battery life!!!
If the iPhone had 3G, it would be a killer phone. You may not have shopped around, but the rest of us have. We've seen the advantages first hand, and going back to using an EDGE only phone is like being in the stoneage. Analogous would be you going back to using your Motorola RAZR or whatever crappy phone you had before you bought your iPhone. My HTC Touch Cruise (using Opera 9.5 beta) loads entire pages before the iPhone loads the first image on a site....
Okay, is it going to require everyone to buy new iphones to have 3G or will it be available in a software update??
i wonder if they'll add copy and paste before 2010.
The only phones i know of that can do copy/paste are Palms, and they didn't start as a phone.
you have limited knowledge apparently.
pretty much every nokia phone can do copy and paste and at least one of my 3 OLD samsung phones could too.
@Mike
WINDOWS FREAKING MOBILE
Blackberry's can do copy and paste as well - which is definitely a feature I miss with my iPhone.
to summarise, iphone smokes bone!!! hohoooooi!
My old completely not smart Sony Ericsson (w710) can handle copy and paste just fine. Don't let these people make you believe that it takes anything special to implement copy and paste on a phone.
Both my BlackBerry 8100 and 8320 have cut and paste. My old 7100t had copy and paste as well. Palm has it. Windows Mobile Professional has it as well. All phones running S60 has it. The only phones that don't have copy and paste are generic phones, iPhone, and WM standard phones like the Motorola Q.
Copy & paste is such a natural function of any phone that does what the iPhone can do. One of the reasons why I still use my Treo.
Same with RAZR.
Have any of you considered trying to send these requests to apple? I'm off to do it right now.
go to this site from your iphone and enjoy copy/paste... but only in safari. http://www.biocow.com/iCopy/
So... where did you acquire this iPhone 2.0 OS from? :)
I know it's in the SDK simulator... but you guys aren't geeky enough to extract it on ur own.
If you pay for the dev account you can get the actual beta. My aunt has it on hers as well.
Only a few apps are in the simulator - definitely not the calculator. Even if you try and pay, you have to be accepted - most people weren't.
Damn!
I want one!
So buy one and hack it if you can't afford zi contract.
So after a year Apple have only managed a few minor upgrades. What the hell are the Apple engineers doing? What you can't search in Contacts! Such a primitive device that costs so much :)
Anyone else notice how strikingly similar App Store is to AppTap? hmm? hmm?
Well, what little updates they have made to the iPhone more than trumps the updates made to 99% of the other phones on the market, smart and dumb combined. The fact that Apple is not only releasing any updates at all (getting firmware updates to fix bugs on most phones is relatively rare, and usually only for bigger bugs), but that they are releasing updates that roll out massive features like Exchange support, mobile music purchasing, and third-party app development for EVERY device (a day-one iPhone gets the same stuff as a brand-new device, as opposed to Windows Mobile phones, where you're usually stuck with the version of WM you get, unless your carrier decides to license the newest version and release an updater or the hackers make it work) is unheard of in the cell industry, not to mention the speed at which they are releasing updates.
Honestly, it would probably take MORE time to perform the search function in the address book than it would to simply press the letter on the right hand side and then scroll to the name you need. I don't even see this as a problem, and I have MANY contacts.
How does the app store look like apptap installer? The apptap installer is made to function like the other iphone programs like youtube and itunes. They both have a similar look. So if the apptap installer is made to have the same interface elements as the other iphone apps, then how is the new apps program copying apptap? Arent they just continuing the interface tradition THEY STARTED when they did some of the other programs? Any similarity is a copy BY apptap, not copied FROM.
@ Soulquarian
Sometimes I have a new client and I can't remember their name... so I can search in Address Book for the project name, since I keep the project name in my notes under the contact. This also works for any other information listed under the contact.
@ Libb
Well, what little updates they have made to the iPhone more than trumps the updates made to 99% of the other phones on the market, smart and dumb combined.
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You mean little features like EVDO Rev A and real satellite based GPS on the Mongul? Thats trumped by multi-delete in e-mail FINALLY coming to the iPhone?
The reason the iPhone has to do so much updating is because its so far behind!
@Surur:
No, but adding a ground-up implementation of Exchange support and releasing a full third-party SDK IS bigger than enabling a very slightly faster network standard (that was supported in hardware but merely didn't have software support until they bothered releasing the patch) and activating a chip you had sitting dormant in the device. Multi-delete in MobileMail.app is just a nice touch :)
And I said most phones on the market - Sprint is one of the few carriers that actually does a decent job of supporting its customers with firmware updates (see: Treo updaters, Mogul), but even they haven't come close to what Apple's done in the time since the iPhone's launch, and they certainly don't release things as quickly. The Mogul's patch was the exception, not the rule.
no, not really
Regarding Cisco VPN :"We couldn't really test this one, but assume it works well."
Ryan Block, Could you please elaborate on why you assume it works well with absolutely NO evidence?
I can't stand the "engadget is apple biased" crap that floats around the boards and usually dismiss it right away, but I think this merits an explenation.
That sounded like I am bitter, I am not. I am genuinely curious as to why you assume it works. As in, do you know something we do not, or are you actually basing this features quality solely on the apple name?
Because every other feature they advertised in this update works perfectly despite this being an early beta?
Fair enough. Thank you.
Damn Ryan.... you put that b1t¢h in place.