All Articles Tagged iphone 3.2

So it’s November, have you seen the iPhone 3.2 beta? We’ve been over this before — iPhone 2.2 beta was released on September 25, 2008 and the final version was made available on November 21. So where’s 3.2?

Yes, Apple hasn’t announced iPhone 3.2, so we can’t really call it delayed, but then Apple never announces anything in advance — all we have are historical patterns and market realities.

Was Apple waiting to integrate iTunes LP and iTunes Extras? They’ve done that for Apple TV 3.0 already. Where’s the iPhone and iPod touch love?

We’ve already postulated what other features they could be exploring, including Google Maps updates with Latitude (and now, of course, Google Maps Navigation), but given the strained relations, rejection of the former, and brand-new beta status of the latter, 3.2 might be too early. Likewise, Zune HD competitive features like 720p video out.

With the onslaught of new Android software, like HTC Sense UI, MotoBlur, and Android 2.0, could Apple have decided to raise the level of this update? A few minor tweaks were certainly possible for a standard schedule iPhone 3.2, but would Apple delay their frequent update cycle in order to make a more impressive version?

We’re not going to get our hopes up, but if Apple is getting ambitious, if Scott Forstall and team are going to “blow us away”, we’re willing wait. If not, then where is it?

Dear Apple, if you’re releasing a new wireless keyboard, why not take this opportunity to make it work with iPhone? If the rumor-mill is to be believed, you’re set to release new iMacs and Mac Minis (and hopefully a 27″ or 30″ LED display!) perhaps as soon as next week (hey, there was a Spotlight Turns to Notebooks event last October!). And if the FCC filings are accurate, you’ll have a new multitouch mouse and wireless keyboard to go with them. Apple, in the name of everyone whining on the internet for it — let that wireless keyboard work with the iPhone.

You introduced enhanced peripheral functionality last March during the iPhone 3.0 SDK event, including dock and Bluetooth access, but you didn’t add the Bluetooth profile or any drivers for keyboards. That led to many sad, irritated messages sent our way via comments, email, and tweets. Now, with MMS in the US finally off your miss-list, wouldn’t it be nice to scratch external keyboard off that list as well? Since we haven’t even seen a beta for iPhone 3.2 yet, mightn’t you not introduce said drivers there?

No need to answer now. We’ll just wait for your next event (which we’ll be liveblogging right here at TiPb, ‘natch) and hope for the best.

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Apple is no doubt already hard at work on iPhone OS 3.2, the second minor update to the third major release of their mobile platform. Sure, we got iPhone 3.1 just over two weeks ago on Sept. 9, but looking back, we should expect to see the first beta versions of 3.2 sooner rather than later.

By way of comparison, iPhone 2.1 was released on Sept. 12, 2008. iPhone 2.2 Beta 1 was released on Sept. 25, with some tweaks to App Store and Safari’s UI. iPhone 2.1 Beta 2 dropped on Oct. 24, with Google Street View, SDK support for line-in audio, and direct podcast downloads and streaming. The final iPhone 2.2 firmware was released on Nov. 21, and both Google Street View and the ability to get podcasts on-device were great enhancements.

So, it’s not unreasonable to imagine 3.2 Beta 1 could show up before the end of the month, with a final release before the holidays.

Since we’ve already gotten direct TV and Movie downloads (over Wi-Fi), there may not be an analogous improvement to iPod and iTunes this time around. Subscribing to podcasts on device, however, where a push notification alerts you when a new episode is available and you’re on Wi-Fi to download it, is something we’d adore. iTunes LP and iTunes Extras support would also be dandy give their introduction in iTunes 9.

Likewise, Google Voice and Google Latitude having been rejected/held-for-study by the App Store, we may not get a Maps app update either (though Apple baking Latitude into the existing Maps app, Google-willing, could be a great compromise solution). We won’t hold our breath for push Gmail either (not GoogleSync, we mean built-in, doesn’t use up your only ActiveSync slot, genuine push email like MobileMe and Yahoo!)…

Enabling 720p TV-out from the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 would be a great, and competitive addition, especially with a souped up dock-to-HDMI video cable to go with it.

We have our ongoing (though admittedly greatly reduced since 3.0) wish-list: better support for Bluetooth controls (AVRCP), APIs to allow apps to interact with the calendar, some form of background support for streaming audio, turn-by-turn, and other apps that cry out for it, Mobile iChat, remote backup and restore, iTunes music and video streaming, file system access for document handling, etc.

(Yes, we left out bug fixes, as we hope Apple sees those as urgent enough to address in an iPhone 3.1.1 release much, much sooner).

But what do you want to see Apple prioritize for iPhone 3.2?