Despite a host of new features that should appeal to webmasters and tech developers, Apple has not budged from its position against allowing adult-themed apps into the iPhone and iPod Touch App Store.
Probably the biggest feature to be added is a unified notification system for apps. This new feature will let developers send alerts to the user at virtually any time, either with a small icon that appears next to the larger app icon, a text alert or an audio alert. Tech pundits have long called for background processing for iPhone apps, where the device would continue to perform low-level tasks even when larger programs were running, but the new iPhone OS won't include this feature.
Apple will give app developers more ways to make money from their work with the addition of support for subscription-based apps, as well as upsells within apps. That means that an app can prompt a user to pay more money to unlock a hidden part of the app. Developers will get 70 percent of revenue from apps, to be paid monthly.
Apple also has unlocked the Maps app so developers can add its functionality into their own apps.
The iPhone OS 3.0 also will include support for instant peer-to-peer networking. That means two iPhone users can instantly link up over Bluetooth to interact with each other's devices. Unfortunately, this support will not allow users to be able to send files between iPhones with Bluetooth, a long-requested feature.
For more information, visit CNET.com or Gizmodo.com.
