iPhone features to expand

There are many more iPhone software upgrades yet to be implemented, Apple is telling the press. While the recent v1.1.2 firmware release implemented support for multiple keyboards and languages, including two with Asian characters, a company spokesman says this represents just a small portion of what is coming. "All the complaints and feature requests we've had can be fixed and added by software upgrades," the spokesman claims. The reason owners haven't seen more features, it is suggested, is quality. "We didn't want to include something for something's sake. For the average mobile phone most people only use around 10% [of features], Apple didn't want that to happen with the iPhone."

The company has so far been unclear as to what upcoming features will include, but these may likely involve enabling features that the hardware is already capable of, such as recording video, or streaming data and music via Bluetooth 2.0. The major complaint that cannot be addressed with firmware updates is cellular speed, since 3G technology on GSM networks requires either UMTS/HSDPA or WiMAX. The iPhone operates on 2G EDGE.

An anonymous industry source hints that Apple is deliberately withholding updates to continually offer something new. "They aren't stupid. They won't want to give you everything at once," says the source. "You wait, there will be an exciting partnership with YouTube that adds video functionality and then lets you upload to the site in no time."

by MacNN Staff