long-anticipated features, such as copy-and-paste of text and picture
messaging, as the company pushes to stay competitive in the phone
market.
Apple also gave its vast network of software developers a slew of new
options for upcoming applications, such as support for subscription
models and automatic alerts, a move applauded by analysts.
"They've taken a few more steps ahead of the pack in the race," said
CCS Insight analyst John Jackson, adding that, in spite of the
omission of certain features until now, the iPhone was still the most
high-profile cell phone.
"Two years on they still have the cool phone and business model that
everybody's talking about and trying to emulate."
While Apple's touchscreen inspired many imitators, some users
complained it lacked functions common in other smartphones such as
multimedia messaging and the ability to copy and paste text.
Such features already exist on rival devices such as the BlackBerry
from Research In Motion Ltd and Treo from Palm Inc and phones based on
Windows Mobile from Microsoft Corp. iPhone is central to Apple's
plans, as growth in its Mac computer and iPod music player businesses
slows.
On Tuesday, Apple -- represented by iPhone software senior vice
president Scott Forstall, as Chief Executive Steve Jobs is out on
medical leave -- lifted the veil on iPhone 3.0 software with 100 new
features, including some long-wished for updates.
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