“So whats the big deal with firmware 3.0?” - A friend asked me with a look of confusion on his face… “Can’t all phones copy and paste stuff, forward sms messages, send annoying mms messages and all that crap?” … I stared at him and mumbled “uhh yeah, but they are all crappy phones.”

So what IS the big deal about iPhone Firmware 3.0 anyway?

Well, it’s one step closer to satisfying allot of iPhone and Touch users out there, myself included. It’s nearly everything we have been asking for from the beginning with firmware 1.0, and we all know that Apple is still holding out on us.

Do the new features of 3.0, (Tethering, MMS, A2DP Stereo Bluetooth, Landscape Keyboards and of course Copy, Cut and Paste among others) make up for the user customizing and limitlessness boundreis of jailbreaking and Cydia?

Well I am sure that 3.0+ will stop allot of people turning to jailbreak only apps like PDANet to tether their iPhone 3G to their Notebook, or Clippy to copy and paste stuff. Unless Apple addresses Video Recording, Springboard Wallpapers and Custom Icons, I think people are going to continue to jailbreak and customize their devices no matter what.

That said, I would bet that Video recording is coming with the new faster iPhone hardware in June and I wouldn’t doubt if Apple threw in some sort of springboard skinning app to try and sway allot of the jailbreakers from opening up the OS. But there is also one major reason to jailbreak the iPhone, and that’s to unlock the device to work with other carriers. As long as there is an iPhone Dev Team and the challenge and demand for an iPhone unlock, the hard working .org will be there to help.

Over the next few months the next 3.0 Beta’s will be rolling out and they are going to be chock full of all sorts of new API’s and hidden features. But what about the current 3.0 Beta? Is it worth installing on your iPhone (or Touch), more so is it worth forking out $99 US to join the Apple Dev Program just for the 3.0+ Betas? Let’s see..

iPhone 3G and 3.0 Beta

If you have an Unlocked iPhone 3G (using Yellowsn0w) - don’t do it. Just stop reading now, go and check out something else. Updating to 3.0 with an unlocked iPhone 3G will result in the iPhone 3G’s baseband modem (what connects it to the cell network) will be updated and the Yelllowsn0w unlock will be gone and who knows when or IF it will be able to be unlocked again.

If you either have a Officially Unlocked iPhone from an authorized carrier that can use any sim card, or you are locked to a carrier and have no plans on using the device with other sim cards, then you can try it out, but be warned, this is a Beta version of 3.0, so expect reboots and slowwwwww operating.

Some 3rd party apps (like Facebook), are not working entirely or properly. Downgrading your iPhone 3G on 3.0 back to 2.2.1 is possible but your modem firmware will still be updated, so if your having signal problems with 3.0 beta, then you may be having them still after forcing a downgrade to 2.2.1. Again, this is beta, you may want to wait for it to become more stable.

iPhone 2G and 3.0 Beta

If you have an iPhone Unlocked 2G, well the world is your oyster. I have updated my 2G iPhone back and forth. From 2.2.1 Unlocked, updated to 3.0 and remained unlocked (activated but no Jailbreak/Cydia), back down to 2.2.1 and was still unlocked (unactivated) and then QuickPwned to activate 2.2.1, got back Cydia etc, updated again to 3.0 via iTunes and was activated and unlocked (no Cydia yet on 3.0 obviously). So your iPhone 2G can make the trip up and down the Yellowbrick Rd as many times as you wish an remain unlocked.

Same as above though, some third party apps are not working correctly and on the 2G iPhone 3.0, Stereo Bluetooth, MMS and some other functions are either not turned on or are not going to work on the old hardware (like future Turn by Turn GPS apps).

How To Update to 3.0

It’s easy really, just find the 3.0 ipsw restore files for your device and make sure to hold option/alt and click Update, and NOT Restore with the 3.0 firmware, or you’ll be un activated and having to downgrade and start all over. Don’t ask me for the firmware or where to get it, google is a great place to start looking, there are all over the torrent sites OR you can join the Apple Development Connection, fork out the $99 USD and get the SDK and Beta firmware and instructions on how to install 3.0 on your device. Hell you may even develop and app and make a buck or two million.

Is 3.0 worth it to update?

Yes and No. 3.0 is not very reliable, As I have my iPhone 3G to fall back on if ever needed, I have no issues with updating my 2G and having a laggy OS or no caller ID, I can enjoy the 2G and 3.0 for a couple hours and when I am going out, swap my sim into the 3G and be on my way worry free. BUT - dam the new 3.0 features are great. I already miss them when using my 3G on 2.2.1.

Verdict

Wait. 3.0 is everything everyone is making it out to be. It’s full of new features and unfound suprises. It’s got the potential to be the BEST mobile OS out there, period. But at present, it’s buggy and laggy. It’s in beta. Getting it and installing it is not easy nor supported unless you are a Developer. I would wait until the official version of 3.0 comes out, unless you feel for a trip down the Yellowbrick Rd.

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Related Stories Online

• iPhone 3.0: Underwhelming, Super-Exciting or Just Right? (jkontherun.com)
• News: Quick Summary: Apple iPhone OS 3.0 Event Announcements (ilounge.com)
• Apple iPhone OS Update Includes Copy/Paste and MMS (textually.org)
• Cut and paste, MMS highlight iPhone 3.0 improvements (macworld.com)
• iPhone wish list and tablet talk (bbc.co.uk)
• Apple struts iPhone 3.0, touts 100 new features (infoworld.com)
• iPhone 3.0 First Impressions Look Positive (cultofmac.com)
• Summary: iPhone 3.0 update to offer 100 new features (macworld.com)
• Apple Opens Up More Ways To Get Paid On The iPhone, Adds Key New Features. Apps Hit 800 Million Downloads. (techcrunch.com)
• iPhone Cut, Copy and Paste Plus MMS Coming This Summer (iphonesavior.com)
• Apple Previews Developer Beta of iPhone OS 3.0 (netnewsdaily.com)

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On March 17, Apple unveiled details about iPhone OS 3.0 software (click here for full QuickTime video) and released the new 3.0 iPhone Software Development Kit for developers. Below are a couple vids that have the highlights of the show.

Copy, Cut and Paste

Games

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Kevin Rose leaked some information about iPhone OS 3.0 during the live Diggnation show at SXSW in Austin last night.

According to Gizmodo, Rose revealed the following information:
- Cut and paste in 3.0
- Users magnify or double tap a word to bring up cut and paste
- Pinch “boundaries” to select word(s); Rose called them “copy boundaries”
- Then you get option to cut, paste or copy

Also, the 3.0 update will have enough new features and additions to bring it up to the Palm Pre levels. Whatever Palm Pre has shown us so far, apparently, the iPhone will have too when 3.0 becomes official. That point remains a bit hazy right now

Rose also said that MMS and video recording would not be present in this release nor will background processes be allowed.

Here is the video from diggnation, warning, offensive language and annoying screaming.

Lastly, there will NOT be video, nor will there be MMS. This last point seems to contradict BGR’s MMS rumor from the other day.

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Clippy for the iPhone updated - Copy and Paste from MyTriniPhone on Vimeo.

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Clippy for the iPhone - Copy & Paste! from MyTriniPhone on Vimeo.

There have been allot of attempts by developers to create the perfect solution to the lack of Copy and Paste on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Some were cleaver javascript plugins for Safari, others were stand alone Apps that kinda botched the method. But I believe this is the solution.

It’s simply called Clippy. It’s simple, free and easy to use. Install it via Cydia. Then simply tap, drag and then tap the keyboard option key to reveal the copy and paste tabs. You can copy and paste text between any app. Enjoy!!

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A safari addon plugin was posted on Cydia today and it includes the new Pastebud which enables copy and paste on your iPhone or iPod Touch, between Mail and Safari through a clever combination of web services and bookmarklets. It does it without requiring a jailbreak or App Store download. Watch the demo, or check out my screenshots below.

To use is easy, once installed simply navigate to the page you want to copy content from, go to your bookmarks and select copy, the page will be converted on pastebuds servers to a simple format that makes copying easier. Then simply tap and drag to select the text you wish to copy. Once highlighted, tap copy on the green pastebud bar, then you can either navigate to a new web page and select paste from your bookmarks which will give you paste prompts on the fields on that page that you can input/paste text into. OR - you can tap the small New Mail icon on the left and this will open a new email with the copied text pasted in there. In both cases all links will be retained.

You also have the option of upgrading your clipboard for $5, to hide the footer that pastebud appends to the end of each paste.

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As someone who has Copiercin on their iPhone in an attempt to simulate Copy and Paste one of the biggest Apps are missing from that mix, Safari. That’s where you’ll be needing to copy and paste from the most. There have been a couple attempts to provide this feature with javascript bookmarklets etc, but Pastebud so far has beat them all.

Jed Schmidt, creator of Pastebud, has conceived a way to copy and paste text from Safari to Mail, and between web pages. And this time, it doesn’t require any software installation and it’s legal:

Unlike other approaches, it works with the two apps that matter
most, Mail and Safari, and gets around Apple’s onerous App Store terms
through a clever combination of javascript bookmarks and web services.

In fact, it doesn’t require anything to be installed, so it avoids the App Store altogether. As you can see in the video, Pastebud—as the service is called—works using two bookmarks in Safari. One prepares and
loads the page you are viewing, ready to select text at the touch of a finger. From there, you can copy any text you want and create a new mail message with that text in it. In addition to that, you will be able to copy and paste in the text field of a different web page.

While this is not full copy and paste capabilities, I, for one, welcome the ability do exactly this, which is basically what I want to do 95% of the time. According to Jed Schmidt, creator of Pastebud, they have been testing it for about a week and they are now “putting the finishing touches on the web site before launch”.

[via Gizmodo]

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