New iPhone 3.0 OS Beta 4 Comes With iTunes 8.2 Pre-Release

In keeping with the release schedule they’ve established, Apple yesterday let loose new versions of its iPhone 3.0 OS and accompanying SDK. This time around, developers got another goody, in the form of an early pre-release of iTunes 8.2. The new version of iTunes is apparently required for activating the new iPhone OS beta, build 7A300g. As always, users must also install the latest iPhone SDK (build 9M2732) in order for the update to work properly.

The new iTunes pre-release is stealing the spotlight this time around, thanks to a mention in the “About iTunes” legalese of Blu-ray among other formats mentioned in conjunction with Gracenote, the software used to gather track information when CDs or other media are played back in Apple’s media jukebox app. Many are speculating that this could foretell the coming of the sometimes maligned video disc format to the Mac platform.

Before you get too excited, though, realize (as Gizmodo points out) that the same legal content in iTunes 8.1.1 (the current version) didn’t list DVD, so the inclusion of Blu-ray doesn’t necessarily indicate anything. Unless, of course, it indicates an upcoming ability to play back (folding DVD Player into iTunes and getting rid of the separate app) and/or import from both sources, in addition to CDs. Now that’s tantalizing.

On the iPhone side, there are some nice new features that I actually am really happy to finally see included. The “Store” menu that showed up in previous builds, but that didn’t actually have any content, now lets you sign in and out of your iTunes account, and view and change your account payment details and credit card information. The less dependent on iTunes the iPhone becomes, the better, in my opinion, and this virtually cuts the cord. Now we just need wireless syncing.

Source:http://theappleblog.com

Apple just launched the iPhone 3.0 SDK

Apple just launched the iPhone 3.0 SDK This launch is extremely significant for developers and anyone who is planning to launch applications on the iPhone for business purposes. Noteworthy developments in this launch are:

i) Over 1,000 new APIs, the new SDK version for iPhone  provides you with an amazing range of technologies to enhance the functionality of your applications. New APIs also provide support for applications to communicate with hardware accessories attached to iPhone or iPod touch.

ii) Apple enabled the SDK to allow for subscription and native app purchasing - This will allow for a variety of business models on the iPhone to be enabled. With new release, developer can now charge users AFTER they have downloaded an application. "In-App Purchase" will allow developers to sell updates to their applications. This is not enabled for free applications.

iii) Push notification was a big issue on the iPhone. Apple did not enable that due to concern with battery life, but did add Apple Push Notification Service optimized for mobile networks, so that applications like IM can be woken.

iv) The SDK 2.0 was also a hit among the developers while 3.0 extends the Beta 2.0 firmware with various bug fixes and support for the latest iPhone OS.

v) The added core location support in the SDK allow richer LBS (Location-based services) applications. You can now embed maps within your applications using the new kit. It works with the Google Mobile Maps Service and features panning and zooming, custom annotations, current location and geocoding.

vi)Access to user's iPod library directly from the application.

vii)Another new addition to the pack is the peer-to-peer connectivity. This would enable automatic bluetooth discovery without joining a Wi Fi Network or pairing.

For further reading, the following sources have a good overview of the launch and what it means for developers and consumers:

The official announcement from Apple

Apple's iPhone 3.0 SDK Renews Developer Gold Rush