iPhone Software

There are several things included in the iPhone 3.0 MMS release that users may not be aware of until they start flexing the application. The key here is that you can send much more than photos. Information from your Contacts can be sent via MMS by touching the Share Contact button when viewing entry details.

Similarly, touching the share button in Voice Memos will give the option to send via MMS or email. The iPhone 3GS will send video using MMS, although it will severely degrade the size and quality. This helps to insure the video will play on smaller and older phones.

One of the most common problems reported with the iPhone 3.1 firmware update is significantly reduced battery life. Apple has noticed the issue, and some AppleCare employees have sent requests for more information from affected users.

Until now, Apple has recommended that 3.1 problems can be solved either with a hard reboot or a complete restore using iTunes. The restore method results in a reset iPhone and the owner has to reconfigure settings from scratch.

Here we go again. With Apple's release of iPhone OS 3.1 the iPhone Dev-Team has been busy getting jailbreak and unlock solutions ready. The first of these software packages is Pwnage Tool 3.1 for Mac OS X.

The current version is available directly from the iPhone Dev-Team and supports the first generation iPhone and the iPhone 3G. The Dev-Team is still working on software for Windows and the iPhone 3GS.

Now that the number of iPhone applications is quickly approaching six digits, finding useful software seems to get more difficult every day. You may have heard that Apple is working on ways to improve the search for iPhone apps in the App Store and iTunes.

Now Microsoft is getting into the game with their Bing search engine. They've added a visual search gallery for top iPhone apps based on the company's Silverlight technology.

The latest firmware update released by Apple may have improved security and added features, but some iPhone owners are having problems. Reports from users on the Apple support forums indicate a major problem with updating to iPhone OS 3.1 on the iPhone 3G.

Users are ending up with bricked phones, and iPhones that crash several times, requiring a hard reboot. Holding the sleep and home button doesn't always work, however. Some users are finding it necessary to downgrade to iTunes 8 and firmware 3.0.1 to solve the problems.