iPhone OS 3.0 revealed

For nearly two years, the iPhone was a must-have device with one very conspicuous missing feature: copy and paste.

Not anymore.

Apple unveiled the next generation iPhone and iPod Touch software – version 3.0 – at its Cupertino, Calif., campus Tuesday – and, proving the rumor mill true, announced that the sought-after function will at last appear on the groundbreaking gadget, according to multiple online reports.

Copy and paste – long a baffling omission from the iPhone’s operating system – wasn’t the only highlight of Tuesday’s event, though. Here’s what iPhone owners also have to look forward to:

• MMS support: Now iPhone users can send and receive multimedia messages to other phones instead of just standard text messages. Up until now, users were limited to emailing photos or uploading them via the Web.
• Push notification: In previous versions of the iPhone software, if users closed an application – other than built-in apps like Mail or iPod – the apps would stop running. Now, through push notification, apps can alert users to updates, new messages, etc., even when the app isn’t open.
• Turn-by-turn apps: Another long-awaited feature, Apple will now allow developers to create map features that provide turn-by-turn directions.
• “In-App” purchases: Users can now download features from inside of applications – like additional game levels or eBooks.
• Peer-to-peer connectivity: Using Bluetooth, iPhone users can link up to play games – or pass along their business cards.

Unfortunately, iPhone 3.0 software won’t be available until the summer – but you’ve waited this long, what’s another few months