The All NEW Updated iPhone

We didn't get a 3G iPhone at Macworld, but at least we got a software update that brings pseudo-GPS abilities, customizable home pages and more to Apple's coveted handheld. Here’s a few quick first impressions.

GPS: Actually, we're not talking actual GPS here; instead, this update to the iPhone's Maps app triangulates your position according to your distance from the nearest cell phone towers. You activate the feature by tapping a little bulls-eye in the left-hand corner of the Maps interface; 10 to 30 seconds later, a blue circle appears on the map showing your approximate location—and "approximate" is the key word. In my first few tries, the circle encompassed almost a third of Manhattan—a pretty massive swath of land, and not terribly helpful for, say, finding the nearest ATM. A couple of tries later, however, Maps found my location within a block; not bad at all.

Customizing the home page: Used to be you had to hack your iPhone to tweak the icons on the home page. Now you just touch and hold an icon, and all the icons begin to wiggle; next, just drag the icon wherever you want it to go, even on a subsequent home page (you get a total of nine). Also nice: you can turn Web pages in the mobile Safari into icons on the home page. (Apple calls them Webclips, but they don't work like the real-time, updating Webclips widgets in Mac OS X Leopard.) The wiggling, moveable icons will come in especially handy once third-party iPhone apps become widely available.

Chapters, subtitles, and languages: I was only able to test chapter support for videos (I don't have any iTunes movies with subtitles or alternate languages yet), and it worked nicely; you just tap an icon to the right of the playback controls, and the video image flips around, revealing chapter titles, thumbnails and time elapsed.

Lyrics: Not as impressive as the other new features, if you ask me. Basically, if you have a song in your iPhone tagged with song lyrics (select a song in iTunes, click Command-I, and click the Lyrics tab to add lyrics) field, you just tap the cover art while the song is playing to see the words. Unfortunately, the lyrics display on the iPhone seems to do away with line breaks, which makes a mess of nicely formatted choruses and the link. Pretty disappointing.

SMS messages for multiple recipients: One of the most puzzling omissions on the iPhone has finally been fixed; at last, you can send text messages to multiple recipients at once. Of course, the only drawback is that if you get into a back-and-forth with one recipient, everyone in the group will get your replies, which could get a little confusing. Still, a welcome improvement.

Note: Like each of the previous software updates for the iPhone, this latest patch will wreak havoc with hacked handsets; expect any unauthorized applications (including iPhone unlocking apps) to be wiped clean by the update.

Use Wi-Fi on the iPod touch to connect to the Internet using Safari web browser

When you use any of these applications,YouTube, or iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store iPod touch does the following in order until it is connected:

Connects over the last Wi-Fi network you used that's available.


If no Wi-Fi networks you've used are available, iPod touch will scan for Wi-Fi networks and show a list of Wi-Fi networks in range. Tap a network and, if necessary, enter the password to join. Networks that require a password show a lock icon () next to them.


There is an Option to manually enter your Wi-Fi network name/SSID (if the Wi-Fi network is configured not to broadcast or be displayed to the public). If necessary, enter the password to join.

When iPod touch is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi icon in the status bar at the top of the screen it will show connection strength. The more bars you see, the stronger the connection will be.

Wi-Fi Settings
Turn Wi-Fi on or off.
Choose Settings Wi-Fi and turn Wi-Fi on or off.


Set iPod touch to ask if you want to join a new Wi-Fi network.
When you are trying to access the Internet, by using Safari or YouTube for example, and you are not in range of a Wi-Fi network you have previously used, this option tells iPod touch to look for another network. iPod touch will display a list of all available Wi-Fi networks that you can choose from. Networks that require a password appear with a lock icon.

If your "Ask to Join New Networks" is turned off, you must manually join a network to connect to the Internet.

Choose Wi-Fi and turn "Ask to Join Networks" on or off. If you turn "Ask to Join Networks" off, you must join networks manually.


To join a Wi-Fi network manually.
Choose Wi-Fi, wait a moment as iPod touch detects networks in range, then choose a network. If necessary, enter a password and tap Join. Networks that require a password appear with a lock icon.


If you want to make iPod touch forget a network, so that the device doesn't join it automatically. Choose Wi-Fi and tap the arrow next to a network you've joined before. Then tap "Forget this Network."


If you want to connect to a closed Wi-Fi network (an available Wi-Fi network that isn't shown in the list of scanned networks).Choose Wi-Fi, then tap Other and enter the network name. If the network requires a password, choose Security, tap the type of security the network uses, and enter the password. You must already know the network name, password, and security type to connect to a closed network. Some Wi-Fi networks may require you to enter or adjust additional settings, such as a client ID or static IP address.

Adjust settings to connect to a Wi-Fi network
Choose Wi-Fi, then tap the arrow () next to a network.