Apple on iPhone tethering, Flash support, and Copy & Paste

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple executives Scott Forstall, Phil Schiller and Greg Joswiak answered a series of questions from reporters about the iPhone 3.0 platform, providing some additional information outside of that presented in the prepared comments.



Copy and paste priority



When asked by a reporter from Time why Apple took so long to deliver "obvious" copy and paste features, Forstall replied that it wasn't that easy, and that security issues needed to be resolved with copying information between applications.



Unlike most other smartphones' operating systems, the iPhone offers real security between applications managed by the operating system, rather than implicitly trusting whatever software a user might load from any source.



Flash panned, again



Asked about support for Adobe Flash, "video is still a blackhole if you visit a website with Flash," Apple said it has no announcements on that front, instead deflecting attention to the fact that the phone supports H.264 video streams, and adds new support for HDTV streaming for audio and video.



Video playback is the main use of Flash on the web outside of animating advertisements. However, a variety of major sites that use Flash for video on the web, including YouTube, CBS Mobile, and the BBC, now push standard H.264 video to the iPhone directly.



Tethering



When asked about tethering, the use of the iPhone as a gateway for sharing its mobile connection with a notebook computer, Forstall answered that the issue involves two parts, working with the mobile carriers and building the technical support into the iPhone client itself. "We’re absolutely supporting tethering in the client side in iPhone 3.0," Forstall said, "but we’re working with carriers around the world to see when they can add tethering support on their networks. But we are building that support into iPhone 3.0."



Peer-to-Peer and Bluetooth



The new Bonjour-enabled discovery of other devices will use Bluetooth exclusively, Apple said. That will enable the discovery service, used to allow gamers to participate in multiplayer titles for example, to work without disconnecting from WiFi internet, without needing any configuration, and without requiring mobile network access.



When asked if developers could send out audio files over Bluetooth, to trade files, say music files, through iPods, the group remained stumped for a moment before Forstall answered, "I think probably not -- you couldn't move the file."



"We have the ability to stream music to music apps, and certainly a game, if a game has music in the game it would be possible to download game tracks, but if would be confusing for other music apps with downloadable music that isn’t through the app store."
«1345

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 86
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Still think they should just put Flash for iPhone in mothballs.
  • Reply 2 of 86
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Peer-to-Peer and Bluetooth



    The new Bonjour-enabled discovery of other devices will use Bluetooth exclusively, Apple said. That will enable the discovery service, used to allow gamers to participate in multiplayer titles for example, to work without disconnecting from WiFi internet



    Nice, but why bluetooth exclusively? Why wouldn't Bonjour work over Wi-Fi? Will we be able to print (directly) without having to have a bluetooth access point?
  • Reply 3 of 86
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    In my humble opinion anyways the update delivers a lot of what I was looking for. Right now it is hard to say if it will deliver everything I want because 3.0 is HUGE! Really; this is one huge update.



    From the standpoint of development I need to find out more about several things that I was hoping for. The support for hardware is interesting but I need to know exactly what that means, does it turn the USB port into a master, enable access to the serial connection or allow for Bluetooth profiles that support serial interfaces. What more is being done with Bluetooth in general. It is going to take awile to digest aol the APIs. hopefully I will have this downloaded tomorrow.



    While everybody is excited about copy & paste, I think more people will get better use out of landscape mode. I'm also glad they aren't ignoring the stocks app, as that is really useful. It looks like this is a two pronged update in that user land is getting a big improvements right along with the developer space.





    Dave
  • Reply 4 of 86
    s8er01zs8er01z Posts: 144member
    Additional charges for MMS, MMS only works on 3G network, networks need to add support for tethering? WTF is this guy talking about... I have a 2 year old phone that could do all of this on 3G or EDGE and it's an AT&T phone (A707)...



    I see a couple of wanted updates but I am not paying more money to use MMS on my Iphone when I used it almost daily on my old phone on the same network and wtf am I supposed to do when I can't get 3G signal because I'm 10ft out of range of their sparse 3G network?



    Big Fail.
  • Reply 5 of 86
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by S8ER01Z View Post


    networks need to add support for tethering? WTF is this guy talking about... I have a 2 year old phone that could do all of this on 3G or EDGE and it's an AT&T phone (A707)...



    Exactly.



    I've been doing this for YEARS via bluetooh to my Macs with my Sony Ericsson P810 and P910 phones connected to T-Mobile's flat fee GPRS service. (I don't have a 3G phone yet, but the main requirement will be out of the box tethering)
  • Reply 6 of 86
    It does look pretty huge this update, indeed.... But one of the things that doesn't look very clear to me is that "capped" bluetooth that iPhone has got a the moment.... (unable to share photos between friends, etc...,through bluetooth, as you can do between any other phone....). Have they said anything about it??



    Still quite impressed with the update, and looking forward to it... Unfortunately I have got the iPhone 2G, so a few things won't work, but hopefully we can buy a new updated iPhone 3G in 2009 too..... hehehehe.



    Thanks
  • Reply 7 of 86
    pjb00pjb00 Posts: 16member
    I've followed AppleInsider for years, and I know that it's pretty Anti-Adobe / Anti-Flash, and I'm always amazed at how that bias gets in the way of accurate reporting. The exact quote, not reported in this article, is "We have no announcements on that topic today". If they wanted to "pan Flash" they'd say something like "We have no intentions of including Flash on the iPhone". Instead, if anything, the coy nature of the comments validate the rumors. I know there are a lot of people out there who would like to never see Flash on the iPhone, and that's fair enough as a user opinion, but the facts, straight up are, Steve Jobs way back when said "Maybe" to Flash on the iPhone (with some caveats), Apple has said nothing on the subject since, and Adobe has said "we're working on it"... Today's announcement was not news (or an announcement)... it was simply a "no comment" ... anything else is pure opinion and should be reported as such.
  • Reply 8 of 86
    7egend7egend Posts: 7member
    I don't mind that Flash isn't being included again, it's just as much as a resource hog as H.264, and I would much rather have the original stream instead of one embeded into Flash.



    Everything else is great news.
  • Reply 9 of 86
    frykefryke Posts: 217member
    It's kind of a joke, really. They obviously want to give providers the chance to charge a surplus for tethering, which I don't really get. I already pay for data transfer, the provider shouldn't really care what device I'm using it with. Right now, I can pop my SIM card out of my iPhone and put it into my Nokia Communicator e90 and use that tethered to my MacBook Air without any hassle (other than switching the phone). So I'm already using my iPhone's contract for tethered use of the bandwidth I'm paying for. The *only* problem right now, for me, is that the iPhone doesn't _technically_ offer such a mode.
  • Reply 10 of 86
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fryke View Post


    It's kind of a joke, really. [...] I already pay for data transfer, the provider shouldn't really care what device I'm using it with. Right now, I can pop my SIM card out of my iPhone and put it into my Nokia Communicator e90 and use that tethered to my MacBook Air without any hassle (other than switching the phone).



    You might feel like you're paying for transfers via a tethered laptop, but the provider does care because a tethered laptop can far out-distance the transfers possible from the iPhone interface (or from just the iPhone alone). I doubt the terms of service even allow tethering, but you probably know that.



    Furthermore, at least many months ago when I tried using the iPhone SIM in an Expresscard 3G modem, the modem wouldn't work until I called AT&T to upgrade to their more expensive "Laptop Connect" package. Perhaps it isn't necessary with the e90, but I don't plan on buying an e90 to find out it really doesn't work or doesn't work reliably.
  • Reply 11 of 86
    frykefryke Posts: 217member
    I can agree that this might obviously be a problem in the US. We don't have such restrictions here in Switzerland. We have others. I have a limit of 1 GB of data throughput per month. But that's more than enough for all my E-Mail stuff and visiting a couple of websites per day plus IM'ing.



    But that one gigabyte is paid for, whether I use it on the iPhone or through my notebook. The contract doesn't care whether I use it with my Nokia or my iPhone. As I've said: The only thing holding me back is the iPhone not having such a mode for networking.
  • Reply 12 of 86
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Is there any more info on Bluetooth?! Will it finally support a bluetooth keyboard?



    ...and will they offer unlocked 3.0 phones?
  • Reply 13 of 86
    hypermarkhypermark Posts: 152member
    Apple is so totally clicking on all cylinders with iPhone/iPod touch that I view today's preview as a "block the kick" announcement.



    What's a block the kick? It is an effort to do such a good job of persuading your core constituency (in this case, developers, consumers, carriers) that any perceived momentum of the competition (read: Android, Palm Pre) pales in comparison to your own that you block the competition's nascent momentum in its infancy.



    Apple is just running up the score, lest the competition find its footing with developers, something I blogged about in:



    Analysis of iPhone 3.0 SDK Developer Preview

    http://bit.ly/ANdMz



    Check it out if interested.



    Mark
  • Reply 14 of 86
    mi_satmi_sat Posts: 39member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat View Post


    Exactly.



    I've been doing this for YEARS via bluetooh to my Macs with my Sony Ericsson P810 and P910 phones connected to T-Mobile's flat fee GPRS service. (I don't have a 3G phone yet, but the main requirement will be out of the box tethering)



    I've been enjoying tethering using PDA Net and a jailbroken iPhone. It's really simple to do, though obviously not out of the box ready.
  • Reply 15 of 86
    Psst... AT&T, the only thing that keeps me on a RAZR and not an iPhone is the lack of tethering... (and no, I don't use a data plan with the RAZR)
  • Reply 16 of 86
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by S8ER01Z View Post


    Additional charges for MMS, MMS only works on 3G network, networks need to add support for tethering? WTF is this guy talking about... I have a 2 year old phone that could do all of this on 3G or EDGE and it's an AT&T phone (A707)...



    I see a couple of wanted updates but I am not paying more money to use MMS on my Iphone when I used it almost daily on my old phone on the same network and wtf am I supposed to do when I can't get 3G signal because I'm 10ft out of range of their sparse 3G network?



    Big Fail.



    I think that you are full of it.



    Anybody that thinks that these services are free are truly ignorant.



    And, no phone manufacturer can just unilaterally offer a cell phone that is capable of tethering without the agreement from the carrier. I suspect that one of Apple's mandates refers back to their negotiations with all the carriers to get their original data plan costs down, and one of their objectives is to do likewise for the messaging services.



    I would suspect that Apple knows a hell of a lot more than you do. And every comment you make suggests that it wouldn't be difficult to do so.



    From AT&T.

    PDA/BLACKBERRY PLANS WITH TETHERING

    PDA/BlackBerry plans with Tethering may ONLY be used with AT&T-certified RIM BlackBerry devices and PDAs for the following purposes: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) email; and (iii) intranet access (including access to corporate intranets, email, and individual productivity applications like customer relationship management, sales force, and field service automation). PDA/BlackBerry plans with Tethering may be used to tether such PDA and BlackBerry devices to a Personal Computer. If you are on a data plan that does not include a monthly megabyte allowance and additional data usage rates, the parties agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 GB in a month. Prior to the imposition of any additional charges, AT&T shall provide you with notice and you shall have the right to terminate your service.
  • Reply 17 of 86
    toysandmetoysandme Posts: 243member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh View Post


    Is there any more info on Bluetooth?! Will it finally support a bluetooth keyboard?



    According to the Q&A on engadget, the answer is NO. There has to be a reason why Apple insists that keyboards are not allowed on the iPhone. Here's my analysis: This would turn the iPhone into a netbook, for all practical purposes, and we know that Apple has ordered large quantities of 10-inch screens for a new product to be announced this late summer. This can only be a netbook of some sort. If iPhone users could use a cheap $75 or so foldable keyboard (like Berry, WM and S60 users) they wouldn't buy a more expensive netbook.



    Also, the real reason why Apple does not want to see flash is that people could watch tv and movies for free on Hulu.com, like Windows Mobile users can, with the Skyfire browser, etc. I suspect that Apple wants to monetize those shows through iTunes.



    Still, OS 3.0 is an interesting upgrade. It makes the iPhone almost as powerful as the free phones which have had these capabilities for years.
  • Reply 18 of 86
    666666 Posts: 134member
    Quote:

    "We have the ability to stream music to music apps, and certainly a game, if a game has music in the game it would be possible to download game tracks, but if would be confusing for other music apps with downloadable music that isn?t through the app store."



    Sure, confusing... Jesus Apple love to lock down basic functions to tow their own products.
  • Reply 19 of 86
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    What I want to know is whether the next-generation touch (which theoretically should be unveiled the same time as the next iPhone) will get feature parity with current iPhones. Specifically GPS.
  • Reply 20 of 86
    wnursewnurse Posts: 427member
    They did not implement cut and paste before because of security?. What about security on the desktop?. I can cut and paste from almost any app into any other app. Apple trusted me on my desktop but they cannot trust me on my mobile platform?. Hahahahahahaha. Good one Apple. Yeah, I believe Steve Jobs lost a bet somewhere.. I wonder when he's gonna lost the flash bet.. most important.. wonder who won the cut and paste bet and how much they won?. Who would dare make a bet with the chief that leaving out cut and paste would seem so silly that years after the iphone is introduced, people would still be talking about it. Wow, i guess every other phone out there is 1. Either insecure cause they had cut and paste and by apple definition, that is insecure or 2. Implemented cut and past in a secure fashion, thereby proving that they are all smarter than people working on apple. Here's what i think should happen.. Reporters stop asking Apple embarrassing questions like "how come this obvious feature was left out" and apple stop insulting our intelligence.
Sign In or Register to comment.