For the past two and a half years Apple has shown us that a touchscreen can be used to do almost anything. That to expand its use, all that it takes is a bit of time, some careful thinking, and a good deal of creative engineering. This week the company’s third update to their touchscreen platform delivers a collection of comforting enhancements, several useful extras, and more evidence that Apple’s designers are still the best in the world at solving these challenges.

Cut, Copy, And Paste

What can be performed with a simple click and almost a flick of the wrist on a computer now has to be achieved with a single fingertip. No simple trick, Apple’s solution after years of thought is to reduce editing down to the simple task of choosing a beginning, an end, and then deciding what to do with what’s in the middle. This breakthrough has brought about new editing and trimming systems for both audio and video features on the iPhone 3G S, iMovie, QuickTme X, and here with an all-purpose cut, copy, and paste on Apple’s touchscreen devices.

You simply hold your finger against the screen and an option box appears. You can choose to select a block of content or just a few lines. From there two selection points appear for you to drag, one to the beginning, the other to the end. Anything can go in the middle; formatted text or photos. An option box appears to let you choose to cut or copy your selection. From there you can exit that application, go into another and simply press and hold the screen to paste the content into use.

This allows you to transfer content from Safari, Mail, Notes, Messages, and downloaded apps such as Tweetie, Facebook, or Evernote. If you make a false move, simply shake the phone to activate an “Undo” option to take a step back. How does it work? It takes some getting used to at first, but very, very well.

Landscape Keyboards

This is as much about reading messages in landscape mode as it is about typing them. Turning your device on its side now flips Mail, Notes, and Messages into landscape mode allowing you to read content in a much wider and more comfortable format. Bringing up the keyboard in this mode does make it easier to access the keys, but also reduces the screen real estate you have to work with. It’s a trade-off, one that will be of benefit to some, but not everyone. Being able to read content in a wider format is the real benefit here.

Search And Spotlight

There are two systems for performing searches. Individual applications such as Mail, Messages, iPod, and Notes now have their own search bar hidden at the top of the screen. Just tap and slide down to access. With Mail, this allows you to perform a search both through the most recently downloaded e-mail messages saved on your device and those saved remotely on the server. Mail’s search bar includes tabs to further filter the search by an e-mail’s From, To, or Subject fields, or the entire message itself.

Spotlight has its own separate screen. Just flick to the left from the main screen to access its own search bar which sifts through the device in its entirety, including all applications.

Both search systems work with shocking speed and access. There have been countless times in my own use where I’ve needed to look up a song file or an e-mail from months back and having the option to search helps further cut the cord and my dependence on my laptop computer.

Shake To Shuffle And Variable Audio Scrubbing

When playing music using the iPod application, you can now shuffle your music selection by merely shaking the device. You don’t have to shake it too violently, just a quick flick of the wrist is enough to make it sound a little notification tone before skipping to a random track. Like all the other controls, this won’t work if the screen times out. The screen has to be unlocked in order for the shake to work. Fun for some, I’m not sure how much actual use this feature will get from most people and it seems to be an addition Apple put in merely because they could.

Of better use is the new variable audio scrubbing. When playing an audio track you now have better control of the speed by which you can fast-forward or reverse through it. Now when you tap on the playback bar at the top and drag the selector through the song’s timeline, you can drag your fingertip downwards to adjust the speed by which you fast-forward or reverse, choosing between “Hi-Speed”, “Half-Speed”, “Quarter Speed”, and “Fine” scrubbing modes.

Podcasts include three additional controls; an e-mail icon so you can send a link to the podcast to a friend, a skip-back icon that quickly jumps back 30 seconds in the program, and a speed icon that lets you adjust the playback to twice or half the normal playback speed, making it easier to follow along with the narrative.

Listening to spoken words tracks while on the move means it’s easy to miss an important word thanks to a nearby car horn or siren. These new controls make it a breeze to pick up what you’ve missed and that’s very helpful.

Bluetooth Stereo And Internet Audio/Video Streaming

You can now use a Bluetooth headset without the need for an adaptor. My Motorola S9 headset paired in a snap and the stereo playback has been excellent. Even the headset’s own playback controls work to manage the iPod’s music library.

Along the same lines, Safari now includes support for HTML 5 and HTTP streaming of audio and video. This means you can visit internet radio websites such as ShoutCast.com and access their radio feeds through your browser. Many users have been demanding the inclusion of Flash support for Apple’s mobile version of Safari, and while Adobe has yet to meet that demand, this support for streaming content is just as important and satisfying to have.

Auto-fill And Automatic Login

Another enhancement to Safari includes both the ability to fill in your contact information into online forms when needed and to remember login-in information for your commonly accessed services. This applies to Wi-Fi networks too, meaning once you visit and agree to the conditions of a hotspot, the phone will automatically go through this process for you the next time you visit. Some hot spots force you to sign in through a web page again and again, and this is a nice pain to have removed.

Expanded Multi-Language Support And Parental Controls

There are now options for thirty-two languages in total including Thai, Korean, and Hebrew. You can change both the system’s language and those used with Voice Control (for iPhone 3G S users). You can unlock as many keyboard types as you please. Again, for many this is about comfort.

The Restriction Menu now includes switches for turning on content conditions as well as limiting entire applications. You can set limitations based on rating systems for music, movies, TV shows, and apps. You can even choose which country’s rating system to adopt (US, Canada, UK, etc.) and then select the appropriate age restriction for each service.

Peer To Peer Gaming And Accessories

Two of the new features I’ve not had the chance to try due to lack of the needed devices before launch, Peer To Peer gaming is something I’ve tried with other portables and often find that while the technology itself usually works great, the trick is actually finding someone to play with. I hope the popularity of Apple’s devices will help solve that.

In their announcements and presentations leading up to this week’s launch, Apple has demonstrated how companies can now create third-party accessories for their touchscreen devices with the ability to offer touchscreen controls through additional apps. Connecting both through the dock connector or through wireless Bluetooth, the prospect of having an iPod Touch or iPhone interact with diabetes readers, metal detectors, and many other exotic devices is an exciting and unpredictable one. Push Notifications And Notes Sync

Two rather embarrassing oversights now corrected with this update is the support for notifications amongst apps and the ability to sync information typed into the Notes application with your computer through iTunes.

In my own work the Notes application has taken the place of a traditional notepad and my iPhone is filled with over sixty pages of important jottings and reminders. It’s nice to now know that should something happen to it, all of that information has been backed-up for safe keeping.

Google StreetView

Although previously available for iPhone users, iPod Touch owners can now access Google Streetview when they drop a pin in the Maps application. A new icon will appear on a pin’s information bar if it is placed along a street in one of the several cities that supports Google’s immersive virtual reality mode. Users can use their fingertips to move the camera around and explore their spot from all angles or use tap controls to advance from spot to spot. With Goolgle Street View set to arrive in Canada very soon, this is a big feature for iPod Touch users.

iTunes and YouTube Accounts

A move that will make it easier to work away from your desk, Apple’s update includes better support for service accounts. Users can now log into YouTube from the iPhone app and explore their own videos and favorites, and both the iTunes and Apps stores deliver better access to your store account letting you see your current balance as you explore the catalog and making it easier to input redeem codes. Apps can now offer their own mini-stores allowing games to sell additional levels, digital magazines to offer subscriptions, and book stores to sell individual titles. You can now apply for a store account directly from the App and in the case of movies and TV shows, you can now manages rental and purchase transactions, except for those in HD. If you only want to use iTunes and your computer to back-up your content, making your device the primary portal for iTunes, you can.

Minor Updates To The Classics

There are tweaks to some of the original touchscreen apps. In the case of Weather I’ve yet to find any changes despite Apple’s claim that there are, but Stocks now includes a landscape view where flicks of the screen bring new charts and screens with more detail. Calendar has been expanded to support more systems including Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft Outlook, iCal, MobileMe, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and CalDav-complaint calendars.

iPhone-Specific Features

MMS Support

Not everyone has access to e-mail on their phone. Now you can send them an attachment using the Messages app. A new camera icon makes it easy to quickly find and add a picture, video clip, audio file, contacts file, or GPS location file to a text message. Apple has managed to add this without losing its unique bubble presentation. Each attachment appears in its own square bubble complete with thumbnail preview. Personally I’m not one to send many MMS, but I love the way it’s presented and so, now I feel compelled to do so.

Tethering

Sometimes you’ll find yourself in a location where there is no internet access for your laptop, but your iPhone still has access through the cellular data network. With tethering you can connect your phone to your laptop and share its internet access. Several smartphones offer this feature, but where Apple has made the process better is in its ease-of-use and connectivity. You can tether the phone with any computer, Mac or PC, running the latest version of iTunes. The software and settings are included within iTunes itself making it an automatic task to add the network settings for you. Should you forget to bring your USB cable with you, you can also connect the phone to your laptop using wireless Bluetooth. The connection isn’t as fast, but it works as needed.

Tethering works with shocking, astounding ease. I barely connected the USB from my iPhone into my Vista-powered laptop and it was already connected online. As long as you have Tethering turned on the in iPhone’s settings and iTunes installed on your laptop, it’s instantaneous. Shocking.

It’s worth a warning that tethering can be a costly feature to use. A laptop can quickly use up the download limit of a mobile data account and penalties can quickly rack up if you’re not careful.

Voice Memos

While the Apps store offers several voice recording programs, most notably the free version of Griffin’s iTalk, Apple’s Voice Memo app offers a number of advantages including the ability to trim your clips by dragging selection points to mark new beginning and ending points and a built-in feature to transfer a clip into another app such as Mail or Messages. The presentation alone, an image of a retro microphone and audio meter, inspire me to choose it over others. I record voice memos all the time for my work and this app meets all my needs.

Find My iPhone/Remote Wipe

Unfortunately one of the most impressive new features, Find My iPhone, is not available for free and requires a subscription to Apple’s $99 per year MobileMe service. MobileMe is a system designed to keep your phone and home computer wirelessly synced at all times. Since its launch last year it has been slow in gaining users, but that may now change. Find My iPhone is a new part of the service that allows you to locate a lost iPhone using GPS, cellular, and internet-based resources. It will pinpoint the location of your iPhone using Google Maps to within 100 feet. Having found the device, it then offers you the option to have the handset sound an alarm to make it easier to find and to have it display a custom text message so you can give instructions should it fall into the hands of a waiter or taxi cab driver. If you think it’s beyond rescue, you can send it a remote wipe command to erase all of the content, including your phone account. And then, should you miraculously get it back anyway, you can restore it by simply syncing to iTunes.

This works as advertized, but there are limitations. The phone will need to have been prepped in advance, with the settings for Push Notifications and the Find My iPhone service turned on in the phone’s settings menu. Find My iPhone isn’t a service you can set up after you’ve lost your phone, like an insurance policy it’s something you need to anticipate to use.

For legal reasons you can’t be tracked without your permission and so the law requires that there be a setting on the phone to communicate this, hence the Find My iPhone switch in the setting menu. You have to indicate through the phone itself that you are okay with being tracked.

This limits the feature’s use to genuine lost as opposed to theft. Should someone steal your iPhone they can simply go into the settings menu and turn the Find My iPhone option off.

Version 3.0

Apple’s third update for their touchscreen platform is a significant one, offering substantial value to iPhone users who should very pleased with their investment. It represents the majority of the new features arriving with the new iPhone 3G S and should make it very easy for those who bought the iPhone 3G last year to wait until Apple’s next model in the years to come.

iPod Touch users are in a harder situation. For them they will have to purchase this update from the iTunes store for $9.95 and their device can only make use of a fraction of the new features. If you use e-mail quite a bit or plan to get into peer-to-peer gaming, it can be worth the purchase, but otherwise there’s no urgency here, especially if you bought the previous updates.