iPhone News Updated

More hidden features found in latest iPhone 2.2 beta

iPhone 2.1 represented both a large leap of stability across the OS and a brisk stride of new features in key areas like the iPod app and even SMS. Now that folks have dug through recent builds of the beta iPhone 2.2 updates, Apple will apparently maintain a casual jogging pace with new features, though you wouldn’t know it from the release notes.

According to MacRumors, three significant features have so far been found in beta builds of iPhone OS 2.2 currently available to developers. Probably the most interesting is Google Street View, a feature that T-Mobile’s Android phone has been touting over iPhone. There’s no word on whether the iPhone’s version of this feature will use the same accelerometer-based gimmick that Android does. We can tell you, however, that at least a couple of us in the Ars Orbiting HQ would prefer to see other Google Maps features in lieu of Streets, such as the excellent public transit (bus, train, and subway) integration that Google supports for some major metro areas.

The next feature is support for Japanese emoji icons, for which MacRumors created a screenshot. Emoji is made up of picture characters that are all the rage in the Japanese mobile market, and analysts have cited the iPhone’s lack of support for them as a key factor of slow iPhone adoption in the country.

Last, but probably not least, is a new preference for shutting off the iPhone’s system-wide auto-correction spelling feature. Apparently, some people have a nasty case of the “wanna-write-the-most-illegible-e-mail-evar-itis,” and iPhone 2.2 may finally grant their wish.

There is no word, however, on whether the much-anticipated push alerts system is back on the table. As you may remember, Steve Jobs previewed iPhone push alerts at WWDC 2008 in June as a compromise between allowing applications to run rampantly in the background and giving the iPhone’s battery a shot at lasting through your morning commute. The system was slated to arrive in September, presumably in iPhone 2.1, but was pulled mid-August.

[Thanks: http://arstechnica.com]

Clear Channel Radio Gets An iPhone App

SAN ANTONIO — October 9, 2008: Ten of Clear Channel Radio’s AM/FM and Internet radio streams — and their streamed ads — can now be heard over the iPhone, by way of a newly launched application called iheartradio. It works on the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and the WiFi-capable iPod Touch.

The app is launching with 10 terrestrial stations, including Top 40s WHTZ/New York and KIIS/Los Angeles, Sports KFAN/Minneapolis, News/Talk KTRH/Houston, and Alternative WWDC/Washington. Internet stations erockster and Pride Radio are also available.

According to a memo to Clear Channel Online Music & Radio staffers from EVP Evan Harrison, the application will add a few new stations every week, and the next version of will “likely” launch this year.

The app is named after Clear Channel’s beta music site at www.iheartradio.com, which offers station streams, videos, and other music and info features.

[Thanks: http://www.radioink.com]