subject: Features Revealed In Apple's Ios 4.3 [print this page] A Wi-Fi hotspot feature which can be turned on by the iPhone's mobile carriers isn't the only new addition expected in Apple's forthcoming update to its mobile operating system, iOS 4.3. A developer build of the OS released yesterday has revealed several notable additions, including support for multitouch gestures, improvements to AirPlay, new ad formats for iAd and even hints of what may be a social networking gambit tied into Apple's MobileMe platform.
However, as a regular iPad reader, I have to admit I'm just as thrilled that the iPad's right-side toggle switch, which begin its life as an orientation lock (locking portrait or landscape modes) before being transformed into a mute button via the latest update, is now going to be configurable by the end user. Mute switch or orientation lock: it's your call. Thank you, Apple, thank you.
New Features: Here's What We Know
Yesterday, Apple seeded the beta of iOS 4.3 to developers for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. In it are the following new features:
Wi-Fi Hotspot: As we already knew, the personal hotspot capabilities are present for GSM devices, although it's up to individual carriers to implement this setting. It's doubtful that AT&T will be one of them. Verizon, however, is.
AirPlay support for third-party native and Web applications: Previously in iOS 4.2, AirPlay, the feature that lets you stream video from your mobile device to an Apple TV or other third-party AirPlay-enabled hardware, was only available to the built-in Apple apps. With 4.3, any third party app can offer this functionality, too.
A redesigned FaceTime icon: A minor change, but it looks good.
Support for fullscreen iAd banners on iPad: A new iAd format which Apple says is "easy to implement," allows its users to collect 60% of the revenue generated.
Multitouch gesture support for the iPad: More on this below
Configurable switch for the iPad, as mentioned above, the toggle can be used as a mute button or orientation lock
HTTP Live Streaming Statistics: This allows developers to track their video streams' popularity and measure their performance.
