Though it hasn’t yet appeared in iTunes, Apple’s much anticipated iPhone Software 2.0 is now posted on Apple’s servers, a fact discovered by several astute members of the Mac community. The 225MB file was available for direct download as we posted this article.
iPhone Software 2.0 comes with a slew of new features for the iPhone and iPod touch customers. While a lot has been made about the iPhone’s enterprise features in this release, there are some features for the consumer, as well.
The new iPhone software adds a contact search that allows users to enter a name and instantly find who they’re looking for. Full iWork document support lets users view Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents. Apple also will offer full support for Microsoft Office documents, adding PowerPoint presentation viewing to the Word and Excel viewing already available. And turning the iPhone into landscape mode will convert the Calculator application into a scientific calculator.
iPhone 2.0 also adds much sought-after bulk-delete and move capabilities to its Mail application. Mail users will be able to save images from e-mails into their Photo Library.
Parental control features will allow parents to turn off explicit content, as well as access to YouTube, the iTunes Store Wi-Fi Music Store, and the App Store, which was also introduced today.
Of course, iPhone 2.0 will see its share of enterprise features as well including “push-based” e-mail, calendar info and contact management; additional support for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) including Cisco IPsec; and two-factor authentication, certificates and identities. Apple also sees “enterprise-class” Wi-Fi with WPA2/802.1x support and tools to enforce security policies as critical. IT managers will also be able to deploy iPhones, set them up automatically, and, perhaps most importantly, wipe the devices when necessary.
With the launch of the the App Store and iTunes 7.7, you can also purchase and download apps to your iPhone after installing the 2.0 update.
Update: Apple has officially released iPhone 2.0 software and can be downloaded from iTunes. 7/12/08 10:27 am ET