CUPERTINO, Calif. — More than 40 years ago, computer researchers came up with the concept of cutting and pasting text in a computer document. Electronic organizers and sophisticated phones have had those basic functions for years.
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Scott Forstall discussed on Tuesday the software upgrade for the iPhone, which Apple said would be available this summer.
On stage at its headquarters here on Tuesday, an Apple executive announced that the iPhone would at long last be joining the cut, copy and paste party.
The news, which garnered applause from an assembled crowd of analysts, journalists and Apple employees, was much anticipated by iPhone owners. They will be able to select a piece of information in one program — say, a FedEx tracking number in an e-mail message — and then paste it elsewhere — on FedEx’s site in the Web browser, for example.
Apple has said that those features were tricky to add to the iPhone in a way that would be secure and easy to use.
The announcement was one of several Apple made as it previewed a software upgrade, ciPhone OS 3.0, that it plans to release this summer.
The event was a shot across the bow of the other makers of mobile phone software, like Google, Palm, Research in Motion and Microsoft, which are bringing out their own smartphones in an increasingly competitive market.
“Apple wants to start reminding consumers of what is coming down the line and what they might expect from the iPhone,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with the research firm Interpret.
Among the new tricks of the updated software are features that will allow developers to create multiplayer games that work over a phone-to-phone wireless connection, and ways for iPhone applications to push messages to users even when they are not running.
That last improvement could unleash a new wave of creativity on the iPhone. Companies like ESPN can send scores to sports fans, and instant messaging can now become far more practical on the device.
The new software will also give developers new ways to make money on the iPhone, allowing them to do transactions within an application — for example, selling monthly subscriptions, new levels within a game or items in an online store.
Apple said the new operating system would be available to current iPhone users at no charge sometime this summer, when analysts expect the company to introduce new hardware and perhaps a less expensive version of the device. The new software will be sold for $9.95 to owners of the iPod Touch. The company says it now has a combined installed base of 30 million iPhones and iPod Touches.
