Hands on with iPhone Firmware 1.1.3

Apple’s new firmware update had us dashing to its website to download the latest update to one of our favorite phones.

After a few failed “Check for Updates” that kept returning 1.1.2 as the latest, we decided to just download iTunes 7.6. Once iTunes was updated, our “Check for Updates” box worked and we were on our way downloading.

Dancing Icons
After the automatic download finished, we started messin’ with the home screen. If you hold down any icon for about two seconds, all of the icons begin to shake. Once they’re boogying, you can move any icon anywhere with the swipe of a finger. You can even add or remove icons from the launch bar at the bottom. I really love that I can finally have my e-mail and SMS programs right next to each other.

You can also swipe the home screen like you would a photo album, to see multiple home pages. (There are nine in total). It’s a great feature for those with a lot of Web favorites, but more on that later.

Map Updates
Apple also updated the Google maps application. Now, using triangulation, Google can pinpoint your location in a GPS-like fashion. It’s not perfect, but it’s damn close in New York City. We were pinpointed at Broadway and 39th, which is exactly where our office is. Oddly, though, the circle around our area extends as far down as 37th, up to 40th, and from 7th Avenue until nearly 6th Ave. So it’s clearly a bit unsure of itself, though it’s nearly dead-on in Manhattan.

Your current location can be used in directions as well. When routing, simply start at “Current location.” It’s also great if you know that you need to get to a general area but don’t know the address. You can drop a pin at Central Park and get directions to it without having to find a Central Park address.

Also, clicking the icon reveals new options for the Map. You can now drop a pin to get directions from it or mark your location, but we couldn’t figure out how to drag and move it. Dragging the pin can be a lesson in frustration, because you really need to nab the actual pinhead itself, but it gets easier with time.

Finally, there’s also a new “Hybrid” map, which is the satellite image but with the roads and buildings labeled like they are in the graphical version. It certainly looks awesome, and still provides all of the information you need. You can even travel in hybrid mode, and the map will provide checkpoint to checkpoint instructions both visually on the map and in text.

Webclips
There are already a ton of web apps available, and now both these apps and your favorite sites can be directly launched from your home screen. Since you can fit sixteen icons on each home screen and have access to nine, that means that you can have up to 144 quick launch icons. Just keep in mind that you’ll need some form of Internet application to access them. I was hoping for something a little more enticing, like games I could play on the subway where I don’t have a connection, but we’ll have to wait for the SDK for that.

I created ‘a Webclip for College Humor, and another to our home page. I suggest zooming in as far as you can to a logo before clicking the little “+” sign to add the icon. That way, when the iPhone takes a snapshot of the page you’re browsing for the icon, it’ll show the name of the Web site in large text. Each new icon also has a small text label below it on the home screen. Check out our example in the first image above.

When you’re hanging out with friends and you don’t want them to see the adult sites you spend most of your time surfing, you can delete the icons from your homepage. Simply go into icon-dance mode by holding your finger on one for two seconds, and then click the black “X” to remove an icon. You cannot get rid of the original icons, however.

Other updates include SMS messaging to multiple people, and added support for song lyrics.

There you have it, our hands on with the new iPhone 1.1.3 firmware. We’re big fans of the update, but we still can’t wait for a real SDK that will allow Internet-free apps to launch too.

Update: Apple also added support for IMAP GMail access. To access your GMail, simply create a new e-mail account and enter the incoming server as: imap.gmail.com, and the outgoing server as: smtp.gmail.com.