Apple will be releasing iPhone 3.0 software today June 17th 2009. The update will work on all iPhone and iPod touch models.

Arabic support

After 2 years of the release of the iPhone Apple has finally added Arabic support. Before the release of iPhone 3.0 software you had to jailbreak the iPhone then install this application to add Arabic support. Now to enable Arabic just follow these steps:

Go to Settings, choose General, scroll down to International, choose Keyboards, set Arabic to ON. Click International on the top right corner to go back.

To set the regional formats (mainly changes the clock to Hindi numbers): Choose Regional Format, select Arabic then Saudi Arabia. Click International to go back.

And to set the interface of the iPhone to Arabic just select Language and choose “عربي” (Arabic). Click Done and the iPhone will restart into Arabic language interface.

Copy and Paste

Now you can finally Copy and Paste on the iPhone. By holding a finger over text then selecting the area you can copy text as well as images. Press and hold again to paste. You can copy an image from your photo library and add it as an attachment to an email message.

Spotlight

With the new Spotlight search you can search your contacts, emails, applications and more. You can also search your email server directly (works with IMAP).

Push notifications

Applications that support push notifications will be able to send messages to you even when you are not running the application. You can easily disable that by disabling Notifications in the iPhone Settings.

MobileMe members will have access to “Find my iPhone”. Using push technology to locate your missing iPhone, activate an alert and remote wipe your data.

Other features:

Other features in 3.0 include more APIs for developers, Internet tethering, MMS support, landscape keyboard on all applications, autofill forms in Mobile Safari, improved Mobile Safari, voice memos, in app purchases, stereo bluetooth, sync notes, improved YouTube application and parental controls.

Preparations

iPhone 3.0 software is a major upgrade and you cannot easily return to 2.2.1. Make sure you are prepared by doing the following:

1. Make sure all of your applications are up to date.
2. Backup your device. Right click on it’s icon in iTunes and choose Backup.
3. Click Check for Update in iTunes to download and install the update.

Should I Update?

Most iPhone users should update to 3.0 software. iPod touch users still need to pay $10 for the update. If you have a jailbroken iPhone/iPod touch then the answer is that you need to wait before upgrading.