Here’s what we found

1. Since it’s a major upgrade, it took some time to download and install the new software – its ~230 MB. But as always installation is as simple as you can imagine. We chose to back up our entire phone before installing the new OS 3.0. So it added to the installation time.

2. We had to realign all our apps starting from the second screen. This might have happened because the first page was full on the phone. The problem was caused by the new addition of “Voice Memos”, which by default, gets added on the home screen, pushing an existing app to second screen. Hence, apps on the second screen are pushed to the third (you get the idea!), and effectively, our second screen was left with just one app!

Tip:  If you have not installed OS 3.0 yet, create a couple of blank spaces on the home screen by moving some apps to the next screen. Then install the new software. Hopefully your existing apps might stay intact.

3. The sound quality of the “Voice Memos” application is great when compared to some of the free voice records available on app store.

4. There is no video recording facility on the iPhone 3G (we were aware of this, but it’s always good to reconfirm with a live test). This feature comes along with hardware improvements in the new 3GS.

5. Spotlight Search page is awesome, to say the least. You can search for any text across multiple apps like Notes, Email, Contacts etc., and the results are instantaneous.

6. With the new OS 3.0, you can (finally!) share/send a contact’s detail to another phone via MMS. It seemed to have been an obvious omission and many users were crying for this functionality. Even though it’s a seemingly basic feature in other phones, this was lacking in the 3G version. With the OS upgrade, you can now share a contact using MMS or email.

Tip: If you are expecting a business card from a non iPhone user, ask them to send it as MMS. Otherwise you will not receive it.

7. You still can’t forward an SMS/MMS message to other phones. But at least there is a work around available now. You can use the good old technique of “copy & paste”. Choose the message you want to forward, press on the message for a second or two. Copy option pops up. Copy it and then paste in a new message. Crude, yet workable.

8. A minor bug seems to have also crept in. Sometimes, the screen goes blank while on a call and you can’t receive the incoming second call or navigate to other applications like maps, contacts, notes. This problem was there in 2.2.X also but is occurring quite often since our upgrade to OS 3.0.

We are still continuing to test, so keep watching this space for more tips and findings!

Previously circulated rumours about the upgrade and functionality have mostly proven true, and the new iPhone now offers faster processing, faster data connection and a much awaited video camera. The aesthetics of the device have remained exactly the same, with not noticeable changes.

Let’s check out some of the new features being made available:

- Magnetometer (digital compass) - This will now enable companies like Tom Tom and Google to offer turn by turn navigation on the iPhone itself. So no longer do you need to carry a separate GPS device.

- Video recording - The much awaited video recording capability is introduced to the new iPhone, with an upgraded 3MP camera.

- Increased storage - The new iPhones are going to ship in 16GB and 32GB versions, offering more room to store your videos, pictures and songs!

- Voice recognition - You can now “talk” to your iPhone and give it commands like “What song is this?”, or “Call Andy”. Goodbye handsfree kits.

- Longer lasting battery

- Nike+ Support

- Faster data access speeds

It’s been a long awaited upgrade, and Apple has not disappointed fans. The 16GB version will retail for $199, whilst the 32GB will be offered for $299 in the US.

Cover art created on the iPhone

One New York artist took this concept one step further, and dropped his watercolours and brushes in favour of his iPhone. Jorge Colombo used an app on his iPhone to create the front cover of The New Yorker in an hour - standing outside Madame Tussaud’s in Times Square.

Mr. Colombo bought his iPhone in February, and downloaded the app called Brushes from the app store for $4.99 as a means to keep himself entertained. Little did he realise that he would use this technology in such a creative fashion (see the video here).

This highlights a very important point that the iPhone user interface, gestures and finger tracking is created with such ergonomic and human feel that it is easy to just pick an app, and start using it. Ofcourse, the apps are created by third party developers, but they still conform to Apple’s guidelines on human interface design.

The iPhone consumer market is growing at such a rapid pace, and as the technology evolves, we are sure to see more professionals like Mr. Colombo embracing this technology and using it to further their productivity.