We've heard a few reports of sync issues with the new Apple TV 3.0 software over the past few days, and apparently the chatter on the Apple support boards was on the mark: Apple has shipped 3.0.1, which is supposed to fix problems where 3.0 units would unexpectedly dump all their loaded content. You can get all the details from Apple's tech note. [According to our commenters, in most cases the content was not gone, simply invisible; a reboot of the ATV might bring back the media.]

Since it's a giant pain to resync gigabytes of media over the network link, it's nice to see this fixed promptly.... but considering that the Apple TV 3.0 update was billed as a major improvement to Apple's 'hobby,' this bug is not going to make any fans out of Apple TV foes.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

When I tried to take fourth of July fireworks pictures at Jones Beach on Long Island, I was too far away from the action to get anything really good. My iPhone 3GS turned the spectacular flashes of color into small colorful specks and I realized that what this camera needed was a zoom function.

I looked for one and found Camera Zoom from Kenditech which we covered last April. The problem was that it wouldn't work with OS 3.0. I did find a few apps that I thought would help like Zipix Lite, which purported to zoom, but really only enlarged and cropped the picture giving me less than acceptable results.

Picture taking on the iPhone has just gotten better with the release of Camera Zoom 1.1 which plays very nicely with OS 3.0. It provides up to a 4X digital zoom; not as good as an optical zoom, but not bad at all.

The app gives you a slider bar that zooms in and out, or optionally uses the whole screen to zoom by sliding your finger across the screen. The same goes for the shutter, which allows you to tap anywhere to take the picture. This can get in the way of the autofocus box, but can be turned off. Camera Zoom 1.1 also gives you the option to reduce the size of pictures to 320X480, the native resolution of the iPhone screen. I recommend this setting since the improvement is dramatic.

If you have an iPhone 3GS, you will get more functionality out of your camera with Camera Zoom 1.1. I haven't tested earlier cameras, but I can't see why it wouldn't be great for those as well. Spending 99 cents for this app is a no-brainer. It's one of those things that just should have been built into the system.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so take a look at this gallery and see for yourself.

Agile Messenger was recently updated to support iPhone OS 3.0's push notifications. The obvious comparison will be to BeejiveIM, since they both do the same thing: provide a multi-client chat app offering push notifications on your iPhone. We'll have a hands-on with Beejive later, but this is how Agile Messenger (iTunes link) works. Oh, and we're giving away five promo codes so you can try it yourself, just check the end of this post.

The first screen in Agile Messenger is a series of switches for each protocol supported. These switches make it easy to see what you're connecting to when you tap the Connect button. There's support for ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo, Jabber and Google. You can only log in to one account per service, however, so if you have 2 Google accounts, you're going to log in to one at a time. I'm told they are working to change this.

Once you are connected, Agile sets your status to "Available." If you close out of the app the defaults will set your status to "Away," although I soon changed it to keep me available even if I close out the app. In addition to your status, Agile adds the "Mobile with AgileMessenger" message, which I could do without. You can change this behavior in the app's preferences but you can only toggle it off. If you want to change your status, you have to change each account separately, instead of one global change. That's a bummer. There's a setting to auto-connect in the preferences, if you'd rather skip a step.

Agile's menus use rounded rectangles everywhere, and pop up like the old VH-1 series, Pop-Up Video. It's a nice visual touch, and if you want to back out of a menu just tap anywhere else on the screen but in the menu -- slightly faster than a dedicated Back button. By using the pop-up menus you can drill down into anything, but mostly contact management and preferences. Once in preferences, the buttons become standard iPhone UI, which is good, because there are bunches of switches. Pictures of the preferences in the gallery.

Read on for more on picture messaging, chatting and push notifications.

It's a good thing Gene Munster shaded his anticipatory numbers a bit over the weekend, otherwise he'd be in the market for a new crystal ball. As mentioned yesterday, the signs were pointing to a bigger opening weekend for the latest handset from Apple, and the results did not disappoint: in a company press release this morning, Apple announced sales of 'over a million' iPhone 3G S units through Sunday 6/21. Also noted in the brief release were the six million downloads of the iPhone 3.0 software update; no details on the number of iPod touch users who have also updated.

In addition to the raw number -- impressive enough -- there are two other tidbits in this release that bear mentioning. One, it's got a quote from Steve Jobs; this reinforces the notion that El Jefe Esteban is on his way back to the iCEO seat on a more active basis, as reported in the Wall Street Journal on Friday. Two, it looks like bloggers and journalists aren't the only ones having a problem with the odd spacing on Apple's latest product name; the press release repeatedly refers to the new phone as the "iPhone 3GS." We feel your pain.

[via AllThingsD]

With only two more days to go until the launch of the iPhone 3G S, we have been getting a lot of questions from readers about things like cases, new features, and of course, upgrading from another iPhone.

Can I use my 3G case with the 3G S?

Yes! While there are a few manufacturers that are now advertising cases for the 3G S, there are no physical differences from the 3G. So any existing cases or accessories you may have should work with the 3G S just fine.

Well then, what exactly is different about the 3G S?

Although the physical appearance didn't change, there are a few significant changes to the hardware in the 3G S. Most notably, the CPU, video chipset, and memory have all been upgraded, as well as the addition of a digital compass, faster 3G radio, and improved camera lens. There are also some software enhancements to allow voice control, video editing, and more.

Can't I just install 3.0 and get the same features?

Not quite. Installing the 3.0 update will get you several of the new features, such as copy and paste, voice notes, MMS, and tethering (if your carrier supports it, anyways), but some of the features will only be available on the 3G S. Things like voice control, video editing and sharing, compass navigation and accessibility improvements take advantage of the new hardware found in the 3G S to provide a better user experience, so Apple doesn't offer those features to users of older iPhones.

Can I upgrade from my iPhone or iPhone 3G?

Yes! From the hardware side of things, upgrading is as easy as plugging in your new iPhone to iTunes, then selecting that you want to restore your backup to the new phone. Alternatively, you can set it up as a new phone, and just sync the apps, music and other items that you want without restoring the full backup.

From the cell phone carrier side of things, upgrading is a bit more complicated, depending on when you purchased your phone, and the terms of your individual contract. Luckily, some providers are offering special terms to encourage customers to upgrade.

Where can I find out more about the iPhone 3G S?

If you're starving for details, our friends over at Engadget have a full review of the new iPhone, including an unboxing gallery and sample videos. If you're looking for a side-by-side comparison to the 3G, Walt Mossberg chimes in with his take on the All Things DIgital blog. And, as always, you can check out our iPhone 3G S articles here on TUAW.

Hey, iPhone 3G owners: Please do not download the 2,1 firmware files listed below. They are for the 3G S and will not work on your phone. Read the whole post for details. The correct firmware for the 3G will start with "iPhone1,2" instead.

If you were up all night waiting for the new iPhone OS to arrive, you're in good company -- we were too, until we began getting Twitter reports from users in Hong Kong and Sweden that the local carriers sent out SMS alerts to their customers suggesting when they could download 3.0. Those times both align with a 10 am PT/1 pm ET go time, and that's when we're calling it for now; Engadget concurs. That's why you're still seeing 2.2.1 as the most current version in iTunes; the new version hasn't been released yet.

Those with a command-line bent and an inability to wait without doing something can launch Terminal and type in the following every few minutes to see whether 3.0 has launched, rather than repeatedly clicking the Check for Upgrade button in iTunes (note that the up-arrow in Terminal reloads the previous command):

curl -s -L http://phobos.apple.com/version |\
 grep -i restore |\
 grep '_3.' | open -f

The results will look something like URLs ending with this:

iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw
iPhone2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

The model number indicates which unit has downloadable firmware. As of right now, only the iPhone 3G S firmware has been updated. That's the 2,1 iPhone model. Yes, the 1,2 iPhone 3G model was considered a revision of the first generation 1,1 iPhone as it only had moderate hardware changes. The two iPods are 1,1 and 2,1 for the first and second generation.

(No, for those wondering in the comments, you cannot download the 2,1 firmware and install it on your iPhone or iPhone 3G -- it will only work with the 3G S.)

To download, copy the URL and paste it into Safari's download window or use any other favorite method to retrieve the firmware. Then hold the Option key and click Update in iTunes. Navigate to the firmware (the ipsw file), select it, and 3.0's good to go. Of course, you can also download directly through iTunes as soon as the update is available.

We can't wait for iPhone 3.0 to arrive (c'mon, isn't it Wednesday somewhere already?), so in the meantime we're making a list and checking it twice. AppAdvice has posted a short list of apps known or expected to include Push Notification capabilities, including IM+, AP News, Tap Tap Revenge 2.5 and AIM. ESPN's ScoreCenter (promoed at the top of the store earlier today) was also announced as a push-capable app during the original iPhone 3.0 event.

We've got a few others that seem to be promising PN capability at or near the 3.0 launch, courtesy of reader Joachim's research help: Beejive IM and ngmoco's Touch Pets Dogs. A quick search of Apptism for 'push notifications' reveals a few more candidates, including David Fletcher's ChatMaster. Searching the iTunes Store itself shows a couple more interesting (and not necessarily shipping) apps: speed trap checker Trapster, killer Jabber/XMPP client OneTeam, personal finance tool BillMinder and IT manager's virtual machine toolkit VManage all list PN on the roadmap but no sign of new versions yet.

Once the 3.0 version is released and developers can loose their tongues, we fully expect to hear about scores of updates to take advantage of PN and other new features. If your app is among the revised horde, shoot us a line at our app review address.

Thanks to Will for the suggestion.

With WWDC just a short while away, iPhone users everywhere are looking forward to the upcoming 3.0 firmware release promised back in March. So when will 3.0 debut? Apple hasn't said[1].

In March, Apple promised that 3.0 would appear this Summer, causing pundits to speculate that the firmware and a refreshed iPhone line might hit the streets in early July, around the one year anniversary of the 3G model. July 11 marks the date that the 3G iPhone and App Store finally launched.

Rumors have been flying in recent days that 3.0 might bow as early as next Monday. The recent release of iTunes 8.2 supports that idea, indicating that Apple may be closer to a 3.0 update than originally thought. TUAW readers point out that apps which have publicly announced remote notification support have begun appearing in iTunes, albeit in 2.x releases.

There's no reason I can think of that Apple should have to wait for new hardware before releasing the 3.0 firmware to the general public. In fact, I'd greatly welcome an earlier release for enthusiastic reasons I cannot expand upon due to the ongoing NDA. Others have pointed out that a staggered software/hardware release might avoid the iTunes server capacity issues that plagued the 2.0 firmware release.

So when do you think Apple will start shipping 3.0? Let us know in the comments and cast your vote in this handy poll.

[1]...pation

One of the relatively unsung features of the upcoming iPhone 3.0 firmware is that the new version of Safari for iPhone will use geolocation. This means that the browser can request location information from the iPhone's GPS receiver, and can also provide that location information to websites that you're visiting.

ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub reports that the beta versions of the firmware are working well with sample web-aware websites. This capability is not only planned for the iPhone's implementation of Safari, but many upcoming browsers for Mac as well.

Geolocation capabilities make it simple for developers to create web apps that no longer need to ask you for an address or zip code. Google, for instance, is planning on making their Latitude application a 3.0-only web app rather than a standalone application on the iPhone. Latitude will leverage the geolocation features of Safari by knowing exactly where you are at a particular point in time and sending that info to the Latitude servers, then returning the whereabouts of your friends while informing them where you are.

For those of you who don't want your 3.0-enabled iPhone to let the world know exactly where you are, remember that you can always turn off Location Services in the General Settings or just answer "Don't Allow" when asked if Safari or a particular website would like to use your current location.

Version version, who's got the new version? iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5 is now downloadable, along with a new build of iTunes 8.2 -- log into developer.apple.com to pick up the latest build.

What's tweaked and changed? Well, editing the carrier file in iTunes to enable tethering is now apparently blocked, and MMS support on AT&T is also 'hidden' per the iPhone Blog. It's not 100% clear whether these feature drops are deliberate, as some reports say a clean install preserves the capabilities. Parental control features for apps now seem to be visible... and yes, the new beta has already been jailbroken.

Got more observations and tidbits? Let us know below.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

It might seem like a big leap from a phone with no real video capabilities to one that will trim and clip your creations on the fly, but that's the implication of a few graphic elements sussed out of the iPhone 3.0 firmware by Ben at benm.at (original site in German, translation here). He's spotted some art resources that seem to show editing, scrubbing and clip functions in the next version of the iPhone's firmware.

Note that Engadget Mobile pointed out an "Upload my Video" button in the MobileMe area of a 3.0 iPhone last month.

Even though there are jailbreak apps now that leverage the iPhone's camera for video use (ustream and Qik, in particular), Apple hasn't yet shown its hand on video directions in 3.0. Giving users the ability to edit their video on-device before uploading, emailing or MMS-ing would be a spectacular feature, and there's a lot to like about the idea of a pinch/stretch UI for managing a video timeline. iPhone, meet iMovie? Still, if you planned to do a lot of video work on your phone, a 32 GB model with a faster processor and better camera would be ideal...

Thanks, Ben

Update: Well, if what you wanted wasn't in that laundry list, you may just have unrealistic expectations. MMS, copy and paste, downloadable paid content, turn-by-turn, A2DP... the list goes on! We'll have detailed reports momentarily.

The bad news is, we don't have anyone on the inside of today's press event; the good news is, we've got all of you. Join us for a live chat right here as we meta-liveblog the updates from all across the web during today's iPhone 3.0 announcements.

In case you haven't checked iCal lately, the iPhone OS event is only hours away! What that means (aside from all of the tubes being clogged with rumors on what the new OS version will feature) is that it's time for another TUAW wishlist! Please know that while these are all going to be the best guesses on the whole wide web, they are still in fact just that, guesses.

Many of the staff are visiting SXSW and having the grandest of times; the rest of us are working from our satellite office (on the moon, actually). However, we thought it would be a great disservice to not begin the discussion on what you will definitely probably hopefully see in Apple's latest release of the iPhone OS.

Now, sit back and let the reality distortion field wash over you as we wax philosophically about today's press event. Don't forget to come back at 1pm ET/10am PT for our live chat during the preview session.

If Windows is the new Classic, then Parallels Desktop for Mac is the Classic Enabler of the new millennium; there's no easier way to get XP running on your Intel Mac, should you wish to do something as antithetical to the Macintosh way as that. Virtualization heavyweight VMware has been sneaking up, though, releasing early betas including preliminary 3D support. Now Team Orange is leaping back to the front of the pack with a release candidate announcement for version 3.0 and upgrade pricing ($40 before June 7, $50 after that).

New features in v3 of PD include:

• SmartSelect -- set your preferred application handlers cross-platform. Want to open URLs in IE7, mailto: links in Mail.app, or .xls files in Excel 2007? You can now.
• 3D acceleration -- DirectX and OpenGL support will allow 3D gamers to play Windows games at some modicum of acceptable speed
• Snapshot -- back up or roll back your virtual machine
• Parallels Explorer -- copy files into or out of your virtual disk images or your Boot Camp partition
• Enhanced Boot Camp support, better USB, better printer sharing, shiny Coherence 2.0

So far the RC is not downloadable outside the beta program, but I imagine as soon as it is, we'll all overload Parallels' servers like we usually do.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in