Software

A Look at iOS 4.3

Along with the release of the iPad 2, Apple on Wednesday also debut iOS 4.3, which includes several enhancements. The company has enhanced Safari performance, featuring the Nitro JavaScript engine first introduced to Mac OS X. This will likely result in much improved performance on iOS devices for sites with scripting.

iTunes Home Sharing will allow users to stream media from their computers to their mobile devices, and the much ballyhooed Personal Hotspot feature first debuted in Verizon iPhone 4's would come to all devices. Of course, you'll have to subscribe to tethering, but at least we know this time AT&T subscribers are not going to be left out in the cold.

Since the iPad 2 now includes cameras, Apple will now include both FaceTime and Photo Booth on all iPads. It is not immediately clear how connecting with an iPad would work, but its likely the user's e-mail address would be the method of contacting the user akin to the way the desktop version works.

Another new application for iPad is iMovie, allowing for on-tablet editing of video. If you're familiar with the iPhone 4 version of this application, then the iPad renditions going to be quite familiar. It will be available for $4.99 from the App Store.

What may tickle the musician's fancy is GarageBand. It includes touch instruments that use the accelerometer to detect how hard you are hitting the screen: Hit the piano key harder, it plays louder and fuller, and vice versa.

iOS 4.3 would be available to the masses along with the iPad 2 on March 11.

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