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The iPhone Firmware 2.2 Beta 2 download was made available to developers, and with it comes some nice features. Some were a waste of time, some were alright…

The main thing so far is that there will be an overhaul of the iPod, which will let you download podcasts from your iPhone. This will be 10MB or less via your carrier, or if its bigger via your Wifi. This would explain why Apple rejected the Podcaster app last month, which offered the same thing. Seems Apple does not want competition.

Along with the iPod update, there will be Google Street View. Useful, I’m sure. I’m still waiting for when I can sit at work, log on, and check whether I left the iron plugged in. Also included in the Google update is Public Transport, so you can plan your journey from A to B, without having to go via C, D and E. Very useful.

If you ever needed to tell someone where you were, but didn’t know yourself, well now you can. Sound crazy? With Google Maps, you can send your location to anyone else. When you click the send location button, it attaches your location into a email and sends it on. This can be useful when meeting someone, and you both swear your on the right corner, but one of you can’t read your road signs. So send your location to your buddy.

Another thing added is Emoji. Emoji are picture characters that are very popular in the Japanese mobile market. They basically look like smileys or emoticons. Cute.

There is now an option to disable Auto-Correction on your iPhone. Along with this, when you delete an app, a pop up asks you to rate it first.

Also there is a refresh of Safari (nothing fancy, just a face lift). It’s not like redesigning Safari was high on my list of things I’d change or add. In fact, I don’t even think its on anyone’s list. But redesign it they did. There’s no more little magnifying glass icon at the top of the page. Instead, the address bar is shifted over and shrunk, and the search bar sits alongside it. Oh, and the refresh button becomes part of the address bar.

Yet, besides all of this, there is still no Copy & Paste, and no support for MMS! Unless, of course, you’re using Jailbreak. There is a great site called PleaseFixTheiPhone, where it’s open to the public to get a response for features they want.