Apple Reporter

Newcomer to the Apple rumor mill Gearlive have posted 10 supposed new images of the latest iPhone update, 1.1.3.

App dragging on the Springboard

The images showcase 4 new features to the iPhone. The first of them being the ability to move around icons on your home screen of the iPhone. While the “springboard”, as it is referred to by iPhone users, has been enhanced before, the ability to move apps around is, as far as I can tell, a new feature to the iPhone.

Bookmarks on the Springboard

Next is the ability to add bookmarked pages from Safari to your home screen. The possibilities that are included with this feature are endless, and it is sure to be a feature that iPhone users will quickly integrate into their iPhone usage.

Maps — Locate Me, Hybrid View

Third in the feature list are new additions to the Maps app, based off of Google Maps. Maps now supports Hybrid mode, a recent addition to Google Maps, which is similar to the Satellite setting but with the addition of street names and other labels to roads, etc. Maps also sports new additions to the menu at the bottom of the app, including the biggest feature added to Maps: the “Locate Me” feature.

According to Gearlive, the feature uses cell-tower triangulation to locate the iPhone and subsequently the user on Maps. Like the home screen bookmarks, this feature is something that should quickly be integrated into the iPhone’s “must-use” features.

Multiple Contact SMS/Texting

The last feature shown in Gearlive’s gallery is the ability for SMS messages to be sent to multiple contacts. This feature is probably something that should’ve been included in iPhone v1.1.1, but the addition of this will please those of us who are text-message fiends.

Opinion/Analysis

While the fact that Gearlive is not a reputed site for Apple rumors remains, the features shown are pretty compelling evidence to show a new firmware update is in due order. While I do not keep track of every iPhone third-party app that is released, I am well informed enough to know that features like the ones shown would have been unmasked already.

Gizmodo has reported that the firmware shown is indeed real. While the confirmation is not from anyone close to Apple themselves, it is from a reputable iPhone hacker named Natetrue.

Nate says that the update brings the expected shutdown of third-party apps and unlocks, but this is expected for all updates (note that while Apple said they would shut down third-party software on the iPhone in 1.1.2, it was jailbroken within minutes).

[Thanks to Gearlive for images and Gizmodo for verification of update]