Los Angeles (CA) - With first beta of the 2.1 firmware for the iPhone/iPod touch now seeded to developers, speculations about new features are gathering steam. Of course, most of us won't settle for anything less than the missing features expected in 2.0 in the first place. We all know that Apple's priority list doesn't always match that of its users, but it's high time for Cupertino-folks to address basics that portray iPhone as a toy compared to rest of the industry.

Ah man, don't you just wish that next iPhone firmware update brings end-user features sadly missing from 2.0? True, the current firmware was huge step ahead over 1.1.4 as it added important enterprise capabilities such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for push email, contact and calendar, Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks and the ability to remotely wipe handset if it's stolen (think Blackberry’s ‘nuke’ function). We understand that the enterprise is top priority for Apple, but the focus on business users left regular iPhone users short on new stuff. With the exception of the App Store that became the killer feature, we got a GPS-enhanced Maps application, support for MobileMe cloud services, contact searching, bulk move and messages delete, saving photos, parental controls and embedded YouTube videos. That's it, more or less. It just doesn't cut it for most of us.

If you rewind to our TGDaily article with a laundry-list of features expected in 2.0 at the time, you can see over half of them never saw light of the day, despite various hooks in the firmware files that suggested Apple was working on them. So why is it taking so long? If you ask Apple's chief of iPod/iPhone marketing Greg Joswiak, Apple has its priorities. "Apple has a priority list of features, and we got as far as we could down that list with this model," Joswiak said.

I don't know what Apple's priority list looks like, but Flash and cut-copy-paste support are on top of my list. And where is my Skype, MMS and instant messaging, I need these features big time! The ability to play YouTube videos directly inside web page would be nice, but I would trade that anytime for wireless printing and stereo Bluetooth music streaming, thank you very much. Well, it seems that 2.1 software, due around September, could get you covered on most of these fronts. Here's the list of new end-user features most likely to appear and our own list of features that are still missing from the bigger picture, probably slated for future subsequent firmware updates.

Features most likely to surface in the 2.1 firmware update

•    Security and stability enhancements: The firmware update will fix reported issues that cause erratic handset behavior (slow camera startup, accelerometer hiccups) and unexpected freezes in third-party applications. More serious stability issues and security vulnerabilities will also be patched, especially holes in Mail and Safari that can be exploited to spam the user's inbox or lure him into visit phishing sites.

•    Copy and paste: This has to be one of the most requested features since the iPhone’s debut and looks like it will finally appear.

•    Enhanced location features: Core Location APIs of the iPhone OS have been updated with new features to track the user's direction and speed in real time, a feature needed for the creation of sophisticated GPS-based applications, such as turn-by-turn navigation. Greg Joswiak rebuffed David Pogues' claim that the iPhone's GPS antenna is much too small to emulate the turn-by-turn navigation of a GPS unit for a vehicle. "GPS will evolve. I think our developers will amaze us," he said. Firmware update will most likely unlock more GPS capabilities to the developers. Expect Maps application with updated GPS capabilities, with specialized solutions coming from third parties. Tom Tom confirmed that it's developing full-blown GPS navigation solution, while TeleNAv said it is making an application with true voice-driven turn-by-turn directions, rerouting and traffic alerts and a user interface similar to that of a PND.

•    Push notification API: This feature originally promised for September will allow applications to process notifications even if they're not active or running in the background (which Apple explicitly prohibits). For instance, a Facebook application could receive real-time notifications of new messages even if it's not running and then notify you of incoming message with sound alerts and visual indications plastered over its icon, similar to the red badge superimposed over Mail application icon used to show number of unread messages. More importantly, push notification APIs will finally enable all kinds of IM capabilities on the handset.

Still missing from the bigger picture

•    Voice-activated commands: It's a shame we still can't control iPhone with voice commands. If it's any consolation, third-party developer Fonix Speech is developing solution to enable vocal dialing and music playlist navigation by loudly saying the phone number or the name of the contact, artist, song, or playlist. The company will offer the application directly through its home page until Apple approves it for the App Store distribution.

•    File access: The lack of access to the iPhone's file system frustrates developers as users are currently unable to save content anywhere else besides their photo library. We don’t think you’ll be able to browse the iPhone file system any time soon, but Apple could enable access to special folders that hold music, videos, photos, documents, downloads, etc., similar to the special folders in OS X or Vista.

•    Office suite: The 2.0 firmware reads and displays iWork and Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations attached to email messages, but road warriors would kill for the ability to create and edit their own documents. Well-known developer Dataviz confirmed that it is bringing the famous Documents To Go office suite to the iPhone. However, it's unclear how you'll be saving your documents since Apple prohibits direct access to the iPhone file system (see previous bullet point). Perhaps there will be online storage?

•    Flash support: Flash support is one of most sought after features. Adobe confirmed in March it will bring Flash to the iPhone but software maker hit unexpected hurdles and is currently working with Apple to come up with solution that will minimize resource usage and security risks. Flash support won't just unlock Flash-powered sites in Safari, it could also add value to applications, as demonstrated by the application made by Belgian developer.

•    In-line YouTube support: Embedded YouTube support is nice but you get kicked out of Safari when you tap on a video and it only works with embedded videos that aren't the only kind used on web sites. The key to unlocking in-line YouTube content is Flash player since it powers most online videos today. If Adobe doesn't cripple Flash player for the iPhone, this one will sort itself out.

•    Bluetooth music streaming: The iPhone 3G has Bluetooth capabilities needed for Bluetooth media streaming so the feature may come soon to enable stereo music streaming to an external sound system or a headset.

•    Wireless printing: The ability to send photos, email messages and attachments to Bluetooth or WiFi-equipped printer is also expected, judging by the existence of the "Printers" folder in 2.0 firmware. Such feature could be particularly useful to iPhone users in enterprise environment.

•    Google-411 support: Current firmware already includes placeholder for Google service that enables you to find local business via voice input, meaning Apple is probably working on it. It is expected to become tightly integrated with Maps application.

•    MMS and IM: Many users find it startling that the iPhone 3G can't send pictures in multimedia messages (MMS) or exchange instant messages with popular IM services. We reported earlier about Apple’s patent filing that suggests the company could encompass SMS, MMS, IM and other types of data-based message exchange in a single application dubbed "IM". In the meantime, unofficial application SwirlyMMS available for jailbroken iPhones enables basic MMS functionality (only images, no audio or video files)

•    VoIP: We want an Apple-made, built-in VoIP (voice-over-IP) application to enable free or cheap voice calls over cellular network, not just WiFi. The lack of it is explained by clash of Apple-carriers interest. We think that may not be true at all as most carriers allow VoIP calls on other handsets. Besides, carriers collect their fixed fees even if you don't use data or calling minutes included with the plan anyway. Apple will probably bring iChat to the iPhone to enable VoIP calls. In the meantime, native VoIP application dubbed TruePhone is available on the App Store and another one called Vopium is coming soon. Unofficial solutions such as Jajah, IM+ for Skype or Fringe are also available but these are web applications that run inside Safari browser.