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Apple has just unveiled the iPhone 3.0 blueprint in Cupertino. Scheduled to arrive this summer, the iPhone 3.0 firmware will introduce over 100 new features to the hands of the iPhone/iPod Touch owners. Here is a list of the top 5 prominent features that are most talked about:

1. Tethering

Included in the iPhone 3.0 firmware is the tethering capability. Instead of signing up a separate mobile broadband for internet on the go, wouldn’t it be great if one can ride on the iPhone 3G connection for internet access on the laptop? This would be a whole lot of saving if SingTel allows this.

2. Copy-and-paste

Since the debut of the first generation iPhone in 2007, the iPhone has been criticized for the lack of such basic functionality. Though Apple has tried to predict where people would want to use copy-and-paste and provide suitable workarounds, anyone who’s ever had to transfer a scrap of arbitrary text between applications will eventually jot a note down on a piece of paper and then laboriously typing it back in. It seems that Apple is well aware of this and finally make “copy and paste” possible.

3. Spotlight

Just like Mac OS X, with the Spotlight phone-wide search feature, just key in a name and it will list down all the emails, calendars and contact of the person. So long as the 3rd party applications are written to support this feature, its data will also be available in the search.

4. MMS

This is a basic capability found in any other handsets except the iPhone. Yes, I know that I can send an email to someone with a photo attached, but what if the recipient does not have an internet-capable phone? With the new MMS capability, it allows you send messages that include everything from images to sound to vcards.

5. Push-notification

At the Worldwide Developer Conference 2008, Apple touted a push notification system that would allow 3rd party applications to alert users upon new information. However, after several firmware updates, the feature is still yet to be seen. So now, it is apparent that Apple has not dropped Push-notification, it has been doing complete re-architechture of the Push Notification server infra-structure to ensure stability upon rolling out. Well, it better be a rock-solid implementation than anything approaching the MobileMe’s disastrous launch.

The iPhone OS 3.0 will be a free upgrade to all iPhone users, and for iPod touch users, it will be available for $US9.95.

If you dare, you can sign up for the beta here.