So, there was an event today to show developers what they can do with the next version of the iPhone (and iPod Touch) software, due out in "Summer" - just in time for the next version of the hardware, no doubt. Free for iPhone users, $9.95 or equivalent local currency for iTouch users.

Much of the presentation was taken up showing off the new features developers can use to create cool applications, but there was some time at the end devoted to new features that will be built in.

First and foremost - cut, copy and paste, MMS messaging and the ability to forward messages. Yes, these features have been available on pretty much every other phone for years now, and Apple are very late to the party, but at least they're coming, and they're well implemented too. I'm sure they'll be much appreciated!

Other tweaks include landscape (and therefore larger) keyboards available in every major application, and system-wide search. This last item was a pretty inexcusable omission, given the excellent Spotlight search feature in the Mac operating system.

One feature I'm quite excited about, and another one that should have been there from the start, is full A2DP stereo Bluetooth support. With the new software, you'll be able to use bluetooth earphones in the gym, or connect your iPhone to a compatible car stereo, no wires in sight. Marvellous!

There's plenty more to the new software, and I for one am excited to see what software developers are going to come up with, given these new toys to play with.

For a pretty concise guide to all the newly announced features, see this Gizmodo article.

One final point - first gen iPhone and iPod touch users are out of luck with some features - no Bluetooth for the iPod, and no MMS for the iPhone. I don't really understand that - my little Nokia 6300 isn't 3G, and it handles MMS absolutely fine...

It's been a while! There's been a fair few product updates and I've been nowhere to be seen. I'm a bad blogger.

So, there's a new iPod Shuffle out (scant days after Jake received his in the post). It's tiny!

Apparently, the insides of this thing weigh just 10% more than a sheet of A4 paper. Apple are calling it the smallest music player in the world, but I'm sure that won't last long. It's almost half the size of the last version (which was bloody small!), and has twice the capacity - 4gb. It's very minimalist in design, there are no buttons on it at all, just a switch to select between shuffle, straight and off. The controls are all in a little nubby on the right earpiece cable.

Which is a bit of a problem for me, were I to get one of these puppies. I don't get on with Apple standard issue earbuds. I don't know if my ears are a funny shape or what, but after about fifteen minutes use, my ears get really sore. Other companies have already started to release compatible earphones, and Apple have said they'll be releasing an adaptor with the controls on it (at additional cost, of course).

The controls are such that you have a volume up and down toggle, and then one button that does different things depending on how you press it. It sounds pretty confusing, but Apple say it's intuitive, and they tend to get things like this right. The best thing is, no more fiddling to skip a track - just a click of a button which is easily accessible, right there on the cord.

A stand out feature is VoiceOver - something that's been available on the new Nano for a while, but on the screenless Shuffle is a great idea. Basically, you hold the button for a couple of seconds and your Shuffle tells you what the current song is. That in itself is of limited use - it's your playlist, you should know what you've put in there. But the great thing is, this allows you to browse playlists too, so you can have more than one playlist on the device. I only use mine in the gym, it has a load of high tempo dancey tracks on it to keep me motivated - but if I could, I would have other stuff on there too. This is very useful in such a miniscule device.

I don't think the Shuffle would ever be my sole portable music device, but this tiny little beauty is even more useful now than it was this time last week.

Click here for the official site.