The main operating system of Apple’s iPhone is called the iPhone OS and that OS is based on Mac OS X Leopard which is the most advanced operating system in the world for consumers.  Because the iPhone OS includes the core of Mac OS X Leopard, the OS includes the highly advanced graphics layer known as Core Animation.  Core Animation is responsible for allowing developers to easily create highly complex and smooth animations using very little code.  Although the iPhone OS has the power of Mac OS X it’s memory footprint on the iPhone is very small.  This allows for the majority of the iPhone’s memory to be free for applications.

Similar to the iPod, the device is managed by the latest version of iTunes.  This makes it easy to use if you have a Mac or a PC running Windows.  When the iPhone first launched in June 2007, Apple allowed developers to create apps using AJAX which is basically, CSS, HTML and Javascript.  While these apps where relatively easy to develop, developers wanted more.  They wanted the ability to develop apps that would take advantage of the advanced operating system, memory, Wi-Fi, and the other features of the iPhone.

Apple initially launched the iPhone with a set of 16 applications.  There where 4 apps that where located in the dock and 12 applications on the “Home” screen.  The initial applications located on the Home screen were an SMS text messaging app, an iCal like calendar app, a photos manager, a camera, calculaor, stocks app, Google Maps app, weather app, notes app, clock app, YouTube app, and the settings application.  The apps located in the dock where the phone app, mail app, Safari web browser, and the iPod application.

One of the real strokes of genius was Apple’s inclusion of a Youtube app.  The Youtube app is an absolute favorite among kids and teens.  The Youtube app allows you to easily find content via Featured, Most Viewed, Favorites, and Search.  The “More” tab gives you even more options for finding content by Most Recent, Top Rated, History, My Videos, Subscriptions, and Playlists.  Youtube content can be accessed via WiFi, Edge (2G), and 3G networks.

Apple doesn’t use Flash on the iPhone.  In fact Apple doesn’t use Flash on any part of it’s website.  In it’s push to use open technologies on it’s platforms Apple has refused to use Flash and now uses CSS, HTML, and Javascript (AJAX) to create beautiful web apps and experiences on the iPhone and it’s webpages.  Apple in cooperation with Google now uses only H.264 encoded content from Youtube and not Flash.  This was huge because prior to the Youtube app on the iPhone all Youtube content was converted to Flash video.  Now Youtube’s content is available in the standard video format of the web, H.264.

Apple updates it’s iPhone operating system and apps using it’s iTunes software.  Unlike other phone manufacturers Apple provides regular updates of it’s phones that consumers can access immediately once available from their iTunes software.  This is a huge benefit to consumers, because they no longer have to make a trip down to the local wireless store to have software loaded onto their phones.  Apple can get critical software updates to the majority of their iPhone customers quickly and easily via iTunes and the internet.

The iPhone’s phone app has some really sweet features.  One really nice feature of the phone app is the ability to do teleconferencing.  The iPhone will allow you to merge up to five calls into a teleconference.  Visual voicemail is another killer app and allows the user visually see all messages at once.  Messages include the name or phone number, and the date the message was left.  The ability to listen to or discard messages in random order is a very nice feature that a lot of users appreciate.

Apple’s innovations with the iPhone and it’s software like Visual Voicemail have spurred innovative development of wireless carrier’s infrastructure.  Companies such as O2, and AT&T have modified their networks to accomodate the new features of the iPhone.

Apple’s software innovations have also led to innovations among phone manufacturers as every major cell phone company scrambles to catch up to the sizeable two year lead that Apple has built in the industry.  Thanks to Apple’s iPhone and it’s ground breaking software, the cell phone industry has seen an explosion in the development of smart phones in the last 2 years.

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