iPhone 2.1 Beta 3 released

This week Apple released the iPhone firmware 2.1 Beta 3. While it's only available to developers accepted into the beta program, the word has gotten out that there are some desireable bug fixes (specifically having to do with the keyboard input lag and general stability). Additionally, the new firmware proports to provide developer support for background notifications (of the variety Erica Sadum posted about last week).

Money to be made: KPCB iFund

While nosing around developer.apple.com recently, I saw a link on one of Apple's pages that I hadn't noticed before. iFund is an investment initiative being offered by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to the tune of $100 million. They are accepting applications from development groups/companies of all sizes and in all stages of business development (i.e., whether a small group looking for some seed money, or an established iPhone development team looking to expand).

Significantly, it looks (from delving a bit into the KPCB website) like they recognize and believe in the revolutionary nature of the iPhone as a platform unto itself. From the descriptions they give of the application areas that they are targeting (leading with "location-based services, social networking, mCommerce") it certainly seems like they have identified what is unique and special about the combination of mobility, hardware, and networking capabilities of iPhone.

So, it's not too late to start working on that business plan...

iOlympics

Lastly, on a lighter (but very timely) note, I wanted to draw your attention to iOlympics, a simple but very handy web app made for iPhone to help you keep up with the medal counts, event schedules, TV schedules, and news, all sorted by event or country or originating news organization. (Of course, if you also plan on watching the Games on TV, you might want to be careful of spoilers...)