Japanese Emoji (and More) to Hit with iPhone 2.2 – [REAL!]

When Apple lets you know there is a new (partly-hidden) feature in iPhone 2.2 that you wanted, but you didn’t know you actually wanted it until they showed you – They do so, in style …
[Update 27.10.08 @ 16.15pm]
Mac Rumors, via iPhone Yap confirm that street view is indeed in the latest beta version of the iPhone 2.2 software. Apple have fully enabled Google Street View in Beta 2.
[Update 09.10.08 @ 00.40am]
According to iPhone Yap the screenshot above which circled the web on Monday night is in fact fake. This site states no reason for thinking this, other than it’s ‘purposed’ good reputation, as seen below:
“FAKE – I REALLY HOPE YOU DIDN’T BUY INTO THIS ONE! lol!
Don’t believe everything you hear (unless you hear it at iPhoneYap)”
Also reported as fake is the future addition of ‘Google Street View’ described by the site as a:
” … FANTASY FAKE SCREENSHOT …”
[Update 05.10.08 @ 11.37am]
Mac Rumors have further detailed the list of hidden features coming with iPhone 2.2, and now state that when it does finally hit we’ll be in for the addition of Google’s Street View for Maps, and the (long-awaited) ability to turn auto-correction off, on various built-in iPhone OS keyboards.
(Yes, no more will you receive a swap out of ‘LOL’ for ‘lol’) – Allejuiah!
Original Article:
Mac Rumors have tonight uncovered an unpublished API within the next release of iPhone 2.2, which brings emoticon support to the device. Of the information Mac Rumors has gathered, they claim there are 461 included icons, in 7 different categories ranging from weather to travel.
“The iPhone is a difficult phone to use for the Japanese market because there are so many features it doesn’t have,”
- Eimei Yokota, MM Research (Source)
This move and basic Apple-supported inclusion of ‘picture messaging’ could signal that in the future, MMS could be coming to iPhone.
Simply ‘emoticons’ to us used in IM clients, Emoji as it is referred to over in Japan, is seen as a deal-breaker for any phone, and is highly popular. It is expected that this functionality will be built into Mail.app’s user interface, allowing for insertion of picture files into an email sent from your device. It is not yet known however whether this API will be callable from other native language keyboards within iPhone OS, other than Japanese.
All I can say is, lets hope it’s not just available on the Japanese language setting!
Checkout the Mac Rumors article below, for more in-depth details …
Via: Mac Rumors
This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 12:34 AM and is filed under iPhone, iPod. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.






Anyone out there know for sure wether or not US will get the emoji?