Updated Apple iOS touts personal hotspot capability

Less than a week after introducing its new iPad 2 tablet, Apple released an update to its iOS operating system for its mobile devices. Apple said iOS 4.3, initially scheduled for release March 11, can turn an iPhone 4 into a personal hotspot, and allows streaming of video from its Photos application. "You can share your connection with up to five devices at once over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB — with up to three of those connections using Wi-Fi.4 Every connection is password protected and secure," it said of its Personal Hotspot functionality on the iOS website. It said that Personal Hotspot feature allows an iPhone 4 user to share cellular data connection with a Mac, PC, iPad, or other Wi-Fi-capable device. Apple said the functionality is also power-friendly, detecting when the Personal Hotspot is no longer in use and turns off the device to save battery life. The updated iOS also features enhancements to its AirPlay feature, which now allows a user to stream content from an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to an HDTV via Apple TV.1. "In addition to music, movies, and photos, AirPlay now streams video from your Photos app. So you can shoot a home video and instantly share it with everyone in the room," Apple said. Other features of the updated OS include a speedier Safari browser, whose Nitro Javascript engine can run JavaScript up to twice as fast as in iOS 4.2.2. The update also allows iTunes Home Sharing, where an entire iTunes library can be played from anywhere in the house. It likewise allows a user to set the iPad side switch to lock the screen rotation or mute the volume. The iOS 4.3 update is compatible with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone (GSM); iPod touch third and fourth generations; and the iPad and iPad 2. — TJD, GMA News