Apple's curiously uninteresting iPhone 3.0 announcements

I was looking to today's Apple special event to see if anything new and interesting was coming in the world of the iPhone.

You know, not really.

And while I know that saying so just lumps me into the you just hate Apple category (which isn't true, but whatever), I feel it has to be said. This was sort of a letdown. Lots of good evolutionary improvement, sure. But is the iPhone suddenly that mature of a product?

So what did they announce? This:

1. Search (across more iPhone apps). Including Mail, which was sorely missing and should have been included on day one.
2. Cut, copy, paste. Another 1.0 feature we should have had two years ago.
3. Send photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS. No video though. Still.
4. Read and compose email and text messages in landscape. See my original iPhone review from mid-2007: Should have been there in 1.0.

On the good news front, 3.0 will be a free software update.

But what about tethering? (As I used to do 3+ years ago with my Motorola Q on EVDO.) Flash playback? The 10-inch device, be it iPod "mano" or Mac tablet? Lower- and higher-end iPhones?

Heck, what about some truly innovative new features?

Nothing.

Weird.