Along with iPad 2, Apple Introduces iOS 4.3

The announcement of Apple’s newest tablet, the iPad 2, was not the only surprise Apple (News - Alert) executives had up their sleeves yesterday. Apple also introduced iOS 4.3, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

With iOS 4.3, consumers can enjoy faster Safari mobile browsing performance with the Nitro JavaScript engine; iTunes Home Sharing; enhancements to AirPlay (News - Alert); the choice of using the iPad side switch to either lock the screen rotation or mute the audio, and the Personal Hotspot feature for sharing an iPhone 4 cellular data connection over Wi-Fi.

“With more than 160 million iOS devices worldwide, including over 100 million iPhones, the growth of the iOS platform has been unprecedented,” said Steve Jobs (News - Alert), Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “iOS 4.3 adds even more features to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, across three blockbuster devices — iPad, iPhone (News - Alert) and iPod touch — providing an ecosystem that offers customers an incredibly rich experience and developers unlimited opportunities.”

iOS 4.3 will be available to iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users as a free software update on Friday, March 11, the same day the iPad 2 makes it splash into the tablet market. iOS 4.3 is compatible with iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM model), plus third and fourth generation iPod touch.

Apple is using iOS 4.3 to make everything even better, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software, said during Apple’s press conference Wednesday.

In particular, the Safari mobile browsing experience will get “even better” with iOS 4.3, according to Apple, because the Nitro JavaScript engine is now built into WebKit, the technology at the heart of Safari. It runs JavaScript up to twice as fast as in iOS 4.2.2 so a consumer’s page is loaded more quickly, according to Apple.

“The enhanced media sharing available in iOS 4.3 will further enhance Apple’s role as a consumer electronics leader and moreover help them gain a stronger foothold into the home networking and entertainment market,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC.

And Apple appears to be looking to gain that stronger foothold as the new iTunes Home Sharing allows iOS 4.3 users to listen to music and view movies and TV shows on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch from their iTunes library on a Mac or PC over a local Wi-Fi network. With just a single tap, users can enjoy all the media in their iTunes library from wherever they are in their home – streaming a movie from their Mac in the kitchen to their iPad in their bedroom.

iOS 4.3 also includes enhancements to AirPlay, the wireless technology that allows users to stream music, photos and video to Apple TV. AirPlay can now stream videos from a user’s Photos app, in addition to music, movies and photos.

The new Personal Hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 will allow users to bring Wi-Fi with them anywhere they go. Users can download iOS 4.3 on their iPhone4 and the next time they are in a 3G territory without WiFi (News - Alert) they can enable the personal Hotspot to share their data connection with their Mac, PC, iPad, or other Wi-Fi-capable device.