iPhone 3.0 Will Bring Copy and Paste?

Rumor has it that the latest update to the iPhone will offer copy and paste, as well as other features that could bring it up to speed with Palm's Pre.

Of all the features the current-generation iPhone lacks, the one perhaps most bemoaned by users is the lack of simple copy and paste. That staple of lazy typists will return with the next version of the iPhone operating system, according to Digg founder Kevin Rose, citing an anonymous source.

In an episode of Diggnation recorded in front of a live audience at South by Southwest, Rose passes along second-hand news that the iPhone 3.0 operating system will include a copy and paste function. Users will be able to double tap on a word, which will bring up a magnified view of the text, then drag two quotes around the section of text they want, and tell the phone to cut, copy or paste from a menu.

In the video, the news elicits quite a reaction from the Diggnation’s fans, one of whom shouts another question asking whether applications will be able to run in the background on the next OS. Answer: an unfortunate no, but supposedly, the additional features will bring the iPhone up to speed with many of the new killer features Palm has promised for the Pre.

The accuracy of the rumors should come to light shortly, as Apple will hold a media-only sneak peak of the upcoming OS on Tuesday.