While such features already exist on rival devices like the BlackBerry from Research In Motion and Treo from Palm, some iPhone users had complained it lacked functions such as multimedia messaging and the ability to copy and paste text.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said an early version of its 3.0 operating system for the iPhone would be available to developers today, with consumer availability this summer.
The software would support automatic alerts of items such as sports results or the arrival of an instant message. The alerts would show up automatically even if the user is in another application.
Apple promised multimedia messaging with the new system, allowing users to send each other photos from the phone. It also announced a peer-to-peer capability that lets users near each other interact with their iPhones for features such as gaming.
The company also unveiled a widely anticipated universal search feature called "spotlight," which can search key applications on the phone such as email and iPod.
Apple's iPhone 3G was an immediate hit when it was released last July. The company sold a total of 13.7 million units in 2008, surpassing its 10 million target.
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