A First Look at iOS 4.2 on the iPhone (screenshots)

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Master volume

It's not out for the public yet, and we still don't know when it will come, but the Gold Master for Apple's iOS 4.2 became available this week. Apple is still mum on the official features list, but we found a lot of new goodies after we downloaded and installed the developer version on the iPhone 4. The iPad will get additional changes from iOS 4.2, which we've covered in a separate photo gallery.

Nothing is particularly Earth-shattering, but we welcome the updates in any case. You'll find interface tweaks, new personalization options, and added functionality.

First, off is a new master volume control that's accessible from the Home screen. To get there, double tap the home button to get the standard multitasking menu. Then, if you swipe all the way to the left (past the iPod controls), you'll see a new master volume control.

2 of 20Screenshot by Kent German/CNET

A new icon

No, it's not exciting, but the Voice Memos icon gets a makeover. The feature is the same, however.

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Voice Control

And speaking of voices, now you can activate FaceTime via the Voice Control Feature.

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Jump to FaceTime from the messaging app

You've always been able to initiate a phone call in a text messaging thread, but now you can go directly to a FaceTime conversation as well. Just tap the relevant touch control at the center top. Of course, you'll need to be on Wi-Fi at the time.

5 of 20Screenshot by Kent German/CNET

Printing photos

After selecting multiple photos, you'll see a new option to send the shots directly to a connected printer.

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Printing an individual photo

You also have the option to print when selecting a single photo. It joins the existing controls for sending the photo as an MMS or e-mail, assigning it to a contact, and using it as wallpaper.

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Choose a printer

if you decide to print, your iPhone will search for avaialble printers.

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Fonts for Notes

With a new option in the Settings menu you can change the font for the Notes app. We can't say this is something that's been high on our wish list. Also, we prefer to be able to change the font directly from the Notes app.

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Three fonts compared

You can only use one font at a time, but we compiled the three choices to show you how they differ. The Marker Felt font is what the Notes app has always offered.

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Searching in Safari

Though it's not entirely intuitive at first--we'd like a dedicated search field--you can search for text on a Safari page in the standard Google search box. Google results will appear at the top of the list with page results at the bottom. Indeed, this is one of iOS 4.2's better additions.

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Highlight text

If you click on the page results bar you'll see the related text highlighted in yellow. You then can move between all instances by pressing the "Next" button.

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More in Safari

The plus sign at the bottom of the Safari browser has been replaced by a new arrow icon.

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If you press it, you'll see a new "Print" option below the buttons for adding a bookmark, adding a shortcut to the home screen, and e-mailing a link to the page.