5 things iOS 4.3 brings the iPad and iPhone

08.03.2011
's iOS 4.3, the firmware update due this week for the and , promises a handful of valuable and interesting changes for users of the company's new and old , tablet computers and music devices.

Here's what you'll get with iOS 4.3, which Apple says is available Friday, though much speculation on the Web has said it will be available sooner:

1. Faster Safari mobile browsing: Apple has built the Nitro JavaScript engine into Webkit, which is the core of Safari. Apple says the change will "more than double" the speed of JavaScript execution. Complex Web sites, or key portions of them, will run faster in your browser, and in some cases, much faster.

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That's been confirmed by a by one reviewer, who later compared results for Safari on iPad 2 with the browser on the original iPad and iPhone 4 and 3GS, all updated with the beta version of the 4.3 release.

2. Personal Hotspot: This has been a long time coming. It turns the Wi-Fi radio in your iPhone 4 into an access point. Up to three other Wi-Fi clients -- a Mac, PC, iPad, or anything else with a radio -- can connect to it, and then share the phone's 3G data connection to the Internet. Using USB and Bluetooth, you can let two other devices also share a cellular link. A status bar display shows you how many devices are connected; each connection is password protected. When not in use, the hotspot shuts off.