One feature people have been waiting for since the release of the first iPhone was cut-and-paste. Thanks to iPhone OS 3.0, that feature is finally here, and it works. Mostly.

The iPhone OS 3.0 cut, copy and paste feature used the same tap-and-hold as the Edit option. Just tap and hold in text to display the magnifying lens, and then drag your finger to position the cursor.

When you lift your finger, instead of seeing just the cursor, now you'll also see pop-up commands for Select and Select All. Tapping Select highlights the word after the cursor, Select All selects all of the available text.

Tap and hold to show the magnifying lens.

Once you have selected some text, you can use the blue dots, or handles, at either end of the highlighted area to refine your selection. Just tap and drag the dots to change the highlight area. Once you are finished, tap Copy to add a copy of the highlighted text to the clipboard, or Cut to copy the text and delete the original from your document.

Release your finger to see the Select options.

You can also use the Copy and Cut commands to grab images from Web pages.

Now tap where you want to insert the copied text -- even in other applications -- to show the Paste option. Tap Paste to insert the text you copied.

Tap Copy after selecting the text you want.

Apple's copy-and-paste feature, however, doesn't work as reliably as it ought to. It doesn't, for example, work in every application that lets you enter text, and it doesn't work in the Contacts application unless you select a contact and then tap the Edit button. In some apps, the Cut option isn't available even when it should be, and in others, you can't highlight just the text you want.

Despite the inconsistencies and limitations, copy-and-paste is a welcome addition to the iPhone and iPod touch -- even if the feature isn't quite as robust yet as what was available on the Palm Pilot several years ago.