HONOLULU -- Users of Apple's new iPhone 3G S can now have the ability to text, e-mail and surf online in Hawaiian.

An assistant professor of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaii at Hilo said that Apple's newest product allows users to create marks such as ‘okinas and kahakôs, which are essential to the Hawaiian language.

"Users do not have to install custom fonts and keyboard in order to display ‘ôlelo Hawai‘i with contemporary orthography on the iPhone and Macintosh," said Keola Donaghy of Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikôlani College of Hawaiian Language. "That used to be a big barrier for users over the years – having to install custom software and perhaps later having to upgrade it."

Apple's latest Version 3.0 update allows users to type the ‘okina and kahakô, as well as view the days of the week, month and year in Hawaiian.

"Hawaii is such a small market that it doesn’t make a lot of sense economically for Apple to support Hawaiian language they way that they have, but they continue to support us by adding functionality that assists in our efforts to take the language into the future," Donaghy said.

The Hawaiian language feature is included on every iPhone 3G S, but the update that can be installed on older iPhones as well, Donaghy said.