[updated!] iPhone OS 4.0 released - multitasking, iAds and more!

[Voodoochild]

I searched for a proper iPhone thread and all I see was some old stuff about the older versions... So maybe there's some people here who would be interested on the matter.

iPhone OS 4.0 unveiled, adds multitasking, shipping this Summer
By Paul Miller posted Apr 8th 2010 at 1:43PM




Just a bit more than a year after we first laid eyes on iPhone OS 3.0, Apple is back with the latest big revision of the OS that powers the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It's shipping this Summer (iPad in the Fall), and the developer preview will be out today. iPhone 3GS and new-gen iPod touch will get all the features, but some features won't make it to the iPhone 3G, original iPhone, and older iPod touches. The biggest new feature is multitasking, which Apple says is going to be the "best" implementation in the smartphone space, though it's obviously not the first. App switching is activated by double tapping the home button, which pulls up a "dock" of currently running apps, and Apple claims it can do this without hurting battery life or performance for the front app. Unfortunately, this multitasking won't be available for devices older than the 3GS and new iPod touch. Multitasking is just one of seven different new "tentpole" features, including Game Center, enhanced Mail, and more...

Notable new features for users ("tentpoles" are in bold):

    * Multitasking.
    * Spell check (like on the iPad).
    * Bluetooth keyboard support (again, on the iPad).
    * User-defined wallpaper (a jailbreak favorite).
    * Tap to focus when recording video, just like with photos, and a 5x digital zoom for the camera.
    * Playlist creation and nested playlists.
    * App folders for sorting apps! You can even put an app folder in the dock.
    * Enhanced Mail! You can have a merged inbox view, switch between inboxes quickly, and sync to more than one Exchange account. There's also threaded messaging (at last!) and in-app attachment viewing.
    * iBooks, just like on iPad, only smaller. You can wirelessly sync books between platforms, a la Kindle.
    * Enterprise features, including remote device management and wireless app distribution.
    * Game Center. It's like Xbox Live, but for iPhone games. Includes achievements, leaderboards, and match making. It will be available as a "developer preview," and out for consumers later this year.


Developers are getting plenty of new tricks too:

    * 1,500 new APIs.
    * Full access to the camera.
    * Date and address "data detectors."
    * Background audio (think Pandora).
    * Background VoIP (think Skype).
    * Background location data, both with live GPS for backgrounded turn-by-turn, and cell tower-based for lower power draw.
    * Local notifications. Like push notifications, but sends a notification straight from the app without needing a push notification server, perfect for an alarm, for instance.
    * Fast app switching. Saves the state of an app and resumes it from where you left off, without dwelling in memory.
    * iAd. Apple says it's for keeping "free apps free." The ads keep you in the app, while also taking over the screen and adding interactivity -- using HTML 5 for video -- up to simple gaming in-ad. Apple will offer a 60 / 40 split on revenue, and users can even buy apps straight from an ad.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/iphone-os-4-0-unveiled-shipping-this-summer/

[svdv22]

Multitasking isn't supported for my 3G
Only on 3GS, kinda odd since they still sell the 3G

[Voodoochild]

It is, but I guess they will stop selling it by mid summer, when the iPhone OS is released - and also, probably with the iPhone 4G.

[svdv22]

Yeah I guess

I like the new features though.. Even iAds!

[badapple81]

Please multi tasking will be added. iAds tho.. 

[svdv22]

Do you have any free apps on your iPhone? Those ads are very annoying and when you click one, the app stops and safari opens.
With iAds when you click an ad, you stay in the app you're using and the ad will appear on top of it. You can download wallpapers/watch trailers/whatever the ad does without leaving the app.

If we're going to get ads, give it to me the apple way

[Voodoochild]

IMO, the thing on iAds it's that it will use HTML5 content - just imagine watching a trailer without having to use the YouTube app.

Also, I found out that the iPhone 4.0 will finally allow to create (or delete) and edit playlists on the iPod app. That was one of my biggest complains on the device and I'm glad it finally arrived.

[Chief]

the iAd makes me laugh.. as if everyone just Loves ads!!

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Everyone hates ads.

[cotis]

Everyone hates ads.

Ads on an iPhone?

I don't get it...

you get a free app but there are advertizements that are included?

[Voodoochild]

Yes, why not? If the app is for free, how would the developers make money from it?


There's also the "Lite" versions, which is kinda like a demo - the upgrade for the paid app unlock the whole game, for example.

the iAd makes me laugh.. as if everyone just Loves ads!!

People who develope adds do.

[Sin Cut]

It's strange that many of the new astonishing features are something you'd expect that would be on a phone by default.

I got an iPhone myself, but when I got it, I found it surprising how difficult some features were, for an example using an mp3 as alarm clock tune or using custom ring tone.

Or that there wasnt any folders to make for the pics I've taken. I mean, c'mon, shouldn't something like that be there from the start?

Or multitasking, other phone's already have that.

Just sayin'

[Voodoochild]

Yeah, I know. Some obvious stuff there and the lack of a native IM kills me. But still, there's a lot of other cool features (like the superb web browsing - when there's no flash, of course) too.

I mean, I tested several phones - it's part of my work as a tech journalist. From what I could feel, the Android (on Motorola's Milestone or Samsung Galaxy) or Nokia (N97) experience don't even come close to how well the iPhone handle some smartphone-only features.

[Sin Cut]

^ agreed.

When comparing to the phone's I've tested, I've liked UI on the iPhone the best (as soon as I overcome my difficulties of writing sms on touchscreen). Also as working in mobile and VoIP support I haven't have any of the weird bugs on the iPhone that I've encountered while testing Nokia phones.

I think I've only had to hardboot my phone three or four times in six months.

[Voodoochild]

Yeah, I did only a couple of times - and after I tested the jailbreak (I came back to the original locked OS then). Dunno if it really had something to do with the crash, but I got really pissed because it was really a bad day for me.

[Genesis]

Only Apple fanboys can get excited about seeing ads on their phone. Go figure.

[Voodoochild]

Funny. I remember when I whined about the iPhone keyboard - it was a really long tweet Axl posted before the SA tour and Fernando called me a hater. And then, like 10 seconds after I read his post here, my device crashed - it was like 7 AM here on a Saturday and when I was trying to do something before reboot, it accidentally turned on the voice access - just when I was cursing it. And even better - the fucking thing understand it wrong and called a friend of mine who was in vacation to take care of his newborn son who couldn't let him sleep.

Yeah, it indeed looks like a Jim Carrey movie.

And now, for being excited about a new plataform for mobile Ads by one of the most influential companys in the most used (for web) smartphone in the world, I'm being called an Apple fanboy. Go figure.

[Genesis]

And now, for being excited about a new plataform for mobile Ads by one of the most influential companys in the most used (for web) smartphone in the world, I'm being called an Apple fanboy. Go figure.

Does not compute.

Anyway, I wasn't referring to you specifically, just the kind of people who swear by Apple's overpriced shiny products and wait in queue to buy their next rip-off. (See iPad). Multitasking enabled three years after the product launched and no support for the original phone? Yeah, it's all good if you're an Apple fan.

[Voodoochild]

I'm not defending Apple nor I'm the kind of who wait in queue to buy anything. But really, speaking on smartphone's market, there's no one who can be as easy to use as the iPhone, even without the multitasking (BTW, mine is a 3GS, maybe that's why I got excited about this feature).


What really pisses me off is the need for iTunes to manage the device, though. And I don't think that would change ever.

I don't think I'd buy an iPad, but it does looks good to me (maybe if they had Flash or 1080p resolution...). But I would buy a Mac if I had money enough to spend on it without caring that much.

[svdv22]

Apple has a way of handling things better than others, that's why some stuff (as multitasking) wasn't included from the beginning. Sure we can discuss this, but 95% who used both an iPhone and any other phone with multitasking will agree. They'll include it when it works for their standards. And that means an extremely well thought out user interface.

You can dislike Apple for selling stuff you don't need, but don't be an hypocrite and hate all the companies who do so. Not just Apple, for doing it really well.

And you probably think otherwise now but I'm not an Apple fanboy, I'm not. To be honest I kinda get annoyed by most people who work at an Apple store. They're smug.