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2010-04-09 11:19:02
Thu Apr 8, 4:23 pm ET
One of the biggest criticisms leveled at the iPhone and the iPad that it
can't run third-party apps in the background will be fixed at last
(partially, anyway), with a little help from iPhone software 4.0, Steve Jobs
announced Thursday. The major OS revision will arrive this summer for the
iPhone, while iPad users will have to wait until the fall.
The new iPhone software will pack in more than 100 new features, Jobs promised,
including (besides multitasking) a unified email inbox, support for Apple's new
iBookstore, a social gaming network, a series of interface enhancements (such
as app folders and wallpapers for the home screen) and yep, it was bound to
happen a new, Apple-controlled mobile ad framework, with Apple set to keep a
generous 40 percent of future ad revenue for itself.
Without further ado, then, let's get down to the nitty-gritty:
Multitasking
Here's how it'll work: If you're running an app on the iPhone anything from
the core Mail app to, say, a game like Tap Tap Revenge you just double-click
the Home key to pull up a small window shade at the bottom of the screen, which
can show four apps at a time (just swipe to scroll through more running apps).
Tap an app in the new multitasking "dock" and you'll switch to the app, with
the first app's state saved in the background.
So, will all these apps actually be running in the background? Well, no (if
they did, they'd slow iPhone performance to a crawl and eat up battery life,
Jobs said). That said, Apple will be allowing a few selected processes to run
in the background, including music, VOIP, and location-based apps.
For example, Pandora will still play music while you're browsing on Safari (you
can even pause Pandora or skip tracks using the iPhone's "lock" control bar),
you'll be able to answer and maintain VOIP calls (think Skype and the like)
while you're working in other apps, and location-aware apps like Loopt will be
able to track your location in the background via cell-tower triangulation. (An
icon will appear in the iPhone's top status bar to warn you if a background app
is tracking your location; you'll also get to tweak a series of new
location-based privacy settings).
Click image to see more iPad photos
AFP
Universal e-mail inbox
Here's a feature that's been a long time in coming. Currently, iPhone users
checking multiple email accounts have had to switch back and forth between
those accounts to see their respective in boxes (a process that takes several
more clicks than it should). With iPhone OS 4.0, however, users will at last
get a single, unified in box, just like BlackBerry users have enjoyed since ...
well, forever. You'll also be able to "fast switch" between accounts, sort
messages by thread, and open attachments with a third-part app (nice). Also,
good news for Exchange users: No longer will you be restricted to a single
Exchange account.
Home screen enhancements
You know how the iPhone won't allow you to select wallpaper for the home
screen? (That's the home screen with all your app icons, not the lock screen
with the digital clock and the "slide to unlock" thingy). That's all set to
change once iPhone OS 4.0 comes out. You'll also be able to create "folder"
icons that contain a series of apps say, for all your games effectively
boosting the number of apps that can be displayed on the iPhone's home screen
from 180 to more than 2,100.
Social gaming network
The Xbox 360 has Xbox Live, the PS3 has the PlayStation Network, and now the
iPhone will have Game Center, a new social gaming system that'll let you earn
achievements, invite pals to your personal gaming network, compare top scores
on leaderboards, and square off with other players via matchmaking. Third-party
developers who've already set up their own social gaming networks for the
iPhone (such as Gameloft and OpenFeint) aren't gonna like this one bit.
A word from our sponsors
Plenty of iPhone apps already feature in-app advertisements, but Steve Jobs
(unsurprisingly) thinks Apple can do it better thus, iAd, a framework for
dynamic new in-app, HTML5-powered ads that "deliver interaction and emotion" (I
know, I know). Jobs showed off a series of demos, including a full-motion app
for Pixar's "Toy Story 3" (shocker!), a Nike ad that lets you design your own
shoe, and a Target ad that lets you set up your dorm room. Ads won't pull users
out of a running app, Jobs promised, and you'll also be able to play videos,
games, download wallpaper, and view maps from within the ad itself. Last but
not least: Apple says it'll split ad revenue with advertisers 60-40, with Apple
keeping the 40-percent cut. Look who just got into the advertising business.
Other enhancements
Expect the iBookstore to come to the iPhone with OS 4.0, along with a series of
enterprise enhancements (in-app encryption, wireless app deployment for an
entire workforce, etc.) and support for Bluetooth keyboards.
Which iPhones/the iPad will be compatible with OS 4.0?
The iPhone 3GS and the third-generation iPod Touch will be fully compatible
with the new OS, multitasking and all, Jobs said. If you have the iPhone 3G or
the second-gen iPod Touch, they will run "many things" in OS 4.0, but
multitasking won't be one of them. Finally, the iPad will also be getting all
the new OS 4.0 features including multitasking but not until this fall.
Jobs didn't mention the original iPhone or iPod Touch, nor did he mention a fee
for iPod Touch users wishing to upgrade (as we've seen in the past).
What we didn't get
No Flash support (just "no," Jobs reportedly said). No status-bar notifications
for new email or SMS messages (which already exist on WebOS and Android
phones). And no mention at all of an iPhone for Verizon.
So, what do you think: Happy with the new features? Has Apple fixed the
iPhone's/iPad's multitasking problem at last, or think there's still work to be
done?
Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.