iPhone OS 4 Announced
Yesterday, Apple held a town hall meeting to announce the new features of the new OS (4) on the iPhone. They stated that there will be 100+ features added to this release. For some of the items, Apple states “we weren’t the first, but we are the best”. Here is a break down of what you may expect come June.
The Good News – What we WILL get from OS 4:
Multitasking
Everyone saw this one coming. Apple has taken alot of slack lately as this feature is not currently available on the iPhone. Although not an “expose” type of multitasking, at least its something. Per Apple:
Developers will have access to seven multitasking services, which will allow tasks to be performed in the background while preserving performance and battery life. So you’ll be able to make a Voice over IP call while playing a game or checking email, find a restaurant on Urbanspoon while listening to Pandora, and more.
Folders
When I had the iPhone, I had it jailbroken for most of it’s life. It isn’t until the App Store came around that I stopped jail breaking as “most” of the features were now available. One of the features I would always use is “folders”. It’s easy to have a TON of apps flooding your iPhone, however, with folders you are able to keep the organized nicely. Per Apple:
Organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity. Get faster access to your favorites and browse and manage up to 2160 apps at once — many more than the current limit of 180 apps.
Upgraded Mail
Basically, you can have multiple email addresses show up in one inbox. Other sorting features will be available as well as the ability to open attachments in third-party apps.
iBooks
Much like its big sister, the iPad, OS 4 will be getting a version of iBooks. The nice feature is that you only have to purchase your book once, the devices will stay synced including notes, bookmarks, etc. Per Apple:
The best way to browse, buy, and read books on a mobile device. Easily flip through the pages of a book you’ve downloaded from the iBookstore while listening to your music collection. Browse tens of thousands of books — many of them free — by title, author, or genre. You can even check out reviews and read sample pages before you buy.
iAd
Just what you always wanted, a new way to receive ads on your mobile device! Your prayers have been answered, per Apple:
iAd is a breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For developers, it means a new, easy-to-implement source of revenue. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information.
Other items
Smaller, notable items include: 5x digital camera zoom, Bluetooth keyboard support, local notifications and fast app switching.
The Bad News – What we WON’T get from OS 4:
Sorry, Old Guys
So here is something that will effect MOST iPhone users, ONLY the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (3rd-gen) devices will get all of the new features.
The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G will get “many things“, not including multitasking.
The old iPhone 2Gs will be left in the dark, no update, nothing…according to Apple, just let it go, man.
An Updated UI/Homescreen
This will never happen.
Flash Support for Safari
Anyone that knows Apple has come to the realization that Flash will never find a home on an Apple mobile device. Some say Steveo has a grudge, but most think its because Flash is a battery sucker and Apple doesn’t agree that people need it.
Mass Storage Mode
Some were hoping that the iPhone would be able to be plugged into a computer and used as a USB flash drive…a mode to transfer files from place A to B. Yeah, not going to happen.
Tethering with AT&T
This may be more of an AT&T restriction that Apple, nevertheless, its still a no go.
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Jeremy Gibson | PCQuikFix
Computer & Electronic Repair Solutions
Playstation 3 Repair | Xbox 360 Repair | Nintendo Wii Repair | iPhone Repair
