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iPhone now has multitasking...

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SAWYER said:
Game Center will be huge
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OT from this thread....but it does look cool. Too bad its a copycat of Microsoft announcement xBox Live integration with WP7.

Which is actually fine...nothing wrong with using good features of other products...its just the Apple faithful that cry about how Microsoft only follows, doesn't innovate with Zune HD/WP7.
 
I haven't had a chance to look at the features yet. Did he demo true multitasking or is it like a 'pause' one thing, go do something else, then 'unpause' other thing I was doing before? Obviously this isn't the case for apps like Pandora. Let's say for example you have a web page open... can you leave that page open, open up another instance of the browser, and open up another page and then flip back and forth as needed? Keep both of those pages open and then open your email? Keep all 3 of those open and pop open Pandora/Slacker to run in the background? Etc.? Kinda like this.

Open at once:
1) Browser - Window A
2) Browser - Window B
3) Email
4) Pandora/Slacker
5) Receive incoming phone call without closing/disrupting any of the 4

Just wondering if its true multitasking.
 
No, it is not true multitasking. They basically added some background APIs and the ability to quickly switch between "running" applications. So Pandora can indeed stream in the background, but its not the full app running in the background.
 
Oh fuck. We're going to hear nothing BUT this from iPhone users now, like Steve invented it himself on April 8th. Just like when he invented Cut & Paste. And Apps.
 
Deeko said:
No, it is not true multitasking. They basically added some background APIs and the ability to quickly switch between "running" applications. So Pandora can indeed stream in the background, but its not the full app running in the background.
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Right, but it should be enough right? Multitasking really needs to include just the following:

1) GPS
2) Downloading
3) Background audio
4) Push notifications

Now with Apple's new "fast app switching" that's all you really need. From a user standpoint, it doesn't matter if you exit your SMS app or not. As long as you have saved states with iPhone 3.0 already incorporates and so does Android, then you should be OK. Just as long as switching apps doesn't take 3 min to reload the app, "pseudo multitasking" should be good enough. Just as long as it's buying me battery life I'm ok with it.
 
DLeRium said:
Right, but it should be enough right? Multitasking really needs to include just the following:

1) GPS
2) Downloading
3) Background audio
4) Push notifications

Now with Apple's new "fast app switching" that's all you really need. From a user standpoint, it doesn't matter if you exit your SMS app or not. As long as you have saved states with iPhone 3.0 already incorporates and so does Android, then you should be OK. Just as long as switching apps doesn't take 3 min to reload the app, "pseudo multitasking" should be good enough. Just as long as it's buying me battery life I'm ok with it.
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Yea - the background stuff solves most of the issues, although like you mentioned, I'm curious about the speed of loading an app. Switching to a running app vs launching an app cold is a huge difference. How fast is reloading an app's state?
 
Deeko said:
Yea - the background stuff solves most of the issues, although like you mentioned, I'm curious about the speed of loading an app. Switching to a running app vs launching an app cold is a huge difference. How fast is reloading an app's state?
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One thing that's missing (I don't know if it was mentioned), but downloading files? It'd be nice to allow continuous downloading of files. Then again without a real file manager system on the iPhone and really the inability to use one as a USB stick like some other phones probably makes this feature less useful, but I would love to be able to download some large file while typing away. Or at least let the browser load some large page while I reply to an IM....
 
I guess you can say it's ok and it's enough but I think my Pre has spoiled me in terms of multitasking. Now maybe I'm misunderstanding something of the functionality and it is basically the same thing as what is on the Pre so please excuse me if I am showing some ignorance here.

With that being said, there are some definite trade offs. While I love the multi tasking on my Pre I also dislike certain other features on the phone. I suppose there will always be trade offs.
 
Spoooon said:
I guess it doesn't look like a rumor based on the live blogs of the event. But, if you've had the phone for four years, now is as good a time as any to start thinking about an upgrade.
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Pretty much, Steve Jobs is a perfectionist, the iPhone hasn't had multitasking until now because he wanted it exactly a certain way. The 3GS is A LOT more powerful than any previous model, I'm sure he wasn't happy with the performance on pre 3GS devices, but it's not hard to JB and add it to any iPhone/Touch you want. And I doubt Apple did it to make money off people upgrading to 3GS's. Because the magnitude of people who would spend $10 on an upgrade to a existing device would > how many would buy a totally new device by a long shot.
 
DLeRium said:
One thing that's missing (I don't know if it was mentioned), but downloading files? It'd be nice to allow continuous downloading of files. Then again without a real file manager system on the iPhone and really the inability to use one as a USB stick like some other phones probably makes this feature less useful, but I would love to be able to download some large file while typing away. Or at least let the browser load some large page while I reply to an IM....
Click to expand...

I don't know if the iphone multitasking would allow this, but I was listening to Pandora, unzipping a file, and surfing around while the file was unzipping (it was a big file). Pretty cool.
 
Deeko said:
OT from this thread....but it does look cool. Too bad its a copycat of Microsoft announcement xBox Live integration with WP7.

Which is actually fine...nothing wrong with using good features of other products...its just the Apple faithful that cry about how Microsoft only follows, doesn't innovate with Zune HD/WP7.
Click to expand...

When Apple does incorporate a feature that is already in place on a competitor, they never accuse Apple of copycatting. Instead, they talk about how it took them a little longer but it was worth it because it'll be so much better implemented. As if it took Apple two years to figure out how to do multitasking well enough.

Those who defended Apple's previous decisions will accept the new feature because "Apple did it right," which of course is totally unlike all their competitors.
 
With Apple's closed network and WP7's closed network, I think I will stick with my 2005-circa WM5 phone for now. I guess I will get a HTC TP2 and stash it somewhere when my current phone dies. At least these do true multitasking and I can download any program I want from anywhere I damn well please.
 
Narmer said:
With Apple's closed network and WP7's closed network, I think I will stick with my 2005-circa WM5 phone for now. I guess I will get a HTC TP2 and stash it somewhere when my current phone dies. At least these do true multitasking and I can download any program I want from anywhere I damn well please.
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Get a TP2 and put it on a Sprint SERO plan and just keep that baby going forever!
 
Interesting they didn't address notifications this time like some were thinking. Pop up notifications are fine in some cases, incredibly annoying in other cases.

Multi-tasking is nice, although it seems kind of like a 'meh' way of doing it. Other then letting a few types of apps keep running in the background it seems as though the biggest change is just a new UI feature to let you quickly switch between recently used apps...like android, although admitantly it looks like a better way of handling it than android.

Be interesting to see how iAd shapes up. Sounds pretty dumb to me and incredibly annoying. I'd probably avoid apps that had it.

Email was a nice update, although I'd think they could probably have pushed such a change through a small update.


Overall, about what I was expecting. However, I don't see anything here enticing enough to consider a switch until theres a new iPhone.
 
Demo24 said:
Be interesting to see how iAd shapes up. Sounds pretty dumb to me and incredibly annoying. I'd probably avoid apps that had it.
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I haven't used an iPhone, but don't a lot of apps already have ads in them? If so, wouldn't the new implementation at least have the benefit of not kicking you out of the app if you do tap on an ad? It seems like a double-edged sword – on the one hand, it could make what ads are there less annoying and disruptive; on the other hand, it could make it easier for developers to include ads, leading to more ad-filled apps in the future. Then again, that also could mean more free ad-supported apps, which is great if you don't want to pay.
 
AstroManLuca said:
I haven't used an iPhone, but don't a lot of apps already have ads in them? If so, wouldn't the new implementation at least have the benefit of not kicking you out of the app if you do tap on an ad? It seems like a double-edged sword – on the one hand, it could make what ads are there less annoying and disruptive; on the other hand, it could make it easier for developers to include ads, leading to more ad-filled apps in the future. Then again, that also could mean more free ad-supported apps, which is great if you don't want to pay.
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They were showing off a lot of interactiveness with the ad's in the conference. To be honest I don't mind when they put a small banner ad somewhere in an app. I don't mind some kind of product placement. I don't however want to interact with an ad or let it keep me from my app.
 
Deeko said:
So is this one of those things like MMS and cut and paste that for years, the iPhone faithful kicked and screamed about how much it didn't matter, and now that the iPhone does it, it will be such a killer feature?
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Late to the party, but THIS.
 
QueBert said:
Pretty much, Steve Jobs is a perfectionist, the iPhone hasn't had multitasking until now because he wanted it exactly a certain way. The 3GS is A LOT more powerful than any previous model, I'm sure he wasn't happy with the performance on pre 3GS devices, but it's not hard to JB and add it to any iPhone/Touch you want. And I doubt Apple did it to make money off people upgrading to 3GS's. Because the magnitude of people who would spend $10 on an upgrade to a existing device would > how many would buy a totally new device by a long shot.
Click to expand...

Lol I have no problem people liking Apple pdroducts but you seriously have a blind love for anything they do
 
whoiswes said:
Late to the party, but THIS.
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I don't know of anyone who claims that cut+paste is a "killer app" for the iphone.

I for one have used it all of like 5 times, so while it is nice to have I guess it didn't really bother me before. Kind of like multitasking. But at least it is here now...

That being said, I can't see how it would be odd that people laugh at WP7 for lacking copy and paste and multitasking....if only from the perspective that it is an odd decision given all the flak apple caught for making the same arguments.
 
is this for the new model coming out or are they going to do an update for existing?

I still don't see the appeal of the phone...but its good that they are catching up to Android 1.5.
 
Kinda sad that the iPhone 3G can't get all the features of the newest OS. People complain about Android's OS fragmentation, but that's largely due to its open nature and the fact that it's being used by multiple manufacturers with many custom UIs on top.
Apple completely controls the iPhone's hardware and software, yet they are now starting to run into the same problem. I think it goes to show it's basically unavoidable - mobile devices are advancing at a very fast pace right now.
 
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