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March 11, 2010 11:33 AM PST

Rumor: Multitasking coming to iPhone OS 4

by Rick Broida

The Palm Pre does a nice job with multitasking, and a lot of people want the same for the iPhone.

(Credit: David Carnoy/CNET)

"And it's about damn time!"

Sorry, that was just my excited utterance upon reading Thursday morning's AppleInsider story about iPhone OS 4. It cites "people with a proven track record" in claiming that multitasking will finally make its debut.

Multitasking, of course, refers to the operating system's ability to run more than one app at a time and let you switch between them at will, just like you can do in Windows, Mac OS, Android, Palm WebOS, and just about every other OS on the planet--mobile or otherwise.

The iPhone OS currently offers limited multitasking: You can listen to music while, say, reading a book, and keep a phone call active while browsing in Safari, but that's about it.

According to AppleInsider's sources, "Apple plans to deliver a multitasking manager that leverages interface technology already bundled with its Mac OS X operating system." Sounds good to me.

Of course, only Apple knows if, when, and how that will be implemented. Personally, I just want a way to organize my ever-increasing app library--though hopefully that will go hand-in-hand with whatever interface changes bring multitasking.

How about you? Are you champing at the bit for this long-overdue feature, or do you have other items on your wish list? While you're mulling that over (and writing up insightful comments), check out David Carnoy's iPhone 4G: 25 most-wanted features. Hopefully we won't have to wait long for at least some of them.

Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog.
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by TX-Sunset March 11, 2010 11:58 AM PST
Ooooo....Ahhhhh. Wow, let us marvel over something that the rest of the world has had for years. Let us bow at the great Apple alter for what they have deem worthy to bestow on the masses. Once again proof that Apple users are lemmings. They give you a subpar device and make you pay premium prices and when they throw you a bone, that everyone else has been gnawing on for years, you chomp down like it was as steak. Epic Fail!
Reply to this comment 39 people like this comment
by FuManShoes March 11, 2010 12:12 PM PST
Yes, Apple has displayed a certain arrogance and its most ardent fans often try to spin underwhelming tech specs and functionality as some sort of positive, but I assure you the iPhone isn't and never was a "subpar device." The iPhone has forced other manufacturers to start designing better UIs and devices. I can't tell you how many lame, unintuitive mobile OSes I dealt with before the iPhone came along. While the iPhone can't do everything some of its competitors can, it does almost everything better. That is worth paying a premium for. But yes, it's time Apple stepped up and introduced multitasking.
40 people like this comment
by celticbrewer March 11, 2010 12:23 PM PST
Yep. Business as usual at Apple - years behind the rest of the industry. Just don't tell the Apple fans- they think they're cutting edge.
21 people like this comment
by Synthmeister March 11, 2010 1:30 PM PST
I'm sorry, you guys have a very short memory. When the iPhone came out, no one else was offering a completely multi-touch-screen based device with no keyboard, no stylus to lose and almost no buttons with a screen big enough to enjoy watching a video. Wifi was on some phones but hardly anyone used it because mobile browsers were terrible. A year later, no one was offering developers a free SDK, a $100 per year fee to submit all app/updates and a 70/30 revenue split. A low cost, high volume app store with >100k apps was a pure fantasy. No one ever thot of visual voice mail. The very thought of a phone competing with dedicated handheld gaming systems was ludicrous. There was no revenue sharing between Telcos and manufacturers. And Apple pretty much cut the telcos out of the loop as far as features, OS updates and apps--Apple updated its phone when and however it wanted and it did so on a very aggressive timetable. Finally, there had never been an iPod class media player on a phone. All these things were completely new in the cell phone world.
33 people like this comment
by george_liquor March 11, 2010 1:41 PM PST
Synthmeister's got a point, but times have changed, and in many ways the iPhone is now playing catchup.
11 people like this comment
by Forked_Tongue March 11, 2010 1:59 PM PST
Synthmeister

as if the rest of us wanted to be limited by Apple's OS, app store, and interface. There are better browsers for phones, especially smartphones I would recommend doing a little research about Netfront which supported tab browsing and flash lite. Nokia Ngage series (the only things it lost to Apple on was marketing, it seems Apple simply took the Ngage, added a touchscreen, and did a better job marketing) had a plethora of games, apps, media player, and even a multipage browser was simply poorly marketed but far more open phone. Heck the nokia phone on some apps not only offered visual voicemail but also mms and copy and paste when it initially came out and you didn't even have to wait for a software update. Nokia Ngage also had other factors (plural) that the iphone lacked besides what I mentioned previously such as bluetooth audio streaming, tethering by both bluetooth and cable, and voice dialing. Touchscreen isn't everything, you can do everything with buttons as well, and the way it flipped thru icons, well the ngage supported that with themes.
5 people like this comment
by george_liquor March 11, 2010 2:46 PM PST
Too bad the N-Gage looked like a plastic taco.
11 people like this comment
by rdlink March 11, 2010 3:06 PM PST
Wow, Forked-Tounge, where do I get those groovy devices. Sounds like they're so awesome that everyone would have one. Perhaps you guys that like to blast Apple should think long and hard about the statement "computing for the rest of us." The masses don't WANT to spend hours hacking their devices to make them totally geeked out. They just want something that works, and blows their socks off. Sorry, the android OS has promise. But invariably, when people who don't know it ask questions, they're framed around how it compares to the iPhone. Apple makes the phone competitors are shooting for, and who in their right mind would argue that hasn't been going on for three years?
5 people like this comment
by Rod Roddy March 11, 2010 3:06 PM PST
It's amazing how many people put up with the iPhone and it's lack of many basic(some advanced) features that have been on other phones for years now. What is it? I know it's not the phone service--AT&T...come on. Really though, I'm curious as hell to know what the attraction is to this phone!?!
2 people like this comment
by play7 March 11, 2010 6:49 PM PST
"I'm sorry, you guys have a very short memory. When the iPhone came out, no one else was offering a completely multi-touch-screen based device with no keyboard"

LOL you mean apple stole the idea from a Korean company.
8 people like this comment
by Ratnok March 11, 2010 8:58 PM PST
@rdlink "The masses don't WANT to spend hours hacking their devices to make them totally geeked out."

Oh, you mean like JAILBREAKING???
2 people like this comment
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by tipoo_ March 11, 2010 12:04 PM PST
Apple's been pretty hard on multitasking, saying it's not necessary, it complicates things, and generally putting it down. I'll laugh pretty hard if they flip and start saying multitasking is awesome.

I wonder if this means iPhone 3G owners will be left out? Conceivably, the multitasking would only be for the 3GS and whatever their upcoming one is.
Reply to this comment 9 people like this comment
by jjacobus March 11, 2010 12:48 PM PST
Apple has had a lot of :1984" moments. Remember how the PowerPC was FAR superior to the Intel chips? Then, suddenly Steve Jobs explained how the superior Intel processor was something they had been working on for a long time. Another example was the introduction of the iPhone. Didn't do MMS. If you review the announcement Steve said that MMS was unnecessary and that everyone "preferred" to use email to transfer images. Remember what a pain it was to get your email using the long, cryptic URL? If and when they roll out multi-tasking, Steve is going to crow about how Apple has now invented multi-tasking -- and all the fanbois will clap and cheer in agreement.
10 people like this comment
by solitare_pax March 11, 2010 1:07 PM PST
@jjacobus:

The PowerPC processor was mainly in use before Jobs returned - and from a technical standpoint early on, it was faster than a comparable Intel processor of the day. They began to shift away from it when Jobs returned, and PC standard hardware and OSX were slowly introduced - and it became apparent the PowerPC chip suppliers couldn't keep pace with Intel as far as keeping it running fast, cool, and efficiently.

As for hardware requirements, I imagine the earlier versions of the iPhone and Touch would be able to run it - when I first put OSX on a 300mhz Mac, I was impressed at how much snappier it operated as opposed to OS 9.2 - usually a OS upgrade bogs the machine down. But Apple seems to have some people who know how to write solid code for their hardware these days.
4 people like this comment
by george_liquor March 11, 2010 1:48 PM PST
The PPC platform is still very fast. It makes up the core of Sony's cell processors, and the latest Power6 chips are used in higher-end AIX servers & IBM mainframes. Apple abandoned PPC because IBM/Motorola couldn't provide a G5 chip efficient enough to use in a laptop.
1 person likes this comment
by Jeremy Chappell March 12, 2010 4:28 PM PST
@jjacobus

The PowerPC was a better processor. Then Intel created the "Core", don't you remember just how much better the Core processor was than all the x86 processors that had come before?

Now Apple had been pretty selective about the benchtests they'd used to hail the PowerPC, basically concentrating on floating point maths, but for quite a while the PowerPC was the chip to be on if you wanted to do things like video encoding. To be totally fair to the PowerPC it is still a mighty powerful processor, but IBM want to use it to build servers, so there isn't really a viable version for Apple to use in a MacBook.
by redpanda2 March 11, 2010 12:09 PM PST
You kind of figured this had to be coming since they announced the iPad would run the same OS. I'm surprised they decided to push out the iPad before this was ready though.
Reply to this comment 2 people like this comment
by acerbic2 March 11, 2010 12:10 PM PST
If Apple does that, it must be sued for copying Android.
Reply to this comment 23 people like this comment
by george_liquor March 11, 2010 1:49 PM PST
...who would then be sued by Palm?
3 people like this comment
by abdulgoldstein March 11, 2010 1:57 PM PST
Did Google patent multitasking? I must have missed that. Was that before or after they patented invasion of privacy?
4 people like this comment
by acerbic2 March 11, 2010 3:46 PM PST
Oh, right... Google tried to patent multitasking but failed because USPTO had just granted Apple a universal patent on everything invented earlier by others so that Jobs doesn't need to file the papers every time he wants a patent on somebody else's 15 year old idea like pich-to-zoom.
4 people like this comment
by theveggiedude March 11, 2010 10:25 PM PST
LOL. Android users are so confused with the multitasking, their phones slow down, batteries run down quicker, and they don't know what to do about it. No, if Apple implements multitasking, they will have to solve these problems.
by tfernandez4 March 12, 2010 4:24 PM PST
@theveggiedude, if i recall correctly, there was a big issue with iPhones having horrible battery life not but about 6 months ago. they already have to fix this issue (have yet to do it in my eyes). i'll stick with my boycott of apple and apple products until steve jobs is no longer the CEO or until apple learns proper business etiquette
4 people like this comment
by mitpin March 11, 2010 12:15 PM PST
Awesome! I own the patent on multitasking!
Reply to this comment 6 people like this comment
by tipoo_ March 13, 2010 11:19 AM PST
I own the patent on patents, pay me.
2 people like this comment
by joelFiser March 11, 2010 12:22 PM PST
Stay tuned for Apple flipping on not allowing Flash.
It won't be long now. What a jerk Jobs is!
Reply to this comment 13 people like this comment
by theveggiedude March 11, 2010 10:26 PM PST
You mean flipping like how Firefox flipped and has now stopped supporting Flash in its mobile browser? No, Firefox only confirms Apple was right.
by scrubbingbubbles March 11, 2010 10:30 PM PST
Flash is horrible and useless when compared to HTML5.
Multitasking has a legitimate place as long as it doesnt crash my phone.....like it does occasionally with my NexusOne.
1 person likes this comment
by tgibbs March 12, 2010 8:08 AM PST
Multitasking for the iPhone is virtually certain at some point, but I don't expect Apple to open up to Flash. Adobe has never been able to get Flash to run reliably on PCs, and it is a security nightmare. Apple modified Safari in Snow Leopard to wall off Flash processes from the rest of the browser, so Flash couldn't bring the whole thing down. I can't imagine them wanting to deal with that sort of thing on their iPhone. I think that everybody (well, except Adobe) will be better off if the iPhone, Touch, and iPad lead to the general abandonment of Flash by web designers
1 person likes this comment
by Firehazel March 13, 2010 6:32 PM PST
@scrubbingbubbles
I agree, Flash is horrid(compared to HTML5) but right now it's king, so we have to use it until it dies the death it deserves...
The iPhone only did one thing: make every other product look better, and act better. Everybody stepped up their game and competition is better now. Apple dug a hole it thinks it's out of...(technically they are, but if they wanted to be truly out, they would have to squash Android(NEVER going to happen) and BlackBerry(NEVER going to happen)).
1 person likes this comment
by CrizzoDesigns March 11, 2010 12:28 PM PST
I wonder who does own the multi-task patent? It is about time.. too bad I just switched to a NexusOne though, for this very reason!!!
Reply to this comment
by tipoo_ March 12, 2010 6:28 AM PST
No one can own a patent on multitasking in general, only specific methods of it like the Stacks interface.
1 person likes this comment
by kevinwright9 March 11, 2010 12:28 PM PST
I've used a jail broken iPhone for the past year. I love multitasking, but I only truly use it for 2 or 3 apps on a regular basis. I know everyone that doesn't have an iPhone loves to discount them, but an iPhone with multitasking is still 10x better than a Palm or Android phone that has these things. And that includes using it on a network that doesn't have near the 3G coverage of VzW as well.

If you haven't used and depended on your iPhone, then just continue on with your ignorance, but those of us who have a phone that works will keep going and be just as happy you won't be in line when the latest and greatest iPhone comes out.

Until then, you should concentrate on your real competition, Android or Windows Mobile 7. iPhone has been in another league for year's now, and their next release will propel them that much further.
Reply to this comment 5 people like this comment
by sobeton March 11, 2010 1:18 PM PST
back on Plant Earth ,the reality is iPhone is playing catch where o/s is concerned. no amount of boasting can change that. . the real ignorance appears to rest with IPhone groupies.
9 people like this comment
by drksilenc March 11, 2010 1:27 PM PST
what world are u living on? android is very quickly gaining market share and that is the only reason why apple sued htc... because they were makin there so called awesome phone look like the pos it really is... its not all that great o and fyi htc has been making phones that have been better than the iphone for quite some time they just arnt the fanboi phones that the apple cult like they are serous corporate phones that did alot more than the iphone did and were faster at it to.
3 people like this comment
by Forked_Tongue March 11, 2010 2:03 PM PST
"iPhone has been in another league for year's now..."

Oh yes they have been in their own league...little league.
8 people like this comment
by kevinwright9 March 11, 2010 2:16 PM PST
I live on Earth fellas, and I like to take the best at what it's worth. I use Google for most everything, even as a replacement for a lot of things I do on my mac. It's relative easy, and it works. For the same reason, I choose to continue to use an iPhone. I'll admit I bought my wife an Eris to see what Android was all about, but the fact remains she is a perfect example of a regular user, and she still asks to use my phone when messing around on the internet, or looking at photos, or watching a movie, or playing a game. She's not very demanding, and the Eris (at 1.6) will do what she needs. She still likes to use the iPhone every chance she gets. You can continue to hate Apple because they make money, or they do things differently than you geniuses would do, but the fact remains that even after 2 or 3 years of doing this, they're still selling tens of millions of phones to their market...and that's without Verizon.

And yes, Android is gaining market share. It's hard to go down from where they were, but hey, good job. Apple has a proven product that millions and millions of people use and rely on everyday.

The sad thing is that Apple could cure cancer and you haters would feel the need to insult the accomplishment.
3 people like this comment
by Ratnok March 11, 2010 9:16 PM PST
Kevin, oh poor Kevin. The Eris is a 3rd tier Android phone. Compare it to the iPhone 3G- it smokes it. Now if you want to talk about the iPhone 3GS, then you need to compare it to the phone that owns it- the Nexus One. I could list all of the reasons why Nexus One beats the iPhone hands down, but CNET and many other tech experts have already done it for me. Besides, you'll only crow about the mythical iPhone 4G and the features you hope it will come out with that Android already has. Apple can't beat HTC (that's why they are bullying them), Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony, Archos, Garmin, Dell, Acer, Huawei, and on and on and on. Like Mr. Smith said "it's INEVITABLE." I like the iPhone 3GS, and hands down, it's a better choice than a Blackberry, and many mid-level Androids like Hero and Eris but having used the iPhone 3GS , the Droid, and the Nexus One , the iPhone has already been bettered. When the mythical iPhone 4G comes out, the HTC Desire, Legend, LG KH 5200, and Xperia X10 will trump that as well. Not to mention that Android 2.5 will be out by then.
1 person likes this comment
by kevinwright9 March 12, 2010 9:01 AM PST
I'm not arguing with specs. That's a very black and white argument I won't win. Whoever puts the latest phone out will have the best technology at their fingertips. That's a given and I don't disagree. But that is NOT my argument. My argument also encompasses the user experience. For the tech crowd that reads up on technology, more options and more control is better and it is a better experience for them, I get that. But this crowd is a small population of the market that creates the demand that Apple, Google, HTC, etc are trying to fill. Apple has won this market and has put out a product that satisfies the masses, not just Apple fans. Those are the numbers I refer to. You can use market data to say that Android phone have increased 250% over the past year (or whatever the number is) and I can easily counter that Apple doubled it's iPhone shipments in the same year to a market that has already seen 2 years of iPhones. Which accomplishment is greater? I have my opinion and you have yours.

That said, what can you do on your Nexus One or Droid that I can't do on my jailbroken iPhone? That's an honest question, as I don't have a Nexus One or Droid or one of those other models mentioned. I'm actually curious.
by teleknEsis March 12, 2010 2:02 PM PST
Kevin, in regards to "what can you do on your Nexus One or Droid that I can't do on my jailbroken iPhone":

1. Can you turn your iPhone into a wireless router and therefore tether any device that uses WiFi to your phone's data connection? No? Oh that's right, my android device can.

2. Can you run applications as services and broadcast receivers in the background? No again?? Hmmmm weird, my Android device can.

3. Can you put widgets on your homescreen? Nooooo??!?!?!? OK this is getting creepy, because I surely can on my Android device.

4. Can you run OpenVPN on your jailbroken iPhone? Yes? Oh drats, I was wrong... No again. I can on my android device.

5. Can you use animated wallpapers that even respond to touch input?? I can :)

6. Can you run custom versions of the operating system that developers can release the same day as Apple submits new code to their repository? WHAT WHAT? Apple's OS isn't open source?!?!?! That's a shame as I've already added 10x the functionality to my Nexus One since it's initial release in January that devs, such as Cyanogen, have kindly integrated into their own work before Google can even officially release it :).

Do you need me to go on?
by Ergolad March 14, 2010 12:54 AM PST
teleknEsis, you should really look into what you can do with a jailbroken iPhone before you post a comment like that.

With that said, the bigger point I think is that you shouldn't have to jailbreak a phone at all to get functionality that is standard on the majority of other smartphones.
2 people like this comment
by TheraCaffe March 14, 2010 10:01 AM PDT
@teleknEsis

Wow, man, that is embarrassing. Because you know what the funny thing is? You actually can do all those things and more with a jailbroken iPhone! Look it up! Haha wow.

I mean do you even know what Cydia /is/? xD
1 person likes this comment
by Ratnok March 20, 2010 7:34 PM PDT
The sad part of everything that teleknEsis talked about was the fact that you can do all of this WITHOUT HAVING TO NERDILY JAILBREAK YOUR PHONE (and expose it to Apple's "bricking efforts" as well as voiding your warranty). Well, everything except the custom ROM part.
by VS_Dude March 11, 2010 12:28 PM PST
This incremental feature creeping is appalling. Apple routinely makes money by offering a new product with minimal features and then sells a new version a year later with a few more. I guarantee there is already an iPad with a built-in webcam but Apple will not release it until a year from now.
Reply to this comment 7 people like this comment
by tenortim March 11, 2010 1:09 PM PST
You seem to be implying that the feature creep is bad because it costs money. That's true but it's a straw-man, since the OS upgrades have all been free i.e. even 1st-gen iPhone users have been able to upgrade to os 3.X for free.

Even if they were charging, it would only be business as usual for a non-free software company. Look at the repeated respins of MS Office. I'm not sure I've found anything I couldn't have lived without in anything newer than Office '97, but it's how MS make money. Apple are no different, except maybe that their OS upgrades are much cheaper ;-)
3 people like this comment
by Synthmeister March 11, 2010 1:34 PM PST
So you would prefer that Apple or Google or RIM never update their products with better ones?
2 people like this comment
by george_liquor March 11, 2010 1:52 PM PST
That's not feature-creep. Feature-creep is when a designer keeps adding bells & whistles to a product, forcing the release date further back.
1 person likes this comment
by CorruptedFile March 11, 2010 2:29 PM PST
In response to tenortim: 1st-Gen iPhone owners had to pay $9.99 for the upgrade to OS 3.0, as we did with my wife's phone. I expect to have to do the same as well with OS 4.0, only this time I will most likely have to do this with my 3G also. But I don't mind, 10 bucks is a drop in the bucket compared to buying a whole new phone like we used to have to do if we wanted to upgrade to the latest and greatest software.
1 person likes this comment
by theveggiedude March 11, 2010 10:28 PM PST
At first it bothered me the iPad would not have a camera. But then I realised I have a iMac and a MacBook both with cameras built-in. If I need it, I can use those machines. Then I realised how little I actually use the iSight. Hardly ever last year.
2 people like this comment
by Soul of Wit March 11, 2010 12:48 PM PST
I think Fake Steve said it best...

http://www.fakesteve.net/2010/03/do-not-believe-reports-about-multitasking-in-iphone-os-4-0.html
Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by Firehazel March 13, 2010 6:40 PM PST
I do think he said it best.
by bbreuer9 March 14, 2010 5:59 AM PDT
For some reason while I was reading that I was using Dr. Evil's voice in my head...
by dsuden March 11, 2010 12:49 PM PST
Not everything is has to be cloak-and-dagger. I have no reason to think Apple held off on multi-tasking for any other reason than legitimate concerns about performance...they're famous as sticklers about performance. Same reason they've balked at Flash. The pressure has probably been on at Apple for a long time to "find a way" to multi-task reliably without a serious drop in performance, and Jobs refused to let it go through until it passed muster.
Reply to this comment 5 people like this comment
by drksilenc March 11, 2010 1:29 PM PST
thats not why they balked flash its because you can get tons of free stuff on flash and they cant cash in on it on there market if its free without going though there channels
4 people like this comment
by stevepo67 March 11, 2010 12:52 PM PST
Sound and fury signifying nothing.

In other words, my iPhone 3GS and my wife's ancient iPhone 2G work just great today w/ what I'd call "essential" multitasking. Today I can listen to music or an audiobook while doing anything else including apps that use the Internet/phone like Google Maps, email, etc. And should a phone call come in, the iPhone ramps the music/audiobook volume down so I can take the call then, when the call ends, the music or book begins right where it left off (very nice for audiobooks). I can also update my apps in the background while another app is running. In other words, for those of us who aren't addicted to up-to-the-millisecond Facebook/Twitter "status updates", who cares if the iPhone doesn't really multitask. It multitasks for the essential services and keeps potentially rouge apps from running multi-amok and making the core apps less responsive. In other words, it was a good design decision -- and I say that as a software developer.
Reply to this comment 6 people like this comment
by miaminica March 11, 2010 12:57 PM PST
You guys are failing to see that when Apple does multitasking, it'll be "magical" and "revolutionary". Can the current smartphones out there do that? No!
Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by drksilenc March 11, 2010 1:29 PM PST
um yes yes they can
and have since windows mobile 5
3 people like this comment
by Crosby4Life March 11, 2010 1:58 PM PST
I think drksilenc's sarcasm meter is broken today...
3 people like this comment
by drksilenc March 12, 2010 7:56 AM PST
lol no sarcasm in my comment been it worked perfectly in winmo 5 winmo 6 winmo 6.5 and android 1.5 and 2.0 and 2.1 its only cr apple that is behind on this
by redgeminipa March 12, 2010 9:50 AM PST
Multi-tasking on my Palms was horrible. It would appear that nothing was running, but trying to figure out which apps went crazy in the background was a nightmare. It killed the battery and brought the phones to a crawl. The only way to make sure the background processes were stopped was doing a soft reset. I spent an hour on the phone with Palm tech support trying to figure out which app(s) were causing problems.

Since I switched to iPhones, I've had no such problems. I really don't miss multi-tasking for average daily use. When Apple comes up with a good solution that is able to keep apps from running rogue, then that would be different.

Oh, by the way... how do you like that Task Manager in WinMo? I hope you check it often. Just like Windows on a PC, you end up with crap running in the background that you have no clue what it is unless you do a Google search online for the technical terms. In the meantime, you're PC runs like crap, and you can't figure it out without some level of computer know-how. I couldn't wait to unload my WinMo phone. And WinMo 5 isn't compatible with Windows Vista? LOL what a joke!

I'll stick with my iPhone, and be patient and happy when new features roll out.
1 person likes this comment
by cwrig March 11, 2010 1:10 PM PST
Its innovation from android and palm driving Iphone to finally pursue multitasking. The very same innovation Apple is trying to stop with its frivolous lawsuits. Apple should be immediately sued for coping the multitasking idea, including any gesture used to move between open applications.
Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by tenortim March 11, 2010 1:15 PM PST
Sigh, the iPhone is, and always has been perfectly capable of multitasking. Just ask anybody who has jailbroken theirs. It's running a minimal version of OSX for goodness' sake! The reason it's not enabled is because, whether you agree or not, Apple (Jobs) has decided that the potential battery-life issues are not worth it, and so there are a tiny handful of very limited cases where it is allowed.

Personally, I disagree with this philosophy and would like the option, but I don't have that option and if I don't like it, I can always buy a different phone. Its not like there's some big conspiracy here. I'd also like a native Google Voice client (and a pony;-))
5 people like this comment
by abdulgoldstein March 11, 2010 1:54 PM PST
I'm sorry, did someone patent multitasking while I wasn't paying attention? Because that is why Apple is suing HTC, for patent infringement. They aren't trying to stop innovation, they are trying people from stealing their patents. I'm not sure how you have arrived at the conclusion that patent infringement is innovative.
1 person likes this comment
by cwrig March 12, 2010 3:20 AM PST
Im glad you recognize how silly it is to try to patent broad common technology. But that it what Steve Jobs thinks he can do. How many ways can you inlock a smartphone screen? Steve thinks he can patent a finger swipe. Ridiculous. Hes getting disparate now that Apple's only hope for survival is selling gadgets.
by irondog1970 March 11, 2010 1:17 PM PST
Wow. The iPhone must truly be a terrible phone. In fact, I am sure that no one on earth actually uses one. <eye roll>

Like it or lump it, the iPhone is what made the smart phone a consumer item. Whether it continues to be the consumer smart phone or not depends on how well it markets itself and controls the features.

Only Linux geeks care about whether or not the iPhone as a terminal, whether or not you can compile a new kernel (whatever *that* means), or whatever else. The bulk of users (people who can't tell the difference between GPL 2 & GPL 3) are happy with their iPhones.

These comments have the odor of "sour grapes."
Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by Zippy-T-Pinhead March 11, 2010 1:20 PM PST
Hell, my iPhone does everything I need it to do now. I don't see what multitasking will add. The only thing I really need is to be able to talk and use other features at the same time. I don't need to play a game and check my email at the same time, or check the train schedule and my stock portfolio at the same time.

So go crazy Apple - add whatever you want. This little phone (I'm on my third) has been working fine for me for close to 3 years now.

If the next one makes me breakfast, I may upgrade a third time to the new 3GS+4xxx or whatever you want to call it.
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by petcnet March 11, 2010 1:29 PM PST
But Steve "the God" Jobs said multi-tasking will eat up the battery life. And ordinary people cannot handle more than one task as a time. And the iPhone app I wrote was rejected because it "duplicates iPhone functionality". And everyone in the world is as dumb as a rock, so just do whatever I tell you to do.

Steve, remember 1984? You are now on the wrong side of that novel.
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by Synthmeister March 11, 2010 1:40 PM PST
Steve just said that their current OS wasn't ready to handle multitasking 3rd party apps which is not surprising since the the OS is not that mature yet. Sure, it uses the same source code as OS X but the mobile requirements are hugely different and the lack of multitasking was clearly not a dealbreaker for the 70 million people who have bought iPhones and iPOd touches.

It's like that old saying, "I may be fat, but you're ugly and I can lose weight."

Apple will get multitasking and the competition will still be ugly, with or without multitasking.
4 people like this comment
by Jatajo22 March 16, 2010 1:26 AM PDT
As much as I love my iPhone, i really love this comment. The iPhone could easily do SO much more than it does. The only reasons it doesn't is because of money and control. If Jobs made the iphone capable of every single feature he could right now then there would be no way in hell 3 million ppl would buy a new one each year. He has everyone (including me) on a leash. Give them enough to keep them wanting more....
by TJ Spyke March 11, 2010 1:49 PM PST
I am not too excited since iPod Touch owners, like myself, will get screwed and have to pay $10 for it (while iPhone users get it for free) just like Apple did with ) OS 3.0.
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by theveggiedude March 11, 2010 10:32 PM PST
We do not know if that is true any longer. The governmental restriction was lifted last year and now Apple has started to report their iPhone earnings differently as a result. They are no longer required to sell updates to iPod touch, only time will tell what will happen.
by BMW_e70 March 11, 2010 1:56 PM PST
Why is everyone so crazy about multitasking its not like you can run apps side by side you would still have to switch back and forth between apps, but wasting more battery and cpu. I have an iPhone 3GS.
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by eastmanweb March 11, 2010 4:11 PM PST
I basically agree that people are making too big a deal about "true" multitasking on a smartphone. Personally, I would be happy if they just provided limited 3rd party multitasking for audio only. This way apps like Pandora and TWiT can stream in the background.
1 person likes this comment
by Jatajo22 March 16, 2010 1:22 AM PDT
I think the really problem comes with the information lost from closing an app. If EVERY app remembered the exact info that was present when you last had it open, I agree, Multi-tasking prob would not be such an issue. But having to start the majority of apps over from the beginning anytime you want to open another one definitely gets to be a pain. And also for apps like Pandora multi-tasking is a must.
by March 11, 2010 1:57 PM PST
If you call adding a couple features here and there catch up, then you are correct. I used to love Windows Mobile phones, but until my company switched to the iPhone, I haven't looked back. I have never used a WInMo phone that integrated so well with Exchange, played my music, browsed the web, played movies, played games, and even place calls as well as the iPhone has. I completely agree that almost every product that Apple has come out with is extremely over priced. But to continually say the iPhone is playing catch up is retarded. What about every phone that is trying to implement multi touch? Are they playing catch up to the iPhone? The iPhone was one of the first phones to be all touch screen (if not the first). Look at all the phones playing catch up there. What the iPod did to the mp3 player industry is what the iPhone did to the mobile phone industry.
Reply to this comment 4 people like this comment
by Firehazel March 13, 2010 7:00 PM PST
How are the new features being added each year to the iPhone not retarded? They should have been there in the first place!
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