iPhone OS 4.0 – What’s New [Features]

It’s finally here, the most awaited iPhone OS update and possibly the biggest one — new features is massive: There’s multitasking (Wohoo!), Home screen wallpapers, Bluetooth keyboards, etc. All in all 100+ new Features, 1,500 new APIs for developers.

Timelines: The new OS will ship in June, and a developer preview is available today.

iPhone OS 4.0 Features

[Image credits: Gizmodo, Engadget]

Multitasking, App Folders

• Multitasking:  There’s a simple task switcher: double click your home button, and you get a list of running apps. Multitasking is limited to audio (Pandora!, radio apps), VoIP (yes Skype!) and GPS (Navigation!).

• Fast app switching: with OS 4.0, most apps won’t run in the background  (other than the ones listed above, to save battery) But! All recently closed apps would appear in task switcher, which makess sure that all apps are frozen till the time you reopen them.

Per-app SMS and alerts: Notifications can be sent from apps on the phone. E.g. if something important happens in an app you’ve opened and moved away from, a notification will pop up in whatever app you’re using at the time

• App Folders: The clutter gone, organize all your apps into folders by drag and drop.
iPhone OS 4: All the New Features

• A Unified Mail App: New Unified Email app with support for Multiple Exchange accounts (earlier it was limited to one), Threaded messages (like gmail, outlook)

• iBooks: iPad iBooks will now be available on iPhone, iPod touch too. Books once bought can be shared across the devices.

iPhone OS 4: All the New Features

• Custom Backgrounds: After jailbreaking for wallpapers got popular, Apple included it in iPad, and now comes to iPhone too.

New Game center: A new multiplayer network like PSN or Xbox Live—to help connect games to one another.

• iAd Advertising:  Apple Throws the ball and tries to capture Mobile advertising with new innovative HTML5 based ads. For the applications that are currently available in  the App Store as “free” will get iAds and 60% revenue goes tot he developer.

• 5x digital zoom: CThis isn’t exiciting but inbuilt app would get digital zoom

• Bluetooth keyboards: After the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch can also have Bluetooth keyboards.

Availability — But is it available for All generations?

This summer iPhone 3GSes and iPod Touch 3rd-gen will get all of the features. The iPhone 3G and Touch 2G will get “many of them,” minus multitasking. And there’s no word on the iPhone 2G , iPod touch 2g; is it the end of the life for them?

iPhone OS 4.0 is available to developers today, I`ll be trying it out and writing some detailed Review, stay tuned

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