Fone Forum

Apple has finally unveiled the fourth iteration of the iPhone OS which promises to add 100 new features for the iPhone and the iPod Touch mobile devices.

The software platform also paves the way for the next iPhone which should be launched by the end of June 2010 during Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference and coincides with the official "summer" availability of the iPhone OS 4.

The single most important feature that Steve Jobs showed yesterday was the introduction of multitasking, something that almost all competing platforms have had for quite some time already.

Steve Jobs acknowledged this fact but also promised that while they weren't the first to the party, they would still be the best at it.  Unfortunately because of hardware demands, only the latest iPod Touch and iPhone GS smartphones will be able to offer multitasking capabilities.

Apple also showed that it is aiming to become a massive mobile player with the introduction of mobile advertising platform iAd, which came out of the acquisition of Quattro Wireless earlier this year.

Steve Jobs acknowledged this fact but also promised that while they weren't the first to the party, they would still be the best at it. Unfortunately because of hardware demands, only the latest iPod Touch and iPhone GS smartphones will be able to offer multitasking capabilities.

Apple also showed that it is aiming to become a massive mobile player with the introduction of mobile advertising platform iAd, which came out of the acquisition of Quattro Wireless earlier this year.

Also of interest to the mobile gaming industry is the Apple Game Centre which some have compared to Sony's own Playstation Network or Microsoft Xbox popular online gaming platform.

To help develop new products, 1500 brand new application programming interfaces (APIs) will be released as well as a brand new software development kit for Apple coders.

Source:-   ITProPortal (http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/4/9/apple-finally-launches-iphone-os-40/showall/).

Their Comments:-
 
The analysis (or dissection) of the iPhone OS 4.0 has only just begun and we will be probing the platform and the numerous announcements that Steve Jobs has done during what has been a rather long intervention.

Well all the iPhone Stockholm syndrome sufferers won't really need any of these enhancements. After all who really needs multi-tasking? Why would anyone ever want to be able to listen to internet radio, or to have Skype ready for receiving a call in the background while they are looking at photos for example?  ;D

Anyhow, all that aside, the multi-tasking abilities really do make some serious improvements to this rather overpriced device with some features that some of us on other smart phones have long taken for granted. I really can't believe it has taken Apple this long!!  ::)

e.g. (From: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/08/iphone_4_dot_0/page2.html)