multitasking
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Skype updated for iOS 4, background VoIP is a go (update: no plans to charge for 3G use)
Well, it's about time. Touted back in March as one of the pillar apps to benefit from the new multitasking API, Skype has finally been updated to iOS 4 compatibility. We're seeing crisper, more retina display-friendly graphics and, more importantly, background VoIP (not for iPhone 3G, naturally). A notification window will pop up when you're called or messaged, and you can use other apps while on the line chatting to international friends at reduced rates. Even on the lock screen, if you receive a call, sliding to unlock will take you immediately into the call. Video chat still isn't here -- a darn shame given the lack of other options now -- but now you've got even more of a reason to rack up those rollover minutes on AT&T's voice plan. Download away! Update: Remember when Skype was talking about charging extra for calls over 3G starting this month? Straight from the horse's mouth: "we no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G." [Thanks, Tyler C]
MOG arrives on iPhone, Android with 8 million songs but no multitasking mode (update)
The name may sound like something out of a Final Fantasy game, but we hear it stands for Music On the Go, and today MOG is doing the name proud by bringing a wide swath of streaming music to Android and iPhone. $10 a month gives you access to over 8 million songs, and during a completely unscientific impromptu testing session, that number actually included a reasonable amount of most everything we'd want. Of course, you don't get to keep any of the 320Kbps MP3 files, merely store local copies on your phone for as long as you pony up, and even on Android (where we take task switching for granted) the merest jump to web browser stops those tracks cold. (MOG says it's working on it, at least for the iOS 4 version.) We were also disappointed to find out the MOG Radio feature is nothing like we were told -- rather than a Pandora you can tune to specific artists, the feature just seems to filter your existing queue. Playback options were also lacking in this early version (like volume and jog sliders) but at least MOG's got a slick, robust discovery mode, and with this many songs to choose from that's a very good thing. Both versions should be live immediately with three-day, no commitment trials, and there's a press release after the break if you still need more info. Update: It turns out our difficulties with MOG Radio were due to a buggy preview build; downloading a fresh version of the app this morning, the Pandora-like functionality worked just fine.
Navigon updates MobileNavigator with iOS4 multitasking, new maps and parking info
The popular Navigon app for the iPhone has had a significant update which is likely to please current owners and may get the company some new sales as well. New features include Live Weather (which gives the current weather wherever you're going), parking information, iOS 4 integration -- including background navigation and Retina Display enhancements), and updates to the NAVTEQ maps included. Additionally, there are some nice changes and improvements to the graphics, so this is a fairly substantial update. Read on for a little more insight.
Jobs: Use multitasking "as designed" and be happy
Old school Mac users like me were trained to quit apps that aren't in use. Finished with Explorer? Quit it. All done using Photoshop? Command-Q. This habit came from a time when computers shipped with less RAM than the iPhone 4, and is very hard to break. Of course, your iPhone isn't running all those apps at once. When you double-click the Home button, you get a list of recently-used apps; they aren't all "running" in the Mac OS X sense. As MacDailyNews explains, some are in "suspended animation," much like Han Solo encased in carbonite. He's not dead, but he's not doing a whole heck of a lot, either. You'll find an excellent explanation of what's going on at TidBITS. Conversely, Steve Jobs offered a customer a very brief explanation via email. "People shouldn't have to understand multitasking. Just use is [sic] as designed, and you'll be happy. No need to ever quit apps." In other words, the best option is not to think about it at all. iOS 4 knows what's its doing, so just leave it to its business.
iOS 4 apps: the best of what's new and updated (live updates!)
Although iOS 4 is out now with 1500 new APIs including multitasking support, your apps won't support all those new features out of the gate -- they'll need to be updated to take full advantage of the iPhone's new tricks. Happily, Apple started accepting iOS 4-ready apps last week, so there's a handful of interesting apps already available, and we're sure more are on the way. Here's a quick list of what you can check out right now -- we'll be updating this as we go, so check back for more! Dropbox: Everyone's favorite file-syncing tool can now sync and complete uploads in the background, and also adds in support for fast app switching. Evernote: the notes-in-the-cloud app adds support for fast app switching, and can continue to record audio notes in the background. Pandora: Yes, you can finally play Pandora in the background -- and the quick music controls on the left-most panel of the app switcher even control playback when it's in the background. Nifty. New York Times: Nothing major, but the Gray Lady supports fast app switching, so you can jump right back into an article without reloading. ESPN ScoreCenter: Supports fast app switching, although you'll still have to open it up for scores to refresh, since there's no background updating API. How to Cook Everything: Funny that a cookbook is one of the first iOS4 apps out there, but we're Mark Bittman fans, so this is pretty cool -- it supports fast app switching, so you don't have to reload a recipe every time you close the app. Oh, and it's got newer high-res art for the iPhone 4. Tasty. Fandango: Now has fast app switching, so you can juggle other tasks while buying your movie tickets. LinkedIn: Yep, LinkedIn's iPhone app adds fast app switching to the mix. So those are some highlights -- we'll keep updating as we go here, but most of the early iOS 4-ready apps are just adding fast app switching. We won't lie, once you see it in action, you'll wonder how you lived without it, but we're still waiting to see developers get wild on those 1499 other new APIs -- let us know what you're seeing out there! Update: We're listing off more as we find them after the break -- check it! Update 2: "Tested for iOS4" doesn't guarantee new features, but if you want to know which apps can make that claim, here's a handy Google search. [Thanks, jihuiwen!]
Pandora for iOS 4 hits the streets
Not a minute too soon! As expected, Pandora has updated the much-loved music app for the iPhone to version 3.1. This build will (drumroll) allow you to keep playing music when you move on to something else. Of course this will only work on devices that support multitasking on iOS 4, which means the iPhone 3GS and the new iPhone 4 available later this week. As I write this, Apple has just delivered the OS update for current iPhones, so those with the iPhone 3GS are good to go. This update will make a whole lot of people very happy. I tried out the 'music in the background' feature with the golden master of iOS 4, and it worked like a charm. Pandora did ask me to re-enter my password. Your mileage may vary on that one. Pandora! Grab it.
Next update to Navigon app will multitask on iOS 4
Navigation is one of the iPhone app categories that will really benefit from multitasking, and Navigon will shortly release a free update to provide that highly desired functionality. You can leave the app when a call comes in, and when you end the call you'll still be navigating. Better yet, any voice alerts will be heard while you are on a call. The US and Canada version will be updated first, with the regional versions of the apps to follow shortly. Navigon has continued to be very aggressive in delivering features, and this latest update will be an important leap forward. No release date has been announced yet for the 1.6 update, but it's in review with Apple now. If you'd like to see the new features in action, Navigon has posted a video of the new version in operation. I can't wait for this update, and I expect I'm not alone. TomTom has also announced it will be supporting multitasking shortly after the new OS is released. [via MacRumors]
Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility
Of the app categories to benefit most from iOS 4's new multitasking features, turn-by-turn navigation is certainly pretty high on the list -- after all, no one wants their route to be interrupted by a phone call mere moments before a critical intersection or exit ramp. Navigon has just posted a video showing off the multitasking compatibility in the upcoming 1.6 release of its iPhone app, and it's pretty neat -- you can switch out of the app and come back to the exact same place where you left off, of course, but it'll also continue to play voice guidance during phone calls (hopefully, you can turn that off if you find it annoying). Follow the break for the video.
In praise of unitasking
Weaning an addict isn't easy, and I'm addicted to information. For a data junkie, the Internet is irresistible. It offers innumerable incoming streams, and with tools like Web browsers, RSS, Twitter and so on, I can soak them all up. The by-product, of course, is distraction. I flip from one to the other like a manic hummingbird, never satisfied. What else is going on, and how quickly can I find out about it? It's amazing how eagerly we invite distraction upon ourselves. Consider how frequently we do two (or more) things at once. While an app launches, I check Twitter. As a Web page loads, I Command-Tab over to Mail. All the while, iTunes plays music, and I'm thinking about what else must be done today. I became keenly aware of how infrequently I focus on one single thing when I started using my iPad. For the most part (yes, you can play music in the background), it does one thing at a time. In fact, when I'm using an app on the iPad, it becomes that app.
Multitasking in iOS 4 is not a magical sparkle pony
As we wait for iOS4 to be released, I think it's important to try to help folks keep reasonable expectations for what iOS 4 will and won't do, especially as it relates to "multitasking." Apple has to take some of the blame for this hype, especially when it's listed as the #1 feature of iOS 4, saying "Now you can run your favorite third-party apps - and switch between them instantly - without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily."1 Did you notice that 1? The big print giveth and the little print taketh away. Down at the bottom of the page, Apple tells you that multitasking is "available with apps that have been developed to work with iOS 4." That means that any app that isn't tweaked to be multitasking-aware simply won't play nice with the feature. And even that isn't the whole truth. Read on for more...
When Steve says "No" we hear "Maybe." Here's why.
In a recent TUAW post, I wondered whether a closed Mac system might be in Apple's future in addition to the standard Mac offerings. Despite the existence of Apple TV, some are dubious. After all, Steve Jobs said no (or, more accurately "nope") to a correspondent who recently asked about a Mac App store under a far more universally closed system than the scenario floated yesterday. Jobs has said "no" (and "nope") before. Sure, we at TUAW love Uncle Steve, but when Jobs says "no," we're not always sure that he really, really means it. The following list includes TUAW's 6 top Steve Jobs "no way" moments. Each of these transformed into "yes way" actions some time after Apple's denial. It's not as if Apple doesn't mean "no" when it says "no." It's just that like any other corporation, Apple often moves in unexpected directions based on consumer pressure. And sometimes Pinocchio's nose grows a teeny tiny bit.
iPhone OS 4 beta 3 adds orientation lock, iPod controls to multitasking bar
9to5Mac reports that new features have been added to the iPhone's multitasking bar as of the release of iPhone OS 4 beta 3 earlier today. Swiping left from the multitasking bar now accesses a new set of controls. On the far left is an orientation lock, which disables the iPhone's auto-switching between portrait and landscape orientation. This achieves via software the same thing as the iPad's dedicated orientation lock hardware switch. It will make using the iPhone in a reclined position much easier; no longer will the iPhone switch between orientations seemingly at random as you're catching up on e-mails just after waking up. And there was much rejoicing. To the right of the orientation lock is a set of three controls for play/pause and track skipping in the iPod app, as well as a dedicated icon for the app itself. It seems likely this will replace the current "notification window" method for accessing iPod controls via a double-tap of the Home button. Cool bit of functionality coming soon in the iPhone OS 4.0 release. [Via MacRumors]
Desktop for iPad plays some 'multitasking' tricks that are useful
Desktop for iPad tries to bring a little (sort of) multitasking joy into your life. Through some split screen tricks, it can give you a browser and let you write an email on the same screen. Of course, you can cut and paste between the two. You can also use the split screen functionality to accommodate a calculator, currency converter, dictionary, maps with geolocation, a translator, unit converter, and a weather app. It's a pretty clever idea, and I found a few good uses for it, like selectively sending parts of a Web page to someone in an email. Yes, you could do it with the standard cut and paste, but it was nice to see the body of the email and the Web page at the same time. The app supports landscape and portrait modes, and you can split the screen vertically or horizontally. Of course, when Apple brings its flavor of multitasking to the iPad later this year, such apps might not be so helpful. On the other hand, I don't see anything in the Apple previews that leads me to believe I'll be able to have two Web pages open on the same page or a Web page and translator app visible at the same time. To get around the strict Apple rules, this app plays some games. It's not using Safari as the browser, just a built in WebKit version. That means your bookmarks aren't available; you have to type everything in manually or save the bookmarks again in the included browser. You're not really seeing your mail app either. You type on a blank slate, and when it's time to send, your page is copied into a regular iPad mail message. It works fine, but it's still a workaround dictated by Apple. Desktop for iPad is on sale for U.S. $0.99 until Friday. Pictures of Desktop in action are in our gallery: %Gallery-91350%
Charlie Kindel on Windows Phone 7: some things will be missing at launch
In the weeks since Microsoft's MIX conference, the company has obviously done a little introspection and refined its message around Windows Phone 7 -- there's no greater example of that than the fact that they simplified the name at the public's urging. Microsoft's Charlie Kindel, who's been leading up developer evangelism for the platform, has gone on record a few times recently with some interesting tidbits around their post-launch strategy, including the very good news that they want to "do the right thing" with copy / paste -- not a meaty answer to the problem, obviously, but a heartening sign that they'll end up adding a clipboard into the mix at one point or another. Managed multitasking -- something similar to what Apple has announced in iPhone OS 4.0 -- also appears to be on the docket, though it's not something we can expect in the first volley later this year. Speaking in more generic terms, Kindel says that the company is well aware that "some things are missing at the launch," choosing to concentrate instead on getting a limited set of functionality perfectly polished for version 1.0 -- a distinctly different philosophy than in versions past. Fortunately, both OTA and tethered updates will be possible, though it sounds like Microsoft will be using a mix of the two depending on the size and complexity of the update -- you can't pick your own poison, the way you can with BlackBerrys and Android devices today. On a related note, we wanted to take this opportunity to spruce up our complete guide to Windows Phone 7, which you'll be able to use over the course of the year to stay abreast of the latest and greatest information we have about the platform as we get close to launch. Check it out here!
iPhone OS 4.0: Enterprise Features
Apple has posted an outline of what it believes to be the key enterprise features of iPhone OS 4.0. Third-party multitasking, enhanced security and mobile device management are among the marquee features. As a former IT director, I'm drawn in by mobile device management (MDM). Setting up individual pieces of hardware is a time-consuming hassle. New MDM APIs let developers integrate features like wireless configuration and update, remote wipes and policy compliance (no games, please!) into their apps. Additionally, wireless app distribution lets managers then install those apps over Wi-Fi and 3G. Apple also touts the unified email inbox and SSL VPN support along with pre-existing features like Exchange support. Still, there will be users who feel that the iPhone is a plaything when compared to the all-business Blackberry. May they enjoy their plastic QWERTY keyboards and multi-tasking prowess for years to come.
Samsung i8910 HD runs 62 apps at once, multitaskers bow their heads
While iPhone 3G owners and would-be Windows Phone 7 buyers sit in the corner, quietly weeping over their lack of true multitasking, webOS and Symbian continue to point and laugh. In mid-January, a Palm Pre Plus was seen cackling with joy over its rivals' misfortune even as the device staggered under the weight of 50 simultaneous applications, and less than a week later, a Samsung Omnia HD performed the very same feat, despite having only half the Pre Plus' RAM (i.e. 256MB) to work with. Now, in what we can only interpret as a large middle finger and "come here" gesture to all who aspire to the cell phone multitasking heavyweight title, we have a video of the i8910 running no less than sixty-two applications thanks to a custom ROM by HyperX. Watch in stunned silence as a finger scrolls through them, right after the break.
A first week with the iPad
How has week #1 with the iPad been? Pretty good actually. I wasn't going to get one, but while on a TUAW assignment to get some photos... and kinda sorta held up my hand and did the deed. I'm glad I did. It's now a constant companion. I actually prefer surfing the web with it over my laptop because it is small, weighs less, and is quite speedy. I haven't seen any of the wireless issues some are reporting. Mail is good, but I can't wait for that unified inbox coming this fall. I had some need to control a PC, so I looked around for some kind of remote client for the iPad. There were plenty of them the iPhone, but I wanted full resolution. I wound up with RDM+, which is a US$9.99 app that lets me connect to my Macs or PC without any firewall fooling around. Screen updates were fast enough, and installation had no hiccups. I'm sure there are some other solutions, but RDM+ worked very well. I took my iPad to a restaurant and I connected to my PC with a click. Battery life has been amazing. I use the iPad pretty heavily, and can easily get through 2 days or more without a re-charge. The screen is excellent for displaying still images and video.
Poll: Will you be upgrading your iPhone hardware to take advantage of multitasking?
Multitasking is the number one requested feature since the iPhone launched almost three years ago. With the introduction of iPhone OS 4 SDK, Apple has finally brought multitasking to the iPhone and iPod touch. The catch is that you need to have a 3rd gen iPod touch (released in 32 and 64GB versions last fall) or an iPhone 3GS. Any iPhone or iPod touch before those versions do not possess the hardware capable of supporting multitasking. At least, that's Apple's position; jailbreak users have been multitasking for a long time on that gear. What we want to know is how many of you are going to be updating your iPhone OS devices to take advantage of the multitasking features? Vote in the poll and leave us your thoughts in the comments! %Poll-44275%
iPhone OS 4.0: Multitasking support hidden away for pre-3GS devices
After Thursday's iPhone OS 4.0 event, when asked why multitasking was being excluded on devices older than the iPhone 3GS, Apple said that the older devices just couldn't do it. However, that wasn't quite true. A developer, who's been messing around with the iPhone OS 4.0 preview, has found that by simply switching just one variable in preferences, multitasking can indeed be enabled on the iPhone 3G. As far as we know, there won't be a flag in the final release version of the OS, but it looks like you can switch it on by tweaking one file on your own phone (which will require jailbreak). Of course, jailbreakers already have access to multitasking, and they'll be able to use Apple's official method as well, it seems. Steve and Scott Forstall have a little explaining to do -- why were we told yesterday that all of the devices before the 3GS couldn't multitask? It's certainly possible that they don't do it well, or that they can't handle as many processes as the 3GS might be able to handle. Unfortunately, this looks like Apple is trying to force an upgrade rather than get the software right (as this NSFW blog post complains). It was even mentioned yesterday (from the Engadget liveblog): "If that's an incentive for them to upgrade to a new device... terrific." We'd hope that Jobs and co. wouldn't purposely force a hardware upgrade, but it would be nice to to have some clarity about exactly what the problem with is multitasking on an older iPhone.
Apple blocking Flash-built apps because of multitasking?
Following up on news that the iPhone 4.0 developer agreement prohibits cross-compiled third-party apps, AppleInsider received info that multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0 is the reason for the change. According to their sources, apps built in environments like Flash CS5 won't co-operate well with Apple's multitasking scheme. "The system will now be evaluating apps as they run in order to implement smart multitasking. It can't do this if apps are running within a runtime or are cross compiled with a foreign structure that doesn't behave identically to a native C/C++/Obj-C app," according to AppleInsider. "Apple needs full access to a properly-compiled app to do the pull off the tricks they are with this new OS," one of their readers said. So it's not a grand conspiracy to kick Adobe while it's down, not about arbitrarily restricting developers to Apple's own programming tools, and not about squashing competition. If AppleInsider's sources are correct, banning apps built via Flash CS5 is really about ensuring that all apps run properly in Apple's new multitasking environment.
