Apple unveiled its new iPhone OS 4.0 on April 8th. The new operating system promises to introduce over 100 new features and a software development kit with over 1,500 new APIs for creating an astounding array of features. iPhone OS 4.0 finally introduces multi-tasking to the iPhone, iPod Touch, and eventually the iPad (coming this fall). This feature alone warrants a lot of excitement. Many have wanted to see some kind of multi-tasking on the iPhone for a very long time.

Although other mobile operating systems like Android already make use of multi-tasking, iPhone OS 4.0 does it in a way that doesn't drain the battery or reduce performance. When an application is not in use, it is actually frozen until it is re-launched. Apps don't use any of the iPhone's hardware resources while frozen, so users can switch between as many apps as they like without feeling as if the iPhone has slowed down. Many other mobile devices implement multi-tasking, but it is similar to multi-tasking on a laptop or desktop computer. It consumes extra resources and ultimately takes away from battery life.

There isn't just one way users to multi-task on Apple's new iPhone OS. Apple has created several APIs to help app developers create apps that allow very specific kinds of multi-tasking. An example of one of these is the ability to play audio in the background. This is extremely useful for apps like Pandora that will soon be able to play music while iPhone users switch between apps. An iPhone app developer writes a few simple lines of code to take advantage of this API, and the feature is implemented very quickly.

The new operating system will also allow VOIP, background location, push notifications, local notifications, and task completion. All of these can run in the background. Users can start a Skype phone call, upload some pictures to Flickr during the call, and have their iPhone geo-tag their pictures, all at the same time. This is just one example of what can be done with the new multi-tasking APIs.

Image Source: iPhoneSpot

Aside from multi-tasking, iPhone OS 4.0 has undergone a few user interface-lifts. One of them is the addition of app folders. Some people download so many apps that they lose track of them all. Apple has simplified this, giving users the ability to create folders for their apps. The actual implementation is very similar to something you would see on a laptop or desktop operating system. Users simply drag apps into one another, and it creates a folder based on the category the app belongs to. The mail app is a little different too. Many email exchanges start with a single thread that continues to develop until the purpose of the thread is served. Old email clients categorize emails by who they were sent from and when they were sent. The new mail client for iPhone OS 4.0 organizes every message by the thread it belongs to, so it will be much easier to search for relevant information when it is most important. It also allows user to open file attachments with any app in the app store. This wasn't previously possible, and it will greatly improve upon the iPhone's business use potential.

Those who love the iPhone for reading books are going to be very excited about Apple's decision to include iBooks on the iPhone. While the screen size is undoubtedly an issue here, many people say they haven't had much of a problem reading on the little device. In fact, the demand for iBooks on the iPhone has been so great that Apple really had no choice in deciding to include it. We haven't strained our eyes on this one yet, but it does have some amazing potential, especially when you can have every book ever written in your pocket.

And finally, because more people are using iPhone apps to gather information and interact with the web, Apple has developed a better in-app way of creating advertisements. iAd provides users with interactive in-app ads that are much more likely to be clicked because they don't force the user to leave the app. Apple strongly believes this feature will get more people to look at ads and respond to them.

There are so many new features in the new OS that it's difficult to compress it all into one short informative article. The new iPhone OS 4.0 will completely change the game for mobile app developers by adding a whole new dimension to iPhone application development. The OS will also include online gaming tools and several very useful businesses features. These will all work on the newest iPhone hardware. Only a few features will be restricted on older models. The new OS is likely to be a real show stopper on the next generation of iPhones. We can't wait to see what Apple does with it!

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