Apr 9, 2010
Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Announcement
Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking isn’t revolutionary, but it’s long overdue for the iPhone and will be a nice enhancement. Background location will make third party mapping apps and location-aware social media more effective. Expect the cost of turn-by-turn directions to converge toward zero over the next two years.
Folders will help me keep my pages of apps better organized.
With four email accounts, unified inbox and other enhancements to email will be nice. Not revolutionary, but nice.
iBooks for iPhone
Okay, who didn’t expect that? Great for those who: a) use the iPad as their reader; and b) so hyper-organized that the “what-happens-if-I-leave-my-iPad-at-home-and-I-want-to-read-XYZ” question provokes fits of anxiety.
“Enterprise features”
A bunch of small changes. Translation of Apple’s message to IT: “You know your CEO—and everyone else you serve—wants one. You’ve held out long enough that your job may be in jeopardy. Here’s some tech speak you can use to save a little face and rationalize your capitulation.”
Game Center
Let’s see what EA does with this. It raises an interesting question, though. As the iPhone and iPad become more dominant platforms, will Apple use the API to backdoor their way into a formidable social networking platform?
iAd
Right now, iAd is an extension of already-implemented in app advertising. The key question is whether that is all iAd will be, or whether it’s the camel’s nose under the tent. My bet? The camel’s hindquarters won’t just be in the tent, but also in your pocket, this time next year.