Now that the iPad is announced and almost out, speculation has turned to the iPhone. Apple has released a new phone every year in mid-summer, and along with it, a new version of the iPhone OS. So with a fourth iPhone expected, Apple bloggers are keeping their eyes peeled for clues as to what the next version will contain.
Well, they found one:
hints that point to multitasking on the iPhone, a feature iPhone users have been awaiting for some time. Enterprise Mobile Today has the story.
Apple enthusiast blogs are reporting that multitasking, a feature at or near the top of every iPhone user’s wish list, will finally happen when version 4.0 of the phone’s operating system comes out. Just when that release will happen though, is an open question.
AppleInsider cited “people with a proven track record in predicting Apple’s technological advances” as sources for the multitasking on the iPhone OS but offered no specifics. Of course, it could be those sources simply downloaded the latest build of the iPhone software developer kit (SDK), which the sleuths at 9to5 Mac have done and noticed a reference to multitasking in the source code comments.
If nothing else, Apple is becoming a creature of habit. For the last two years it released a beta version of an SDK in March to prepare developers for a June/July operating system upgrade. The iPad, due April 3, will use iPhone OS 3.2, so a 4.0 version seems likely this summer when a fourth generation iPhone should be due.
The iPhone is capable of multitasking now but it only allows Apple applications to multitask. Third-party apps cannot. One reason for this is management of resources and power conservation. You can’t run an iPhone like a PC with multiple minimized apps or your battery will go dead in minutes.
