iPhone OS 4 Preview Looks Great

ByMike Moffit

On Thursday, Apple previewed iPhone OS 4, which they are calling “the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet.” It has to be, since the smartphone marketplace is vastly more competitive now then during any previous iPhone release.

iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy. A new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs for developers to create apps that are “even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.” A developer beta is available now.

iPhone OS 4 will ship this summer for iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the second- and third-generation iPod touch, and for iPad in the fall. Not all features of iPhone OS 4 are compatible with all devices. For example, the new multitasking feature will be available only with iPhone 3GS and the third-generation iPod touch (32GB and 64GB models from late 2009). It’s not clear if some or any iPhone 4.0 features will be supported by the first generation iPhone, alas.

Click here to watch the Keynote video.

With iPhone OS 4, iPhone owners will enjoy over 100 new features that make it easier to interact with apps, manage email, read books, and more. New features include the following:

Multitasking – Developers will have access to seven multitasking services, which will allow tasks to be performed in the background while preserving performance and battery life. So you’ll be able to make a Voice over IP call while playing a game or checking email, find a restaurant on Urbanspoon while listening to Pandora, and more.

Game Center – Game Center is Apple’s new social gaming network. Users can invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare high scores on a leader board. (We think this will be huge.)

Folders – Organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity. Get faster access to your favorites and browse and manage up to 2160 apps at once — many more than the current limit of 180 apps.

Even Better Mail – See messages from all your email accounts displayed together in a unified inbox, switch between inboxes more quickly, organize messages by threads, and even open attachments in third-party apps.

iBooks – The best way to browse, buy, and read books on a mobile device. Easily flip through the pages of a book you’ve downloaded from the iBookstore while listening to your music collection. Browse tens of thousands of books — many of them free — by title, author, or genre. You can even check out reviews and read sample pages before you buy.

iAd – A breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For developers, it means a new, easy-to-implement source of revenue. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information. (Some people think this will be terribly obnoxious. We’re waiting to see, as it could be a boon for developers. And if it really is annoying, iPhone sales will suffer. Apple isn’t likely to let that happen.)

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