iPhone to get gaming network with OS 4.0

Published on 09-04-10 at 10:31 AM AEST by

rec

The cat is out of the bag on the next major iPhone update. Mostly importantly for everyday use is the official implementation of multitasking, as featured in the embedded video - but this and many other features will only be possible on the iPhone 3GS and newer. There's a whole lot more than multitasking to gawk at, however...

Spell check akin to the iPad.
Bluetooth keyboard support.
User-defined wallpaper.
Tap-to-focus when recording video.
5x digital zoom for the photos.
Playlist creation.
Folders for sorting your apps.
Merged inbox - no more needing to open two (or more) accounts.
Sync to more than 1 Exchange server.
Threaded messaging views.
iBooks, just like on iPad.
Remote device management.
Wireless app distribution.
Game Center.

The last is sure to excite a few of you mobile game enthusiasts. This 'Game Center' is essentially Xbox LIVE for the iPhone. Achievements, leaderboards, and match making were the key features discussed, and it all sounds rather nifty.

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Tags: apple, iphone

9 Comments

JugV2 - 09-04-10, 02:30 PM
Threaded messaging isn't new, it has that now.
I prefer it to have seperate inboxes for my multiple mail boxes, so hopefully it will be something that is voluntary rather than compulsory.

rec - 09-04-10, 02:34 PM
Originally Posted by JugV2

Threaded messaging isn't new, it has that now.

Apple wouldn't lie to us?

JugV2 - 09-04-10, 05:13 PM
Originally Posted by rec

Apple wouldn't lie to us?

Maybe they lied to you, to get in your pants.

ResLo - 09-04-10, 11:02 PM
Multitasking release gives iAd developers grip on iPhone, iPad users | News.com.au

Was Apple's announcement the iPhone was now about to multitask just a giant smokescreen for the fact its apps will now carry ads?

Jobs spent a lot of time explaining how Apple would make ads better, telling developers that their apps would now carry iAds that "combine the interactivity of standard web ads with the emotion provided by
television ads".

The iAds would be embedded in applications, and therefore won't close the app, popping up in a separate window that can be closed with an "x" button and reveal the app behind it in the the state it was left.

Now that's multitasking for you.

rec - 09-04-10, 11:43 PM
If that becomes intrusive/annoying, I guess it's time to switch handset.

ResLo - 10-04-10, 12:54 AM
Thin edge of the wedge

paladin - 10-04-10, 12:56 AM
.. ads will be in apps that choose to have ads, they're not being rammed to the handset at specific intervals by apple. apps are already ad supported, this is simply providing an 'official' framework to support them. in other words, storm in a teacup.

rec - 10-04-10, 12:42 PM
From Ars:

Thursday's announcement immediately turned up evidence that Apple might be adding a flash to the iPhone's camera, thanks to functions named VCaptureDevice.hasFlash, AVCaptureDevice.flashMode, and AVCaptureDevice.hasTorch. Apple is allegedly investigating LED flash options, which would make such a feature very BlackBerry-like. Additionally, the latest iPhone SDK continues to contain hints about a front-facing camera as well as iChat support.

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the hidden gems in OS 4.0. Several developers told Ars that this is the single biggest update to iPhone OS that they have seen. The SDK contains plenty of references to expanded A/V capabilities and media handling. There is also expanded support for VoiceChat—particularly within Apple's just-introduced social gaming platform GameKit—as well as a perplexing reference to Microsoft's Direct3D.