iPhone 4

[Spacecadet]

Apple are not giving a single carrier exclusivity this time so chances are the phone will be available to buy unlocked and sim free

[Sysman]

Apple are not giving a single carrier exclusivity this time so chances are the phone will be available to buy unlocked and sim free

According to this Reg article, at least T-Mobile, O2, Orange, and Vodafone are offering an iPhone package.

[TheFaQQer]

Just think - once all the apps are rewritten, it'll multi-task as well! Linky.

And it still doesn't do flash.

[NickFitz]

Just think - once all the apps are rewritten, it'll multi-task as well! Linky.

I'm not sure what point that article is trying to make. It stands to reason that apps written for an OS that doesn't allow them to multitask (iPhone OS 3) aren't going to have any functionality that takes advantage of multitasking capabilities in iOS 4. It's not as if iPhone developers had a time machine that allowed them to program against a future version of the OS before it was created. As it is, the SDK for iOS 4 has been available for a few months now.

I would assume that apps that can benefit, such as apps that stream audio, have already been updated to take advantage of this. The developers of those apps aren't going to want to be left behind by their competitors, and Apple are accepting iOS 4 versions of apps now for release on the launch date. But the vast majority of apps have no need of multitasking: you leave them to switch to another app, and they save their state and shut down; when you go back to them, they restore their state and are back where you left them. Any app that isn't already doing that seamlessly isn't going to be successful anyway.

And it still doesn't do flash.

Yes, that is a blessing

[Sysman]

Just think - once all the apps are rewritten, it'll multi-task as well! Linky.

From the article:

"Why would you want to multitask during a game," explained one.

Like, er, when the phone rings? You might want to input an address or some other info.

Bejaysus, some developers can't see beyond the end of their nose.

[Sysman]

I would assume that apps that can benefit, such as apps that stream audio, have already been updated to take advantage of this. The developers of those apps aren't going to want to be left behind by their competitors, and Apple are accepting iOS 4 versions of apps now for release on the launch date. But the vast majority of apps have no need of multitasking: you leave them to switch to another app, and they save their state and shut down; when you go back to them, they restore their state and are back where you left them. Any app that isn't already doing that seamlessly isn't going to be successful anyway.

It's not a new concept. Back with VB3 you had to call something-I've-forgotten to allow Winders itself to update a progress meter you were displaying.

And with the transition to NT4, I had a few apps which polled the keyboard continuously, thus hogging the CPU, until they were updated to behave properly. Fortunately I had a twin CPU system at the time so I could put such baddies onto CPU 1.

Oh, Flash. Now that we have warm weather, my laptop fan goes full belt when I'm viewing that stuff. The hit on battery life isn't the only consideration here, as from time to time I run some hefty processing jobs, and Flash slows them down.

[TheFaQQer]

Oh, Flash. Now that we have warm weather, my laptop fan goes full belt when I'm viewing that stuff. The hit on battery life isn't the only consideration here, as from time to time I run some hefty processing jobs, and Flash slows them down.

How many hefty processing jobs do you do on your phone, compared with browsing the web and actually wanting the web page to display correctly?

There's a reason that there are over 200000 Apps in the iPhone store - their browser is crap so you need to download something that does the job of the website.

[Sysman]

How many hefty processing jobs do you do on your phone, compared with browsing the web and actually wanting the web page to display correctly?

I wandered slightly off topic there and was wittering about the laptop.

There's a reason that there are over 200000 Apps in the iPhone store - their browser is crap so you need to download something that does the job of the website.

Is that the browser's fault or the number of websites which don't cater for phones? Serious question - I don't have an iPhone.

[NickFitz]

Like, er, when the phone rings? You might want to input an address or some other info.

Bejaysus, some developers can't see beyond the end of their nose.

You can run an app whilst on the phone.

[TheFaQQer]

Is that the browser's fault or the number of websites which don't cater for phones? Serious question - I don't have an iPhone.

A little from column A, a little from column B. If a site relies on Flash for whatever reason, then if a browser doesn't allow it to run then the site is useless. If that site then wants to be available on a device that doesn't allow Flash, then they need to produce an app that represents their site. With Apple, you could end up with a site that is unusable (because it needs Flash to be worthwhile) and an App that doesn't meet Apple's rules (whatever they may be) so can't be featured in the store.

Using my phone, I haven't found a site that is completely unusable. Plenty look rubbish (e.g. CUK) and have some minor problems (or even major ones!) but the content is generally readable.