A first pass at iPhone OS 4

A first pass at iPhone OS 4
MultitaskingIn our review of the iPhone 3GS, multitasking led our list of common cell phone features that were lacking. Granted, that list was shorter than it had been with previous iPhone versions, but multitasking remained a major omission in light of Android and the Palm Web OS.Apple, however, has a special talent for making us forget such things by packaging an existing feature in a flashy new way. As Jobs said, Apple isn't about being first, but rather about "being the best." We'll have to get our hands on the update before we fully agree, but Apple appears to have hit the mark. During the demo, Jobs showed how you'll be able to tap the Home button twice to get a pop-up menu of running apps at the bottom of the display. As you switch back and forth, you'll return to the exact point you left, even if you're in the middle of a game. There's no task manager of any kind and Jobs dismissed competitor devices that have one. As he put it, "If you see a task manager, they blew it." Though the pop-up menu only shows four apps at a time (you can swipe sideways through the full list), you'll be able to run at least 12 apps simultaneously. Jobs did not say if that number is a hard limit, but we'll confirm that one exists when we get to play with the OS ourselves. Forstall insisted that multitasking would not affect performance because Apple distilled background processes into seven API services. They include audio from apps like Pandora Radio (yay!), VoIP (for Skype calls), push notifications, and task completion. Multitasking also will support local notifications and related security setting enhancements. There is bad news with multitasking, though. The feature is compatible only with the iPhone 3GS and the third generation of the iPod Touch. Owners of other iPhone and iPod Touch models still get other OS 4 benefits, but you'll need to upgrade if you want the full package. Before you run to the store, however, keep in mind that OS 4 probably won't appear until after the Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. At that event--we're still waiting for firm dates--we should get new hardware, so make your upgrade decision then.iPhone OS 4 features (photos)See full gallery1 - 4 / 17NextPrevFoldersAre you sick of scrolling through seven home screen pages to find your app? We certainly are, which is why we welcome the option for home screen folders. After a long press on the home screen (so the icons "jiggle"), you can take an app and drop it on top of another to create a folder. To see the contents of a folder or change the default name, just tap it for an expanded view. You can add as many folders as you like, but we're unsure if there's a limit to how many apps you can store in a single folder. The process appears to be easy, though we wouldn't say it offers a huge change from the equivalent steps on Android. It's interesting, though, that with multitasking and the home screen folders, Apple is slowly chipping away at the advantages that Android currently holds. We love a good fight so we can't wait to see how this develops.E-mailThough e-mail has always worked well on the iPhone, the experience has been a little disjointed with its various in-boxes and limited options for message sorting. Fortunately, the OS 4 update fixes some of those flaws. Not only will you get a unified e-mail in-box, but also the ability to add multiple Exchange accounts, organize e-mails by thread, quickly switch between accounts, and open attachments with a preferred app. We're most excited about the unified in-box--sometimes it's the little things--but we certainly wouldn't kick the other features out of bed.Hello, unified e-mail in-box.iBooksiPhone owners will be able to get iBooks, the Apple's e-book reader, on their devices. They'll also be able to access Apple's iBookstore to purchase new content. And if you have an iPhone and an iPad, you can read your book on both devices (with just one purchase) and sync your current page.EnterpriseThough Forstall said 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using the iPhone, the device still doesn't have quite the reach of the BlackBerry in IT departments. Yet, Apple continues to pursue that market with new features like enhanced data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution (nice), and multiple exchange accounts. Also new is support for Exchange 2010 and SSL VPN from Juniper and Cisco.Game CenterComing "later this year," so perhaps not at the same time as the general OS 4 release, is Game Center. It will bring features like a social gaming network, the ability to invite friends to games, leaderboards, achievements, and the opportunity for "matchmaking" (setting up two people to play). We didn't get an extensive demo of Game Center so Apple may still be tinkering with it.iAdsThough Jobs and Forstall spent a lot of time on this feature, we're not so enamored. Apple knows that iPhone users spend a lot of time in apps and it has recognized the revenue opportunities. iAds appears to be all about making you "want" to click on an ad by offering multimedia and interactive content. Jobs described it as combining "interaction" and "emotion" like we get in TV commercials. For example, if you have an ad about "Toy Story 3," you'll be able to see a preview and search local theaters for showtimes.Though iAds will deliver new functionality to users, developers clearly are the primary target audience. Jobs even said that Apple wants to help developers make money by offering them a 60 percent share of any revenue. Yes, we understand that free apps aren't really free, but the prospect of more ads cluttering our phone isn't exciting. And you can be sure iAds will be available beyond the iPhone 3GS.Just a few of the new features in iPhone OS 4.Other changesJobs and Forstall didn't detail the 93 other new features of iPhone OS 4, but we did get a brief glimpse of other additions at the start of the presentation. Here are a few to ponder.Spell checkLarger fonts for e-mail, texts, and alertsPersistent Wi-FiTap to focus videoCustomizable wallpapers for the home screenSearch text messagesChoose image size in mail messagesRecent Web searchesCreate playlists5x digital zoom in cameraBluetooth keyboardsGifting of appsiPod outBirthday calendarWake on wirelessFile and delete mail search resultsWeb search suggestionsRotate photosWhat iPhone OS 4 means for the iPadVersion 4 of Apple's iPhone OS is going to bring many welcome improvements to the iPad, including multitasking, app folders, and more capabilities for app developers to tinker with. Unfortunately, though iPhone 3GS and third-gen iPod Touch users can expect to run the new OS this summer, iPad owners will need to keep patient until fall.On the upside, there are a few OS 4 capabilities included on the iPad currently that iPhone users will have to wait until summer to play with. Features such as iTunes playlist creation, home screen wallpaper, and iBooks will have iPhone users giving the iPad envious looks until their upgrade is available. Also, the iPad already offers apps that all can maintain your place after exiting the app. These include: Numbers, Keynote, Pages, and iBooks.Another silver lining iPad owners can hold on to is the fact that OS 4 should come as a free upgrade. The iPad's OS 3.2 documentation states that OS upgrades will be provided to users free of charge up to and including OS 4.The collective groan from iPad users is mostly over having to wait for OS 4's multitasking capability. Given the iPad's aptitude for Web and e-mail browsing, it's a shame that users can't yet use these features simultaneously--a fact that Netbook proponents are quick to point out.It might be easier to muster some patience if we only understood why Apple chose to stagger the roll-out to the iPad. No reason was cited at the OS 4 unveiling event. Given that Apple releases a new crop of iPods every fall like clockwork, it's possible that the iPad update is being deliberately delayed to dovetail with an iPod announcement and Apple's rumored cloud music service. It's also possible, given the larger screen of the iPad, that porting over iPhone OS 4 simply requires more time.

How to set up the Sonos Controller app on iPhone

How to set up the Sonos Controller app on iPhone
Sonos puts together one heck of a multiroom music system, allowing you to stream music all over your house with relative ease. But what if you don't want to sit in front of your computer to make changes to your music queue, or you leave one zone and want to turn the music on for the zone you just entered? Wouldn't it be great if you could control your entire Sonos system directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch? Well, you can. The Sonos Controller for the iPhone or iPod Touch allows you to take control of your Sonos system, and this guide will show you how easy it is to set up.Screenshot by Jason CiprianiThe first thing you will need to do is download and install the Sonos Controller (iTunes link) app on either your iPhone or iPod Touch. Screenshot by Jason CiprianiThe first time you run the app, it will recognize that you have not set up the Sonos Controller on your iPhone or iPod Touch yet. Tap on the button titled, "Set up your Sonos system now."Screenshot by Jason CiprianiYou will see a screen that recommends that you have set up your Sonos system on your computer already. The app, as well as this post, assumes you have already set up your Sonos system and Sonos Desktop Controller on your computer. Press Next.Screenshot by Jason CiprianiOnce you press Next, the clock starts ticking. You only have 2 minutes to complete the next step, otherwise the app times out and you have to start over. If you have a ZoneBridge, you can press the single button located on top of the unit (the same button is pictured on the right in the app) to connect your iDevice to the system. If you have a ZonePlayer, you can connect your iDevice to the system by pressing the mute and volume-up (pictured left in app) keys at the same time.In each instance, you should see alternating white and green lights start blinking once you have pressed the correct button(s). Screenshot by Jason CiprianiAlmost instantly after pressing the button on the ZonePlayer or ZoneBridge, the application should move on to the next screen, revealing the Zone Menu. Now that your iPhone or iPod Touch is set up as a Sonos controller, you can control basic playback, as well as more in-depth Sonos functions such as group your zones, set sleep timer and/or an alarm, and much more. There is no limit to the amount of Sonos Controllers you can have set up at any given time. Simply repeat these steps if you have another iPhone or iPod Touch you would like to set up as a Sonos Controller.

Analysts on Apple- Looking to iPhone 6 upside

Analysts on Apple: Looking to iPhone 6 upside
Wedge Partners and Pacific Crest weighed in on the rumored iPhone 6 this week, with Wedge also offering speculation on other possible products like the iWatch and a bigger iPad as well as strategies for services at Apple.Overall, the research note from Wedge Partners' Brian Blair, as posted by Barron's, was upbeat, stating that "Apple's next array of products" provide an "opportunity" for investors.Apple shares have an upside this year of more than 20 percent, he said.Andy Hargreaves at Pacific Crest was also optimistic, citing the iPhone 6. "Apple is likely to choose its opportunities and timing extraordinarily carefully and release new products or services only when it feels it has the best chance to succeed," Hargreaves said. Here's what Blair and Hargreaves expect from Apple this year.Big-screen iPhone 6: --Blair: Expects Apple to offer a 4.8-inch iPhone option this Fall to address a product gap. Strong adoption in Asia and at new carrier partner China Mobile.--Hargreaves: Believes Apple will release a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 in the fall.Thinks Apple will charge $299 for the phone with contract (the iPhone 5S starts at $199).The relatively negative reception for the iPhone 5C shows that Apple's customers will spend more for a better product, he said. Hargreaves doesn't think Apple will bring out a 5.5-inch class phablet.iPad Convertible and/or new MacBook Air:"We believe Apple has been testing 12-inch panels for a potential new product. ... This product could be shown at WWDC," according to Blair.(Note: some analysts have referred to an analogous product as the "iPad Pro.")iWatch or iBand: Blair believes that the Asia supply chain is gearing up for a September release. "We expect Apple to release a wrist-worn computing device with a curved screen that will tie-in notifications, activity tracking, and fitness/health monitoring into a [new] platform."Mobile payment:Blair cites Tim Cook as saying that the mobile payments space is intriguing and cites several related patents filed by Apple."This fall, we expect Touch ID to be built into all of the new iPhones and iPads.Either ahead of or shortly after the rollout of Touch ID across the next wave of iOS devices, we believe Apple will introduce its payment platform."Blair also mentioned that Apple will 'ultimately" launch an iTV but didn't give any timeframe. And he had some caveats about Apple too, including soft demand for the iPhone 5C (echoing Hargreaves) and a continued slowdown in the high-end smartphone market.)iPhone concept video courtesy of Sam Beckett.