Hasta La Gadget!

While iOS 4 is delivering on every promise for the iPhone 3GS users out there, as we were all told up front, the iPhone 3G would be missing some of those touted new features. Granted, we knew such disparities would exist but were never given the finer details. Now that the final build is percolating through the internet, we decided to take a look at what features are and aren’t working on the earlier year’s model.

What’s there

• Folders
• Threaded mail
• iTunes playlist creation / editing
• 5x digital zoom: just tap on the display near the capture button, but be warned, it doesn’t paint a pretty picture
• iBooks: we were having issues with the earlier build, but it seems to be running fine after today’s official download — PDFs work, too.
• Photos: you can now sort by albums, events, faces, and places
• Game Center: the icon is present, but as of this writing we’re unable to connect to the servers. (Update: a number of readers saying it didn’t come with today’s download. We nabbed ours as a gold build, which might explain the discrepancy despite still being considered “up to date” by iTunes.)
• Spell check has been updated
• Spotlight search: you can search the web and Wikipedia from the home screen search bar. That said, not all our queries — “Engadget,” for example — weren’t offering the option. [Thanks, jkane08]

What isn’t

• Multitasking: this is the big one. Double-tapping the home button doesn’t give you the handy menu, there’s no fast app switching, and background use is missing in action.
• Screen lock: normally in the multitasking menu (which isn’t available on 3G), it’s nowhere to be found, even under Settings. Bummer.
• Home screen wallpaper: you’d think this simple addition would make the cut, but sadly no. The dock has been given a visual upgrade, though.
• Bluetooth Keyboard support: we haven’t tried this ourselves, but an influx of reports from Twitter suggest this is also a no-go.
  

We’ll keep testing, but be sure to let us know your own discoveries below!

iPhone 3G, iOS 4, and you — what’s missing (spoiler: multitasking) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although iOS 4 is out now with 1500 new APIs including multitasking support, your apps won’t support all those new features out of the gate — they’ll need to be updated to take full advantage of the iPhone’s new tricks. Happily, Apple started accepting iOS 4-ready apps last week, so there’s a handful of interesting apps already available, and we’re sure more are on the way. Here’s a quick list of what you can check out right now — we’ll be updating this as we go, so check back for more!

• Dropbox: Everyone’s favorite file-syncing tool can now sync and complete uploads in the background, and also adds in support for fast app switching.
• Evernote: the notes-in-the-cloud app adds support for fast app switching, and can continue to record audio notes in the background.
• Pandora: Yes, you can finally play Pandora in the background — and the quick music controls on the left-most panel of the app switcher even control playback when it’s in the background. Nifty.
• New York Times: Nothing major, but the Gray Lady supports fast app switching, so you can jump right back into an article without reloading.
• ESPN ScoreCenter: Supports fast app switching, although you’ll still have to open it up for scores to refresh, since there’s no background updating API.
• How to Cook Everything: Funny that a cookbook is one of the first iOS4 apps out there, but we’re Mark Bittman fans, so this is pretty cool — it supports fast app switching, so you don’t have to reload a recipe every time you close the app. Oh, and it’s got newer high-res art for the iPhone 4. Tasty.
• Fandango: Now has fast app switching, so you can juggle other tasks while buying your movie tickets.
• LinkedIn: Yep, LinkedIn’s iPhone app adds fast app switching to the mix.

So those are some highlights — we’ll keep updating as we go here, but most of the early iOS 4-ready apps are just adding fast app switching. We won’t lie, once you see it in action, you’ll wonder how you lived without it, but we’re still waiting to see developers get wild on those 1499 other new APIs — let us know what you’re seeing out there!

Update: We’re listing off more as we find them after the break — check it!

Update 2: “Tested for iOS4” doesn’t guarantee new features, but if you want to know which apps can make that claim, here’s a handy Google search. [Thanks, jihuiwen!]

Continue reading iOS 4 apps: the best of what’s new and updated (live updates!)

iOS 4 apps: the best of what’s new and updated (live updates!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple said during its iPhone 4 keynote last week that 100 million iOS devices have already been sold, and that includes the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. As if that’s not enough, the iPhone itself is expected to hit nine digits by the end of 2011, a Wall Street analyst estimates.

“We see the iPhone installed base rising from approximately 30 million subscribers at the end of 2009 to over 100 million by the end of 2011,” said Katy Huberty, a Morgan Stanley analyst.

Why the spike in sales? Upgrades, says Huberty. That’s plausible analysis, because Apple’s upcoming iOS 4 will only fully support Apple’s newer iOS devices. The original iPhone can’t run the OS at all, and the iPhone 3G won’t be able to use iOS 4’s highlight feature, multitasking. If you own the first iPhone, the major minus is not being able to use new apps made for iOS 4, so an upgrade almost seems necessary.

Plus, Apple’s iPhone 4 is the most compelling upgrade for the handset yet. With double the memory capacity of older iOS devices, a faster processor, a higher-resolution screen and a front-facing camera and a brandnew glass body, the iPhone 4 already makes last year’s iPhone 3GS look like an iThing of the past.

Via InformationWeek

See Also:

• iPhone 4 + Glitchy Launch = Huge Demand Anyway
• Apple Sells 600000 iPhones Despite ‘System Malfunctions,’ Orders …
• Photo Gallery: Hands-On With the iPhone 4
• iPhone 4 Has More RAM Than iPad
• Apple Unveils High-Resolution, Videoconferencing iPhone 4