This marks the third consecutive year that Apple has used spring events to give developers a peak at what's to come. The announced Apple iPhone 4.0 will bring many long-awaited features to the platform. Here are several.
Multitasking: You will be able to receive Skype calls while running apps without skipping a beat. Multitasking will allow for background location, so you can get directions while doing other things with your phone. And tasks such as uploading photos, will continue in the background so you don't have to sit and wait for them to upload. iPhone developers, along with users will finally be able to switch between applications without having to shut down the app to enter a new one. There is one major catch, iPhone 3G users won't be able to multitask due to hardware restraints.
Folders: Apple's App Store has thousands of applications categorized, but once those applications made it to the iPhone they were laid out side like a checkerboard, forcing users to scroll across multiple screens. iPhone 4.0 users will be able to create folders like with appropriate names and drag and drop apps into those folders, simplifying the home screen and their life.
Inbox improvements: Unified inboxes and organize-by-thread features are coming, which will give heavy e-mail users options for organizing their e-mail.
iBooks: Hurts my eyes just thinking about reading a book on a screen that small, but the option is nice.
iAd: While the average user may not be all that thrilled about this addition, it does give developers and ad agencies a way to create in-app advertisements with iAd, giving ads OS-level integration that will expand the creative possibilities.
