The Geek Church

Since the world is still reeling from last weekend’s release of the iPad, Apple is attempting to wow consumers further with their newest development, the iPhone OS 4.0. So far, fifty million iPhones have been sold, along with 450,000 iPads and OS 4.0 is scheduled to be applied to phones this summer. Then the iPad will get this upgrade in the fall. Obviously, people are wondering what the OS 4.0 can do. Well, here’s a rundown of its features and capabilities.

First of all, it offers multi-tasking. You can run applications with a double tap of the home button, pause games at any time and there’s a tray available for switching between applications. This tray pushes up the other home icons and has a metallic background. However, you will be facing limitations in using active applications even though you have the ability to switch between them easily. Furthermore, multi-tasking will not be available for iPhone 3G or the second generation iPod touch and there is no task manager to do the app. organization for you, either.

Second, seven background services are available for use. For background audio, you can play Pandora and manage it with pop-up controls. For background VoIP, Skype calls are still compatible, you can switch applications, a “return to call” button is available and you will be able to receive Skype calls on a locked phone. Push and local notifications are still available but local ones are for in-phone applications, pop-up alarms, etc. Fast app. switching is now possible. This feature allows you to store one app. in its present state as you switch to another one and then back to the previous one. The final background service is task completion, which allows for an upload if you close an app.

Next, folders are available for storing lists of usable applications. Up to 2160 applications can be stored for future use. There are also homescreen wallpapers, enhanced mail and unified mail to combine web mail, Mobile Me and multiple exchange accounts. A thread organization is provided as a more powerful inbox and attachments are now possible for third party email. Of course, iBooks are possible, similar to how they work on the iPad and you can sync bookmarks and between devices. There is also better email encryption and SSL VPN support for non-bold text. Then, gaming features include being able to challenge friends, compare high scores on leaderboards and do matchmaking and achievements. The OS 4.0 also supports Bluetooth keyboards. Lastly, ads will be appear in HTML 5, they are fully interactive and they now have access to APIs, which includes location and accelerometer as well.

However, there is no confirmation that it supports cameras with flash, and how easily you can download applications is another unanswered question.

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Hey, dear readers, if you’re keeping up on current events involving new technology, then you probably know that Apple’s iPad was finally released to the consumer over the past weekend. For those of you not able or not interested in buying one yet, you’re likely to have some obvious questions right now. Questions such as does it really work, what can it actually do, did Apple keep its promises about the product this time or what problems come with trying to use it? Well, Henry Blodget, the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Business Insider just wrote a review of his experience with the iPad earlier today. Here’s a summary with the highlights to answer your questions about the new Apple product.

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I would be remiss in my duties here on The Geek Church if I didn’t report on this, but honestly, there probably isn’t anything in here that you don’t know already. A few hours ago, Steve Jobs stood up at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and announced the iPad, Apple’s long-awaited tablet.

The Tablet has a multitouch screen that is 9.7 inches (on the diagonal) with 1024 x 728 resolution. It has 802.11 n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, speaker, microphone, built-in accelerometer and a compass. It also the first device to use a unique Apple A4 Processor. The battery life has been reported at ten hours of constant use. Whoa!

It has a screen that will rotate depending on which way you hold it. Just think of it as a big iPhone or iPod Touch. In fact, most people are thinking that already. The touchpad keyboard is about the size of a regular keyboard, which will definitely come in handy.

As for the price, that is depending on what you want. With Wifi, it is $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. It costs a tad more with WiFi and 3G as it is $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for 64GB. Apple promises to ship them in 60 days, so it is probably going to take a while for it to get to you.

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