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iPhone’s single-task operating system renders it a poor man’s Nokia

This afternoon it was snowing in Chiswick. That is unusual because it’s so near the city of London which seems to give off a load of heat meaning that whilst everyone else in the area is deluged in snow at the moment, we’ve had a bit of rain.

Only this afternoon, something strange happened with the weather and woosh, down came the snow.

I was on my way to get some shopping when it did. I thought I’d record the moment with my iPhone 3GS.

I took pretty decent photo of some snow falling. Here it is, as a matter of fact:

I took the picture using the Flickr app. Of course there are multiple methods of taking pictures and transmitting them to places via the iPhone. But I decided to use Flickr.

I used the ‘capture from camera’ function now familiar to us all. I confirmed I was happy with the photo and hit ‘upload’.

And that’s when my trouble started.

Yes I was on Orange’s pretty good 3G network BUT I’d chosen to upload the image in full 2048×1536 resolution. And why not?

So I stood there, waiting.

Like a total plumb.

Like a total flippin’ idiot.

I stood and waited whilst the fantastically good looking blue bar slowly moved itself along the page indicating the upload journey. All around me, people on the street stared. I didn’t want to put the phone in my pocket because… well… the touchscreen might accidentally do something. I obviously couldn’t switch the phone’s screen off because that’s bad practice when your iPhone can only do one thing at a time.

So I waited.

I hung around cursing the iPhone and the one-thing-at-a-time operating system chugged along.

I waited some more.

I thought to myself, ‘What the fluck am I doing, standing in the street, waiting for my technology to perform?’

The whole concept, you see, was not to snap a picture — the iPhone can do that very nicely now — but to capture-transmit-and-share my experience.

I should have taken my Nokia N86 with me. Running ShoZu. It’s gorgeous camera would have done a much better job — but the whole experience would have been about a billion times better. Here’s why. For those who don’t know (and there are a lot of you), here’s how the Nokia platform — allied with ShoZu (or using Nokia’s own Ovi share service) works:

With the Nokia N86:

1. Take out the phone, activate the camera
2. Snap the picture — the picture is automatically tagged with your GPS location
3. Check you are happy with the picture
4. 2 seconds later, the ShoZu app prompts you: “Send this to Flickr?” You click “Ok”
5. Put the phone back in your pocket, get on with your day
6. Total time commitment: 4-5 seconds

With the iPhone:
1. Take out the phone. Because I want to share immediately, I activate my application of choice — in this case, Flickr. But I could have used ShoZu, Tweetie, Twitpic Uploader or a ton of other apps
2. Click on the ‘grab from camera’ option
3. Snap the picture
4. Press upload and wait whilst the stupid blue line inches across the screen
5. Total time commitment: 30-90 seconds, depending on network speed

The Nokia user model wins hands down. (Although I agree that the rest of the user model isn’t quite on par with the iPhone).

I understand that I could have taken the photo on the iPhone and just kept it in my ‘album’ for when I got home — or for when I got near a fast hotspot. But what I wanted to do was share immediately.

And the iPhone sucks at this.

It totally blows.

I found myself longing for the N86 because the experience would have been so much better, so quicker, so much smoother.

Sadly it doesn’t appear as though multi-tasking is coming any time soon to the iPhone. I’ll tell you why. A few months ago, I was at a meal where a senior, senior Apple iPhone person was in attendance. I gave a commitment never to mention the precise location his or her identify, or their job title. I’ll refer to them as a ‘chap’ but they could well be female. I was one of the only Europeans in attendance (so, yeah, the location was somewhere in North America) and the chap from Apple was holding court on our table.

We all took it in turns to politely fire questions at the chap. Everyone around him threw him warm and fuzzy questions about how-much-they-loved-the-iPhone (and so on). There were, incidentally, iPhones in every hand. I had my iPhone and my (ageing) N95. When my turn came, I asked about multi-task support.

The chap leaned forward ignoring the rest of the group.

“Tell me why? Why do you want that?” he asked.

“Err, well…” I replied, slightly surprised. From his demeanour, I inferred that this was an issue he (or she) had been exploring in-depth with other Apple people.

I continued, “If I’m using Google Maps and I need to look at my calendar, I don’t want to have to lose my position, or if I’m running a particular application — of which, as we all know, there are TONS — I don’t want to have to ‘start again’ when I click the main menu.”

I’m sad to say that at this point the chap’s (or lady’s) eyes appeared to glaze over. I’d lost him.

I tried again.

“When I’m running Evernote,” I explained, “I have to WAIT for it to upload things before I can quit. I’d like it to do that in the background?”

The chap deployed a strategically placed fake smile at me — intimating to the rest of the group that I was a total weirdo and that no sane person would ever want to do this.

So I don’t think we’ll have multi-tasking for a little while yet. Which is a shame. I’m getting very, very tired having to think in a linear fashion with my iPhone.

It is for this reason that my primary handset is a (multi-task capable) BlackBerry — mostly because I really, really like the physical keyboard. I then typically carry an iPhone 3GS and/or my N86 as a secondary device.

I’d like to see some Android devices with proper N86-standard cameras at some point too. Won’t somebody please make an Android device with a decent QWERTY keyboard and a proper camera (not just a high spec megapixel one that’s not any good) with decent flash?

Is anyone else getting annoyed by the one-thing-at-a-time iPhone user model? Does anyone else get an elicit buzz out of hitting ’email’ and letting the device automatically check email in the background? 😉

Orrrr… is it just me?

48 COMMENTS

  1. If 3rd party backgrounding doesn’t appear on the iPhone this Summer I’ll be utterly amazed. You just know it’s going to be one of the killer features of the 4.0 update.

    Of course, I’ve been annoyed by the lack of multi-tasking, but with so many apps now supporting persistence it’s not a big problem for me anymore. If I come out of Tweetie to check on the spelling of a word in Dictionary I know that I can relaunch Tweetie to *exactly* where I left off within 2 seconds. Yes, 2 seconds, I counted.

    And what about push notifications. For all the complaining about it when it was launched it has become pretty much invaluable. Not just for messaging and social networking clients but for a whole legion of apps.

    Multi-tasking will come to the iPhone this year, of that I’m certain. And then we’ll have to find a new area to push Apple on.

  2. Nope, I love my iPhone but boy does it have it's limitations. 'Waiting for the technology' has been a life's occupation. Real shame the iPhone isn't going to change that soon.

    I am on the verge of switching to another device, can't face Blackberry and can't face the Nokia menu structure. Maybe Android is the next frontier?

  3. It's just you. Say you uploaded said photo of snow ASAP, what exactly do your followers gain from that knowledge?

    ooo there is snow where that guy is, cool, i've never seen snow before!

    photos used to be about preserving memories, now they're just things we share with each other because someone has the balls to say “pics or bullshit”

    with regards to other forms of multitasking such as the Evernote scenario, it really should be up to the developer to build their application to better support Apple's one application at a time model.

    Android would be good if it had this, the iPhone would be great if it had that, Symbian needs to have this!

    You'll never be happy, so learning to live with the compromises of the platform is the only thing you can do really. Complain all you want, the people making device X, Y, Z are still making money hand over fist. Next year they'll make a model that fixes the problems you're having today, but it will also have new features, features that you wish worked a little bit differently.

    And so begins the circle of crap gadget life.

  4. That is being very specific to the individual example. Immediate data is a BIG thing, and adding to it in real time is where things are, or are heading. Hence things like Googles real-time searches etc.

    Having a device hold you back isn't a compromise. If you desktop machine or laptop couldn't multi-task, or you'd have to wait an age between tasks, I'm sure you won't be calling it a compromise, more likely a c**t instead.

    However I'd happily agree that no devices will ever be perfect, but there are some on a road more suited to foregoing trends than some that might be considered trendy at this time.

  5. I have an iPhone too and I don't use it, primarily for this reason. I'm a Nokia guy at heart – current weapon of choice is an N97, but I go back to the N82 and E71 for kicks) and I've grown accustomed to multi-tasking on a smartphone. To not have it is a step backwards for me.

    So, I use the iPod Touch primarily for non phone-tasks. But I hear ya …single tasking is a HUGE problem with the iPhone(s).

  6. Nope, I was just kidding. In fact, whatever makes you happy. I don't know in this case as I have never had such problems, the network here's apparently a bit faster than UK's Orange.

    Think it's gonna happen just like with “copy-paste”. This will be rolled out sometime in the nearest future but it'll look so cool that a big part of the bashers will gasp and say: “wow, that was worth waiting!”

    What do you think?

  7. get the best of both worlds. n900. Take a picture upload it to flickr/facebook/twitter in 5 sec. IM your friend while you do it.

  8. My feeling is that I would prefer a device to do one thing well, rather than many things badly which is sort of what Nokia have been good at for a while … I have an older (3g) iPhone and I have loved it this year, but recently its just started falling apart when some of my older Nokias would last a couple of years. I think my next phone will be Android, but as you say – its gotta be “upto the task” As yet the HTC Hero looks good, but I want a bit more – plus I will be annoyed at losing some of the apps I have paid for (inc. navigation)…

  9. Nice article.

    Whilst my iPhone is always with me (as it is very good at the single-tasking activities it does), it is seldom alone. N86 at the weekends for taking the odd random shot (and running gravity, of course), Blackberry or E72 on workdays for email (can't be without a QWERTY keyboard for that), Hero or similar for the odd bit of droid action, plus random others depending on my mood.

    I appreciate Apple's reluctance in the early days of the iPhone to implement multi-tasking, but given the plethora of apps available today, and the use-cases they in turn fulfil, surely multi-tasking *has* to come soon (4.0 perhaps?)…. (oh and a better camera – shame I have to email photos from my N86 to my iPhone to edit them on the go).

  10. Being a recent convert (my last 6 phones were Nokias) to iPhone, it took me all of 24 hours to jailbreak my new 3GS when I got it a few months ago. I honestly think I would smash the thing I couldn't install some of the stuff that jailbreaking allows (sbsettings, lockscreen calender, statusnotifier, winterboard). These are providing basic functionality that should be available in the basic firmware.

    Of course backgrounder is great – combined with something like Multifl0w it provides a lovely multitasking experience. But only if you are willing to hack your phone.

    There are several things I don't like about the iPhone, and very nearly all of them are due entirely to Apple's lockdown. So frustrating.

  11. Apple has one more revision, the one that is supposedly coming this summer, to add multi-tasking — at which point, if they don't, I'll be gone to Android faster than you can say “there's an app for that”.

  12. And when they do add it this summer you'll be happy with your iPhone? I'll be honestly, I think that most geeks are always on the verge of jumping ship, whether it be from Nokia to Apple or from Apple to Google and back again. It's what geeks do, we obsess.

  13. James,

    I'll never be completely satisfied with ANY handset — Stefan's series of posts on the 'mythical perfect smartphone' on Intomobile are right on the money: it doesn't exist. However, at this point in time, I am very happy using my iPhone, and the most compelling reason for me to switch (or to stay) would be to be able to run things like Pandora in the background, and to not have to exit Stanza while I'm reading just to answer a text message. It's become the one big annoyance, above any other annoyance, that I am tired of dealing with. If that were fixed, then realistically I see no reason to switch platforms (right now, of course).

    I spent years buying every S60 phone that came out (I think that I've owned probably 80% of the S60 phones released since the 3650, up until my last one the N85)… I likewise went through a bunch of blackberries, a couple of Windows Mobile phones, some SE garbage — and in the end, I've been most happy with the iPhone. But with streaming media services becoming something I use more and more in the last couple of years, not being able to background Pandora/Last.fm/spotify/etc has become a deal-breaker for me.

    So if the iPhone adds that, I'll be happy — if not, I'm off to Android.

  14. Ewan, serves you right going for the 'fashionable' phone. Worry not, their are companies out 'there' working on handsets that will give you a Sim free handset with GSM, Wifi, 3G and dare I say it – Wimax access and of course multitasking on the apps, both client and server side.

    Oh dear, I think the companies that deliver electricity might be able to move in on the greedy MNO's soon with mobile Wimax (Projects happening now in Scandinavia)

    Plus, with multiple access points (for the handsets) we will get a take on least cost routing, not for voice of course but for how you want to send and receive data on your handset, with a great user experience and the handset/network decides the least cost route uplink and down.

    Soon Apple will be just an old fashion. I am actually dismayed that many of you have jumped onto the fashion wagon [even when it is walled garden].

    Over from Belgium soon [once the Eurostar twats can make the trains go] will bell you to meet and chat about the latest escapades.

  15. I just want to add it's a beautiful picture and I also have n97 but use the iPhone in preference. I know multitasking will come in the future but barring the smartphone category we forget that nokia's main bread and butter s40 and the likes of samsung motorola lg and the smaller manufacturers mobile works with the same premise as apple's non multitasking so it is not surprising that perhaps apple saw multitasking as a low priority in the initial creation of the iPhone. And don't forget how many nokia's growl and protest low ram due to the strangle hold limitation of ram that exists on nokia's smartphones. I have yet to try the apple multitasking apps but I will as there are one or two apps I would like to multitasking with. And I look forward to the day I can once again buy a symbian with xenon and ram in one bundle. In the meantime I will sell my n97 and hold on to my n82.

  16. “Oh dear, I think the companies that deliver electricity might be able to move in on the greedy MNO's soon with mobile Wimax (Projects happening now in Scandinavia)”

    er, no. Let's see:

    Laws of physics unchanged? check.
    Modulation code scheme limitations unchanged? check.
    Cost of building or renting space on towers/buildings unchanged? check.
    Mechanism for purchase of licenced spectrum unchanged? check.
    Underlying ROI of MNO's vs utilities unchanged? check.
    High cost of developing/manufacturing bespoke chipsets as opposed to following global standards unchanged? check.

    Not holding my breath.

  17. One thing in the iPhone's favour: when multitasking does come out, it will be a 5-minute one-click upgrade via iTunes for the millions who have one. Like MMS was, or cut'n'paste.

    Beat that S60 😉

    (Disclaimer: not sure how well Android handles OS upgrades from the consumer POV)

  18. I have to agree. The main thing Ewan is complaining about is a problem with an individual apps, not the iPhone's inability to multitask. It is somewhat of a problem, but with apps like Tweetie easily picking up where they left off, the lack of multitasking is not as huge as you might think it is.

    It is worthwhile pointing out the iPhone multitasks in one important way: when you're on a call, you can use an app.

  19. am on the verge of switching to another device, can't face Blackberry and can't face the Nokia menu structure. Maybe Android is the next frontier?

    http://www.wapframe.com
    (Mobile website builder and mobile marketing solutions provider)
    228 park Avenue S
    New York

  20. euan, as ever you are making a very sound arguement here, but rather than comparing it to the (v good) N86 how about the marvelous N900?! as i type this comment back home at the folks on my 900 i've got a youtube vid buffering, pics being sent all over the place via pixelpipe, a pdf attachment, netvibes and bounce all running away in the background…2 taps and i can access any of them, Apple need to pull their finger out!!

    cheers and merry christmas

    Johnny

  21. I agree with derloos. It's just you. This is one of those million blogs post which tries (and fails) to be different and prove that the iPhone isn't that great a phone.

    It isn't the perfect phone. That I agree. But compared to the Nokias, Samsungs, and Sony Ericssons. Boy, it's a FANTASTIC device.

    Do I want a phone that multi tasks? Of course! But what's the point of multitasking with a device that isn't fast, responsive, and intuitive.

  22. Iphone will not have multitasking. The benefits of not-to-multitask :
    1-All apps launch with same speed on every iPhone on planet.
    2-The end user experience of launching any 3rd party app on any iPhone on planet is same. One fix to a problem fixes all problems.
    3-Apps cant see each other->better security as a trojaned app can't read other app's data.

    With multitasking 3rd paryty apps could behave differently depending on which apps you have installed / what apps are running => app conflicts=> support nightmare.Requires renewed app coding principles and still better appstore code review and quality control.

  23. I wouldn't hold your breath. Apple didn't add multitasking to Macs until about 10 years after Windows had it.

  24. if your iphone is jailbroken, I recommend qtweeter. Hmm, actually it won't help you if you want to send to flickR, but if you want to tweet or facebook the picture, it does pretty much as you describe.

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