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

By: alexanderKent123

alexanderKent123 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:55:16 +0000

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By: stuartalexander

stuartalexander — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:10:21 +0000

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.

By: dansumption

dansumption — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:09:50 +0000

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

By: Ewan

Ewan — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:28:24 +0000

Fisher Price

By: Ewan

Ewan — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:27:32 +0000

So you reckon the iPhone will stay fisher-price-esque?

By: Securapple

Securapple — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:51:22 +0000

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.

By: Ben Israel

Ben Israel — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:42:42 +0000

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.

By: Ewan

Ewan — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:19:26 +0000

Nay bother!

By: Ewan

Ewan — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 04:19:12 +0000

Fair point on the N900!

By: John Markson

John Markson — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:39:46 +0000

Ewan many apologies, spelt your name wrong first time round, too much vino!

By: John Markson

John Markson — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:38:37 +0000

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

By: txtimpact

txtimpact — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:15:18 +0000

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)
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New York

By: phoneboy

phoneboy — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:03:10 +0000

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.

By: Mike42

Mike42 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:56:18 +0000

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)

By: Mike42

Mike42 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:53:02 +0000

"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.

By: dani2xll

dani2xll — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:51:17 +0000

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.

By: Ewan

Ewan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:30:30 +0000

Well I look forward to hearing about the latest escapades… And bring on some decent handsets!

By: Paul [Loopy]

Paul [Loopy] — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:29:15 +0000

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.

By: andychin

andychin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:01:55 +0000

that's one particular reason that I am holding on with an iPhone.

By: ollysk2

ollysk2 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:33:27 +0000

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.

By: James Burland

James Burland — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:04:05 +0000

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.

By: ollysk2

ollysk2 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:47:10 +0000

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”.

By: penna

penna — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:19:59 +0000

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.

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:37:14 +0000

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).

By: Gerry White

Gerry White — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:35:24 +0000

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)…