iPhone OS4

[Frosstbyte]

Well, I was really excited about this announcement, and I kept being excited as I read through the features.

And then I got to the end, and the only feature that anyone gives a rat's ass about (multitasking) isn't being developed for anything but the newest iPod touches and the iPhone 3GS. So my 3G that I bought less than a year ago will not be able to multitask.

Sigh...so much expectation only to be met with glaring disappointment. I guess I have to wait two years until my "upgrade" schedule roles around so I can drop a few hundred dollars before I can do something as bizarre and complicated as using two applications at the same time.

[SecretMethod70]

It's also not real multitasking in any way, shape, or form. It will only allow you to do a few pre-defined functions in the background, while iPhone OS still closes your app. It will also require app developers to waste time redeveloping their apps in order to take advantage of the "feature."

My AT&T contract is up this summer, and I'm looking at everything possible to find what I think is the best phone for me. The other options have advanced so far ahead of iPhone, I don't think I'd even place it in my top 10 if I were to create a list, and that's even after this new info.

The iPhone has a nice and intuitive OS. Fine. WebOS is better, though, if that's the main thing you care about. The iPhone has a very large app store. True. Android Marketplace is growing exponentially and will catch up fairly soon. (Not to mention that, in both cases, sheer number means nothing, because the only way you get to 150k apps is to have mostly crap.) Other than that, I really have a hard time seeing why I would want even the newest iPhone. This wasn't a pre-ordained conclusion for me though: I'm critical of Apple, but I was honestly strongly considering the iPhone as a possibility for my next phone... until I actually took the time to educate myself a bit about what's out there today.

By not getting an iPhone, you can get a bigger screen if you want it, the ability to install unsigned apps if you want them, the ability to buy non-DRM'd music from Amazon MP3 if you want it (iTunes still embeds your name in every mp3 you buy), a perfectly enjoyable user experience if not quite as good, a faster processor, better cameras (digital zoom is meaningless and actually bad), and more carrier options.

Apple failed to catch up to the rest of the market today, and thus failed to convince me to reconsider the iPhone for my next purchase. Palm is the next one that's on the edge: webOS is a great OS (and widely considered to be the best mobile OS) but the hardware of the Palm Pre and Pixi is inadequate. If they want to be considered this summer, they need to announce a new phone soon, and hopefully even the next version of webOS. It's unlikely, considering their financial troubles.

Which leaves me where I stand now: almost certain that my next phone will be an Android phone, and probably the HTC Evo 4G. That phone looks like it will be an absolute beast, so assuming it delivers on most of its promise it will be very hard for anyone to win me over at this point in the game. But who knows: 2.5 months is a long time in cell phone land.