5 ms·

Nice opportunity for Apple to use the iPad as an entry-point for customers. It worked for the iPod, which I think made a lot of people more comfortable with the

by kadavy 15y ago

Nice opportunity for Apple to use the iPad as an entry-point for customers. It worked for the iPod, which I think made a lot of people more comfortable with the idea of using Apple products; and probably prompted many people's first MacBook purchases.

joaquin_win 15y ago
I agree with this. I have a nexus one and an ipad and if apple gets multitasking correctly when I decide to change phone I'll probably go with an iPhone.
- Samuel_Michon 15y ago
  The way iOS handles multitasking is very similar to how Android does it. Why would it be good enough for your Nexus One, but not for an iPhone? http://www.pcworld.com/article/199891/geek_101_android_and_ios_multitasking_compared.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/199891/geek_101_android_and_i... http://www.pcworld.com/article/199830/apple_ios_4_vs_android_multitasking_which_approach_is_better_for_users.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/199830/apple_ios_4_vs_android...
  - joaquin_win 15y ago
    So you think it's a problem on how specific apps are coded? (please see my comment above).
    - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
      I've never used Colloquy, so I can't judge its quality. According to its product page, it supports multitasking. On my iPhone 4 and iPad, I can switch back and forth between my frequently used apps (NetNewsWire, Instapaper, GoodReader, Evernote, Omnifocus, Elements) and they rarely have to relaunch. When I return to an app, everything is how I left it.
- dangero 15y ago
  What's wrong with their current multitasking solution?
  - AllenKids 15y ago
    Technically I prefer Apple's approach. Android devices will always, sooner or later, reach a point that you have to manually kill off some apps. But the app switch interface in iOS is less than desirable, it'll quickly clutter up even if you do not feel the lag, you'd wanna X everything off just so you don't have to scroll to the left 6 times to reach the app you intended for.
    - glhaynes 15y ago
      I'm always surprised when people do this - I don't see people compulsively clearing out their Recent Items. I wonder if the only people who do this are people who are used to closing apps on a computer to conserve resources.
    - pohl 15y ago
      The app switch list is designed as a convenient way to switch to the most-recently-used apps. If you have to scroll 6 times to find an app, then you're not switching to a MRU app, but a LRU app instead. In that case, finding the app icon in springboard will likely be faster. Clearing the list is a symptom of misusing the feature.
    - barrkel 15y ago
      Speak for yourself re Android - I never have to kill off apps in my Nexus One running 2.3.
      - joaquin_win 15y ago
        I don't kill anything either. What I meant by my original comment is that for me it doesn't work as I'd like. It may be an issue with the apps I use or iOS's way of doing multi-tasking. I listen to 5by5 podcasts (atomic web browser) and follow the discussions on irc (Colloquy for iPad). I someone posts a link on the irc and I follow it when I come back to colloquy I don't get any of the messages sent while I wasn't looking... When I use the AndChat in my Nexus One I can happily go watch a lolcat and when I get back I can read all of the I can haz messages everyone sent while I was looking at the site. That use case is the one I consider broken in iOS, maybe Apple doesn't care about people who still use irc or maybe it's Colloquy that's broken.
- Terretta 15y ago
  Enable Dev mode (by plugging into Xcode) then you can swipe left and right between apps, or push up to see the MRU app list. The swipe left and right makes it feel the apps are running, you're just switching screens. Convenient and fast.
scottkduncan 15y ago
I think this sentiment is right on and that the article cited overemphasizes the importance of syncing and interoperability across devices. This is an important issue for the early adopters who use consumer electronics to their fullest potential, but not for mainstream consumers who use devices as stand-alones and base purchase decisions more on what they are comfortable with and branding than technical features.

by kadavy 15y ago

joaquin_win 15y ago

I agree with this. I have a nexus one and an ipad and if apple gets multitasking correctly when I decide to change phone I'll probably go with an iPhone.

Samuel_Michon 15y ago
The way iOS handles multitasking is very similar to how Android does it. Why would it be good enough for your Nexus One, but not for an iPhone? http://www.pcworld.com/article/199891/geek_101_android_and_ios_multitasking_compared.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/199891/geek_101_android_and_i... http://www.pcworld.com/article/199830/apple_ios_4_vs_android_multitasking_which_approach_is_better_for_users.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/199830/apple_ios_4_vs_android...
- joaquin_win 15y ago
  So you think it's a problem on how specific apps are coded? (please see my comment above).
  - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
    I've never used Colloquy, so I can't judge its quality. According to its product page, it supports multitasking. On my iPhone 4 and iPad, I can switch back and forth between my frequently used apps (NetNewsWire, Instapaper, GoodReader, Evernote, Omnifocus, Elements) and they rarely have to relaunch. When I return to an app, everything is how I left it.
dangero 15y ago
What's wrong with their current multitasking solution?
- AllenKids 15y ago
  Technically I prefer Apple's approach. Android devices will always, sooner or later, reach a point that you have to manually kill off some apps. But the app switch interface in iOS is less than desirable, it'll quickly clutter up even if you do not feel the lag, you'd wanna X everything off just so you don't have to scroll to the left 6 times to reach the app you intended for.
  - glhaynes 15y ago
    I'm always surprised when people do this - I don't see people compulsively clearing out their Recent Items. I wonder if the only people who do this are people who are used to closing apps on a computer to conserve resources.
  - pohl 15y ago
    The app switch list is designed as a convenient way to switch to the most-recently-used apps. If you have to scroll 6 times to find an app, then you're not switching to a MRU app, but a LRU app instead. In that case, finding the app icon in springboard will likely be faster. Clearing the list is a symptom of misusing the feature.
  - barrkel 15y ago
    Speak for yourself re Android - I never have to kill off apps in my Nexus One running 2.3.
    - joaquin_win 15y ago
      I don't kill anything either. What I meant by my original comment is that for me it doesn't work as I'd like. It may be an issue with the apps I use or iOS's way of doing multi-tasking. I listen to 5by5 podcasts (atomic web browser) and follow the discussions on irc (Colloquy for iPad). I someone posts a link on the irc and I follow it when I come back to colloquy I don't get any of the messages sent while I wasn't looking... When I use the AndChat in my Nexus One I can happily go watch a lolcat and when I get back I can read all of the I can haz messages everyone sent while I was looking at the site. That use case is the one I consider broken in iOS, maybe Apple doesn't care about people who still use irc or maybe it's Colloquy that's broken.
Terretta 15y ago
Enable Dev mode (by plugging into Xcode) then you can swipe left and right between apps, or push up to see the MRU app list. The swipe left and right makes it feel the apps are running, you're just switching screens. Convenient and fast.

scottkduncan 15y ago

I think this sentiment is right on and that the article cited overemphasizes the importance of syncing and interoperability across devices. This is an important issue for the early adopters who use consumer electronics to their fullest potential, but not for mainstream consumers who use devices as stand-alones and base purchase decisions more on what they are comfortable with and branding than technical features.