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The biggest 4.2 feature

Night Spring said:
No. It's Direct Control, and for me, it shows up directly after the two apps you mentioned. Totally not sure why it isn't showing up for you! :(
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damn i really want this app as well! i'll try a reboot and hopefully it'll magically appear :(

Edit: i had a look in Changes and it was there, for some reason i just wasn't showing up in manager>Sources>BigBoss. Weird :/
 
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roland.g said:
And AirPlay, but I have been using the AirTunes feature and the remote app for a long time, and as an original Apple TV owner yet to upgrade, AirPlay won't allow me to push video or images directly from an iPad or iPhone to my Apple TV.
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Sucks for you, but it's likely that many more people already own the new AppleTv than ever bought the old one. I'm really looking forward to this feature.

roland.g said:
Multitasking is great. But really. Home & Launch isn't that hard, and sorry to say most developers haven't gotten on board with supporting multitasking in their iPhone apps.
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Home and launch is not even remotely the same thing as multi-tasking. The ability to save app state and quickly switch between apps is invaluable - that's why so many people have been installing the 4.2 betas. Full app support from developers will come faster than you think. I used Backgrounder for years, but Apple's multi-tasking truly is better - especially in battery life.
 
Home and launch was a bloody pain, and why I got onto the beta train as soon as possible (Ive never bothered jail breaking). As nice as folders are, wow, just wow, at the people who think thats the most significant upgrade!
 
yegon said:
Home and launch was a bloody pain, and why I got onto the beta train as soon as possible (Ive never bothered jail breaking). As nice as folders are, wow, just wow, at the people who think thats the most significant upgrade!
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Hard as it may be to imagine, not everyone needs multitasking on an iPad, and if you don't need multitasking, then folders would be the most significant new feature on 4.2.

For me, the only times I want multitasking on the iPad is when an app is doing something like downloading files or otherwise updating itself and I get bored and want to do something else while I wait. I also have a few audio apps I sometimes like to run in the background, and a few alarm apps, but the thing is, the times I use them are few and far between. So I can very well imagine that some people would simply never need multitasking -- in fact, I know a few people like that. They only use their iPad to read books/internet and check email. So no, they probably wouldn't even notice that iOS 4 has multitasking. :D
 
Well, I don't really multitask per se, but the experience of fast app switching makes the experience a billion times better imo. Most common example being browsing - I use iCab with multiple tabs open and having to reload tabs every time I wished to change the podcast I was listening too or respond to an email....gah. The experience is night and day for me, which was confirmed a few weeks ago when I used my mates 3.2.2 iPad briefly - it was a real chore in comparison.
 
Night Spring said:
Hard as it may be to imagine, not everyone needs multitasking on an iPad, and if you don't need multitasking, then folders would be the most significant new feature on 4.2.

For me, the only times I want multitasking on the iPad is when an app is doing something like downloading files or otherwise updating itself and I get bored and want to do something else while I wait. I also have a few audio apps I sometimes like to run in the background, and a few alarm apps, but the thing is, the times I use them are few and far between. So I can very well imagine that some people would simply never need multitasking -- in fact, I know a few people like that. They only use their iPad to read books/internet and check email. So no, they probably wouldn't even notice that iOS 4 has multitasking. :D
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They'll notice when their app doesn't have to sit and re-load every time they have to leave it for whatever reason. Having come from an iPhone 4 to the iPad just recently, this was the one huge, glaring flaw with this otherwise superb device. I can't believe people continue to justify its absence. What's the harm in having it? If you don't use apps that 'do' something in the background, there is absolutely no change in battery life whatsoever, because app state is saved in RAM.
 
zhenya said:
Having come from an iPhone 4 to the iPad just recently, this was the one huge, glaring flaw with this otherwise superb device.
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Yup, same here. My iPad felt like the iPhone's big daft brother the moment I laid my hands on the 4 on launch day and the ensuing couple of months were a trifle annoying.
 
mamema said:
so lets see, i'm on jailbreak wit FW 3.2

Airpint - there is an app for that......
Airplay - very satisfied Airvideo user
Multitasking - Backgrounder works fine
GameCenter - Huhu don't need it.....
Folders - SBCategories works fine

So the upgrade has nothing for me?
Oh wait the lock switch which is then a mute switch i didn't need...so great....

Where IS the biggest 4.2 feature again?
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Shorter battery: There's no app for that...
 
zhenya said:
They'll notice when their app doesn't have to sit and re-load every time they have to leave it for whatever reason. Having come from an iPhone 4 to the iPad just recently, this was the one huge, glaring flaw with this otherwise superb device. I can't believe people continue to justify its absence. What's the harm in having it? If you don't use apps that 'do' something in the background, there is absolutely no change in battery life whatsoever, because app state is saved in RAM.
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I'm not trying to argue against multitasking, just trying to explain why some people don't see it as the biggest feature of iOS4.2. You may be right that once they have it, they'd appreciate the difference, but right now, they aren't missing what they've never had.
 
Really? Folder? Probably my least important feature. Don't get me wrong, I will use them for apps I don't open to often, and apps with ugly icons. Maybe I will make some folders for games, but thats about it. Otherwise, I like having all my apps layed out on the screen (though I leave the bottom rows empty).

Multitasking is definitely my biggest feature. I listen to a lot of internet radio (Spark Radio FTW!), and it will be nice to be able to run this in the background. Although, I worry how it will impact battery life.

I've only played with the GM for a few minutes this morning though, so we'll see how I feel later tonight.
 
Mission control!

Opps, this is iOS and not mac OS. Sorry. What are the differences again?
 
mamema said:
so lets see, i'm on jailbreak wit FW 3.2

Airpint - there is an app for that......
Airplay - very satisfied Airvideo user
Multitasking - Backgrounder works fine
GameCenter - Huhu don't need it.....
Folders - SBCategories works fine

So the upgrade has nothing for me?
Oh wait the lock switch which is then a mute switch i didn't need...so great....

Where IS the biggest 4.2 feature again?
Click to expand...

Wow, you're my hero. Obviously the op's comment was for owners who don't violate the license agreement and jailbreak. So, I hope you can find some really cool unauthorized apps that won't screw up your iPad too much.
 
Blorzoga said:
Wow, you're my hero. Obviously the op's comment was for owners who don't violate the license agreement and jailbreak. So, I hope you can find some really cool unauthorized apps that won't screw up your iPad too much.
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+1. While I really don't care about people jailbreaking or not, that really wasn't my point. I don't care if they do or don't j/b, but I don't really need them telling me that I should do it and I'm missing out on all the blah blah blah and headaches when I don't. What is included and later updated with releases and available through the App Store is fine for me.

And I do use Multitasking on my iPhone and realize that it allows for background tasks like radio and whatnot, but I don't listen to Pandora or any other radio or use hardly any apps that need to be backgrounded. And while the MT bar is nice to access apps, I find that more often than not I launch them from their folder or however they are located on my iP4 home screens. I do wish more apps would really utilize the MT ability to save state, but I think many devs have been slow to get on the ball with that, just like I would prefer a universal update, rather than pixel doubling that many apps still have. So many apps now have HD or iPad specific versions that charge more, re-buying the app, however it isn't enough to redo the app for the larger screen real estate if you want to charge more, you need to be innovative and redesign the app layout and functionality to make the iPad app worth my consideration.

Anyone who has been using the GM or any of the 4.2 betas know how many apps can go into a iPad folder. The iPhone is limited by screen, so I didn't know if the iPad can fit more than 12.

Lastly, on folders, it would be great to see Apple replace the current folder look, maybe in iOS 5 with folder icons, maybe similar to an OS X folder icon with a Utilities, Games, and other default icon set that can be added to so that you can make your folders identifiable not by just the name or the mini collection of icons in it. But I don't see that happening.
 
roland.g said:
Anyone who has been using the GM or any of the 4.2 betas know how many apps can go into a iPad folder. The iPhone is limited by screen, so I didn't know if the iPad can fit more than 12.
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Yes, it can fit more than 12 -- I think I heard 20, which would be the same as a full screen of apps. I haven't actually tried it though, since I didn't have 20 apps I wanted to group into a folder, and dragging that many apps back out of the folder would be a pain. :p

Lastly, on folders, it would be great to see Apple replace the current folder look, maybe in iOS 5 with folder icons, maybe similar to an OS X folder icon with a Utilities, Games, and other default icon set that can be added to so that you can make your folders identifiable not by just the name or the mini collection of icons in it. But I don't see that happening.
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See, you just demonstrated why people jailbreak -- we don't have to wait on Apple to implement something. Haven't seen a jailbreak mod that allows us to use custom icons for folders yet, but I feel it's a matter of time before someone figures it out.
 
Symmetry is just a little thing. But it would be nice to see Apple change iOS icon layout to be centered. If you have 2 icons in your dock, it centers them, it doesn't put them on the left. But if you have 2 icons on a home screen or a row of a home screen it puts them to the left, leaving it feeling unbalanced. Just a little thing, but would be nice.
 
mamema said:
so lets see, i'm on jailbreak wit FW 3.2

Airpint - there is an app for that......
Airplay - very satisfied Airvideo user
Multitasking - Backgrounder works fine
GameCenter - Huhu don't need it.....
Folders - SBCategories works fine

So the upgrade has nothing for me?
Oh wait the lock switch which is then a mute switch i didn't need...so great....

Where IS the biggest 4.2 feature again?
Click to expand...

Because everyone jailbreaks.
 
roland.g said:
Symmetry is just a little thing. But it would be nice to see Apple change iOS icon layout to be centered. If you have 2 icons in your dock, it centers them, it doesn't put them on the left. But if you have 2 icons on a home screen or a row of a home screen it puts them to the left, leaving it feeling unbalanced. Just a little thing, but would be nice.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, I've been trying to arrange my folders or add more trying to make things look balanced but it doesn't work since they don't get balanced if theres only one or two in a row.
 
Well, I was surprised.

I had been testing Apps with Beta 1, 2, and 3. (blank iPad, just Apps I had written.)

When the GM hit, I loaded it onto my iPad as an OS Update, keeping all 3rd party apps and info.

Folders was a MUCH bigger deal than I thought it would be. I had been using them on my iPod Touch 4G, but I have a lot more on my iPad. (10 Pages of Apps). Now I have 2 pages of Apps. The first page is a hybrid with a few frequently used folders (like News, and Programming), and Apps I use all the time, like Goodreader, Evernote, Wiki Edit, Pages, Numbers. The second has folders with Apps I use less frequently.

The second big thing for me was "Search in the page" for Safari. Search is really useful when browsing documentation and other long pages.

I thought Multitasking would be the killer feature, but I really haven't noticed it. Task swapping is a bit smoother, but really, I don't find myself running stuff "in the background".
 
Multitasking, unified inbox, multiple exchange accounts, and folders for me. I rarely print so AirPrint doesn't help me much but it is good to have.
 
How about the ability to open a PDF in Safari and save it to iBooks or the improvement in performance while surfing in Safari?
 
Skype

Just noticed that with 4.2, skype can now stay running when the screen is locked. I use this all the time as a speakerphone for conference calls and this will be great to save battery life!
 
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