WebOS + Tablet = What the iPad Could Have Been

[Eso]

First, some background on WebOS, in case you don't know:

1.) The home screen consists of a desktop with a row of icons on the bottom (with an application launcher).

3.) Apps launch and are kept as cards on the home screen, which can be re-arranged anyway the user wants.

2.) Apps have two states, full screen and card view. The card view is basically a zoomed-out version of the full app as it continues to run/update. The user can't directly interact with the app until they select it (and it becomes full screen).

What if the WebOS concept was used on the iPad with iPhone apps...



It would be way better and more functional then the crap we are going to get instead. Apps could have 3 different states: mini/widget, iPhone, and iPad (full screen).

The mini/widget sized would be about the size of panels when switching pages in Safari on the iPhone (see above). Basically they would just be zoomed-out versions of the app. Alternatively, mini apps could act as widgets and have some limited interaction such as iPod controls or stock/weather/IM alerts (see below). Dragging the blue bar above the mini would move the app around the home screen, while tapping the blue bar will expand the app to the iPhone size.

The normal iPhone app would run just as they will on the actual iPad. Instead of running against a black backdrop of nothingness, however, it would run on the home screen. Tapping the red X for any app on the home screen will close it.



Finally, a tap on the blue bar for a standard sized app would launch it full screen. Pressing the home button would shrink all apps to mini sized.



Switching between apps would be as easy as tapping on another part of the screen! You could browse the web while keeping track of an IM conversation, monitoring your email inbox, or advancing tracks on the iPod. Running an app in full screen would be one tap on the screen and switching apps would be one tap of the home button. Sigh, one can dream...

 

[Sketh]

While I love my Palm Pre, and even though as soon as I got it I never felt the need to use my iPod touch to browse the internet again, I am happy with keeping iPhone OS and WebOS seperate.

I love card view, and the gesture system, and Palm could make one bad ass tablet, but the iPad software will be great too.

 

[CylonGlitch]

Looks interesting. But I am very much under the impression that the OS they have now on the iPad is not near the version that is the real production version. Even though the iPad will ship with what we see now, I think that sometime in the next few months we will see a major change.

(one could hope, right?)

 

[maghemi]

Interesting concept. It seems like a reasonable idea, my only major concern with running multiple apps is would it compromise performance?

I'd hate to have the thing run like a dog just to have a few apps open at the same time. Personally on the iPhone it's never even been so much as a small issue to only be able to have the one app at a time open.

Not sure it would be too much of an issue on the iTampax.

 

[marksman]

There are reasons why Apple has specifically avoided general multitasking on these devices.

If you don't actual deal with this issues and concerns that they have, I don't understand how it becomes a reasonable alternative.

They have a specific high priority objective they are trying to achieve that causes them to limit the ability to multi-task.

It is not like they couldn't do something similar if they wanted to, however the trade off is not worth the benefit in their eyes, at least not yet. It is going to likely time some more time for the hardware to advance enough to make it more feasible.

 

[Eso]

It is not like they couldn't do something similar if they wanted to, however the trade off is not worth the benefit in their eyes, at least not yet. It is going to likely time some more time for the hardware to advance enough to make it more feasible.

That's a cute idea, but ten years ago I was multi-tasking on my desktop running Windows 95 with an 850 MHz processor and 128 MB of ram.

The iPad and iPhone hardware can multi-task just fine.

 

[marksman]

That's a cute idea, but ten years ago I was multi-tasking on my desktop running Windows 95 with an 850 MHz processor and 128 MB of ram.

The iPad and iPhone hardware can multi-task just fine.

That is why you fail at this. You have no idea as to why they limit multi-tasking, and until you do, you can't propose a solution that is feasible.

Most computers do not multi-task fine. They run slow as sludge and 99% of computer under perform because people have them doing too many unnecessary things at once and most people have no idea how to improve that situation.

 

[Michael CM1]

That's a cute idea, but ten years ago I was multi-tasking on my desktop running Windows 95 with an 850 MHz processor and 128 MB of ram.

The iPad and iPhone hardware can multi-task just fine.

Your Windows 95 desktop PC didn't have battery constraints, especially while trying to keep all the hardware in an enclosure as small as an iPad or iPhone. I would also ask you to revisit your Windows 95 experience and tell me it wasn't full of crashes.

 

[NT1440]

So its essentially the iPad as it is now, just with multitasking.

Is that the big hold up with all these people?

 

[lordhamster]

Re: Multitasking.

I do wish they had some level of Multi-tasking on the iPhone/iPad. So for example i can get a phone call without Navigon shutting down.

That said however, I'd like to see it as an "advanced" option to be turned on in the menus.

Most non computer savy people I know (about 80% of the folks I deal with) launch tons of programs without ever closing them. Sure they may use one or two at a time, but none of them use all of the 11 programs they have open on their taskbar/system tray when they call me complaining their computer is slow.

 

[NT1440]

I do hope that if Apple chooses to implement some form of multitasking it is made a bit more intuitive than the webOS version. I've played around with it a few times and while it certainly is cool, its easy to get lost in your open apps.

 

[marksman]

I suggested this a long time ago for the iPhone.

They just need to create a way to slot one or two apps that can continue to run in the background while you do other things. Perhaps apps will have to have a special certification to be able to run in that slot or whatever. But it would address a significant number of issues for a lot of people when they talk about running pandora at the same time as doing other things, etc etc.

 

[hitekalex]

The normal iPhone app would run just as they will on the actual iPad. Instead of running against a black backdrop of nothingness, however, it would run on the home screen. Tapping the red X for any app on the home screen will close it.

Multitasking aside.. the way Apple implemented the classic iPhone app compatibility mode should not have made it outside their dev labs. They could have done a number interesting things with 480x320 app mode, but running a single app against a giant black screen shouldn't have been one of them. I actually could not believe it when Jobs demoed this during the keynote.

I sincerely hope they are working on changing this.. and soon.