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Well for instance. On my Hero, I can be online and have MSN as well as Yahoo messenger open. I can be browsing websites and if I get messaged, it shows up in my notification bar. I can drag it down, tap it and reply and then go back into the web page. You cannot do that with an iPhone currently. I am not even sure 4.0 will allow that. That would be multi tasking.
That's what multitasking is? I thought it'd be a bigger thing than that.

I can browse the web on Safari while be logged in on eBuddy, and when i get a message it shows up on the screen and I can either ignore it or open up eBuddy and read it and reply, and then go back to my browsing on Safari. All this while having a timer running and listening to my music. Is any of that multitasking?
 
Really? Look at a list of what both phones have side by side and it's not even close. The nexus one wins every category. Just the ability to be able to upgrade the memory with a larger SD card is a huge plus. RAM is another issue. Even the iPad I am typing on only has 256MB while my HTC Hero has 288. That's ridiculous. I mean seriously, the iPhone wasn't even able to do MMS messaging until recently without a jailbreak. Even basic phones could do that. Apple really needs to step it up.

Are you an Apple user or are you just a tech-head that's come in to troll? I don't know because I don't hang around here that much and threads like this are why.

In case you don't know, I'll help out: you can't compare Apple products and those of their competitors by putting spec sheets next to each other and ticking off all the things the other guys have that are better. It doesn't work like that.

Where Apple stuff is considered better is in the user experience, not whether it's got 3 different I/O ports or an expandable memory slot or a removable battery or a task manager or whatever. And who cares what the iPhone wasn't able to do until recently? Do you lose 'points' or something for only recently adding C&P or MMS or something?

Isn't it more pertinent to look at how they implemented the stuff they do feature and see that they are almost always a better experience than other phones?

Ridiculous post, sorry.
 
That's what multitasking is? I thought it'd be a bigger thing than that.

I can browse the web on Safari while be logged in on eBuddy, and when i get a message it shows up on the screen and I can either ignore it or open up eBuddy and read it and reply, and then go back to my browsing on Safari. All this while having a timer running and listening to my music. Is any of that multitasking?

No, you have to jump out of safari and then jump out of ebuddy. All Ebuddy is doing is push notifications. Totally different deal.
 
How do you do this? I cant figure out how to keep my MSN or Yahoo open while I browse on Safari.
Since last year when iPhone OS 3 came out, you don't have to keep programs open (like MSN/Yahoo) in order for them to receive data (while you're in another app, like Safari).

It's called using push messages, and it's kind of cool. For example, on my iPhone, Facebook, Mint.com, Good, WeatherAlert, Zillow.com, Distant Suns, AP Mobile, Meebo, i.TV, eBay, and Words can all send data to my iPhone (like alerts, updates, instant messages, etc), without me having to open and keep every single one of them running simultaneously in the background.

That feature's been there since last year, when iPhone 3.0 was released.

Can the Android OS do that, or do you actually have to have each program open and running for it to receive data?
 
Explain to me, how the experience is different to the end user?

Iphone

In Safari or Whatever other app
-> Push notification pops up pausing whatever you are doing on the screen
-> Push Reply. Safari/App Closes -> Ebuddy Opens up
-> When you are done you press home button
-> Reopen Safari

Android
-> In browser or whatever ap
-> Message shows up in notification top bar (Like where you currently see your Signal bars and Carrier on the iphone) and doesn't stop whatever you are doing
-> Can just pull down top bar reply to your message
-> push it back and walla still in the other program at whatever state it was in.

When you talk about an app like browsing the actual time is not really much different but overall workflow with it is. This becomes more apparent when you are using different apps like games where you have to jump out of your game to reply. I'll try to find a video that illustrates it better. The fact you have to close the first program to reply can be a very big hassle, especially programs that take long to load or do not save their state.
 
Well for instance. On my Hero, I can be online and have MSN as well as Yahoo messenger open. I can be browsing websites and if I get messaged, it shows up in my notification bar. I can drag it down, tap it and reply and then go back into the web page. You cannot do that with an iPhone currently. I am not even sure 4.0 will allow that. That would be multi tasking.

I get that, but you specifically "true" multitasking. What's your definition of true vs. false multitasking?

The keynote specifically showed that will be available in 4.0. While I do find it annoying in iPhone OS that if I navigate to another app, from Safari, the Safari page generally reloads, even if i was gone for only a few seconds. 4.0 will bring you back to the exact state. Push notifications are a good solution, but i think 4.0 will nail it down.
 
What is Apple doing with OS 4? They are moving one step closer, to wiping every other phone, and slate off the face of the planet.
They are filling the gaps, refining. Doing things slowly, but making sure they are done right.

I saw the Keynote, and the multi-tasking is amazing. I can't wait until we get to know the other 93+ features in OS 4.

Right. Besides, who needs competition from the other companies? Us consumers sure don't! Maybe Google/Microsoft/HTC/everyone else should just give up so we can all just pay Apple for the iPhone. Ah, a life without choices would be fantastic!
 
Right. Besides, who needs competition from the other companies? Us consumers sure don't! Maybe Google/Microsoft/HTC/everyone else should just give up so we can all just pay Apple for the iPhone. Ah, a life without choices would be fantastic!

I do appreciate the kick that has come in the form of Droid/Nexus/Palm, albeit a small kick. They have some cool features, but they don't have the whole package. iPhone has the whole package, lacking some features. It's easier to add features, when the time comes.

Without the competition, Apple wouldn't have the need to step it up and give multitasking...they could've just kept giving up solely push notifications.
 
The keynote specifically showed that will be available in 4.0. While I do find it annoying in iPhone OS that if I navigate to another app, from Safari, the Safari page generally reloads, even if i was gone for only a few seconds. 4.0 will bring you back to the exact state. Push notifications are a good solution, but i think 4.0 will nail it down.

If system resources are limited, Safari more than likely will still have to reload the page if you switch away and then back to it again.
 
I do appreciate the kick that has come in the form of Droid/Nexus/Palm, albeit a small kick. They have some cool features, but they don't have the whole package. iPhone has the whole package, lacking some features. It's easier to add features, when the time comes.

Without the competition, Apple wouldn't have the need to step it up and give multitasking...they could've just kept giving up solely push notifications.

Although I forgot my sarcasm tags, this was the point I was trying to make. A lot of people here don't seem to understand that companies in competition is what boots innovation. Consumers simply can't lose here I'd say.
 
I get that, but you specifically "true" multitasking. What's your definition of true vs. false multitasking?

Read the post right above yours. I dont consider pause state, resume real multi tasking. I can still continue doing what I am doing on my Hero and still receive multiple messages and decide to pull down my notification bar and reply when I wish. It does not pause whatever I am doing and make me reply as soon as one comes in. Very annoying.
 
Read the post right above yours. I dont consider pause state, resume real multi tasking. I can still continue doing what I am doing on my Hero and still receive multiple messages and decide to pull down my notification bar and reply when I wish. It does not pause whatever I am doing and make me reply as soon as one comes in. Very annoying.
You're making a case for Android's notification system, not preemptive multi-tasking. I think most people would agree that the iPhone's notification system sucks compared to Android's.

I think what people are wondering, if you were to switch away from a program on your Hero (so that it's running in the background, which is what most people mean when they say multi-tasking), what is the app actually doing in the background?

Most of them just sit there, doing very little. Maybe listening for something to happen. Like a chat client, waiting for an IM to arrive.

The classic example of the iPhone 3.0 OS "not" multi-tasking is Pandora. If you switched away from Pandora, the music stopped. iPhone 4.0 fixes that. Programs that play music will continue to run in the background, playing music.

Same with VoIP apps, like Skype. If you switched out of Skype during a call (in iPhone 3.0), the call ended. In iPhone 4.0, VoIPs can continue to run in the background.

If you're working on an app that's doing something, say you're uploading pictures, and it's taking forever, if you switched away in iPhone OS 3.0, that app stopped, and you'd have to start over. In iPhone OS 4.0, apps in the middle of doing stuff (say, uploading pictures) can continue to run in the background until they're done.

So I guess what people are asking about, what type of apps do you run in the background of your Android OS that aren't covered by the situations above?
 
You're making a case for Android's notification system, not preemptive multi-tasking. I think most people would agree that the iPhone's notification system sucks compared to Android's.

I think what people are wondering, if you were to switch away from a program on your Hero (so that it's running in the background, which is what most people mean when they say multi-tasking), what is the app actually doing in the background?

Most of them just sit there, doing very little. Maybe listening for something to happen. Like a chat client, waiting for an IM to arrive.

The classic example of the iPhone 3.0 OS "not" multi-tasking is Pandora. If you switched away from Pandora, the music stopped. iPhone 4.0 fixes that. Programs that play music will continue to run in the background, playing music.

Same with VoIP apps, like Skype. If you switched out of Skype during a call (in iPhone 3.0), the call ended. In iPhone 4.0, VoIPs can continue to run in the background.

If you're working on an app that's doing something, say you're uploading pictures, and it's taking forever, if you switched away in iPhone OS 3.0, that app stopped, and you'd have to start over. In iPhone OS 4.0, apps in the middle of doing stuff (say, uploading pictures) can continue to run in the background until they're done.

So I guess what people are asking about, what type of apps do you run in the background of your Android OS that aren't covered by the situations above?

While it seems like this is fixed in 4.0 (and is one reason it's so frustrating to me that it's not coming out until fall is)...

I bought the iPad after seeing Pages and Numbers as great tools for work.. But the problem is.

When I make my documents I often refer to many other documents to create them.

Having to jump out of Pages, load the other program, load the document i'm referring to (say PDF or even JPG) read a little or copy n paste, close the other program, reopen pages, reopen document... Everytime I want to reference something is pretty much a show stopper to me.

How much easier is it to have multiple sources open while typing up a document and being able to quickly jump between each without having to close or reload anything?

Hmm I might have misunderstood your question. If you mean what doesn't 4.0 cover i'm not sure yet. I think it's a pretty good impementation for now but I would have to see how the apps react to it before I can really decide.
 
This is true. The customization on an Android phone is awesome. Dont like the keyboard? Download a different one. Dont like your battery icon? Donwload a different one etc...I didnt like the default messenger, so I downloaded a new one. It also has the iPhone skin so my text messages look just like they would on an iPhone :)

Congratulations.

iPhone users use their phone instead of customising it.
 
I'm not an Android user but looking at their 2.1 update:

  • Live Wallpapers (moving background)
  • Additional Home Screens (now five)
  • Updated Home Screen Navigation (can jump directly to a Home Screen)
  • New App Launcher (visual effect)
  • Voice Typing For All Text Fields
  • New Widgets
  • 3D Photo Gallery

I must be missing something because I don't see anything there to claim "huge leaps" and all iPhone OS update "weak". And don't forget the decrease in performace with 2.1.

The iphone and iPod touch also get more sluggish with new major updates. Like 2.x to 3.x, and 1.x to 2.x
 
So on my current iPhone, I can be logged into MSN. While browsing the internet, I will get messaged and get a notification. I can choose to respond to it. When I'm finished, I can go back to my web page.

Please explain the difference.

So I click reply... It closes the safari page, and opens my other MSN app. I reply. Then I have to use my finger and push the home button. Then tap Safari... and wait for the page to re-load because of the lack of enough RAM.
Its a pain in the ass for the worlds best smartphone.
Hope that helps
 
Have you even used both? Android has a persistent beta feel, not nearly as polished as the iPhone or as user-friendly.

Don't get me wrong, nice OS and I'd use it if I didn't have an iPhone, but iPhone is much better if you ask me, even if the apps were on par (and they definitely aren't, both in quantity and quality) it would still be much better from the ease of use alone.

The new multi-tasking is much better than the half-hearted Android solution.

And I don't see how we have less updates than Android. Android 2.0 had what, free navigation and a few other features? We get tons every iteration. Their mass "new number release" had free navigation and a couple other things. Woo. We get seven big ones and over a hundred other ones.

Even 3.0 iPhone tanks Android if you ask me. Walled-gardens have yet to affect me at all, only in a positive, secure way. Apple knows what they're doing, and do they ever do it well.

+1
 
Apple now has completely decimated any notable advantage the Android platform has over the iPhone, aside from unsigned applications. Sure it may be catching up, but it was well appreciated.

I'm jealous of native Voice to Text on my girlfriend's Droid.
 
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