Multitasking Archive

  • iOS 4 apps: the best of what’s new and updated (live updates!)

    iOS 4 apps: the best of what’s new and updated (live updates!)

    Posted on June 21, 2010 | No Comments
    Although iOS 4 is out now with 1500 new APIs including multitasking support, your apps won't support all those new features out of the gate -- they'll need to be updated to take full advantage of the iPhone's new tricks. Happily, Apple started accepting iOS 4-ready apps last week, so there's a handful of interesting apps already available, and we're sure more are on the way. Here's a quick list of what you can check out right now -- we'll be updating this as we go, so check back for more!
    • Dropbox: Everyone's favorite file-syncing tool can now sync and complete uploads in the background, and also adds in support for fast app switching.
    • Evernote: the notes-in-the-cloud app adds support for fast app switching, and can continue to record audio notes in the background.
    • Pandora: Yes, you can finally play Pandora in the background -- and the quick music controls on the left-most panel of the app switcher even control playback when it's in the background. Nifty.
    • New York Times: Nothing major, but the Gray Lady supports fast app switching, so you can jump right back into an article without reloading.
    • ESPN ScoreCenter: Supports fast app switching, although you'll still have to open it up for scores to refresh, since there's no background updating API.
    • How to Cook Everything: Funny that a cookbook is one of the first iOS4 apps out there, but we're Mark Bittman fans, so this is pretty cool -- it supports fast app switching, so you don't have to reload a recipe every time you close the app. Oh, and it's got newer high-res art for the iPhone 4. Tasty.
    • Fandango: Now has fast app switching, so you can juggle other tasks while buying your movie tickets.
    • LinkedIn: Yep, LinkedIn's iPhone app adds fast app switching to the mix.
    So those are some highlights -- we'll keep updating as we go here, but most of the early iOS 4-ready apps are just adding fast app switching. We won't lie, once you see it in action, you'll wonder how you lived without it, but we're still waiting to see developers get wild on those 1499 other new APIs -- let us know what you're seeing out there!

    Update: We're listing off more as we find them after the break -- check it!

    Update 2: "Tested for iOS4" doesn't guarantee new features, but if you want to know which apps can make that claim, here's a handy Google search. [Thanks, jihuiwen!]

    Continue reading iOS 4 apps: the best of what's new and updated (live updates!)

    iOS 4 apps: the best of what's new and updated (live updates!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility

    Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility

    Posted on June 18, 2010 | No Comments
    Of the app categories to benefit most from iOS 4's new multitasking features, turn-by-turn navigation is certainly pretty high on the list -- after all, no one wants their route to be interrupted by a phone call mere moments before a critical intersection or exit ramp. Navigon has just posted a video showing off the multitasking compatibility in the upcoming 1.6 release of its iPhone app, and it's pretty neat -- you can switch out of the app and come back to the exact same place where you left off, of course, but it'll also continue to play voice guidance during phone calls (hopefully, you can turn that off if you find it annoying). Follow the break for the video.

    Continue reading Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility

    Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Multifl0w project teaches Apple a thing or two about iPhone multitasking

    Multifl0w project teaches Apple a thing or two about iPhone multitasking

    Posted on November 30, 2009 | No Comments
    Though it's relented on MMS and copy / paste, Apple has stubbornly, steadfastly continued to hold the line on the multitasking issue throughout the iPhone's two and a half-year career. Though it has a point about traditional multitasking burning through power, competing smartphone platforms -- scratch that, every competing platform -- has proven that it's still plenty possible to get a full days' life out of a battery while running a full host of apps in the background. Of course, the jailbroken iPhone community knows this full well, which is why there are a number of utilities available for backgrounding apps, but maybe none quite as slick as the just-released multifl0w. Taking a cue from the Pre, multifl0w adds backgrounded apps to a horizontally-scrollable gallery of cards; the only thing it's missing is a swipe gesture for quitting, but it's a minor point. Apple, we know you're seeing how good this is -- is there a defensible reason for why we still have to h4x0r our handsets to get this?

    [Thanks, Jai]

    Continue reading Multifl0w project teaches Apple a thing or two about iPhone multitasking

    Multifl0w project teaches Apple a thing or two about iPhone multitasking originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Study: Multitaskers actually worse at processing information than non-multitaskers

    Study: Multitaskers actually worse at processing information than non-multitaskers

    Posted on August 25, 2009 | No Comments
    So, hotshot, you think just because you follow 300+ people on Twitter, thanks to Tweetdeck, that you're some sort of super-duper Information Age sage? Slow down, because a recent study, coming out of Stanford, says that multitaskers are no better at processing or retaining information than single-minded non-multitaskers. If you're trying to process and retain information, then, best to stick to one task at a time.

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