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>> Brian: What's happening? Brian Tong here and welcome to The Apple Byte. It's all the good and bad inside the world of Apple. And now that we've been beaten over the head with the iPad, the hottest news is all about Apples iPhone OS 4.0. So we sent our well-respected correspondent to the scene with this report. Brian Tong here outside of Apple Headquarters at the conclusion of their iPhone OS 4.0 announcement, and the big news, multi-tasking is here.
>> Let's start off with the first one, which is probably going to be the biggest one, and that is multitasking. [applause]
>> Brian: Now we know multi-tasking exists on other phones, but really the way Apple show cased it and its execution is what stood out. You can use applications like Pandora, listener music, interact with other apps, and another example was using Skype where you could take a phone call and then jump into other applications, still be on the same phone call, and look for all the information that you need. We also saw folders. We know plenty of you have so many apps you just don't know how to organize them. They showed a cool little way to drag and drop them on top of each other. It creates a folder. And then you can see the icons of the apps in that folder. And one feature that took us by surprise is Apple is implementing what they call a game center. Now this is essentially a social network for gaming, much like XBox Live, but now on the iPhone platform. You can invite friends, you can earn achievements, check out leader boards. This is a space that Apple's never ventured into, and was really a surprise. And then the rumored iAds platform, Apple is getting into the mobile advertising business.
>> We think most of this mobile advertising really sucks. And we thought we might be able to make some contributions.
>> Brian: What made this different is how you can actually play with ads within the app, you don't have to go outside of it, and these ads themselves kind of look like applications on their own. Apple is sharing 60% of the revenues with the developer, but Apple is getting into the mobile advertising business.
>> To infinity and beyond.
>> Brian: Some of the features they show cased, an enhanced mail application. It has a unified inbox, so you can have multiple accounts, multiple exchange accounts, and a cool thing that I like, organizing your emails by threads. iBooks we've seen it on the iPad. It's coming to the iPhone. And surprise, Apple's actually giving you something free.
>> We're gonna supply a free book and we think Winnie the Pooh is a good choice.
>> Brian: There's also gonna be enterprise features, so businesses will really enjoy that. But the big news is multitasking is here. It's only going to be supporting currently the iPhone 3GS and Third Gen iPod Touch for those of you who have an iPhone 3G or Second Gen Touch. You'll have some of the iPhone OS features, but not multitasking.
>> If the user has to use a task manager to manage which applications are running in the background and which aren't, they blew it.
>> Brian: Joining me now, Senior Editor Kent German CNET.com. Kent, what was the feature that really stood out the most to you?
>> Kent: Well of course multitasking. One thing we've always asked for on iPhone is something [inaudible] task manager. But Steve Job said today, well if they're doing a task manager they're doing it wrong. And Apple does seem to have a nice way to do it, you just be able to call up, see all the apps that are running, and be able to select what you want. Seems pretty cool.
>> Brian: Now some people are gonna be left in the dark, because the iPhone 3G and Second Gen iPod Touch doesn't support it. Should they upgrade?
>> Kent: Well, they don't have to answer that question yet, because WWDC, Apples Worldwide Developers Conference will be in June, we don't know exactly when. We should see new hardware there. So I would wait until that point, because the OS isn't gonna be available until after then. So then you can make the choice then, well I'm just gonna buy the iPhone 3GS or I'm gonna get this new hardware, whatever it might be.
>> Brian: All right, thanks Kent. Now the iPhone OS 4.0, it's gonna be available sometime in summer of this year. Also for the iPad they said sometime in the fall, so we'll wait to see all that. For CNET.com I'm Brain Tong. Thank you Brian, and it's about time Apple that we get that multitasking. And all the Apple Byter's we'd love to hear your thoughts on all the announcements. Now many new iPad owners are still giddy about the new toy, but reality has hit. And if you're experiencing WIFI issues you are not alone. The Apple forums are on fire with issues ranging from not being able to connect to WIFI after the iPad is sleeping. Having other devices affect WIFI, except for the iPad in the same spot, and even getting a weaker signal when it's laying down flat. Now Apple has acknowledged there are issues, and offers suggestions to help. So if you're experiencing a weak signal, one of their less technical solutions is move closer to the WIFI router or hot spot. That alone gets a bad Apple. Everyone keeps on asking me about new MacBook Pros, and I just keep saying wait it out a couple of more months. The Taiwanese newspaper, Apple Daily, says new MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Errors are coming this month. Now I translated the entire article for you with the help of Google. But just be patient Apple byters, because buying one right now would just be stupid. People are also asking us about when a Verizon iPhone is coming. All the rumors say late 2010, and do we know the official date? We don't, but Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, recently said, the company told Apple that it wants to carry the iPhone. Of course he declined to say when or even if it will be available for Verizon Wireless customers. But the first published acknowledgment like this keeps stirring the pot. Now lets get up some iPad stories. Comic book legend Jim Lee, [phonetic] who was at the Apple store in San Francisco went to his Twitter page to showcase what the iPad is capable of using the sketchbook pro app. Now check out some of these killer renditions of Cat Woman. And you can see how he built layer on top of layer for the Joker. Lee did say it was fun, because he was digging the primitive feel of using your hands, but it was frustrating, because he could have done this in 1/2 the time by hand, and the app crashed on him a few times without saving his work. So really the possibilities on the iPad are endless. And I don't know, Jim Lee, he does some really cool art, and he's inspired me to do some of my own. And so I have this picture here. It's from one of my first dates recently. And you can see I used a depth of color, a lot of like the pinks and reds to bring out the background. So, yeah, I think I did a good job. Yeah. Okay. Cool. Now, are you guys wishing to custom install an iPad into your car? These guys from Sound Man Car Audio have done it. They hooked up an iPad to a Macintosh Amp, you can see what they did there, and really if it was up to me I wouldn't put it in a Toyota Tacoma, but the process and set up is pretty slick and worth a watch. But maybe you don't have a car, and you don't have an iPad and you want both. If that's the case, then get a Hyundai. Hyundai is giving away a free iPad with every purchase of its recently unveiled luxury sedan, the Equus, and the best part; it will come loaded with a Hyundai iPad app that allows you to make service appointments. And its interactive manual will replace the hefty 300 page printed version. So you're also being green. Good for you Hyundai. All right, that's gonna do it for this weeks show. Make sure to send your emails to the Apple Byte at CNET.com. We love to hear your thoughts on the latest iPhone OS. I'm Brian Tong, thanks for watching. And we'll catch you guys next time for another byte of the Apple.
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