“Last month, Apple finally made iOS 4.2 available to the iPad for the first time,” Zeman reports. “The update installs a bevy of new features above and beyond folders and multitasking for iPad users to get excited about.”
Zeman reports, “There’s no doubt that iOS 4.2 greatly improves the functionality of the iPad. The addition of folders, multitasking and refreshed email all go a long way toward making the iPad a more robust device. AirPlay, AirPrint, Find My iPad and the Game Center take the iPad to the next level, making it genuinely fun to use.”
Full article here.
I still think the sceen lock was much better before.. Almost to the point i regret updating the os
Not bad.
Because it wasn’t fun to use before, you know?
I agree. I used to use the screen lock switch all the time. Since I’ve updated to iOS 4.2, I’ve never used the “mute” switch and I don’t lock the screen as often because it’s a hassle. This was a stupid change to make, especially since the user has no control over the function of the switch – we should at least get to choose which function we prefer.
Hopefully Apple will get enough complaints that they will provide an option in Settings for the switch function.
Gee – what an original, well thought out and inspiring article!
Not!
Note to so called journalists – do your job! If you don’t know what that is – look it up! On the Information Super Highway.
Ashame it took the iPad back a level when they changed the orientation toggle to a mute button. At the very least it should be a user identifiable option under Settings.
And multi-tasking has come to seriously underscore the measly amount of RAM in this thing. I can’t even copy & paste something between two Safari pages; one always has to reload. 256mb just doesn’t cut it and 512mb probably won’t either.
My hope is that Apple surprises with 1GB RAM in iPad 2, but that hope is tenuous. These guys are so stingy with RAM.
Someone had a brain fart over in Apple moving the orientation lock to the taskbar. Whoever was the dumbass who did this ought to be run out of the Apple campus straight into the arms of Microsoft because yes, MS makes bad design decisions all the time.
Actually, i have grown to like the current screen lock. Now just place the wifi disable beside it with the airplane mode-boom, sweet!
So Steve Jobs in going over to Microsoft?! Because you know no low level engineer thought of this and did this on his own without approval and the Apple nod from the great and mighty Jobs.
Music Maestro… Ohhhhh, we’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Jobs, because, because, because because of all the wonderful things he does!
Betcha want that physical, instantaneous mute switch now! Yuck, yuck!
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uh, Airplane mode is Wifi.
Anyone worked out how to kill the app and not discover it among 20 others in the task bar when you double-click the home button. You would have thought a triple click would close the app.
I agree with many of you here. Apple needs to give us the option to keep the screen lock as in 4.0. They also need to provide a “Close All Apps” icon on the multitasking screen. This should be always be listed first on the mulit-tasking bar so I don’t have to manually kill all the open apps.
It seems to me that many people are misunderstanding (and therefore improperly using) the multi-tasking concept, and the “task bar”.
Apps that are designed to multi-task will ALWAYS multi-task. When you launch an app and run some task that can run in background (skype, pandora, some IM client, etc), that app continues to run the background task until you return to it to stop the task. There is no concept of “opening” and “closing” or “quitting” apps as we know it from the desktop concept. Every app leaves RAM when you switch away from it, but tasks that are designated to run as background tasks will continue to run.
The “task bar” has only one purpose: to make it easier to go back to the recently used apps. It is NOT a “Task manager”, or “Activity Monitor”; It is just a place where iOS puts aliases to Apps that were recently launched.
There should never be a need to force background tasks from some app to quit (via “task bar”). Normally, you’d do this from the app itself (go to Pandora and stop playback; go to Skype and log out, etc). If for some reason you do need to kill those background tasks, you can do it from the ‘task bar’. Otherwise, just don’t think about the whole multi-tasking concept; just use it.
Max:
Tap and hold the icon in the ‘task bar’, the way you’d do it on the main screen, when you want to delete it. After the minus sign appears in the corner, tap that minus to kill background processes.
Most often, you don’t want to do this; you can stop the background processes directly from the app.
@ R2
Try Atomic Browser – it will load new pages into tabs and doesn’t typically require reloading as you switch from one tab to another.
The constant page re-loading in Safari drove me crazy. Atomic browser doesn’t do this, so I don’t think it’s a RAM limitation, it’s a Safari limitation.
I agree with RIF. The Atomic Web browser is well thought out for tabbed browsing. I often have as many as ten tabs open and it just works. I love the way it works under iOS 4.2.1.
And agree with Predrag about multitasking. Apple’s approach avoids a significant hit on battery life.
No one has mentioned the battery life SUCKING now w/4.2? I’ve had my 32gb 3g iPad since day one (April 30). 10 hours used to be achievable, now I have to charge daily while not in use. Definitely noticable and annoying.
Cmon man. And if closing apps is pointless in the “taskbar”, then why wouldn’t Apple just make a cute little green symbol over app icons to denote apps that are currently running background processes?
@RIF,
You know I bought Atomic and haven’t gotten around to using it. But based on your recommendation, I’ll make it my main browser and see if it makes a difference.
I would be shocked if it was a Safari-only problem.
@ Val4Motherboard
I think the notifications are the real battery suckers. I disabled most of the MANY notifications that were active and it seemed to help with available RAM.
As others have mentioned, Atomic browser is excellent! I also use Grazing Web Browser, which is nicer looking and has several ways of managing/viewing tabs.
My wish from Apple is to allow other browsers to access/sync bookmarks!!! The way Safari’s bookmarks are inaccessible by third-party apps is terrible.
Microsoft and Google are the reason why US tech manufacturers cannot compete on the same level playing field. In their greed for power and money they have empower the Asian competitors to eat America’s lunch and to lock out American players.
Labour cost in the US is 10–20 times more than those of China, Taiwan, Korea or India. US manufacturer are forced, first to outsource manufacturing to the East, and now talents and jobs also.
The contract manufacturers like Samsung, Acer and the like steal the design of US manufacturer and come out with their own cheaper model with a bit of modification and improvements. There is no way that US manufacturers like Motorola, Dell and HP can compete with such fleet-footed giants in the long-term.
Ten years back Samsung, Acer, etc were not the force that they are now. HP, the tech granddaddy and giant, is now reduced to licking the toes of Microsoft and Google and grovelling in order to gain better terms than others. I predict in 3–5 years from now all US tech players will be reduced to also-rans.
Accompanying with such setbacks to US technological might is the gluttony of the US consumers who do not live within their means. The country as a whole need to take a haircut. That means lower wages, hard work, discipline and less rhetoric like “open” and “choices”. What is the point of such idealistic inclinations when the country is going to lose its pants. The world does not owe you a living, you know. Wake up, American pampered idiots. I hate to use such politically incorrect terms not because I abhor America. America is broken. Whack me all you like, but there is no running away from realities.
sadly the eastern block , japan , china etc are notorious for a complete lack of ideas and originality ., so no way will they take over from us westerners = as long as new ideas are what matters that is
anyone can copy , ask microsuck
@flappo – Funny, the Chinese seem to have figured out how to dominate America without firing a shot and how to enlist the aid of Americans in doing it. We dick around with gadgets and doo-dads, they control the worlds manufacturing base. I’d call that creative enough.