iPhone OS 4.0 - Predictions and Expectations

It finally came. The news i was expecting since January, and that caused me to delay doing any maintenance restore to my iPhone for months. iPhone OS 4.0 will be presented Thursday the 8th, and this is what i expect:

• Some kind of multitasking, even if limited.
• New notification system.
• Unified inbox for email.
• Refreshed Springboard UI
• New system wide multitouch gestures
• Printing support
• Global documents storage area
• FM radio app
• Access to calendar events in the SDK
• Xbox Live/PSN style gaming network
• IM integration with contacts

What i also would like to see:

• Wifi sync for podcasts
• Widgets, at least on the lockscreen
• Tasks app
• Quick access to wifi, bluetooth and 3G settings
• Better battery life
• Less restrictions in the SDK

It´s clear expectations are really high. However, this time i think there´s a big chance most of this will really happen, because it has to - now Apple has real competition, and the current iPhone UI is showing it´s age.

One more thing - has i´ve been in the beta test program for one iPhone app, i have my iPhone´s UDID registered to a dev´s account. This means i will be able to install the beta builds of OS 4.0, so stay tunned!

Why the iPad will be an huge success

My opinion regarding Apple´s latest tech wonder has been changing almost by the minute. But i now reached a conclusion.

The iPad has lot´s of flaws, some in hardware (lack of camera for skype calls), some in software (lack of multitasking, etc - but have to wait for OS 4.0). It´s not what geeks wanted.

However, i would totally love to have one, specially because it will surely be hacked, and this will satisfy my geeky needs. But forget me and all the other geeks - what will make it succeed is the common people.

Last Christmas, me and my brother were considering offering a netbook to my parents, so that they can some web experience, to see their granchild´s photos, news, cooking recipes, etc. We gave up, because we reached the obvious conclusion that they wouldn´t be able to adapt to a full computer experience.

Now, imagine the iPad in the hands of people like my parents, that normally struggle with computer stuff. Or people that although being more tech savy, don´t really want a laptop besides their desktop pc. Huge.

Best "fake" Apple tablet so far

Apple´s January 27th event: CONFIRMED

Voice Band - Be an Human Musical Band

This is the kind of innovation that sets the iPhone ecosystem apart, no matter how many Android superphones or Nokia lamephones they throw at Apple.

One step closer to a proper notification system for iPhone OS

With the advent of push notification apps, it become pretty obvious that the iPhone OS notification system SUCKS. Comparing it with the way Android and WebOS elegantly handle notifications, make the iPhone look poor. I mean, obtrusive popups in the middle of the screen? Sounds? Badges?

That´s why GriP (Growl for iPhone) is easily one of my three must have jailbreak apps (the others being SBSettings and Backgrounder/Kirikae). Even on it´s current beta state, its so much better than the normal system.

It gives users much more control over the way information from SMS, email and push notifications is displayed, in a non-obtrusive way. When receiving push notifications, you are able to see all of the messages sent to you, and not just the last one.

The more recent Double Height Statusbar theme, seen above (made by the author of the SMS GriP extension, GauraVK92) , added another type of notification alert, that is similar to what can be seen on the latest versions of the iPhone Facebook app.

However, GriP also introduced a resource that if implemented correctly would bring it closer to the awesome Android notification pane, the Message Log. Problem is, this log is normally buried in Settings.app, something that made its usage a nightmare.

Well, despite the 2 month hiatus seen on project development (c´mon KennyTM, speak to the fans!), the community came to the rescue, namely tom.blum85, that figured a way to creat a SBSettings toggle to quickly access GriP´s message log!
I can tell you, after some days of usage, this is AWESOME. At any given moment, i can now have a clear image of all the SMS, Emails and various Push Notifications apps outputs received in a period. All without missing a single message, without having to flick through pages of apps to find badges, and without having to open every single app to find out what´s new.

Like i said, it´s unfortunate that a project with such huge potential has been apparently suspended by it´s developer. Surely people would give the necessary support, finantial or otherwise, if he asked for it. Also, the delay in releasing GriP officially on Cydia is a shame, because so many people are unaware of such a great jailbreak application. So i ask you, please RT and share this information. Spread the word :)

Apple´s It´s only Rock & Roll - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Here´s my views on the latest Apple keynote:

The Good

Steve´s back!
iTunes 9 with slick new features, namely app organization, home sharing
OS 3.1 release
Apple´s commitment to the iPhone has a gaming platform
Apple´s considering iPhone/ipod touch has pocket computers


The Bad

OS 3.1 is a bit lame. iPhone UI needs some changes (proper notification system, live widgets, etc). It also bring more problems for jailbreak
iTunes 9 still slow on windows
Ringtones store
Not giving the 8gb iPod touch the new processor/RAM used on the

The Ugly

No camera on the new ipod touch - this is nuts, i think it will cost them alot of sales. Lot´s of angry people out the 3GS