iPhone 4 Software Overview
Obviously with a new phone comes new software. Before we get into the new operating system let’s talk about FaceTime. FaceTime is indeed one of the most revolutionary things about the iPhone 4. FaceTime is live video calling; it is made possible by the second camera on the front on the iPhone 4. FaceTime works right out of the box, no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using FaceTime is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her iPhone 4 screen asking if she wants to join you. When she accepts, the video call begins. It’s all perfectly seamless. And it works in both portrait and landscape modes. You can even switch the feed to the camera on the back of the iPhone. Check out the video below showing the FaceTime in action.
Ok now that FaceTime is out of the way let’s talk about the iOS 4 update, which features over 100 new features. Besides FaceTime another great feature of iOS 4 is multitasking. This is not simply multitasking for Apple apps, but all 3rd party apps as well. You can easily switch between apps and the apps remember where you left off so you don’t have to start all over again. This is something that we have been waiting for on the iPhone for a while!
Next we have folders. I know I have about 6 pages of apps on my iPhone, it’s just annoying. With folders you can easily organize your apps. All you have to do is touch and hold an app until it wiggles, drag it onto another app, and you’re done. You can repeat the process with more apps. For example, you can put all the games your daughter plays in one folder, all your news apps in another, and all your productivity apps in yet another. You can also create folders and organize apps using iTunes on your Mac or PC, then sync it all back to your iPhone.
Apple has also revamped the Mail app. Now there is more than one way to view your messages if you have multiple accounts. You can access each inbox separately and switch between inboxes with a few taps. Or for a faster look at your incoming messages, view email from all your accounts together in the unified inbox. You can organize your messages by thread — a chain of replies in an email conversation. Mail can quickly identify all the messages in a thread by grouping them together under the most recent message, sorted by date and listing the number of messages. So it’s easy to keep track of an entire email conversation.
This iOS 4 update will be available June 21st for free on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, and the iPod touch. Keep in mind not all of the features are supported on the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch.
