Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Engadget is following the iPhone OS 4.0-event and something funny just happened. Jobs is introducing new features and says the biggest one is multitasking. He says:

So I'm sitting here thinking that it's going to work like Expose with some small trick to make it better than the N900, halfway excited and halfway :rolleyes: .

And then I see the screenshot.

It looks exactly like the s60 task switcher. EXACTLY.

And you call up the menu by DOUBLE-CLICKING the home button. :D

I'm not one to be a gigantic fanboy, but this is hilarious.

Scroll to 10:16

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Thats was my first thought as well. S60.

EDIT:Steve has just invented folders for apps.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

This cracked me up. My various nokias, both NITs and Phones have been doing this since day 1*

"The next service is background location. There are two classes of apps that want to use this -- turn by turn, like TomTom. These always want to know where you are so they can provide directions. Now you can get them in the background, you can even listen to music, and it's still giving you directions."

This Guy will be trying to tell the world he's invented breathing next...!

* yea, and monitoring email, twitter, scrobbling my music, and (in the case of the NITs and carman" displaying and logging various data from my car via ODB. Bloody Apple.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

The new enterprise and gaming features are nice.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

The sad part is, there are brainwashed masses which will fall for the trick and spend their money on that evil thing, thinking how genious it is, when in fact it's becoming an even bigger piece of joke than it already is.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Your friends pestering you to be on the same social feature has huge lock in potential. Nokia better implement something similar fast. They could use Ovi to integrate accounts over Windows and s60 games, which might even give them the advantage.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

I'm really fascinated to see what has not been possible with the iphone till now!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

?

They made iPhone OS better than it was before.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

It's not a joke. iPhoneOS is probably the biggest threat to openness in mobile devices out there, contained only by not being available on non-Apple devices.

Apple puts serious design work into the front end UI and back end APIs, as well as their toolkits for development. They should be paid serious attention as Apple does things right. They should be avoided, however, for how closed they are but you won't win users away until you can match (or beat) Apple at their game. It is possible, but just mocking it is essentially conceding defeat.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

By moving towards S60, something EVERYONE's been slamming down on these days?

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

If by better you mean more "dumb" and "easy", than yes, i agree!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

11:23AM Also, when Steve was asked if there were plans to add Flash or java, his response was a flat: No.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Get off your high horse - "dumb" is bad but "easy" is always good. As someone else posted in this thread, Apple is the biggest threat to an open mobile platform so it would be good for Nokia to get some ideas from Apple's UI while keeping the platform open.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Great to know, thanks!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

How is it anymore dumber than before? It just got lot less dumb than before. And yes, also better.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

this is funny:

11:40AM Q: How do you close applications when multitasking? A: (Scott) You don't have to. The user just uses things and doesn't ever have to worry about it.

so let me see, it's either they are going to close it, freeze it, or ... you just open apps and don't close them?

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

hahahaha...youre taking a piss right?
apple and open just dont go hand in hand!!!! buy your iphone....dont jailbreak it...and do as you want to with it....so open isnt it...damn...u cant even "open" the battery cover!!!!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

The rule of "your application may be closed at any time" probably still stands, so applications still write their state out to storage continuously. Once it's been put in the background (and its state frozen) then either it'll quickly load up to the foreground or be dumped from RAM and loaded from state the next time.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Yup, that's more like he don't know how to close it, so there, the answer..... there's no "c" button like Nokia where you can close the app in "task-switcher" :D

Not sure how many app can be open. If the user open lots of app, imagine the need to open up each app, let it load back the previous state and close one by one.

It's not about worrying, it's about having the option to do it.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

The really lame part was the "think of the children" explanation of why you cannot install 3rd party apps from outside App Store on your iPhone:

You know, there's a porn store on Android and it has nothing but porn apps. You can download them, your kids can download them. That's a place where we don't wanna go, so we're not gonna go there

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

It also works similarly to the "previous app" button in later versions of PalmOS - not multitasking, just fast and convenient task switching.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

11:40AM Q: How do you close applications when multitasking? A: (Scott) You don't have to. The user just uses things and doesn't ever have to worry about it. (Steve) It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. In multitasking, if you see a task manager... they blew it. Users shouldn't ever have to think about it.

Another lame part in bold; it's like saying those devices failed, but in fact, those are NICE TO HAVE features, not blew. It's blew when they don't have it and have to cover up by saying another.

User shouldn't have to think about Task Manager. Alright, but doesn't mean they shouldn't have it. It's a feature that is nice to have. Besides, the way they put it, it's like their device is only meant for "dumb" users who don't know what is task manager and how to use it.

In a sense, they're just trying to control as much as possible and also for those features they're missing or lack of, they have their way with the words; but to more advance users, those are rubbish excuses.
What if Windows does not provide Task Manager? Usually, the admin might disable the Task Manager to some users. So, to Apple,... their customer is those type of users? :eek:

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Psst. people I do not know single person (beside myself) who really really knows how to use symbians app switching. Who to fck really cares how we, the minority users or so called powerusers (if you log in to this forum you are already very very experienced user in my eyes), use our phone? All what matter is how majority of average joes use phone. If they have to think how to multitask or read manual you have lost the game (market) already.

People are arguing here about what is best to them, but in my eyes only thing that matters is how much you sell your device and applications. That is the best feedback.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

my humble opinion here - apple does the right marketing - all what it needs - no matter who invented it before or if it is copied - thats what will make the new iphone a huge success - all ahh_iphone_has_no_multitasking_i_will_never_buy_it will jump on the train.

i wait for the physical keyboard_iphone and good bye rest of mobile phone world.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

That's because this forum has quite a few end users as members.

Which matters if you're the device manufacturer (Nokia) or (proprietary) application developer. This is why HTC has put SenseUI over Android and WinMo, and why Nokia started up the Ovi store.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Well noted. And yet people come to this site bashing Nokia for not being like Apple. DIMWITS.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

If no one understands the s60 task switcher, how is this better? It works the exact same way, except you double click instead of long clicking. Neither is more obvious than the other.

Unless your argument is that most Apple users will watch the demo, then remember the key later, and pretend it's intuitive. In which case you're probably right. Such is the power of advertising.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

wow. thats pretty cool.

itll work just like my nokia 7610 used to........ about 5 years ago.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

You probably dont know a lot of Symbian users. My Mum is over 60 and she figured out how to do this on her new 5230. How hard can it be to press a button. in fact the iPhone OS just copied s60 here. Press and hold.
Leave the kool aid alone man not good for your health

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

I prefer beer and we do not have that luxury here in Finland. For some reason, after serving many years as all-around helpdesk in computer and gadget releated things to my friends and reletives I have seen too many end users. Have to just say it's not pretty thing. All I can say is that Apple has hit the right spot. Maybe it's just advertising and mass religion but eventually those who make most of money survive.....and also OS :)

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Yes its just advertising. Just like they had to teach copy and paste on TV and then most ppl think its easy. Apple makes shiny UI but contrary to the hyperbole not really obvious or intuitive. They only hit the right spot because engadget etc says so.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

To my eyes they are selling quite well in their own category and people are buying quite a lot stuff from their app-store so i dunno what are you talking about engadget? And if you look stock history and their income it looks like they are doing pretty damn good job. So in my eyes they have hit at least some sweet spot.

Is it problem?

.edit
And if advertisements are part of intuitive usage experience then so be it. I would say that's just intelligent marketing and good business.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Regardless of how well their product is selling now, that task switcher is nothing to brag about. That's what we're discussing here.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Ha!... doesn't matter what task switcher they are using, as long as it is on a popular phone like iphone, then it will be a "WOW" factor. You put that on an unpopular phone, nobody will talk about it. LOL!

All you hear from the audience is......Crickets sound... LOL!!!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

I haven't brag about it. I have just pointed out that 1. It doesnt matter who is first 2. only thing that matters is how you implement it and now also it looks like that 3. how you advertise it. All these things matter.

I do not see Apples "multi-tasking" something amazing. I just really understand why they do what they do and why they success (so far).

Also I will not buy their product (at least in near future) but i still understand why someone would and i have recommended iphone to many of my friends.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

slender...you name,attitude and thought logic really suits you!!!

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

fair enough. Each to his own.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Dont be surprised if your 'friends' turn on you for getting them to buy a device that is not only tightly controlled but worse will be considered inappropriate for a major upgrade due to 'insufficient hardware' (no multitasking for iPhone 3G despite 128MB). You wont buy an iPhone but youMll recomment to friends. With a friend like you, who needs an enemy :) . I wont buy and iPhone and hence wont recommend it to my enemy.

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

Most advanced multi-tasking in world's most advanced operating system.

How come the iMac I'm writing this from is such a brilliant multitasker and how Apple fails at this so badly on mobile?

Re: Apple invents s60-style task switcher
 

s60 may not be pretty, and nokia might put it on some seriously underpowered devices, but its the most functional mobile os out there, and has been for years, wonder how nokia will feel if it looks and works that closely to thier multi tasking

steve just used his fantastic invention and copied the s60 multi tasker and pasted it on ip os