Influence of Expose Features

In fact the designs of iPhone 4.0 will resemble the previously used desktop expose features of Apple. A key combination or hitting the home button a couple of times will trigger and expose like interface. In result a series of icons appear on the screen indicating the applications that are on. Users get the facility of selecting pretty fast the desired application directly. Whenever the user makes a selection the expose task manager and the transitions in the application selected. Basic concept involved in the process is the Mac OS X Expose concept but the difference is that the application used in the desktop basically relies on the scaling of each application window so that they can fit into the screen in a single layer and there is no overlapping.

Principles adapted on the iPhone are totally different. Scaling down multiple screen views to small display screen could pose major problems. That is why Apple settled for the icons only instead of the applications directly, a feature nearer to the Command + Tab application switcher instead of exposing as a desktop feature. Yet the common belief among people conversant with the application is that it carries many feature of the Expose brand.

Some More Unique Features

Global mailbox view as well as the ability to add individual contacts on the home screen is unique features added to 4.0 models. As the model is still in the experimental stages, the features could either be enhanced or dispensed with in near future. In addition the new Apple iPhone also provides the ability to use multiple applications without broken securities.

It is not a fact that iPhone did not previously have multitasking capabilities. While the user were busy with main application various others like email, iPod, voice recorder, SMS, and system phones used to run in the background.

Security Issues in 4.0

New 4.0 is not without blemishes either. Third party titles that are obtained from the Apple Stores and includes applications from Apple such as the remote or iDisk cannot be launched simultaneously. Only option for the user is to compromise the security model via exploit that would enable the user run multiple applications at a go. However risks are quite substantial in them. Some of the security problems could intervention of malware vulnerability and widespread piracy. The default security system in the iPhone works to prevent both and breach in the security can open the gateway for these harmful elements creep in to the system.

Signed application model of Apple in iTunes has mandatory certificate of security mechanisms and this enables the user to run multiple applications without any concern about security breach or unwarranted intrusions. Some of such intrusions could be spasm and unwanted and irritating pop up ads.

How Others Work - A Brief Comparison

A difference that makes Apple a bit difficult for users is that other platforms do not have such stiff security provisions. For instance; Android allows users to install applications from any source and that could make one easy target for potential hackers. Following the principle of remaining slow and steady Apple first introduced the push notifications service before jumping over to the multitasking at once. This enabled third party applications up date easily even when they are not running. Usually such third party applications running in the background won't be a constraint for battery life. Yet the notification mechanism is more efficient in having multiple applications; each polling a remote server for their update processes.

Contrasting example of RIM's BlackBerry can be taken that allowed multitasking since long but opened the push delivery for third party developers only recently. While the push messaging system of Black Berry is quite famous, the relatively small library applications for individual applications might not be sufficient for efficient application of the processes. Among others Google does not provide standard mechanisms for system wide push on Android. Microsoft is trying to launch the Windows Phone 7 later this year following the pattern of iPhone 2.0

Conclusion

Apple certainly stays ahead of others on all these counts with the added multitasking features in its 4.0 model.