Apple iOS 4: hands on

Multitasking

Multitasking is the biggest win from iOS 4. It's great to have this common smartphone feature, though we're disappointed it will come only to the iPhone 3GS (or later) and not the iPhone 3G.

To access the multitasking menu, double tap the Home button. You'll see a list of currently running applications that you can scroll through using a sideways finger swipe. You then open an application by tapping its icon.

More multitasking

To close a running application, first use a long press on the related icon. You'll then see a tiny delete icon in the top left corner.

Easy access to controls

Double-tap the home button to bring up the multitasking screen and scroll one screen to the left to access iPod controls. You also can lock the screen rotation from this screen or return to iTunes with a touch of your finger.

Home-screen folders

We also welcome the new ability to add home-screen folders. To create a folder, just drag icons on top of each other. The folder will then appear as a square with tiny icons of the included app inside. Tap the folder to open it.

Naming folders

You can change the default folder name if you wish. To remove apps from a folder, just drag the related icon back to the home screen.

Unified inbox

We've long asked for a unified email inbox, and now we have it. Alternatively, you can select inboxes for individual accounts.

Threaded email search, step one

iOS 4 adds the ability to see emails by thread. To get started, select the grey double arrows next to a message.

Threaded email search, step two

You'll now see only those emails in the selected thread.

Delete emails in search

When searching your emails, you can delete messages directly from the search results.

Home-screen backgrounds

The new OS lets you change the home-screen background. The only trouble is you can't get back to the standard black background once you remove it.

Home or lock screen?

When selecting a wallpaper, you can use it as the home-screen background, the lock-screen background, or both.

Camera zoom

In the still camera you get a 5x digital zoom. Tap the display to access the feature.

Rotate photo

In the photo gallery menu you can choose to rotate an image 90 degrees.

Image sorting

Find all the images that have a specific friend in them using the Faces sorting feature. You'll need to have already used the face recognition options in iPhoto or Aperture and synced with iTunes to use this feature.

Geolocation of photos

The addition of Geolocations lets you view where you took your latest shots on a map and sort your images by location.

Location Services menu

A new Location Services menu lets you decide which programs can use your location information and which ones can't.

Spell check

Though the iPhone has long had an autocorrect feature, the new spell check feature will notify you of unrecognised or misspelled words with a red underline.

Web search suggestions

When typing a search term in the Safari browser you'll get Google suggestions along with your recent searches.

Text message search

You can search text messages just as you've always been able to search your email inbox.

Universal search

When using the universal search feature you can access the web and Wikipedia results for your search term.

Playlists

In the iPod player, Apple added new playlist creation options.

Birthday calendar

If you can't remember birthdays, you'll like the birthday calendar.

Game Centre

The Game Centre lets you connect with and challenge friends online. Create an account and enter custom text that will be seen by your friends.

That's all, folks

Welcome to iOS 4!

For those who are struggling, we also have a five step how to on installing OS 4.

Via CNET.com