14 DAY TRIAL // Additional details are beginning to emerge in relation to Apple’s upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 announcement, with Kaufman Bros.’ Shaw Wu issuing a note to investors in which he reportedly said that, “iPhone OS 4.0 will be a full multi-tasking environment where third-party applications will be able to run simultaneously and in the background along with Apple's own built-in applications,” citing checks with his sources, according to an AppleInsider report.
These sources reportedly said that the iPad maker had developed a “full-on solution” that allowed multitasking of third-party applications on the App Store, an important addition to the iPhone and iPod touch software, Wu stressed, claiming that, “The announcement will be an even bigger deal for the just-released iPad,” the report further reveals.
“We believe this will be particularly important for the iPad, due to its much faster processor and much larger screen where users will more likely want the capability to run multiple applications much like most do with their PCs and Macs,” Wu wrote. “We believe this will allow AAPL to deliver a fuller and more differentiated experience on the iPad helping drive greater adoption.”
The analyst weighed in on rumors of Apple implementing an advertising platform called iAd, saying that although the financial impact of this service for Apple would be “minor to negligible,” the service would nevertheless allow the Mac maker to further solidify its position with the developer community. Wu reportedly added that the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement would have a major focus on gaming, although this was not necessarily an accurate leak, the analyst suggested in his note.
“While we don't have fuller details, we are picking up indication that there will likely be gaming related announcements where AAPL will make it easier to develop more powerful and sophisticated games,” he wrote. “We believe this makes sense for the iPad in particular with its much more powerful capabilities.”
Indeed, it makes sense for Apple to build on the iPad hype with some quality games, especially with the capabilities of the A4 silicon and the 9.7-inch screen. This tidbit, if proven accurate, would suggest that the iPad's iPhone OS 3.2 would also make the focus of tomorrow's announcements.
Finally, in a separate report, AppleInsider talks of the possibility of Apple adding the ability to print via Bluetooth or WiFi in all of its iPhone OS-running devices. It is being suggested that this feature will be part of Apple's iPhone 4.0 announcement on Thursday, but there is little to no indication that this will actually happen. The reasoning here is that Apple will want to avoid the need to include massive amounts of printer drivers. The company does state on its website that, “Printing directly from iPad is not currently available,” rather than simply saying that iWork apps don’t do print at all.