iPad Understanding Multi-tasking on the iPad: What is it really?

[Bremen Cole]

I bet within a year you will have several choices to choose from.

The good thing about the iPad for the marketplace is it has given all the Dell's, HP's, Toshiba's...etc.... something to copy and put their spin on. Lot's of good things coming.

[dmaul1114]

Yep, I can't wait to see what comes out.

Apple set the bar high form a form factor, price and battery life standpoint. Very excited to see what other companies put out to compete with it.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Yep, I can't wait to see what comes out.

Apple set the bar high form a form factor, price and battery life standpoint. Very excited to see what other companies put out to compete with it.

The price bar was a huge surprise to me.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by stustaff

Im not sure there is a app to cure irrational saving

If you havent had Apple stuff before it doesnt glitch or crash

Except, apparently with Flash.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by kjk

The price bar was a huge surprise to me.

Same here. I was expecting $800-1000 for the cheapest model, and around 6 hours of battery life.

So $500 and 10 hours set the bar much higher than I expected.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Sonist

There isn't a single occasion on which i wished my iPhone had traditional multitasking. Not once.

I actually had to use hacks on my old HTCs, to kill processes instead of just minimizing. LOL.

BUT, the one, and only one dealbreaker for me, would be if the iPad does not support Flash.

No Flash, No Buy....

No need to hack it, just a long press on the X will close a program, a short press will minimize it.

For me multitasking is a must. Always have an IM program running in the background so that I can be reached quickly and easily when I am traveling(and push is just toooooo slow). Also it is great to listen to the radio in the background or the news on my slingbox while working on an e-mail. I tried all this on the iphone 3G after jailbreaking and it starts to move at a glacial pace. I guess the reason Apple doesn't want us to multitask is that they want to find out they cheaped out on program memory. On my iphone that goes down to around 5MB with just 3-4 things running! And, of course, there is the battery.

Yes, there are ways to work around the lack of multi tasking. But I don't see any reason why I shouldn't expect such a basic feature?

And, of course, the other biggie. Flash, how can you browse without it?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Yes, there are ways to work around the lack of multi tasking. But I don't see any reason why I shouldn't expect such a basic feature?

And, of course, the other biggie. Flash, how can you browse without it?

There is no reason for you not to expect it, you can find a product that provides it. It just won't be an iPad. Which is totally fine. There is no reason you should have to browse without Flash, either. You don't have to ever browse without Flash, since you won't get an iPad.

But, I browse on my main computer without Flash (ClicktoFlash). And I browse on my iPhone without Flash. So, yes, one can happily browse without Flash.

And I'll reserve judgement on the lack of multitasking on the iPad until I see how they implement how it actually handles IMs, and other events.

[HansTWN]

Of course, you are right. But my point here is that while people will be more forgiving for a small and convenient device like an iphone, they will expect much more from the ipad. And these 2 problems will seriously hurt ipad sales, if Apple doesn't fix them. All the functionality of the ipad is covered by other devices people already own (phones and netbooks/laptops). So you do need some serious reasons to shell out for another device -- and a giant ipod with all the same restrictions as the iphone probably won't sell beyond the hardcore fan base, once people really look at the strings attached.

[Penforhire]

I thought of another desirable use for multitasking. There are streaming media applications, such as the new app for "This American Life," that do not allow you to save the file you are streaming nor your location in the stream. This app is what made me think of the concern but it applies to most streamed media on the iPhone. If you exit the streaming app to do something else you cannot pause and return to the same spot in the stream. You get the joy of starting over again at the beginning.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Of course, you are right. But my point here is that while people will be more forgiving for a small and convenient device like an iphone, they will expect much more from the ipad. And these 2 problems will seriously hurt ipad sales, if Apple doesn't fix them. All the functionality of the ipad is covered by other devices people already own (phones and netbooks/laptops). So you do need some serious reasons to shell out for another device -- and a giant ipod with all the same restrictions as the iphone probably won't sell beyond the hardcore fan base, once people really look at the strings attached.

I can see Apple allowing some form of multitasking-possibly not to the extent you might require. Flash ? I won't hold my breath on that one

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by kjk

I can see Apple allowing some form of multitasking-possibly not to the extent you might require. Flash ? I won't hold my breath on that one

We know about Jobs' deep seated hatred for all things Adobe... But why not an alternate browser, like Skyfire for WinMo? That works by doing all the rendering on their servers and allows for a full web experience on a phone. But in the end, if you buy Apple you better learn to fully accept Apple's way of doing things.

[carlobee]

Originally Posted by Sonist

There isn't a single occasion on which i wished my iPhone had traditional multitasking. Not once.

I actually had to use hacks on my old HTCs, to kill processes instead of just minimizing. LOL.

BUT, the one, and only one dealbreaker for me, would be if the iPad does not support Flash.

No Flash, No Buy....

Same here. I even had to jailbreak one of my iPhones to be able to multitask and run backgrounds in the process.

I was also expecting the Flash for a web dedicated device.. even Java (if that's not too much to ask so I could play Farmville on the iPad )

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

No need to hack it, just a long press on the X will close a program, a short press will minimize it....

Not really, it depended on the ROM used. With the HTCs, I never had a ROM (stock or not), which did not have a memory leak and which could run a month or more, as the iPhone can, without a reboot.

Anyway, I personally don't miss multitasking.

But the lack of Flash on a device like the iPad makes it functionally defective, for me.

My problem is, we've had the iPhone for how many years now, yet not a single smart phone comes even close in terms of UI and intuitive use. Android 2 is better than the rest, but still clumsy and way short of the iPhone's UI.

So, I am not so sure the competition is working all that hard (or maybe it's just incapable of good, well-thought out design.) Which is a real bummer, because without Flash, I think I'll skip the iPad.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

But in the end, if you buy Apple you better learn to fully accept Apple's way of doing things.

I agree completely-Apple really is just one option out there-other devices definitely can and will offer other features that Apple will probably never implement.

Personally, I don't have a problem with what Apple has done with the iPhone-I love it. Looking forward to getting some hands on time with the iPad to see if it is something I could use as well.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Not really, it depended on the ROM used. With the HTCs, I never had a ROM (stock or not), which did not have a memory leak and which could run a month or more, as the iPhone can, without a reboot.

Anyway, I personally don't miss multitasking.

But the lack of Flash on a device like the iPad makes it functionally defective, for me.

My problem is, we've had the iPhone for how many years now, yet not a single smart phone comes even close in terms of UI and intuitive use. Android 2 is better than the rest, but still clumsy and way short of the iPhone's UI.

So, I am not so sure the competition is working all that hard (or maybe it's just incapable of good, well-thought out design.) Which is a real bummer, because without Flash, I think I'll skip the iPad.

Actually I personally find HTC Sense (which works the same on both Android and WinMo) in no way inferior or less easy or intuitive to use. You get were you are going faster, with fewer clicks and there is no learning curve. They have come a long way from when you had to tweak it for a day to get it right. Looks like you haven't sneaked a peak over the fence since getting that iphone! Not that tweaking can't be fun. I still enjoy trying out different user ROMs. It feels just like buying a new phone, and things keep getting even better all the time.

Anyway, I am glad Apple is moving along, it helps make things better in overall.