So I got an iPhone a month or so ago... And Jailbroke it (FWIW, I used Spirit). Then I got MyWI, and now I can use my iPhone as a wifi hotspot! Totally bitchen! Matt
For those that don't know what I'm talking about... Apple has a lock on "official" applications that it will allow to be sold via the App store. But some of the restrictions are totally bogus (though legal). So there are sites, Cydia.com and www.rockapp.com, that is a depositary for non-apple approved applications for the iPhone and iPad. But you have to "jailbreak" your phone to get access to the site. Things that I like are an app to allow some of my apps to "think" they are on WiFi when they are on 3G... Lots of apps aren't allowed to stream audio or the like when not on WiFi. I also love Backgrounder, that allows apps to keep running in the background, effectively allowing for multi-tasking on the current iPhones. FWIW, while iPhone OS 4 supposedly allows for multi-tasking, this is only on the new hardware, as they are worried that running too many apps will over tax the previous iPhones, and drain the battery too fast. I call BS on this as I'm a big boy and can fully choose whether I want to run multiple apps with reduced battery life or not. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that all this stuff breakes my terms of service, but screw it, I'm turning on features that should be there but aren't.... Oh, and you can do things like run Skype over your 3G data plan and not get time charges for phone calls. All these things that are perfect apps for devices like smart phones, but one can't do because the cell companies want to bill you for time.... And no, this isn't an "unlock" that will let the phone run on other service providers. I don't know much about this, but it appears that doing this is difficult under iPhone OS3.1.3 and higher (iPad and iPhone 4).... Matt
Not quite the way multitasking works assuming you have a device that supports multitasking and multitasking is available only with iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. If the app has been updated to take advantage of iOS 4’s multitasking features, it’s generally in a saved state: It’s technically still running, but it’s using very few system resources—just enough to store the app’s saved state in memory. The app knows exactly what you were doing the last time you switched away from it, and when you switch back, it instantly picks up right where you left off. (If your iPhone runs out of free memory, it will start shutting down these apps one by one, so occasionally you will find that an app you closed won’t pick up right where it left off, after all.)
My 3Gs with iOS4 has Multitasking.... and as Nathan has stated. It will keep items on the multitask list that are in the "saved state" if they are not multitask aware. I have the new Pandora that is multitask and it works awesome! simple explaination here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/199830/apple_ios_4_vs_android_multitasking_which_approach_is_better_for_users.html?tk=hp_new
I'm talking about true multitasking... like having the phone call or iPod app run when other things are running. The hardware can do it, it's just locked out by Apple. Running OS4 on a pre iPhone 4 device doesn't get all that there is to be had, at least according to the iPhone OS developer sites I was reading on. The app "backgrounder" for jailbroken phones will let any application run like it's "in the foreground" when other apps are in the foreground. The hit you take is that if they are CPU intensive, some things get choppy. Anyway, the hardware can do much, much more than Apple lets it do. It will be interesting to see if Apple steps up and lets more of the iPhone Cats out of the bag now that the competition from other smart phones is heating up. Matt