Apple plans to add multi-tasking to iPhone

CUPERTINO, Calif.
— Days after launching Apple’s new iPad tablet, company executives are
back at work Thursday morning sketching out their soon-to-be-released
next-generation iPhone operating system.

The company’s brass invited media, analysts and developers to Apple headquarters in Cupertino for a 10 a.m. “sneak peek” briefing on their latest iPhone software tinkerings.

The biggest change is enhanced multitasking
capabilities, which users have long requested. With iPhone 4.0, users
will be able to listen to Pandora, the customized radio station app,
while, say, reading news online. They can use the Skype
phone app while scanning other programs to look for a place to eat or
find the time of a movie. Or they can run a GPS app while listening to
music.

“It really changes the way you use the iPhone,” CEO Steve Jobs said. “You bounce apps with tremendous fluidity.”

Jobs said Apple delayed rolling out expanded
multitasking feature because it usually creates a drain on battery and
makes the device sluggish.

“We were not the first to this party, but we will be the best,” Jobs said.

In a meeting with employees earlier this year, Jobs
reportedly said Apple will aggressively work on an “A-plus” update to
the iPhone and that Google’s Android mobile software won’t be able to keep pace.

“The fact they are releasing 4.0 within days of
their iPad launch says something about how important the mobile space
is for them,” said Chetan Sharma, an independent wireless industry analyst. “They want to capture the buzz and developers in the space.”

In just three years, Apple has carved out a sizable chunk of the U.S. and global smart phone markets; in the United States last year, the iPhone represented 22 percent of sales, and 16 percent globally, he said. Research In Motion’s BlackBerry is the leader in the United States with 39 percent of the market, while Nokia has the No. 1 spot globally with 35 percent.

Google’s decision to sell the Nexus One smart phone, which it developed with Taiwan gadget manufacturer HTC, placed it squarely in competition with Apple. Google’s Android mobile phone operating system runs on three dozen devices made by nine vendors, including HTC, Motorola and Samsung. Microsoft,
meanwhile, is creating a phone, dubbed “Pink” and geared toward social
media, to revitalize its struggling efforts against the iPhone and
Android devices.

“It’s a highly competitive space,” Sharma said. “Apple needs to stay at the top of its game to make sure sales don’t drop.”

Apple is also expected to reveal today a new mobile ad platform. Last year, Apple acquired Quattro after Google
snapped up rival mobile ad company AdMob that, analysts say, Apple had
been eyeing. In 2009, ads represented 12 percent of revenue from mobile
applications; by 2012 that will swell to 28 percent, Sharma said.

“Apple wants to make sure they have access to the
data that tells them what consumers are buying and what brands they are
interacting with,” he said. “That helps them with the development of
the iPhone operating system and positions the company as a leading
platform for advertising.”

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