I wasn’t one of those who spent all night queuing outside the Apple Store for a brand new iPhone 4. I’ve never been one for first generation models of anything, and anyway having recently forked out quite a few quid to replace my lost phone, I’m quite happy with my 3gs for now. That’s probably a good thing given the recent reception issue with the Apple’s latest model.
I did, however update to iOS4 within a day of its release. Having had some time to play with the new OS, I have found the update to be pretty good.
The most visible difference is the addition of a background on the home pages. I like the fact that you can choose different backgrounds for the lock screen and the home screen. Aesthetically it’s difficult to get the right screen for the icon pages: anything too fussy or too light makes the icons harder to stand out.
The most noticeable improvement from a usability perspective is the multi-tasking for third party apps. Having previously had a multi-tasking G1, the lack of it on the iPhone was a pain. For example clicking a web link in one app, launched Safari, and as a result quit that app. A total pain if you want to jump back to the original programme. So the great thing about the multi-tasking is that when you return to a programme, you get it back exactly as you had left it. It seems to work well. A double click on the home button shows the current open applications, and a long press on the icons allows you to close them. I haven’t yet seen any problems with having lots of apps open in multi-tasking and there is no noticeable reduction in speed or battery life.
The other handy new feature is the addition of folders. For the app geeks, there’s no more flipping through page after page of icons to find the one you’re looking for. It is especially useful for web bookmark icons: I’ve avoided using too many in the past so as not to clog up the home screen, but with folder support I can now keep them in one neat place.
There has been a big improvement with the Mail (my most used app on my iPhone) which unifies different mail accounts into one place. As a long-term Gmail user the addition of threading emails by subject is also handy.
I’ve not made use of the other key update features: voice memos (I don’t talk to machines) and additional Bluetooth device support (I don’t play games), so it’s hard to comment on their capabilities. I have noticed, however that the iOS 4 is more buggy than it’s predecessor. A number of apps that were functioning well under the old OS can unexpectedly quit using the new iOS4. The most serious bug that I’ve come across is the Mail freezing when I try to view mails when I have no connection. It doesn’t happen all the time, but there have been a few occasions when I’m catching up on emails on the tube and the whole thing falls over. I have to restart the phone quite a bit more than the old OS.
From a mobile marketing perspective, the iOS4 offers no sginifcant new brand opportunities, but the multi-tasking in particular will help with improving the brand experience when users leave and return to an app. The biggest development in mobile marketing is iAD, which quietly launched in the US on 1st July, in spite of reports of an impending FTC investigation. Although Apple have announced $60 million sales in the US, including the likes of AT&T, Campbell Soup Company and Chanel, it remains to be seen how many brands will fork out the $1 million minimum spend to use the channel.
Posted by Mark Brill 
