Apple iOS 4.2 Software is Here, But What Does it Mean for You?

November 23, 2010 - BizPlanHelp.com - The day has finally come, iOS 4.2 is here!  For iPad owners this day has been much anticipated as it brings a much needed feature - Multitasking.  If you bought an Apple iPad prior to today, as I did,  multitasking was one of the most noticeable features missing.

What does multitasking bring to the iPad?  Finally, you can listen to your music and surf the web at the same time,  You want to read your email and listen to a Podcast at the same time?  No problem.  The new iOS 4.2 also brings folders to the iPad, which will allow you to organize you to declutter your home screen.  If you are app hungry like me, your home screen is really 4 to 5 home screen.  I am already picturing a one folder for games to rule over all those game apps.

For those that have an iPod Touch or iPhone, multitasking and folders is not new.  The Touch and iPhone got mutitasking over the summer with iOS 4, which was never made available for the iPad.  But there are other feature upgrades in iOS 4.2 that are for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch owners including AirPrint and AirPlay.  AirPrint is very useful by allowing you to print from your iPhone directly to a printer.  AirPlay, while not as useful as the other upgrades, allows you to stream your video and audio content to Apple TV or AirPlay enabled speakers.  Whereas not many people have Apple TV to take advantage of this feature, it does have a coolness factor.  Also, I see a pair of AirPlay speakers for my office in my future - Santa are you reading this?

For those non-Apple people, there is now even more reason to have Apple envy, but there is a bright side.  The imitators are on their way and they will copy these new features just like they have been following the road map laid by Apple over the last decade.  The tablet and phone software and hardware people are looking up at Apple, but Apple's view down on everyone else is not from the same height that it was 6 months ago.  Droid handsets are hitting the market en mass.  Dell, HP and Samsung have tablets that they are hoping compete with the iPad. For now the iPad is on the top of the market. 

Curious about what apps are on my iPad, go to What is on my iPad?