So we've just had a chance to take our iPad out for a spin sporting iOS 4.2...
and it's pretty great. The addition of multitasking, folders, and big
improvements in mail (amongst other things) finally make the device
feel more like a computer and less like a gigantic iPhone. Ironic
really, since these updates rolled out to the iPhone first. In our
brief use of the new and improved iPad (and particularly with
multitasking), we're impressed to see that there doesn't seem to be any
lag or slowdown on the device while swapping between apps (despite the
smaller amount of RAM on board here) or throwing together folders.
We're pretty heartened to see performance matching what we've come to
expect on our iPhone 4 -- admittedly we had reservations about what the
experience would be like. Folders are an especially notable inclusion
here due to the pure silliness of scrolling through multiple iPad
pages, and we're happy to see them intact on the bigger device.
We get the sense that this update is going to be a huge improvement for
general navigation, but there's also going to be a learning curve
because it changes the overall feel of the iPad (for the better, of
course). The device has gone from seeming bulky and sluggish to
something far more sleek. With the addition of multitasking and folders
(along with sizable usability improvements) the iPad finally begins its
evolution into the product it's seemed destined to be -- the middle
ground between netbook, game device, and media hub. Keep on reading
after the break for a look at some of the major changes in 4.2, as well
as a quick walkthrough video of the OS in action.
Overall look and feel: In general everything works
just about the same as the iPhone 4. Surprisingly (and perhaps due to
the A4 purring along at 1GHz), it doesn't feel like the device is
hurting due to RAM deficiencies or CPU strain. Flipping in and out of
apps is generally smooth, though we did have one major crash when
trying to forward a message in Mail. Just Mail crashed out, but it was
extremely jarring. We also noticed some scrolling issues with moving
from Spotlight search back to our icons on the homescreen. This is a
beta, so we're not surprised to see a few hiccups. What's surprising is
how few we're seeing overall.
Multitasking: Here's some good news -- apps that are
already taking advantage of multitasking on iOS 4 for the iPhone will
work here just as you'd expect. Our family favorite Colloquy was all
set to go when we loaded up 4.2 on the iPad, and a handful of other
universal apps which do backgrounding worked as well. As we said in the
opening paragraph, halving the amount of RAM iOS has to play with
doesn't immediately seem to cause multitasking issues. We'll chalk that
up to some boss management.
AirPlay / AirPrint: AirPlay and AirPrint are both
active on the device, but you need the right configuration to get them
working. For AirPrint, that means having a compatible printer or
sharing a printer with 10.6.5 running on your system. You'll see the
dialog in Safari, Mail, and a handful of other native apps. As far as
AirPlay is concerned, some readers have seen the dialog pop up, but
we're not getting it on our iPad. It looks like device is looking for
an Airport or Apple TV on your network -- it's certainly not seeing the
Time Capsule we have here. Regardless, both appear super simple to get
going with, and it's obviously a huge gain to be able to push content
out to other sources. These are two feature we're seriously looking
forward to exploiting. Now, if Apple would just give us a real file
system...
Folders: You can now add more than 12 items to a
folder. Up to 20 -- a big relief for those of us with a lot of apps
hanging around our iPad Springboard.
On This Page: "Find in page" as you know everywhere
else is now active in the browser. The option is all but hidden in the
Google search menu within Safari, but it works just about like you'd
expect it to, highlighting each instance of your search.
Music widget / brightness / orientation: The
orientation switch no longer controls orientation. It's a mute / unmute
switch now! We were pretty surprised to see the change, but it actually
makes far more sense (orientation is now controlled with a button on
the music / brightness widget). It's almost like Apple is taking a page
from the jailbreak favorite SBSettings, which lets you access a whole
mess of controls from one simple place. Of course, Apple isn't giving
us nearly the kind of toggles we'd like. Bluetooth, WiFi, and 3G anyone?
Game Center: The app is present here, and looks pretty
good on the big screen. There aren't a whole mess of differences, but
any apps that have been tuned to play nice with the network should be
taking here.
Notes: As John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame
has pointed out (via Twitter), you're finally able to change the font
settings in the Notes app, thus saving your eyes from the hideous
contours of the Marker Felt font. Helvetica and Chalkboard are
available in its place. Really, Chalkboard?
