iOS4 on my iPhone 3GS

Recently I have upgraded my iPhone 3GS’ OS to iOS4. There are couple of new features I liked and few I did not – well actually I wish Apple had done a little more.

After iOS4 was released I read on few forums that users had issues with the upgrade; some lost their connection, some could not start their iPhone, some had to connect their iPhone to another computer to get it started etc. But for me the process was pretty smooth. I upgraded iTunes and then plugged in my iPhone with my Mac. Before doing anything I backed up my iPhone and transferred all my purchases to Mac. Then finally I hit the button to upgrade, which took about 5 minutes to finish.

iPhone restarted after upgrade and first thing I saw was the background image displayed on my home screen! Home screen background can be set with a different image than the Lock screen. Second thing I noticed is the multitasking. When you are running an App, double press the home button which will bring up the multitasking UI. This UI shows any App you’ve been using before the current App. Tapping on one of the previously running Apps will show a nice transition to switch the Apps. Multitasking allows to keep any App run in the background and kind of saving the session of the App. Many people have mentioned that app like YouTube can be used to buffer a video while using a different app. But I have not tested it yet. From the apps I use, like Facebook – after the recent update, it will remain at the state I left it and will not update anything until I go back in the app and tap on the reload option.

There is a new option that allows you to lock the portrait orientation. This is something I think Apple could have done little more. I would love to lock the landscape orientation when I am reading a news article or something. Another feature that surprised me was the zooming option given in the camera app. I took pictures after upgrading but did not notice it until after few days on my way to the US I was taking a picture and wanted to focus on the subject. As soon as I tapped on the screen it showed a new zoom bar at the bottom. Although I didn’t like the picture quality but it was okay to have. The mail app has been updated; it can now show combined inbox if you are using multiple email accounts. Mails are organised in thread, which you can turn off from settings. Then there is a spell check, so whenever there is a spelling mistake it shows with red underline.

Best feature that I think iOS4 brings is the folder option. I can now have one home screen with apps organised in folders. Folders do have limitations, i.e. it can only have 12 apps in it but that is more than enough for me. I had 3 screens of apps which I have trimmed down to 1 now.

There are more features, some are only available on iPhone 4 but I am sure I have not found all those are available on iPhone 3GS.

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