New Apple OS sighted - for iPhone or iSlate?
Published: 25 January, 2010
READ MORE: Apple | OS | Mobile Content | eBook | iPhone
In the run-up to the presumed launch of the Apple tablet this week, the other mobile internet players are talking up their own strategies. The smartphone OS also-rans, Palm and Microsoft, have been discussing new games capabilities for some weeks; Nokia has made its navigation offerings, which it sees as a key differentiator since buying Navteq, free. Google has also been throwing the spotlight on location-based services, but few have been able to distract attention for long from the 'iSlate' rumors, which have now spread into the operating system.
Exhausted with speculation on pricing, screen size, processors and content models, the pundits are now wondering whether the tablet will come with a shiny new operating system. And if so, whether there will be apps compatibility with the iPhone and/or Mac?
According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, which monitors smartphone apps usage and is usually well clued-in to all things Apple, the iPhone OS will be used in the new device too, though with enhancements to optimize its large-screen media experience, especially on the video side.
Through applications in which Flurry Analytics is embedded, the firm says it has seen clear signs of testing activities on a set of tablet devices on Apple's campus. "We have identified approximately 50 devices do not leave Apple's campus and are running a yet-to-be released OS. Many of these applications (about 200 that we can see) match the kinds of apps that have been presumed to run on the Tablet, per what has been covered in the press to date," said the firm, as quoted by GigaOm.
These tests were first observed last October but have accelerated in recent weeks, with about 200 apps being tested, dominated by games. Although news, books and information services also appear highly, the games focus throws some doubt on the thesis that the iSlate will be mainly optimized for reading newspapers, magazines and interactive books - in other words, a sort of 'Kindle-plus' that could be a knight in shining armor for the publishing industry.
Flurry also hints that Apple will simultaneously release a new version of iPhone OS, but not a full new operating system. The hardware it detected was running OS 3.2, not released yet. Historically, Apple releases OS upgrades just before releasing new hardware, and the iPhone's system is badly in need of some important enhancements, such as multitouch and multitasking, that many developers had hoped for when OS 3.1.2. appeared. However, it is not inevitable that 3.2 will be for the iSlate - it could signify an upcoming fourth generation iPhone, perhaps (as previously reported) launching ahead of the usual June schedule. Either way, Apple will need to offer some reassurance to programmers that the new system, whether large-screen or vamped-up handset, will support legacy apps.
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