Eye Catching Design On The Nokia N9 And The iPhone 4

The Apple iPhone 4 is undoubtedly the most well known mobile phone available. The device goes beyond the realms of a traditional mobile phone and in some peoples eyes is more like an object of desire rather than a functional everyday tool. Not many other phones can match this appeal but Nokia look set to come very close with the forthcoming release of their gorgeous looking N9 handset which sports the new Meego operating system that looks set to directly compete with Apples iOS4.

There is no question that both the iPhone 4 and the Nokia N9 are two of the most desirable handsets available. The Apple has always scored highly in the style department and the addition of a new white model to the range has further enhanced the phones appeal. This latest version of the handsets differs from previous models in that it comprises of two toughened sheets of glass that make up the front and rear panels. The advantage of using this method is that colour variations such as the white model now look considerably different rather than just being a different colour back panel. A neat metallic strip is the filling in this sandwich of glass and runs all the way around the sides of the phone. The N9 is even more minimalist than the Apple as it offers no physical buttons on the front at all and this has enabled the Nokia developers to take the screen to the very edges of the phones body which makes it perhaps the most striking design currently available. The edges are very clean on the phone and the only visible curved element is the screen which offers a nice contrast to the rawness of the phone's body. The Nokia N9 stands out in this area but one wonders if we will say the same in a few months time when inevitable imitation models start to hit the market.

The Nokia N9 offers a higher potential storage capacity than the iPhone thanks to the two variants that the model is available in. Both handsets off basic models with a large capacity 16GB of internal storage. When you take a look at the premium models however Nokia doubles what the 32GB Apple can offer by releasing a 64GB version of the phone. Neither of these model offer external card support but one could argue that with such substantial internal storage additional capacity is not necessary. In terms of operational memory both models offer good amounts of RAM but the 512MB available on the iPhone 4 is eclipsed once again by the N9 which gives a massive 1GB. An area where the Apple does really excel however is with its screen and despite the excellence of the 3.9 inch display on the N9 it still has some way to go before it can match up to the excellent standards set by the Retina Display on the iPhone 4.

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Apple iPhone to soon get long-sought multitasking

Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad devices will soon be able to run more than one program at a time, an ability that phones from Apple's rivals already offer and that iPhone owners have long sought.

The changes, coming this summer to iPhones and this fall to iPads, mean that users might be able to listen to music through the Pandora program and check a bank account online simultaneously. Currently, users must return to Apple's home screen, effectively quitting the open program, before starting a new task.

"We weren't the first to this party, but we're going to be the best," Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared Thursday, as bloggers, software developers and others in the audience greeted the news of such "multitasking" with applause.

The iPhone already permits some multitasking, but that's largely limited to Apple's own programs. Apple had not given users ways to seamlessly switch among all the software "apps" available from outside software companies, the way phones from rivals Palm Inc. and Google Inc. already do.

That will change with the updates known as iPhone OS 4. Apple generally makes such updates available for free, and often automatically, as a software download.

"It really changes the way you use the iPhone," Jobs said. "You're bouncing around the apps with tremendous fluidity."

Jobs said the company waited so long because it wanted to offer multitasking in a way that didn't drain the iPhone's battery or reduce the phone's performance.

In demonstrating the feature, Jobs double-tapped on the iPhone's main button while playing a game to reveal a row of icons for other programs that were quietly running in the background and accessible with a finger tap.

Multitasking could enhance the functionality of Internet phone services such as Skype. Currently, a call automatically ends if you exit the Skype app. With multitasking, that call could continue while you look up directions, or you could receive incoming Skype calls even if you're reading the news or a "Gossip Girl" blog instead.

Full multitasking had been high on many people's wish lists. Because Apple's new iPad runs the same software as the iPhone, changes would apply to that larger gadget as well. Some people have held off buying one because of its inability to run more than one program at once.

Other updates include the ability to have messages from multiple e-mail accounts land in a single inbox and a way to connect an iPhone with a regular keyboard using Bluetooth wireless technology.

But Apple still won't support Flash technology, even though many Web sites require it for displaying video. Flash was alongside multitasking at the top of many wish lists.

Although Apple is making the updates available to all iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad models, some features will only work with newer versions. The multitasking function, for example, won't work with the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G — only the 3GS versions that came out last summer. For the iPod Touch, you'd need the models that came out late last year.

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