Apple released the latest version of its mobile operating system, bringing multitasking, folders, a unified inbox and wireless printing to the iPad.
Apple said iOS 4.2 for the iPad offers more than 100 new features for the popular devices from the Cupertino, California-based company.
The update is also available for iPhone and iPad touch
Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs said the update, which can be downloaded for free from iTunes, “makes the iPad a completely new product.”
“The iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit,” Jobs said in a statement.
Apple got the jump on its competitors with the launch of the iPad in April in the United States but a number of rivals have launched, or are planning to launch, their own touchscreen tablet computers including South Korea’s Samsung and Canada’s Research In Motion, maker of the Blackberry.
Many of the features in iOS 4.2 were already available for the latest versions of the iPhone and the iPod touch but not for the iPad.
Apple said iPad users can now switch between applications instantly and run more than one at a time, playing a music program like Pandora, for example, while running another application.
Applications can now be organised into folders with a drag-and-drop feature. E-mail features a unified inbox for users with more than one account while Game Centre lets users of the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch play against friends or other opponents and discover games that others are playing.
A new feature called AirPlay streams music, video and photos wirelessly from the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to a television set equipped with Apple TV, Apple’s TV set-top box.
AirPrint allows an iPad owner to wirelessly print documents or photos to AirPrint-enabled printers.
Apple said that 40,000 applications have been created for the iPad and 300,000 for the iPhone and iPod touch. — Relaxnews 2010
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