How long do you think until multi-tasking becomes available? They would have to add it sooner or later to keep up with Android.
Multitasking is not the point of this device. I laugh at all the folks bemoaning this aspect of the iPad. What great feats of multi-tasking are you wanting to do? This thing is not a computer, it's a media appliance. If multi-tasking is that big of a deal, you need to get a laptop....not an iPad.
However, to say this thing and the iPhones don't multitask is technically not true. The app-makers can make programs do this, many already do, such as ESPN Radio, Emergency scanner, etc... This is a software workaround and not a hardware issue.
For instance, while in the ESPN radio app if you want to continue listening while doing something else you can hit "Background" and it'll set it up to automatically stream in the background. Once there, you can hit the home button and go about your business while listening to ESPN.
Of course, you can also listen to your music in the iPod application while doing other things as well. So saying it's not capable of multi-tasking is not entirely correct.
As well, I'd bet my bottom dollar that the same people who gripe about the lack of multi-tasking are the same ones who'd be griping when the battery life was down to 3 hours. You can't win with some people.
Multitasking is not the point of this device.
Multitasking is not the point of this device. I laugh at all the folks bemoaning this aspect of the iPad. What great feats of multi-tasking are you wanting to do? This thing is not a computer, it's a media appliance. If multi-tasking is that big of a deal, you need to get a laptop....not an iPad.
However, to say this thing and the iPhones don't multitask is technically not true. The app-makers can make programs do this, many already do, such as ESPN Radio, Emergency scanner, etc... This is a software workaround and not a hardware issue.
And yes friends, as disappointed as I am that this isn't going to be the lightweight megabeast I hoped for, I will still get one eventually because I like cool toys and have high hopes that third party developers will teach Apple where they went wrong and fix it.
I'd laugh with you, but Apple isn't tickling my funny bone right now. Let's hope by the end of March we hear of updated capabilities to excite sales and make people feel like they are really getting something that does things better than the iphone and better than a laptop. Jobs reputation may depend on it.