Apple iOS4 Multitasking Opens the Door to iTunes' Biggest Competitor -â€" Mobile Radio

The generally-praised Apple (APPL) iOS4 is influencing video chat, interactive games and book reading, but its biggest update, iPhone/iPad multitasking, will influence literally dozens of applications. The Internet radio website Pandora is one of the benefactors -- and it could make the already popular application and its competitors truly competitive with iTunes itself.

Adam Frucci at Gizmodo:

The latest version of Pandora's iPhone app just hit the App Store, bringing with it the promised multitasking support that'll let you stream music in the background on iOS4. It's free, so go get it!

• Constant disruptions: On a mobile phone, any call would disrupt the current music. Even apps that jumped back into the program would have to reload the app and slowly connect to the music server via the cell or wireless connection.
• All music or no music: On a mobile phone or tablet, radio apps required either playing music (and only playing music) or not playing any at all.
• Only Apple music for multitasking: Whether intended or not, Apple has made iTunes the only multitasking music "app". Potential iTunes replacements like SoundHound have been neutered by single-task environments, while portable radio programs like Pandora have been limited in growth on Apple devices.

Photo courtesy of PetroleumJelliffe. Related:

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