‘iPad a completely new product’ after latest OS update

Apple released the latest version of its mobile operating system on Monday bringing multitasking, folders, a unified inbox and wireless printing to the iPad.

Apple said iOS 4.2 for the iPad, the iPhone and iPad Touch offers more than 100 new features to the trend-setting tablet computer from the Cupertino-based company.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the upgraded software, which can be downloaded for free from online entertainment store 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 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.

Email features a unified inbox for users with more than one account while “Game Center” 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 from US computer maker Hewlett-Packard.

Apple said on Monday that 40 000 applications have been created for the iPad and 300 000 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Other updates include:

Game Center: Social gaming comes to the iPad. Find friends or use auto-match to play multiplayer games against new opponents. Track achievements and compare high scores.

iTunes TV show rentals: Rent TV shows commercial free in HD for just 99¢ an episode.

Better Mail: Messages from all your accounts in a unified inbox, organise messages by threads, and open attachments in third-party apps.

Find text on web pages: In Safari, you can do a quick text search to find and highlight specific words and phrases on even the longest web pages.

Notes with fonts: Customise your notes using different fonts — Marker Felt, Helvetica, and Chalkboard.

Reply to calendar invitations: Reply to event invitations from friends using calendar services like Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft Exchange from the built-in Calendar app.

Keyboard and dictionary enhancements iOS 4.2 includes support for over 50 languages and dialects, with more than 30 new international keyboards and dictionaries for iPad.

Accessibility enhancements Control VoiceOver using a wireless keyboard. Output in braille to over 30 supported 
wireless Bluetooth refreshable braille displays in more than 25 languages.

Enhanced enterprise support Businesses can take advantage of stronger security features, new device management capabilities, and improved enterprise integration.

Messaging with text tones Know who’s texting without looking at your screen. There are 17 new alerts to choose from and you can assign custom tones for people in your contact list.