iPhone OS 4.0 to come later This Month

 

Apple is widely expected to unveil its new iSlate tablet computer near the end of this month. According to an unconfirmed report, this will run iPhone OS 4.0, which will also power future smartphones and handhelds from this company.

This upcoming tablet computer will require some significant changes to the iPhone OS. Most notable of these is support for at least one more screen resolution.

Apple's previous mobile devices have had 3.5-inch, HVGA (320 by 640 pixel) displays. The iSlate, however, will have a much large screen -- 10.1 inches, according to most reports -- and will therefore require a much higher screen resolution. Exactly what this will be is not yet known, however.

New Tools for Developers
Along with the iSlate and iPhone OS 4.0, a new Software Development Kit (SDK) is also supposedly in the offing for later this month. This will allow programmers to start working on apps for the new tablet computer.

This new device won't be starting from scratch, though.  Because the iSlate is expected to be based on the same operating system as the iPhone, it should also be able to run the same apps. However, at present, many iPhone apps are written to run only on an HVGA screen. For these to support the new tablet, they need to be modified to support the new screen resolution.

Along with the tools coming to developers late this month will supposedly be a simulator to allow them to see how well their apps will function on the iSlate.

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