As you probably know, Apple’s new iOS 4 was released yesterday. The new operating system is compatible with the not yet released iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the second and third generation iPod Touch.

iOS 4 includes over 100 new features, with some of the updates being:

Multitasking

Apple’s iOS 4 allows you to run multiple applications at the same time. If you double-tap the home button, you should be able see a list of applications that are currently running at the bottom of the screen. However, the new operating system only allows for seven applications to be running in the background. Also, most of the background applications can be paused in order to save on the operating system’s resources.

However, the multitasking feature only works on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.

Folders

Another new feature included with iOS 4 is the ability to organize your applications in folders. If you would like to create a new folder, you should enter the editing mode by pressing on an application for a few seconds, until the icons start jiggling. Then, you should drag an application’s icon onto another application’s icon, thus creating a folder.

When you create a folder, a name will be suggested for the folder, based on what types of applications were put in it. However, you don’t have to use the suggested name for a folder and can rename it to anything you choose.

Custom Wallpapers

If you have always wanted to set a custom background for your iPhone or iPod Touch’s screen, you can now do so, in addition to being able to set a background for the lock screen.

If you would like to change your iPhone’s background, you can do so by going to “Settings” menu and then to “Wallpaper”, where you should be able to choose from one of the standard backgrounds or choose from pictures in your camera roll.

However, you are not able to set different backgrounds for each page of applications that you have.

Unified E-mail Inbox

Before the new iOS 4 update, you used to have to switch between your different e-mail account inboxes. With the new operating system, you are now able to view your e-mails from all of your accounts in a unified inbox, which eliminates the need to switch between inboxes.

Camera and Photo Gallery Changes

A new feature included with iOS 4 is the new 5x digital zoom for the iPhone’s camera. In order to zoom in, you should simply tap on the camera’s viewfinder and then you can either tap the plus or minus buttons or drag the slider in order to zoom in or out.

Also, the iPhone’s photo gallery was updated, giving users the ability to organize photos from a certain event, as well as organize pictures by the people appearing in them.

However, in order to organize your photos by event or person, you need to have already used the face recognition feature in either iMovie or Aperture and then sync your photos with iTunes.

Another new feature is that you can now use Geolocation in order to see where your photos were taken, which you can view on a map. You can also sort your pictures by location. If you don’t want to have Geolocation enabled, you can disable it by going to the “General” section of the “Settings” menu where you should be able to turn off “Location Services”.

iPod Playlists

Another new feature included in iOS 4 is the ability to organize your music into playlists, right on your phone.

Spell Check

Included in iOS 4 is a new spell check feature, which underlines misspelled words with a red line. This feature works when you’re composing text messages, e-mails, as well as when you’re using other applications.

Search

With iOS 4, you are now able to search for text messages using a new search box that appears when you go to the “Messages” application and drag down.

Also, users can now view web and Wikipedia results when they use the Universal Search box.

Safari also has a new feature that allows you to see the title of a webpage you recently visited, when typing in a web address, as well as the URL of a website.

iBooks

Another addition to the iPhone and iPod Touch is the ability to purchase and read books using the new “iBooks” application, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

 

Apple’s new iOS 4 has more features, which you can learn about by going to Apple’s iPhone Software Update page.

However, some of the new features included in iOS 4 are not available on all versions of the iPhone or iPod Touch.

If you would like to download and install iOS 4, you can do so by clicking on the “Check for Update” button.