Quick Look: iPhone 4 Hands On

The iPhone 4 isn't perfect, but speeds and performance are impressive. Here's how Tom's Guide sees iPhone 4 a few hours after taking it out of the box.

The most controversial issue of the new OS

This has been the most controversial issue of the new OS. People have wanted multitasking forever. Only Apple apps could run in the background but third-party apps could not. It was ridiculous that you could not leave AIM running in the background, for example. A basic Motorola flip phone could do that. Android phone makers certainly made an issue of this.

The multitasking in the phone as of this writing is limited in two ways. First off, apps have to be rewritten to support multitasking. Apps as they exist now simply won't work. Check the App Store regularly for updates.

The ones that benefit the most

Audio apps are the ones that benefit the most. Now you can listen to a podcast or streaming radio like Pandora or radio while doing something else. VoIP also works, so you can use Skype while doing something else.

However, you still can't download apps from App Store in the background. You will still need to set your phone down and let it complete the download before moving on to another task.

The multitasking window

You access the multitasking window by double clicking the home button on the phone quickly, just like double clicking a mouse. The bottom slides up and you get one horizontal row of icons of the apps you can access, with the app that's running on the far left side of the list. This is primarily iPhone apps, but the list will grow as more apps are multitasking-enabled.