From the time of the iPhone’s inception, four generations of the device have been launched along with four total revisions of Apple’s ‘On the go’ OS, named iOS.  Each generation of iPhone and its iOS complete  another aspect to the ‘On the Move’ functionality:  the iPhone 3g added 3g network capabilities and global positioning; the iPhone 3GS was enhanced with a compass, better processor and more advanced camera, which included video; the iPhone 4 comprising two cameras for FaceTime video calling and an even more advanced display.  Due to these differences between each iteration of iPhone, new iPhone apps  have been generated with different iPhone advancement.  In order to make up for the many changes and keep compatibility between the various iphone types, developers compile multiple types of each apps for each iOS.  Ex, not all applications may take advantage of iOS 4′s multitasking abilities. And many applications need a specific iOS generation to be present for it to work correctly.

Most apps with varying iPhone generations not only cater to bugfixes, but also add more userbility, allowing every new functions the new iOS includes.  Occasionally an iPhone user will be forced to employ a previous application type, as the new type may not be supported by their specific iPhone.  To clear any confusion,  manufacturers can state the minimum iOS version needed to use the specific application.  Three apps that have specific type changes to keep compatibility are Atomic Web Browser, Meebo, and instapaper.  Finally  let’s have a look at how these apps have progressed to work with each new iPhone version.

The first application which has  new types for differing iPhones is Atomic Web Browser.  This app has morphed into different versions in order to continue working among all types of iPhone.  The most recent type, 4.0.1 (as of writing, includes TV functionality for the iPhone4 and iPad.  In addition, the most recent Atomic Web Browser version contains several fixes for bugs which were caused by iOS 4.2.  Similar to Atomic Web Browser, Meebo is interoperable with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad; however, the application requires that the iphone is using iOS 3.1.3 or later.  Due to a recent update, Meebo now has support for iOS 4 too, in addition to a list of bug fixes that will help ensure future iOS compatibility.  One of the recent  version of Meebo, 1.3.1, now has multitasking support likea lot of other apps that were updated to take advantage of iOS 4′s new features.  The third app, Instapaper, incorporates an important fix from version 2.3.1 which caused crashing on iPads running iOS 3.2.  In addition, Instapaper used to require iOS 3.0 to be installed, however at present, the app needs at least iPhone OS 3.1.

These apps are just three illustrations of how developers are constantly striving new upgrades for each new iOS iteration that comes out for the iPhone, iPad Touch, and iPad.  With each update made to the iPhone OS there are new operability and functionality, however the differences also spawn bugs and compatibility concerns with prior versions.  Regardless of what generation iPhone you  are using, it is safe to say that there is an application version that is be particularly for the phone.

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