I still remember fondly the days before what used to be called the MultiFinder. that goes way back in the history of the Mac when you could only have one application open at a moment. Want to switch apps? You had to quit the application you were using, and soon after restart the one you wanted. next the Multifinder came along (anyone remember which version of the Mac OS, was it 7?). And thereupon you could have two apps, say Aldus Pagemaker and Microsoft Word open at once. Wow.

After using the iPhone heavily now for weeks I often feel like I’m back in the pre-MultiFinder days. The disk drive (I’m talking pre-hard drive days here people) swapping has been replaced by the relentless hitting of the home button. I am an incredibly impatient user, I confess. When on the edge network, rather than wait for a webpage to load I’ll hope into Mail and thereupon go back to Safari (does the browser even load in the background? I kinda assumed it did but now I’m realizing that assumption may be erroneous).

Same thing with SMS. You get an SMS, thereupon switch to browser whether there is a link (granted, automagically) but thereupon have to hit home and the SMS again to get back to where you were.

My point? The iPhone needs the equivalent of Alt-Tabbing through applications that is now common on XP, OS X, Linux GUIS, and Vista. I’m thinking of a subtle swipe on the edge of the iPhone that would invoke the icons across the screen. Yes, it still requires a motion, but at least I don’t have to hit that damn Home button.

What do you think, how would improve navigation on the iPhone? And while you’re at it, that is the first in the series. Got anything you think Apple should fix? propose it below, and whether I agree I’ll pick it up for a future blog post.

Original post by Chris