We've been talking about Apple a lot recently, but its business strategy is such that there always seems something to talk about. While the first iPhone 4s are arriving in American customers’ hands the rest of the world is able to get a glimpse of the new phone’s functions via the iOS4 software upgrade.

iOS4 (which stands for the fourth operating system for the iPhone) is available on all 3G and 3GS iPhones and on the latest iPod Touch models.

To upgrade connect your phone to iTunes, like you would to sync it, and press update. (You may also have to update your version of iTunes to 9.2 - to do that go to Help > Check for updates.) This is where, for some, there may be a problem.

Updating my iPhone 3G took two hours. Others have reported it taking longer. Some users have also reported losing contacts and applications, though they seem to be in the minority. Thankfully I had no trouble on that front. And for those with a 3GS, there should be no issue.

What does all this updating get you? A few nifty things, it turns out.

Folders: To arrange icons on your iPhone pages you touch the screen until the icons wiggle, then move them around or delete them (and press the home button to go back to normal functions). To create a folder, just drag an icon on top of another one. iOS4 automatically creates a folder and gives it a name based on what kind of apps are in it.

As someone who was once called a "systematising geek" I love having my similar apps gathered together. And having fewer pages in the phone makes navigation faster.

Camera zoom: When the camera is open, tapping the screen brings up the zoom tool. You can digitally zoom up to 5x but image quality suffers.

Spell checking: The familiar little red line appears under misspelled words as you type. Selecting the word gives you some correction options.

Wallpaper: This is the most cosmetic change iOS4 brings. Instead of plain black you can now have a design or photo sitting behind your app icons.

Multi-tasking: This is what iPhone users have been waiting for. Now some apps can be running "in the background" while you use others. Double-tapping the home button shows you which apps are open; pressing the icon is a fast way of switching between them.

If you want to stop the apps, hold down your finger until the icons wiggle then press the red button. The more apps you have running the slower the phone gets.

Multitasking and the wallpaper function are only available on the 3GS and the latest (3rd Gen) iPod Touch. Multitasking takes a lot of grunt so needs the new processors, but nobody knows why the wallpaper wasn't rolled out wider. Possibly to sell more upgrades when the iPhone 4 is released.

There's nothing bad about the release, just a few annoyances for those with 3G phones – such as the time it takes to upgrade.

Productivity site Lifehacker has more tips and shortcuts that may come in handy.

Update: There have been a number of 3G users complaining that iOS4 has severely slowed down their phone. I've noticed this with my phone over the last few days too. If you have a 3G (as opposed to a 3GS) you may want to consider this and may choose not to upgrade.

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