The Rumour Mine: Blur for iPhone, Prince of Persia delay, and iPad multitasking

Talk of big announcements during Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) the second week of June is swirling, particularly on the part of game developers who are eager to know what cool, new hardware is around the corner.

Of course, there are some developers that are just getting going on the current line up of iPhone and iPod touch handsets. Activision, for instance, is a relatively new player in the portable space and it's only starting to rev its engines.

The opposite holds true for Gameloft, which has big releases on the way, but not without scheduling snafus. It's all good, though. I don't mind minor delays as long as the games turn out nicely, and Gameloft has a knack for releasing quality stuff.

iPad multitasking to allow multiple apps to run side-by-side on screen

Apple has already shown off its multitasking solution for iPhone and iPod touch, but the company's design for iPad remains unseen. Sources familiar with the iPhone OS 4.0 software claim that multitasking will operate differently on iPad from iPhone, with the ability to run multiple apps windowed on a single screen.

On iPhone, apps will be navigated using a task bar: in short, you're only able to interface with one app on the screen at any given time. You might have multiple apps running, but essentially you're tinkering with just one app.

On iPad, you'll have the option of dividing the screen so that specific apps can run simultaneously on the screen. For example, you could be checking e-mail and also have an internet radio app open for scanning stations.

Not all apps will work with the setup, though, and special accommodation has to be made for such multitasking. In other words, apps have to be optimised for it.

Precisely how this will work is something Apple is certain to announce next month during its keynote speech at the start of Worldwide Developers Conference.

Blur is Activision's next iPhone game

Not a company for talking much to the media about its plans for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, it's largely been a mystery just what Activision has planned.

Speculation has swirled about iterations of Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises coming to the devices (which still look to be on track, though later this year in tandem with similar console releases), but it's a new, unexpected series that will appear on iPhone first.

Blur, the recently released arcade racer from Bizarre Creations, will purportedly be the next game from Activision for iPhone and iPod touch.

Unlike Black Rock and its lacklustre adaptation of Split/Second that appeared earlier this month, Activision has invested more energy into its portable racer. The Fan Points system featured in the console version is intact on iPhone, rewarding you with upgrade points for pulling off daring driving manoeuvres and wins.

Single-player is the focus - there's no chatter about multiplayer that I've heard, though it would be great it Activision pushed online multiplayer as it did with Call of Duty: World at War - Zombies.

Activision hopes to have Blur out before E3 - a show during which the company won't be hyping its work on Apple portables, opting instead to focus on big console releases.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within delayed to avoid conflict with Prince of Persia Classic

Originally expected in tandem with the theatrical release of Persia of Persia, Gameloft's iPhone and iPod touch adaptation of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within has quietly been pushed back. With Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction having come out on the 27th, the company isn't keen on having Warrior Within out in the same week.

Yet, there's also concern over conflicting with Ubisoft's planned launch of Prince of Persia Classic at the beginning of June. The publisher slipped in word of the game in its latest financial report, putting Gameloft in the uncomfortable position of competing with its own partner, in the same franchise.

A-w-k-w-a-r-d.

It's reasonable that Gameloft doesn't want to risk cannibalising sales of Splinter Cell: Conviction or competing with another Prince of Persia game, so while it's unfortunate we have to wait longer for Warrior Within, the decision makes good sense.