The hate against Android for multi-tasking is actually an okay thing with me. I find that my usage on Android versus Maemo is radically different. I'm still unsure which one I favor, I liked the tasks running in the background (say music) that works seamlessly while doing another task (say e-mail).

But that already exists for me fully on my Nexus 7 tablet without issue. But the game changer for me has been the recent upswing of two apps at the same time for the Galaxy Note series, also on the SGS3 as well. It's not there on my Nexus 7 yet, but I'm sure it's coming since it's in testing on CM10. But 2 apps isn't multi-tasking... I know.

But at the end of the day, some of the multi-tasking that people want to do on the N900 aren't things I'd call multi-tasking either. Listening to music but no immediately available controls - I have to focus it - isn't ideal in my book. Believe it or not, I think BB10 has shown controls on minimized apps that QNX allows for such interaction. Now that has my attention. The ability to start an app, forget about it and have it finish what I had started in it - Android does that for a lot of apps that I'd consider important to that usage, such as type an e-mail, then send it and then minimize/swap while it sends and blam. It just works. But to have things switch to serial tasking, in some cases it just makes sense.

I'd hate to be playing a game and it continues playing when I answer the phone. I'd hate to be playing music and it continues playing when I answer the phone and I can't stop it quickly enough to hear the phone clearly. I'd hate to be writing an e-mail and switch to the phone and not be able to copy/paste a number from that e-mail (that happens a LOT on WP7, so many places you can/cannot copy paste easily from that OS) and above all... I don't want to try to multi-task between a limited number of apps. That's a problem for the aforementioned Samsung dual-display offering.

Who knows what the future versions of Android? Or BB10? Or Jolla?

But as it stands, Android suits me nearly as well as I need it to. Maemo got closer. But I can't say Android is fully lacking in any department other than a few iOS apps that I'd love to be there on Android too.

So, what desktop environment does actually allow you to control windows that have no focus? AFAIK, a window needs focus, unless something else has been added, for instance a systray combined with shortcuts (as Amarok has, for instance). So, how does that make Maemo not have true multitasking?

@waldo Thanks, You make a very good observation. I like to look at multitasking in two different ways. One concerns the user
that is multitasking, i.e. quickly goes from one task to another. Kind of juggling multiple things at the same time.
The second view is that the device itself can simultaneously running different applications.
The video falls into the first class in that it shows the capability of making multiple windows which allows the
user to multitask in the sense that one can quickly go from one task to another. (ie. email in one window,edit
calender in another window and so forth)

I do not think the video proves multitasking in the second sense (Which I consider real multitasking) as it is not clear if
device can actively run different programs in each window. On the other hand, on my galaxy note 2, using multiview, you make a
split screen, so, for example, I can play angry birds on the bottom screen and stream a music video from youtube on the top.
(Not that this is my normal usage!) Anyways, doing multiple tasks like this is what I would consider a real
multitasking capability of the device. Although with multiview you are limited to two screens.

@stickymick I think you make a good point. On android I do not think you can currently do exactly as you describe. The closest I can come to that is when using multiview I can open, say, an editor, then open Stellarium to make a split screen. I can then open a floating window
browser to go to youtube and play some media which, again I can put in background or bring forward (as I watch the stars twinkle!). There are
also floating window resizable media players available that do the same. While in multiview I can adjust what fraction of the screen Stellarium
or the editor takes up effectively going to full screen or minimizing if I choose.

Currently, is there a mobile device in the market that can make, say, four re-sizable windows running for example, a game like angry birds in one window, a you tube video in the second, a video in the third, some other app or movie in the forth? This I would like to see!
On android it is possible to play multiple media in a floating re sizable window using an app called Stickit! You can close
and open window without it stopping the video so it plays in the background. I can also run multiple programs like a pc using
linux on android (but that is cheating!).

Anyways, when my N900 started having problems, I decided, instead of firing up my spare N900, to try out the Galaxy Note 2 on a
a regular basis. While pulling my sim card out of my N900 was a sad day for me, I've learned to adjust with the Galaxy Note 2.
It is not as good at multitasking as N900 but it has many nice features to make up for it. It is very responsive with virtually
no lag, the large screen is great for browsing and such, I like the calendar, mail works well. Very good document editors are are available
and can cut and paste easily between applications. I can connect to my home pc. I have Ubuntu 12.04 on it.
(@don_falcone Especially need hackers keyboard for that!). Also can connect to TV monitor and use like pc.
Plenty of apps available (miss cutetube). Oh, yes I forgot to mention the spen which I find more and more useful.

While android can "feel lacking" at times, largely due to Samsungs efforts and a bunch of hackers on XDA,
it is the best overall device for my needs. I also think these are exciting times and as, gerbick notes, look forward to the new developments in ubuntu phones, jolla, tizen, and bb. GN3 looks promising too!

Been using Android for almost a year now. Wasn't as painful as i thought.

Multi-tasking is absolutely an issue. I find some apps re-fresh when bought back into focus and this isnt ideal, fine the developer should address this issue, but for me it's an Android app.

But in conclusion the difference is the behaviour encouraged by Android. Although my SG Note 2 supports 'multi-tasking', I find myself pressing the home key 80% of the time and then finding the icon for the previous app i was using to return to where i was. The 1 second or so delay in holding the home key to switch apps isnt efficient and as a result i find i have 10+ apps 'open' at all times when i do use the android app switcher to 'close all' apps. Which, tragically, is all i use the app switcher for.

I feel i've regressed 3 years.

Since you said desktop environment, my answer will only be in that one aspect. For instance on Windows or OS X, start iTunes or Spotify. Switch away, while it's playing, I can hit the play/pause button and the music will play or pause. All without even bringing the app into focus. That would bolster the shortcut usefulness of multi-tasking.

It doesn't. In fact, I'd have to say that you've missed my point wholly. As far as it goes, Maemo got multi-tasking on a mobile device more right than anybody out there. But to be honest, what people have listed as examples are rather poor examples and not ones I'd consider prime for analogies or proving points. In fact, I'm equally guilty of this myself.

By multi-tasking, people are highlighting a strength that I honestly think just doesn't matter in their usage descriptions. Great, you like to see Stellarium change between night and day. That's less than 1/4th of your screen where it's doing so in that minimized/multi-tasking view. Not something I'd call entirely useful by a long shot. You like to see a screenshot of what song is playing via the multi-task view and you can see the album cover. Guess what? Android actually does that too without a widget in 4.2.x (I think it did it in 3.x, but don't quote me).

Multi-tasking is only as useful as it is to each and every user. Not just specialty cases. And pertaining the controls, trust me. I truly enjoy the expanded controls that BB10 grants me. Listening to music, switch out to the multi-task view, switch to an e-mail. Switch back to multi-task view, I can pause or stop the music from the multi-task view since the controls are now there. That's missing from my N9 and from what I remember, from the N900. It's a movement to functional mobile multi-tasking in my very humble opinion that's beneficial to all users.

But let me iterate one thing. Maemo got it more right than Android. I truly don't mind admitting that. They brought so much to the table that I compare my user experience to Maemo 5 and Harmattan and will not accept much lesser.

This ^, word for word... 100% agree.

I hail from the heady days of the Commodore Amiga. Now that was multitasking.

Rendering a 3D a Tornado jet in Imagine, while creating the landscape that it was going to be flying across in VistaPro, in 2 seperate windows on an A500 with a 7.9MHz Motorola 68000 CPU with 512kB of RAM. OK there was a little slowdown, but that was because there was no FPU built into the CPU.
But once I got my mitts on an A1200 with an expansion board that had a 30MHz 68030 CPU, a 50MHz FPU and 6MB of RAM I was flying.

All this was like 23 years ago. When I see today's sorry excuses for "multitasking" I wanna scream.

The same with Epoc 32 OS 13 years ago on Psion handhelds (5MX, Revo, 7, etc), which was a lot superior than Android, iOS, Windows Phone.

Yeah, sadly we live in a dumbed-down world, with dumbed-down arguments and dumbed-down criticism.

Oh yeah? Well... well, your criticism is dumb. Take that!

</sarcasm>

Android is an iPhone copycat. Its a cheap copy at most. That is why it feels inadequate and will always be. Why would anyone buy such blatant plagiarism????