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The next iPhone multitasking stopgap: sync?

November 19, 2009, 5:22 pm

Recently I’ve started using two iPhone apps that sync data with servers: Evernote and Kindle. Evernote syncs the notes; Kindle syncs your last-page-read, so you can go back and forth between devices (Kindle, iPhone, desktop, etc.) without having to find your place again each time.

Unfortunately, apps can only sync when they’re running, and they can’t run in the background. This is a problem, because it’s easy to quit an app before it has a chance to sync completely—for instance, if I’m jotting down quick notes in a meeting and quickly close Evernote, or if I’m reading a Kindle book on the subway without connectivity.

Apple provided push notifications as a relief valve for problems caused by lack of multitasking.  Will they provide a special sync API next?  Or will this problem go unsolved until the devices become powerful enough that Apple feels comfortable allowing background apps?

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  • These are among the top reasons I switched back to BlackBerry - multitasking and queuing data for the next time I have a connection.

    I loved so many things about my iPhone, but ultimately what it was lacking (which included a physical keyboard) made it not work for me...
  • Good point, Sean, although I suspect the biggest reason for not allowing multiple apps is memory.
  • Excellent point. You need to be able to queue outgoing data from an app in case a connection is not available. I don't think the phone being powerful enough is the issue, though, and doubt Apple allow background apps soon. The bigger bottleneck is battery life, and all those applications crunching away in the background drain the battery tremendously.

    Another related problem is switching between applications. With only one running at a time, I can't launch an application from another application and then get back to the application I launched from without quitting, going back to the main screen and re-launching the app. Happens to me all the time in the mail program when I launch a Web page.
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