Background-tastic revamp on the way?
It's often suggested that iPhone doesn't do multi-tasking when it comes to apps. It's not true: iPhone apps CAN run in the background, but only Apple's own native apps - Mail, iPod and so on.
Apps sold in the App Store aren't allowed to run in the background, which has caused frustration for developers of certain kinds of applications - streaming music and social location, for example.
However, a report on AppleInsider citing "people with a proven track record in predicting Apple's technological advances" claims that the iPhone 4.0 software will change that, allowing apps to run in the background.
Further details on how this will work are scarce, mind. Apple has always said that battery life and memory clutter are the reasons it hasn't allowed multi-tasking for third-party apps in the past.
One possibility: the next-generation iPhone, beefed up with Apple's A4 processor and extra memory, could negate those concerns. But would that mean only the new device would run the iPhone 4.0 software?
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Time will tell. Rival platforms like Android and BlackBerry are making much of their ability to multi-task right now, so it's logical for Apple to be stepping up to compete with its next-gen OS.
