So Far, Push Notifications on the iPhone are a Letdown
When Apple launched the iPhone 3.0 update, we were pretty excited about a number of the new features in the OS, but push notifications, which Apple billed as an alternative to battery-draining background processes, were on the top of our list. After a few weeks with the iPhone 3.0 OS, however, only a very small number of push apps have made it into the store, and even some of the best ones, like BeeJive IM (iTunes link) and the AP Mobile app (iTunes link) suffer from major drawbacks.
IM Works, but What About Those Timeouts?
BeeJive, for example, is a great IM app - and so are eBuddy (iTunes link) and IM+ with Push (iTunes link), two other push-enabled IM apps that were released in the last few days. These apps are intuitive, connect to most popular IM networks, and work just as advertised. But when it comes to push notifications, there are just too many little things that are holding these apps back.
By default, BeeJive, for example, will log you out of your account after just 20 minutes. So once you have finished a chat session, you will just be offline again and no new messages will be pushed to your phone. You can push this timeout limit up to 24 hours, but this setting is buried at the bottom of BeeJive's long list of options. The eBuddy IM app doesn't even have this option and just automatically logs you out after 30 minutes.
There are probably good technical reasons for this, but this behavior just isn't what we expected when we first heard about push notifications.
News Updates are Nice, but What About Customization?
While the AP Mobile app (iTunes link) does push out news updates regularly, it is also a bit of a letdown. There is, for example, no way to customize when you want to get alerts and which alerts you want to get. You can't just subscribe to tech news, for example, or updates about the latest celebrity deaths.
Still no Twitter Apps with Push
We are also still waiting for the first Twitter apps that support push (at least for replies and direct messages), better calendar apps (Remember Milk is the only one in the App Store so far, and it requires a pro account), apps that can push out alerts when an RSS feed updates or when new email arrives, or apps that are simply innovative and beyond our current exepctations.
Maybe Push Just Isn't the Solution?
While getting the current updates is nice, compared to having to open the app and see what is new, there is so much more that could be done with this technology. But for the time being, either Apple is holding back the most interesting apps, or developers just aren't able to use it in really innovative ideas.
We have talked to a number of companies that are producing geo-aware apps, for example. But because these developers aren't able to remotely wake up an app and pull in data about your current location, there really isn't much that they can do with push notifications at this point.
If only the phone could also run cron jobs, for example. Then that could start an application at regular intervals, in addition to push notifications, and developers could do so much more with this technology.
Of course, we are still in the early days of push on the iPhone, but so far, we have been quite disappointed with the current crop of apps. Hopefully, this will only be a stopgap solution anyway, and by the time the next generation of iPhones comes around, Apple will just allow apps to run in the background.
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Frederic, just get a Blackberry.
Frederic, just get a Blackberry.
cron jobs? seriously?
If only there was another way... a way to run processes in the background, perhaps... hmmm...
The new TweetDeck iPhone app is not push? It's sending pings out from the phone to the server at set intervals? That doesn't sound right.
Ask some from XMPP/Jabber/Cisco what the deal is on iPhone pushes.
Beyond me why this is such an issue. My Android phone gets push notifications all the time.
Background processes would be handy in a number of cases. I'm sure with time and or better batteries it will happen for the iPhone.
I'm sure if it ever got that capability it would be some other excuse trotted out usually accompanied by the phrase my 5 yr old 60-in plasma screen could do this at 60 mph why can't the iPhone?
IM+ lets you stay logged in for 3 days. Push works GREAT. I have a feeling the author of this post hasn't tried it.
Good thing I learned from this article that there is a timeout in BeeJive! I got pissed at those "you've been disconnected" notifications. What's the point in those?
My push works amazing with AIM I think the person who wrote this doesnt even have an Iphone.. give it time.. its been what 2 weeks??? there will be a alot more this summer.
The problem, according to me is that push is a "technology", and we miss actual content to push.
For example, Twitter clients would appear if Twitter actually pushed its content. if not, the app's creator would have first to create a service that polls from twitter and then pushes to the Apple's server... which sucks.
At Superfeedr, we already push RSS entries to anyone who wants to track them. I think it would be quite easy to create iPhone Apps that would use that. If you are an iPhone Dev and you want to have RSS updates pushed to your iPhone, please contact us!
IM+ pushes Twitter messages and keeps you logged in for upto 3 days! I think you should research your topic a little more thoroughly.
BeeJive and push notifications are working great for me. I already knew about the timeout; it is set for 24 hours. Given that I already converse on BeeJive at least once a day, I'm never disconnected. This just works.
I have two words for you...JAIL BREAK.
You need to be able to differentiate the difference between Apple's Push Notification System (PNS) and the iPhone apps that use it.
Much of what you're rambling about is certain apps at this early point not taking proper advantage of PNS in the UI, or otherwise.
Your title should have read, "iPhone apps not leveraging PSN yet" or some such.
Thanks for the feedback everybody.
@Kontra - true - there is a difference there, but my point was that the current crop of apps is simply disappointing - partly, this has to do with what Apple allows them to do, and also with what they are doing with the apps. I could have done a better job separating the two.
@todd - no - Tweetdeck doesn't do push on the iPhone yet - while it is running, it just regularly polls Twitter for updates. When it's off, it's off.
@admin - from what I understand, AIM keeps you logged in for only 20 min
@julien - I hope somebody takes you up on that offer!
Hi Frederic,
I guess you haven't tried IM+ with push notifications. It just works great. The push is instant. I can log in to Gtalk, AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Skype, Twitter and Facebook chat. With regards to Twitter you can receive Push Notifications for direct messages, retweets and replies. And it keeps you logged in for 3-days.
Sometimes the app crashes for me, but even then I'm logged into the push service. The push is instant and I'm extremely happy about the plethora of services I'm logged in to, particularly Twitter and Facebook.
Any doubts, send a message to @andrewsam in twitter and I will reply you in a jiffy.
Sam
Apple is always about simplicity and ease of use and hence, they will sooner or later realise that push is a nice addition and feature, yet by no means a replacement for background processes of some sort or another.
IMs are often cited as they are good applications where push, properly implemented, is a great feature. Yet, background processes are sorely needed: When you have an incoming call whilst speaking on skype, the call gets not only interrupted but your logged out as well. That is the difference between Skype being a tool or a nice toy. And it does not stop at skype. Corporate VOIP, presence, web-conferencing all being severly limited by not being background capable. That will potentially limit its enterprise adoption in the long run.
I can see Apple's argument, yet, there are better ways to deal with it. Blackberry, HTC and Palm know that.
The whole push thing is nice in some cases but its so far only a toy
I like the push idea. Don't think we need background processes. How many interruptions do you need during a day? A dedicated twitter app with push would be nice though. I'm using the free AIM and the push works great. Let's me keep my text message plan at the lowest option.
Put together a little tutorial on how to setup Twitter iphone push notifications using Tweetie here: http://www.davidschultz.org/2009/07/06/tutorial-iphone-twitter-push-notifications-using-tweetie/
Background Processes are BAD!! BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD!!!!. they drain the battery. and if the iphone were to allow background processes, and a given user has say 20 apps that use background processes, then the battery would last 20 minutes. please... grow a brain, and stop pushing for background processes. it just simply isn't going to happen.