Last October, we wrote about Backgrounder, a jailbreak utility that allows iPhone users to run more than one application at a time. Backgrounder is an open source extension to the iPhone’s SpringBoard, the application launcher that works as the device’s version of the Macintosh Finder. When installed, you can move any application into the background by pressing and holding the Home key. The application continues to run and you can move on to other tasks.
If this sounds like a battery killer, well, it is. When used the right way, however, Backgrounder lets you multitask short-term visits to whatever app strikes your interest while running the important stuff in the background.
True, some (but not all) of these background apps may get used when you’re near power sources: at your desk or in the car for example. But others will not, and many apps are just as useful on the go. It’s obviously a trade-off: shorter usage life versus higher productivity when taking advantage of Backgrounder’s features.
The trick lies in choosing the right apps to background. Yes this might mean backgrounding apps where going through the launch sequence and menus is a pain. If you don’t want to interrupt a game, it’s convenient to background it, take care of another task and then pop back a few minutes later. For the sake of this post, however, I’m talking about apps that you might stick in the background for longer sessions, the really core stuff that you want to keep going on while you do other things.
Here is a list of our top five killer Backgrounder applications, and why you would want these to keep running when you’re busy doing other things.
1. Pandora
Ah, Pandora, my love. Backgrounding you is like having a little angel of music sit on my shoulder at all times. Apple’s built-in iPod/Music application may also offer background music, but it doesn’t offer the music exploration features that power the Music Genome Project. Pandora uses song analysis to create suggestions and introduce you to music you’ve never heard before. With Backgrounder, Pandora plays new music as you get on with other iPhone work.
2. Mobile Colloquy and 3. AIM
Back in the days of the iPhone’s 1.x firmware, before Apple introduced its strict one-application-at-a-time rule, IRC and IM clients ran in the background as a matter of course; they would badge their SpringBoard icons to indicate when new messages became available. That’s the way clients work on PCs and Macs, and it was the way they should work on the iPhone.
Apple cut off third-party background processes in the 2.x firmware (and, in a related matter, never delivered on Push notifications). Backgrounder offers the closest approximation you can come to the halcyon implementations of the early days of jailbreak.
With it, you can leave your IRC and IM sessions running in the background and check back in to ongoing sessions at will. In the best of all possible worlds, these should work the way the SMS app works: in the background, with badges and ongoing conversations. In the real world, Backgrounder makes Colloquy and AIM more practical and more accessible. With it, they operate closer to the way we really use these tools on our desktop computers.
4. File transfer apps like Air Sharing
When you’re working at home, there are occasions when you just want to throw a file onto the iPhone for later use. Instead of stopping what you’re doing and launching a file transfer application, it’s extremely convenient to have that app running in the background and toss over a file as needed. Using Backgrounder lets you leave that server going unattended, available for use whenever.
5. Twitter clients like TwitterFon
Most Twitter clients check in at regular intervals to fetch new tweets and messages. This check in can only occur when these applications are open and running. Backgrounding them lets this happen unattended, avoiding long delays when you return to see what your tweeps have been up to. You don’t have to wait to refresh; the software stays in the now as you allow it to keep running.
Other apps
That’s five, but there are many other applications that rock under Backgrounder. Our short list represents the apps most commonly used on our phones, but many other apps didn’t make the cut. When consulting with colleagues, a number of honorable mentions were thrown around. Here are some of the more notable uses, adding to the “pausing your ongoing game” mentioned earlier in this write-up.
- Reminder apps don’t have much utility when they’re not running. Backgrounding them means they can function better and keep you on top of the tasks that you’re supposed to do.
- Internet connection apps let you share your connection with nearby laptops. Backgrounding those apps lets you keep using your iPhone even while a friend surfs the Web. (These apps are legal in many countries; consult your local laws.)
- Slow-to-load apps may not take up a lot of background cycles but it’s nice to hop right back into these apps whenever you want.
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