Apple tests push notification on AP News app

If you read Sunday's post about the next iPhone possibly getting background apps, you might have assumed that Apple would drop the long-promised push notification system, the one it's been promising since last fall. Well, nice guess, but you?d be wrong.

Even if Apple allows third-party background apps, there will probably be a limit on how many a user could run. (The company wouldn't want you to sully the phone's reputation as a sleek, high-performance device by allowing its processor to get dragged down with 20 concurrently running apps, now would it?) So of course push notifications will still be relevant. In fact, it will be key for those IM-addicted, Twitter-following, RSS-reading news junkies, a group of which I am proud to be a part.

The first to get the treatment will be the AP News app, which will be tested with push notification over the course of this week. AP News was one of the first apps to debut on the iPhone, and given what it does, which is push the news, it's ripe for this kind of functionality.





From the grabs above, it looks like individual apps will have settings for Sounds, Alerts and Badge notifications. That means users could hear an audible alert when the IM goes off, but get less intrusive badge notifications whenever your favorite blog (ahem ? say like PhoneDog) has a new item in the RSS feed.

What's not so hot is the blanket ?on/off? switch for push notifications; it's buried in the settings menu. If you?re like me, you've got 9+ pages of apps, and swiping through all the screens to reach Settings can be a pain in the neck. (Thankfully, I've got a tip for that: If you put it on the first screen, all you have to do is tap the home button a couple times, and it will take you straight there.)

In an ideal world, there will be both push and background processes. But since we don't know for sure if the latter will definitely arrive, at least we can take comfort that Apple's finally living up to its promise of delivering the former.

[via BoyGenius Report]