iPhone4idiots

So running apps in the background is a feature that everyone wants on their iPhone. Well, jailbroken devices can install Backgrounder via Cydia to do just that. If you are playing a game such as The Game of Life (seen here on the left with review coming tomorrow) and need to check a text or get a phone call the app closes. Sure it saves your place in the game, but you have to reboot the app which takes 20 seconds or more for apps like Tiger Woods golf. With Backgrounder, when you touch the icon it opens in a two seconds or less and you are playing again. I love this app for a few reasons. One is simplicity. When you are in an app all you have to do to turn it on is hold the home button down for about two seconds and then you’ll see Backgounder Enabled appear like in the picture above. To turn it off all you do is hold the home button again til you see Backgrounder Disabled. Second, many apps have annoying sound or no sound at all. I like music. So I’ll start my playlist, enable Backgrounder then I can play games, check Twitter or Facebook or do anything on my iPhone and still listen to my rock and roll! This is pretty much a must have app. The only problem with the app is battery drain. You can’t Backgound a game, safari, music and other apps at the same time and expect to make it through the day. In fact, I personally never have more than two apps running in the background and usually only one. Most importantly, if I know I’m setting my iPhone aside for more than 20 minutes to do something else I turn it off. And guess what? I almost never run my battery out and if I do its usually past 6:00 so I’m home for the day anyway. For good tips on increasing your battery life check out my post in the Forum under Tips & Tricks here.