Well that makes it a tad unusable.

[andrewducker]

I've been looking forward to mobile Spotify for a while - it's something I'd pay the premium subscription costs to use.  I have an S60 phone, and it's in the pipeline for that, but it's one thing that had made me envy iPhone users.

Until an early user pointed out to me that you can't have background apps on the iPhone, which means that whenever you read your email you lose your music player.

D'oh!

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Until an early user pointed out to me that you can't have background apps on the iPhone, which means that whenever you read your email you lose your music player.

Not true. The music player app is privileged and allowed to run a background thread; the only thing that interrupts it is an incoming phone call. (I regularly read ebooks using Stanza after setting some music playing.)

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Is that privilege only extended to Apple's music player? Otherwise surely any app could tap into that and declare itself a music player in order to run in the background.

I'm guessing that any app actually can do that but the AppStore would reject it for doing so and they'll make an exception for Spotify and other music players?

[andrewducker]

They aren't making an exception for Spotify. This is the problem.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Yup, sounds like Apple :(

[errolwi.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing you use the Spotify app to listen to music, rather than the built-in 'iPod'? Hence the 'no 3rd party background apps' issue. And Apple doesn't have much incentive to make an exception. :-)

BTW, I find an iPhone much better for longish podcasts than a basic mp3 player. Main niggle is that podcast-like mp3s that aren't downloaded via iTunes are treated (and managed) like songs, rather than having an option to treat them as something that you want to listen to only once. I assume that there are more elegant work-arounds than what I use.

[andrewducker]

Spotify _is_ a music app - and can't run in the background. This is the problem.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

* smugly clutches her Nokia 5800 *

[andrewducker]

I have an N85 - I just hope they get the S60 app out soon!

[andrewducker]

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2009/09/07/spotify-s60-app-incoming/

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Funny you should mention that; http://nokiapp.com/2009/09/07/video-oh-yes-spotify-for-s60-in-development/