Updated 15 Feb, 2012, 1:21 pm IST

Adding Multitasking to Your iPhone

04 Feb, 2010, 12:59 pm IST | Shayne Rana

Here are options to have your jailbroken iPhone run multiple apps simultaneously.

There are plenty of apps out there in the AppStore galaxy of cyberspace that one doesn’t need to spend money on. While they may not be as in depth as the some of those that cost money, they still manage to spice up the iPhone’s overall functionality. Unfortunately to unlock the handset’s full potential you’d have to consider jailbreaking the device. While this is not something that’s recommended as it comes with an ‘at your own risk’ warning from even from the guys who developed the tools, it will also void your handset’s warranty. Should anything go wrong, you’re on your own. A few brilliant developers have provided through jailbroken ‘app stores’ like Cydia and Installous,� applications that truly make the iPhone worth having.

A very specific function that iPhone users have long since craved and cursed Apple for not having included to a fuller extent, is multitasking. That’s no longer an issue. Here are few of the apps available for jailbroken devices (only) that will allow numerous applications to be run simultaneously on the handset, but just keep in mind – install them at your own risk.

Backgrounder
Backgrounder appears to be a slightly smaller multitasking application as compared to some of the others. It’s still however very handy to have on the iPhone. The application allows for users to either pre-select specific apps that will always run in the background or open an app and you can decide if it should stay open. Backgrounder has a couple of simple options one can select as key-presses that will enable an app to stay open and run behind the scenes. The same keys can also switch the app off. Like in the Symbian OS a small round symbol appears at the corner of an icon to show you that it’s currently running. Apps like your Push mail services for email and Facebook alerts or Safari can also be set to show that they’re currently running. The App also has a black list function for apps.

ProSwitcher
Another multitasking app available though Cydia is ProSwitcher. It’s a little more elaborate in terms of features although at the end of the day it’s almost identical to Backgrounder. ProSwitcher offers many more options for viewing background apps.

It employs the use of the handset's accelerometer. By shaking the device all running apps appear on the screen like multiple web pages with an option to shut them down individually. To access any specific app just click on the screen of the app. A minor but repetitive ‘glitch’ I noticed after downloading and installing ProSwitcher is that Backgrounder also somehow got downloaded. If I uninstalled Backgrounder, ProSwitcher also disappeared, but I could uninstall ProSwitcher without it affecting Backgrounder’s working.�

Multifl0w - $4.99
A combination of the Backgrounder app and ProSwitcher is MultiFl0w. It has options to activate an open app to run in the background with a key-press function and view all running apps in multiple windows. Unlike ProSwitcher though, individual apps can’t be shut off from this setting. The app has to be opened and the same key-press function has to be used to disable it from running in the background. This app also offers multiple methods of accessing simultaneous running apps and also signifies which app is running with a small symbol attached to the icon.

All of these apps may not necessarily run smoothly and do a have a few wrinkles that perhaps later updates will iron out. Read the information developers provide carefully before installing them. Also keep in mind that apps that are running in the background are also using processing power and could cause serious lag in overall performance of the handset. While I found that it was not enough to complain about, I nevertheless noticed the slower speed.

Tags: Apple , iPhone , Toucscreen , Jailbreak