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Apple asks iPhone devs to test push notifications

Developers are asked to test out the Associated Press's app, which incorporates the iPhone's long-awaited, forthcoming push notifications.

Erica Ogg Former Staff writer, CNET News
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur.
Erica Ogg

iPhone push notification
Screenshot of the iPhone's new notification system.

In an e-mail sent to iPhone developers Monday, Apple asked them to try out the AP's news app for the iPhone, the first third-party application to incorporate long-awaited "push" notification on the device.

The e-mail asked developers who would like to participate to install the AP News application on an iPhone running iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5. Apple has already said that the OS 3.0 release next month will include an expanded notifications service for third-party applications. Currently, the service only works with the device's core applications: incoming calls, texts, and calendar appointments.

The service was originally set to be introduced by October last year, but Apple missed the deadline. Instead, it was rolled into the wider revamp of the phone's operating system.

The forthcoming Palm Pre smartphone is also set to launch soon. Industry observers have noted that the Pre's sophisticated multitasking could give the iPhone's notification service a serious challenge.