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MLB Exploits Loophole to Add 'Multitasking' to iPhone App

by Terrence O'Brien on March 5, 2010 at 04:05 PM

MLB iPhone App Adds Background Streaming Trick

Baseball season is upon us, and iPhone owners around the country have started plunking down $14.99 for the new 'MLB at Bat 2010' app so they can stay abreast of their favorite teams and listen to live streams of games. Purchasers of the app found a pleasant surprise when they booted up the new version to listened to the first batch of spring training games... streaming in the background. Yes, the MLB has forced the iPhone to multitask.

The developers at MLB are taking advantage of a little known loophole that allows iPhone apps to stream audio and video while the user performs other tasks. With the tap of an icon, users can send audio streams of games to Safari, where they're opened with the in-built Quicktime plug-in. Since Safari, like the included phone and messaging apps, can be run in the background, iPhone owners are free to tap out text messages, browse the Web and use other applications while listening to the game.

Commenters at Silicon Alley Insider are quick to point out that other apps, including those of ESPN Radio and Flycast, have been thus circumventing the iPhone's inability to multitask for some time now. Regardless, this is the first time we've noticed it, and, we've got to say, we're pretty excited to listen to Met games while working our way through 'Plants vs. Zombies.' [From: Silicon Alley Insider]

Tags: appstore, baseball, iphone, mlb, mlb at bat, MlbAtBat, sports, top

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