Having avoided the issue for a while now, I feel it is appropriate to air my take on push notifications in Be Tv. I have given this quite some thought and have come to the conclusion that I will not implement these in Be Tv, for one main reason.
Regardless of Be Tv, push notifications are indeed a nice feature and add some real value to applications in some cases. Yet using them to set a reminder for a certain program is in my opinion wrong. Push is intended to alert users when unpredictable things happen, a news app wants to push an earthquake news item, an instant messaging app alerts the user of a received message.
In the case of a tv guide, we know beforehand when the program is going to start and we know when to remind the user. I, as a developer, want to insert an event in the calendar and set an alarm for that. I, as a developer, do not want to setup a server pushing out reminders for something that could be handled a lot better if Apple opens up the calendar API. Push only works when the device has an active data connection, ruling out iPods (wifi isn’t a real alternative, as it isn’t available everywhere) & quite a few iPhone users without a data subscription. Calendar on the other hand is available on all devices, does not need a data connection which consumes precious battery power and is overall a better solution. It just makes sense to put it there, instead of (ab)using push notifications.
What this means for Be Tv is obvious, unless Apple opens up the calender API, there won’t be any reminders. I am aware that this decision will be met with some dissatisfaction, but feel it is the right decision. Taking into account Be Tv is a free service & I would like to keep it that way.
I hope this answers some of the questions users have asked in the last couple months. One last thing, regarding version 1.3, it’s still under review.
Tags: Be Tv, push notifications