Apple may be working on adding in the ability to run select apps in the background on iPhones, according to an unconfirmed report at MacRumors. This feature would be implemented instead of the Push network Steve Jobs unveiled at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference in June of 2008.

At issue is the ability of software to either run in the background or receive Push notifications from a central network. Such an ability is needed for chat applications like iChat/AIM to work, or for any application on an iPhone to get an update when it's not actively running.

Apple announced at the WWDC that it would solve this issue by developing a Push network that developers could use to push out notifications to iPhones, a solution that would preserve battery life by not requiring an app to run in the background, as an actively running app in the foreground or background can easily chew through an iPhone's battery power in no time.

For a deeper explanation of Push and the problems associated with the iPhone, read John Martellaro's excellent breakdown on iPodObserver.com.

That feature was originally slated for a September 2008 release, but has not been seen nor heard of since. If MacRumors unsubstantiated report is correct, Apple has elected to take the path of allowing users to select one ore two applications that can run in the background on current iPhones. Future units with better battery life and faster hardware could possibly have a higher number of apps that could be run in the background.

iPhone Software version 3.0 would be a likely candidate for such an improvement.