Given the "preload any data the user might need in the next 2-5 mins" statement, how do people suggest we handle live streaming of updates (eg commentary on a sports event)? Presumably websockets are ok as it's more of a "push" model for the network than a "poll" model?
We (Android) usually don't recommend developers try to implement push themselves. Using GCM allows the Android servers to schedule and collate data transmissions, so push messages from different apps get sent as part of the same transmission. Anything you roll yourself won't be able to do this.
I suppose you could use the Java-to-JS bridge, if you're using WebView inside a native app.
However, there's not really any "mobile-friendly" push solution available as part of HTML5 right now. I wish there was. There's "GCM for Chrome" (http://developer.chrome.com/apps/cloudMessaging.html), but that's both Chrome-only and only available on the desktop.
> Presumably websockets are ok as it's more of a "push" model for the network than a "poll" model?
This is seems incorrect - as I understand it, a websocket holds open a TCP connection indefinitely, which would require the radio to stay in its active state as long as the websocket remained open.
I think the radios are down at the IP level and have no concept of a TCP connection, so an open but idle connection won't keep the radio from shutting off.
For example, Apple recommends that VoIP apps on iPhones keep a TCP socket permanently open and use it to receive notifications of new calls and similar:
This is outside my area of expertise, but I've heard that there's a keepalive timeout for open sockets set by the cell carriers. (Again, don't know the details.) So, there is a small cost to keep a TCP connection open, in order to avoid this timeout.
Also, as I mentioned in my previous comment: Even if keeping the socket open is free, every time you send a packet there's a cost -- both for the actual data transmission, as well as a medium-power state the radio enters for a bit before really going to sleep. And given the number of apps that use background data, background traffic on a phone can get quite chatty. This is why it's important to synchronize background activity across apps. If you implement your own push channel, there's no way for the OS to do any sort of synchronization.
I can't speak for websockets, but holding a TCP connection open indefinitely does not require that the radio stay in its active state. On iOS, setting the kCFStreamNetworkServiceTypeVoIP property on the connection allows the radio to return to the idle state and reawake when it receives data on the socket. Android may have similar APIs.
That's true, although I guess it's mostly listening as opposed to sending, which is possibly better? Although I realise there's probably some kind of "are you still there?" message from the cell tower.
