Live Tiles "not so live?"

[raremage]

One thing I have noticed is the 'Live Tiles' for different things don't seem to update dynamically; instead, they update when I open the tile.

Outlook updates when you unlock the screen, indicating the number of new messages since last opened, so that works well enough.

The People hub, though, doesn't update until you open it. Do I have something set incorrectly? Because I expect this to update on the fly, showing me the latest news when I view the start screen; instead, I have to open the hub and only then does an update happen, typically a few seconds after I open it. Same for the Now hub that Samsung includes with the Focus.

I was under the impression that the idea is to always be up to date, rather than having to wait for an update or even manually request an update. The whole theme of 'get in, get out, get back to life' seems a bit broken when you have to wait for news. Is this because we're missing a 'push' capability?

 

[ProjMob_Chris]

Live tiles refer more to their updates on the homescreen and not the content within. Mainly how when you receive texts the messaging app has a number that updates. Same for email. They're really just better icons at this point.

 

[raremage]

Live tiles refer more to their updates on the homescreen and not the content within. Mainly how when you receive texts the messaging app has a number that updates. Same for email. They're really just better icons at this point.

Pretty much what I was gathering, but I think that's a gap - or to me, it's a gap (other's may disagree of course).

My reference is looking at my Torch, which has a notification capability that shows I have new updates, and how many of each including not just email and calendar notifications but also Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds (in my mind, analogous to the People and Now hubs).

At least, that's the sort of news in the hubs I am hoping for; the fact that I have to open the People hub and wait for an update seems somewhat outdated at this point.

 

[TiLoBrown]

I would love to see some apps with more "live" tiles. The only thing I have is the Weather Channel app

 

[raremage]

I would love to see some apps with more "live" tiles. The only thing I have is the Weather Channel app

Does Weather Channel update, or only when you open it? The Now hub only updates when you tell it to, apparently. So I guess it really should be called "Then."

 

[TiLoBrown]

Does Weather Channel update, or only when you open it? The Now hub only updates when you tell it to, apparently. So I guess it really should be called "Then."

The temperature does change on its own every now and then, I dont know how often though.

 

[GP07]

Many apps don't use the live tiles yet, as for the built in OS ones I think they update when you get new stuff like email or on a preset period, like every 15mins if that's what you decide to set it to.

The only live tile action the People hub does to show you that things are going on is that the little images or w/e inside of it change a bit, that's pretty much it atm, there isn't more into given for it.

Check the Now hub (something samsung did itself) for it's update period, there should be a setting in there for when and how often you want it to update (unless they left that sorta control out which makes no sense on the part of Samsung).

 

[TiLoBrown]

I couldnt find that setting in the people hub or the weather channel app

 

[nrfitchett4]

I couldnt find that setting in the people hub or the weather channel app

weather channel app only has a choice between live tile on or off. Not sure how often it updates, but seems to be accurate for me.
I think you are right about the people tiles, still is nice to have an aggregate of updates right there.
I'm hoping they expand it to include twitter in the next update.

 

[jeffa00]

The way those tiles are supposed to work is that the app developer can push an update to the phone which can change the tile.

You download an app and install it. When you run it, it "phone's home" (pardon the not-really-a-pun) and registers with the push servers.

Now if the developer wants to push you an update notification they can.

Let's say the app keeps track of messages in a forum (just an example).

If two people post replies to threads you are following, the server might push a message to your device saying "2 New Updates". If the app is designed to do so, the tile can now show a "2" on it. It doesn't open the app, it doesn't store the new posts for you to read offline.

When you open the app, it can check to see if there are updates and go grab them.

This is a way to get around the lack of multi-tasking. The downside is it is NOT live, but pending a push from the server. The upside is that you aren't burning up battery while the app keeps polling the server.

Two other types of notification are "toast" which pops up a message to you (but again does NOT open the app) and actual "the app is open and gets a message directly".

As someone else mentioned, the native apps like Outlook have different capabilities.

 

[action_efn_jackson]

I would love to see some apps with more "live" tiles. The only thing I have is the Weather Channel app

Get the weather bug one. you can set the tile to update as frequent as you want. works much better then the weather channel one.

 

[TiLoBrown]

Get the weather bug one. you can set the tile to update as frequent as you want. works much better then the weather channel one.

I took your advice and have been using the weather bug app for about 3 days now side by side with TWC one, I think I'm making the switch.

 

[gibbyhome]

LOL I like the weatherbug app as well

 

[action_efn_jackson]

I took your advice and have been using the weather bug app for about 3 days now side by side with TWC one, I think I'm making the switch.

I did the same thing. IMO the TWC tile cosmetically looked better it just didn't work worth a poop.