App tile refresh time (specifically for mail app)

jq25

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Hello

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

I use an app to change lock screen images. The most frequent the app can change the image is every 15 minutes. I emailed the developer asking had they any plans to make this more frequent. They emailed back very quick and explained something about windows only allowing apps to refresh tile/lock screen app info every 15 minutes.

A quick Google search gives you this

Windows 8 Store app : Background task interval between reexecution - Stack Overflow

So that sort of put the pieces altogether in my long search for a decent mail app! The ones, that I'm aware of, that have live tile capability are Yahoo! Mail, Gmail Alerts, MailXprZ and since yesterday Gmail Touch.

Out of those, Yahoo! Mail (and now Gmail Touch) is the only one with lock screen notification functionality, and so is an outright alternative to using the built-in windows app. However I've been cursing it out since about how "slow" it is to update (notify you of new message). A long delay in notifying you of new mail, and another long delay after reading and deleting the message for the new mail notification to leave the tile and lock screen. (the same applies to Gmail Touch)

But knowing that there is a 15 minute restriction, it makes sense now.


So, does all that mean, no matter how 'brilliant' any email app is in functionality, it will never beat the built-in mail app for the refresh time, which is pretty much instantaneous?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Touchsmart IQ500
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5850
    Motherboard
    IMISR-CF (Eve)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS
actually, I think the tile for the live tile updating is shorter than 15 minutes but still longer than desired.

the best way to measure is to use a clock tile app that has live updating. When the clock first updates, the tile will show the correct time. Between that update and the next update of the tile, time will pass while the tile still shows the time of the last update. At the next refresh, the time will be correct again.

I've stopped using live tile clocks as a result. But I've never seen it drift 15 minutes off.

I don't know about lock screen functionality as I don't really use that functionality.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
the best way to measure is to use a clock tile app that has live updating. When the clock first updates, the tile will show the correct time. Between that update and the next update of the tile, time will pass while the tile still shows the time of the last update. At the next refresh, the time will be correct again.

I've stopped using live tile clocks as a result. But I've never seen it drift 15 minutes off.

Ha, I never thought of the clock! So I take it apps have to "shut and work quietly" and are only allowed to "lift their head" once every 15 minutes. So I take it that, say for the facebook touch app, the app gets the update once from facebook every 15 minutes, and just shuffles and flashes them posts with bells and whistles on the tile for the next 15 minutes.

Yeah I agree it doesn't seem an entire 15 minutes, but certainly a good 10 minutes. I know you would think how spoiled can you be, I want my email NOW!!, whats 10 bloody minutes! It's just when one app does it, you want them all to do it! The fact that the new email icon still appears after you deleting the email from the website, the app itself and pressed the refresh button on the app, would just annoy anybody.


So it seems a bit of a shame for any email app developers, especially for that Gmail Touch app that is shaping up very nice very quick.

I take it that the background process 'Communications Service' as seen in task manager is what allows the mail app to update instantaneously?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Touchsmart IQ500
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5850
    Motherboard
    IMISR-CF (Eve)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS
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