Many developer thought that this meant applications could run in the background, however, it appears that the new capability only allows third-party applications to remain active while the device is locked (asleep) or there is an overlaid window.
Apple's documentation reportedly states: "When an application is inactive, it is executing but is not dispatching incoming events. This occurs when an overlay window pops up or when the device is locked."
Regarding the use of background processes, Apple's documentation still says: "Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. This means that when users switch to another application, answer the phone, or check their email, the application they are using quits."
