@Duncan,

Thanks for the very sober explanation of the android mutlitasking system and the link. For mobile devices, I greatly admire the design choices of the android architects as they conserve battery life and enhance performance while still providing this essential feature. I suspect that in time, apps like the browser will be upgraded to provide better multi-tasking support as the OS and core built-in apps have been wonderfully supported of late.

While background browser downloads should be an easy fix, things like flash-based radio and podcasts running as a background app may prove challenging. Thankfully, there are generally links to files for podcasts, and there are alternative solutions for radio.