Several people are leaving comments about increased battery, and partial wake lock usage. This is normal, and is a by-product of the message checking service, which normally runs for about 10-25 seconds (on 3G or WiFi), then shuts down, until the next update period.
Spark does not keep a perpetual wake lock – if it is, then something is likely seriously wrong – please get in touch with me if this is the case.
Note that if you have a slow connection, a five-minute checking period is likely to drain your battery very quickly – I recommend a duration of 30 minutes, or more. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to have Spark work reliably without a partial wake lock – the service is usually killed off long before the update starts.
Nonetheless, another release will be out shortly that should improve wake lock management in case of severe errors.
This update adds a feature that’s been requested since Spark was first released – Message Notifications. Since they’re disabled by default, to enable notifications for existing accounts, go to Account Settings, where you can also customize the ringtone.
I'm a programmer with too much interest in too many programming languages, and not enough time.