To use APP KILLER or not that is the question?

[orangepeel]

If you're familiar with Android at all you will know that APP KILLERS are not needed.

They're a waste.

A spill over from Blackberry owners obsessed with 'leaking' free memory.

It's a non-issue w/ Android.

I find an app killer helps on Facebook,Tweetcaster,and a couple of RSS feed apps,but mainly just so they don't keep updating news,post tweets,and draining my battery because I work in a building that destroys a my 3G signal. I don't get on them often though,so I rarely need to kill them again.

I don't even pay attention to what my memory is,and I didn't on my BB.

 

[vzwtek]

So see, the answer is person to person. Android does have task killing built in, but that does not mean they are the most efficient on the planet. i have customers calling and complaining every day about battery life on crap like the eris and the devour, have them install a task killer application, then when we follow up, they say it gets better.

So the final answer is..........

MAYBE.

Like stated before, it works for some people, some people not, just because and engineer says its design, does not mean they are correct in the way they exact the method.

 

[armeddroid]

Idk.. i have used the D1 with and w/out task killers installed. The phone works fine without it. BUT... sometimes applications takes longer to load as well as the dialer. But once I kill a few apps. It speeds up. I tried both over a week period. I ended up keeping mine installed.
Perhaps there might be a difference between rooted and non rooted phones who are OC'd vs who aren't. Mine isn't rooted. But that's my experience so far.
The answer is still NO, you don't need to have or use it but I think it really is based on how one uses their phone.

and I type this from my Droid.

 

[Martin030908]

What is Android? | Android Developers
"Android Runtime Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language.
Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.
The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management."


Opinions are varied... but if you do research on the Google Android architecture you'll find out one solid fact..... FREE RAM IS WASTED RAM.


Having more free ram does not increase speed. It's placebo.

 

[Backnblack]

If you're experienced with Android and you know what the benefits of a task killer are...definately use it

If you experienced you know you don't need one...

 

[Martin030908]

Let's say it together folks...

"Free RAM is wasted RAM".
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"

 

[armeddroid]

Let's say it together folks...

"Free RAM is wasted RAM".
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"

Placebo? Not going to really debate into this but I guess my long waiting period for apps to come up is all in my mind.
If it is a placebo, then why is it taking so long for them to load vs killing a few apps which they come up instantly?
Like I said, not trying to argue. Just need a solid solution.



and I type this from my Droid.

 

[Martin030908]

Let's say it together folks...

"Free RAM is wasted RAM".
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"
"Free RAM is wasted RAM"

Placebo? Not going to really debate into this but I guess my long waiting period for apps to come up is all in my mind.
If it is a placebo, then why is it taking so long for them to load vs killing a few apps which they come up instantly?
Like I said, not trying to argue. Just need a solid solution.



and I type this from my Droid.

You're absolutely right. There is no debate needed. The architecture is designed a certain way.

But here's my question.... if you swear task killers work for you... why do you need validation?

They are not needed in the design of Android... but if it's working for you... who cares? Enjoy your great device and all it's speed

I'm not here to tell you not to use them...

 

[armeddroid]

Not looking for a validation but more like to be educated on method of usage. Perhaps there is something I am missing which is causing some irritating lags that could be avoided without the use of a task killer.
But true, it does work for me.. and to set up my task killer to auto kill certain apps has helped me speed up the phone.
Thas all really.

and I type this from my Droid.

 

[Martin030908]

Not looking for a validation but more like to be educated on method of usage. Perhaps there is something I am missing which is causing some irritating lags that could be avoided without the use of a task killer.
But true, it does work for me.. and to set up my task killer to auto kill certain apps has helped me speed up the phone.
Thas all really.

and I type this from my Droid.

App kills, in Android, are designed to help shut down a malfunction or not responding app.

As far as lag.... could be a Launcher installed.

It could be an app that's updating constantly (pulling data)
It could be a poorly written app causing issues.

But as I said, even though the Android OS isn't designed to need task killers... if it's creating a POSITIVE outcome for you then don't change anything. dancedroid

It's certainly not going to harm your device. Might cut into battery life a little...

I personally found that with a task killer it took longer for things to load for me. As the OS has to completely reload an application rather than just access where it was put into a stand-by state. YRMV (How JVM works)

If you are really determined to find a culprit, list out all your apps and we can start from there to see what might be causing lag

 

[RW-1]

Muhahahahaha!

Ok, RW will step in here and give ou all the REAL answer:


DO what you feel is right for your Droid!!!

If you feel the need, want, warm fuzzy that you get from running a task killer, that it is handling things that the OS cannot and is keeping your OS at the absolute peak of running perfection, then by all means go for it!

If you feel that the OS is running top notch (ROM bugs not withstanding ) and doesn't need further assistance, and you have a warm fuzzy from knowing that your Droid in that state is good to go then by all means don't go for it!


Now, that said, I don't run with one. I've had Shopsavvy drive me nuts on a few occassions, running all of a sudden using the GPS, and have emailed the app dev as to why it does so.

I've seen other processes start up, and then stop on their own. It is true that the OS will kill a process if not used in a certain period of time to free up that RAM.

I can see how a task killer will kill off certain processes automatically. However the OS has that capability as well, and so do many other apps; Astro has a task killer in tools.

So again without bias, I refer you back to my first two secrets.

Try it and see how YOUR Droid runs, then take it off and see how YOUR Droid runs.

Every Droid is different (and Sacred, sorry had to put in a MP pun there ) therefore your experience will vary.

That, is the beauty of the whole Android experience.

By the way, for those interested, I loaded up FRG01B yesterday, but this time I'm running P3's LV 250/1000 instead of the 125. Having it at 250 min sped up my boot time, and also seems to have averted homescreen redraws (though I'm still evaluating if it was that or FRG01B itself), I use ADW.