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Live Wallpapers and performance...

jmims

jmims

Android Enthusiast
I just wanted to find out if anyone has noticed a hit on their phone's performance and battery life with live wallpapers? I'm sure there is some kind of effect on both, but I'm curious, if anyone's really tested this, if it's a significant hit or pretty negligible given regular usage.
 
My girlfriend's phone just got the update last night and so far it has quite a bit of lag to it and is very delayed. For example, as she's entering her pattern to unlock the phone, it's like 3 dots behind where her finger is. It's like working with a computer from the 1990's. When I switched it back to a picture as a wallpaper, it didn't lag.
 
Same here it hit my battery by about 20% difference. I love the live wallpaper but think I will have to drop it for now.
 
I experienced the same lag described above. Using the live wallpapers made my screen less responsive. I ended up having to do the unlock screen twice just to get the code right. However, when I went back to my normal background image, the lag was gone and the phone was very responsive.
 
jmims said:
I just wanted to find out if anyone has noticed a hit on their phone's performance and battery life with live wallpapers? I'm sure there is some kind of effect on both, but I'm curious, if anyone's really tested this, if it's a significant hit or pretty negligible given regular usage.
Click to expand...

I'm rooted and have tried the wallpapers on multiple builds over the last few months...EVERY ROM I have used takes a hit with this...including "stock" builds. It is a process that is running in the background...never ending...by nature, it has to affect performance on some level. You will find that the more you multitask, the worse the lag will seem.

Example: If you wiped data, it would run LWP's better. But when you add apps and start using more of your phones resources...problems start occurring.

LWP's are a novel idea...but it's a gimmick. Use a static wall paper and your phone will love you for it! :D
 
Oh, and remember...the Nexus one has TWICE the amount of RAM as our Droids. That is why the Nexus one is able to run these with less problems.
 
I've not tried every ROM, but I'm still enjoying DroidMod 1.0, live wallpapers, lag-free. (Hopelessly hooked on NexusMod and Starfield...)
Could some of the lag problems be app related?
 
Thanks for all your input. I figured as much. Live Wallpapers are a novel idea, in both senses of the word, but I'll think I'll stick with my static wallpaper for a while, if not indefinitely.
 
kbayer said:
I've not tried every ROM, but I'm still enjoying DroidMod 1.0, live wallpapers, lag-free. (Hopelessly hooked on NexusMod and Starfield...)
Could some of the lag problems be app related?
Click to expand...

Well, I think a lot of it is app related. I think if you have minimal apps and especially minimal widgets that constantly update you will see less (if not all lag) reduced. I should mention that I have 7 screens running and the screens are pretty much packed with shortcuts and widgets (and I'm running currently at 1.1GHz)

If you're running 3 screens (maybe even 5) you might be okay. I've noticed with my configuration that homescreen transitions are flawlessly smooth UNLESS I am running LWP's. It really bogs down my current configuration. Having said that, I've noticed it bogged screen transitions (at least slightly) in new builds that I have yet to populate with my standard apps/widgets.

Bottom line...it's a process that constantly runs...it WILL affect performance on some level...even if you don't "really" notice it.
 
If the lag is a huge problem, then this is a huge turn off for those of us that have waited for 2.1 and the live wallpaper function.
 
I've run LWP's on Droid Mod, Cyanogen and Ultimate Droid ROM's in several versions of each. I really can't say I notice a lag with any of them, per se, BUT the LWP is a power hog. So the LWP is fine if you are not going to be far from a charger. If it is going to be all day away from power, then you better get a spare battery or two, or don't run the LWP. I really liked the Earth Rotation one, but it is 5.5 or so MB big and sucks up power like the Borg assimilating a civilization. It is a personal choice on what you need out of your phone I guess. Then there there is what seems to be quite a variation in Droid to Droid performance. So some may well run them better than others.

Anyway I decided battery life was higher on my list than a fancy LWP. You won't really need the extra power untill sometime when you really do need it. Even if Earth Rotation Live is kinda cool.

Just like which ROM is best, you won't know if LWP's are for you or not until you try some and see for yourself.
 
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