multitasking

[grainysand]

I'm having similar problems with Android 2.1 on my Milestone. The multitasking is completely screwed up, with even Android-native programs like the browser being killed/closed without saving the state if you minimize them for even just half a second (or, say, open the SMS you just received).

Something is wrong with your device. My Nexus doesn't do this and never has, even when I'm using a task killer.

How is it possible that ANYONE could think that this is actual multitasking?

Because actual multi-tasking is working for us. Either you're committing a user error by using a task-managing program that automatically kills processes periodically or something similar, or you're on a very special and unusual custom ROM.

Trust me I understand that opera mini is not coded correctly to save the app state when the OS does decide to kill it. That's not the point of my complaint; hopefully when opera leaves beta this will be fixed.

My Nexus doesn't kill Dolphin HD or the native browser or Skyfire or xScope or Steel. Your issue is using Opera Mini in the first place, which is a piece of shit that hasn't been refined for a touch-based interface or a high-end smartphone. Why are you even bothering with it when there're much better options out there?

 

[RogerPodacter]

I ended up sending the developer a bug report about this. It really is just a bug with opera.

 

[dylane]

New Android user here, so go easy on me, but I can't figure out away to quickly switch between what should be open windows of the same program. For instance, I open an email and open an attachment to that email, which although it is using the ThinkFree Office, still seems to open in the email client. So I need to write an email, but need to frequently refer back to the attachment, but I can't figure out how to switch between the two quickly. Long pressing the home button just brings up one icon for email, I'd like to see separate ones for inbox, the message I'm composing, and the attachment I'm reading. Is this possible?

 

[bemymonkey]

New Android user here, so go easy on me, but I can't figure out away to quickly switch between what should be open windows of the same program. For instance, I open an email and open an attachment to that email, which although it is using the ThinkFree Office, still seems to open in the email client. So I need to write an email, but need to frequently refer back to the attachment, but I can't figure out how to switch between the two quickly. Long pressing the home button just brings up one icon for email, I'd like to see separate ones for inbox, the message I'm composing, and the attachment I'm reading. Is this possible?

What you're describing is pretty much a perfect scenario for people like us (heavy multitaskers). However, Android in no way provides this... an icon per app, with no way to tell if the app is actually still running in the background or will just be launched again if you click on the icon, is all Android provides.

 

[dylane]

What you're describing is pretty much a perfect scenario for people like us (heavy multitaskers). However, Android in no way provides this... an icon per app, with no way to tell if the app is actually still running in the background or will just be launched again if you click on the icon, is all Android provides.

That's pretty disappointing. I'm coming from a Nokia N800 running Maemo. The hardware is a few years old now, so it isn't nearly as slick at running some apps and can take awhile to load webpages...but it handles multitasking and app switching brilliantly IMO. It is very intuitive and much closer to a true desktop experience than what I've seen so far from both Android and iOS. Wish they would come out with new hardware that I could use on Verizon.

 

[takeshi]

That's pretty disappointing. I'm coming from a Nokia N800 running Maemo. The hardware is a few years old now, so it isn't nearly as slick at running some apps and can take awhile to load webpages...but it handles multitasking and app switching brilliantly IMO. It is very intuitive and much closer to a true desktop experience than what I've seen so far from both Android and iOS.

Can't speak for iOS but Android isn't designed to provide a desktop experience. It's designed to be a mobile OS.

 

[IndivisibleP]

I am also in agreement with the premis of this thread. I have similar feelings and think not much would be necessary to modify the already existing system to make it heaps better.

One idea i have is to make it so that repeatedly pressing on the "back" hard key until you leave the app (usually only a few presses), or a long press, would kill the app entirely, freeing the mem. and the CPU. This would easily put my mind at ease as to what is using my phones resources.

Also a long press on the home button, which presently opens the "recent apps" menu, could also show highlights around the presently running apps vs those that were only previously running. And even better, while there, a "gear" badge (or something like that) in the corner of the running apps icon could be clicked to kill it. Something like the iphones recently implemented system.

Also what about launching new apps that werent previously running? It would be cool if the long press on the home button would actually give a split screen with recent apps on the bottom (with highlights, badges etc.) and on the top an app search bar and/or scrollable dock or app selection of your choice, etc. Basically some kind of quick launcher, maybe even a mini-Google Gestures window

I think this would be simple to use and do a lot to solve the problem of native task managing/killing, or the lack there of.

Now the question of which apps will functionally run in the back ground, vs which ones which will be idly suspended (basically killed), I dont know what would be the smoothest way to manage that. But something should be done. Maybe a system can be implemented natively based on the way you exit/switch from the app.

 

[dan55]

hi guys,
just about to upgrade my old ip 3g to probably htc desire running 2.2

im a bit surprised that there are such big issues with the poor multitasking/switching - even apple has now sorted this some with easy access to running apps

has this been improved at all in 2.2? or is there a coming update to add task manager/switcher in say 2.3 etc ?

cheers
dan

 

[Demache]

I am also in agreement with the premis of this thread. I have similar feelings and think not much would be necessary to modify the already existing system to make it heaps better.

One idea i have is to make it so that repeatedly pressing on the "back" hard key until you leave the app (usually only a few presses), or a long press, would kill the app entirely, freeing the mem. and the CPU. This would easily put my mind at ease as to what is using my phones resources.

Also a long press on the home button, which presently opens the "recent apps" menu, could also show highlights around the presently running apps vs those that were only previously running. And even better, while there, a "gear" badge (or something like that) in the corner of the running apps icon could be clicked to kill it. Something like the iphones recently implemented system.

Also what about launching new apps that werent previously running? It would be cool if the long press on the home button would actually give a split screen with recent apps on the bottom (with highlights, badges etc.) and on the top an app search bar and/or scrollable dock or app selection of your choice, etc. Basically some kind of quick launcher, maybe even a mini-Google Gestures window

I think this would be simple to use and do a lot to solve the problem of native task managing/killing, or the lack there of.

Now the question of which apps will functionally run in the back ground, vs which ones which will be idly suspended (basically killed), I dont know what would be the smoothest way to manage that. But something should be done. Maybe a system can be implemented natively based on the way you exit/switch from the app.

Some ROMs actually have an implementation of your first suggestion (long press back). I believe KaosFroyo for the Eris does. It should be a standard thing across the board though, I agree.

Although, a lot of people here still are complaining about how it manages things. I personally think its more than adequate. At least for my needs anyway. Applying standard OS app management logic to a mobile OS like Android isn't going to work. It wasn't designed that way, and was never intended to be. They just do not operate in the same way. And that's that.

If anything, I should be the one complaining. My phone can only have about 8 things running at any given time, which includes messaging, and other background services. As opposed to much newer phones, which can have far greater amounts of apps running.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Oddly I just went through 4 "Iphone VS Android" reviews from different sources and all 4 highlighted Android as the better multi-tasking device.

I don't have own yet, but will shortly and am interested to see what the complaints are about. I have watched some videos of Multi-tasking on Android 2.2 and it looks simple enough...?

 

[Bnice]

Apple multitasking i believe is limited to how many can run in the background.