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Should You Use a Task Killer?
- Thread starter lekky
- Start date
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- Tags
- htc desire
EmperorKabir
Well-Known Member
1. Mine never lags... at least not unless it's actually doing a hell of a lot in which case I don't want to kill anything.
2. If you have an app that causes yours to lag might I suggest you remove that rather than the other tasks.
3. If you're actually only using a TK to kill laggy tasks why not just use the Application Management, Force Stop? TKs are only really bad if you're using them to auto-kill. System Panel is also useful for finding bad apps.
EmperorKabir
Well-Known Member
I have to say that I appreciate why people don't use task killers, but for me, when I install an app, I want it because it may well be useful as a utility, or fun as a game. Just because it is, to quote people in this thread 'faulty', is not a good enough reason for me to completely stop using an otherwise useful app and remove it from my phone. That just seems like a petty elitist attitude and ultimately I'd rather be using the apps I want to use on my phone and just task kill them if they misbehave once in a while rather than be hyper selective about apps I want but can't install because I deem them faulty.. (without even knowing if they are faulty until I've used them for a bit..)
MikeC1408
Android Enthusiast
I must be in the minority with regards to phone shop staff.
When I bought my Desire from Carphone Warehouse the last thing the bloke said to me was "Oh yeah, don't bother with a task killer, It has Froyo Installed and you really don't need one, the OS takes care of all that......."
When I bought my Desire from Carphone Warehouse the last thing the bloke said to me was "Oh yeah, don't bother with a task killer, It has Froyo Installed and you really don't need one, the OS takes care of all that......."
Eris Ed
Android Expert
@MikeC - it's mainly US sales staff that recommend task killers, my experience in the UK has been quite good in terms of their Android knowledge.
@EmperorKabir - You can close an app "if they misbehave once in a while" without needing to add a task killer app into the mix: Menu > Settings > Applications > Running > Close the app. The best part is that Android does the closing, not a third party application.
@EmperorKabir - You can close an app "if they misbehave once in a while" without needing to add a task killer app into the mix: Menu > Settings > Applications > Running > Close the app. The best part is that Android does the closing, not a third party application.
lekky
Lover
Fair enough, it is your phone after all. You should be free to do what you like with it.
But it is not an elitist attitude, it's how google have created their operating system, and they have made clear that it was built in order that the user should not think about, or care about how tasks are managed.
Its like buying non-waterproof boots to go wading (walking in shallow water). They weren't meant for that, but you bought them so feel free to do what you like.
Hell yeah!!
Duuude, i have a tab. If you get a week and a half battery then you are not using it. Or you do things like turn it off at night and disable 3G during the day, but that is included in my not really using it statement!
Or you have a special one of a kind ultimate battery edition!
Phone shop people, generally speaking, don't know that much about android, regardless if they have an android phone or not.
For instance when i went into my local phone shop to buy my tab, i was chatting with the manager of the store (it was a big one too). He actually owned a Desire and a Galaxy S. He also used a task killer, mainly because the lag* on his galaxy s was so bad. I had to kindly let him know that the lag wasn't caused by low ram (was caused by internal file system), and a task killer wouldn't help at all.
So take everything they say with a pinch of salt
IMHO what is the point of buying a top line phone then turning all the good bits off to prolong battery life, its like buying a Ferrari then pulling half the plug caps off to save petrol,
Eris Ed
Android Expert
IMHO what is the point of buying a top line phone then turning all the good bits off to prolong battery life, its like buying a Ferrari then pulling half the plug caps off to save petrol,
That's the point: use the device and it needs battery, don't use it and the battery lasts longer
mark@bolwell54
Newbie
Well here's my experience with task killers;
I didn't use task killer for a few weeks when I 1st got my Desire because I didn't know it was out there. I then installed it and was happy with it until reading the thread!
I uninstalled it about 2 weeks ago so I could compare how the phone ran and how the battery lasted.
Yesterday I re-installed task killer! I have to say IN MY EXPERIENCE i think my phone ran worse and battery consumption was was worse without using task killer! The phone just seemed to slow up more often and freeze more often!
I'm pretty tech savvey so I'm not being sucked into the whole placebo of a task killer or by what anyone else is saying is right or wrong! I'm just feedback my own opinion.
I didn't use task killer for a few weeks when I 1st got my Desire because I didn't know it was out there. I then installed it and was happy with it until reading the thread!
I uninstalled it about 2 weeks ago so I could compare how the phone ran and how the battery lasted.
Yesterday I re-installed task killer! I have to say IN MY EXPERIENCE i think my phone ran worse and battery consumption was was worse without using task killer! The phone just seemed to slow up more often and freeze more often!
I'm pretty tech savvey so I'm not being sucked into the whole placebo of a task killer or by what anyone else is saying is right or wrong! I'm just feedback my own opinion.
Michelle666
Well-Known Member
Phone shop people, generally speaking, don't know that much about android, regardless if they have an android phone or not.
For instance when i went into my local phone shop to buy my tab, i was chatting with the manager of the store (it was a big one too). He actually owned a Desire and a Galaxy S. He also used a task killer, mainly because the lag* on his galaxy s was so bad. I had to kindly let him know that the lag wasn't caused by low ram (was caused by internal file system), and a task killer wouldn't help at all.
So take everything they say with a pinch of salt[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
Actually he wasn't a "phone shop person" - he was a HTC Mobile Engineer, who just happened to be in T-Mobile store whilst I was there.
I uninstalled it, and I'm sure my Battery is dieing a lot faster than before!
For instance when i went into my local phone shop to buy my tab, i was chatting with the manager of the store (it was a big one too). He actually owned a Desire and a Galaxy S. He also used a task killer, mainly because the lag* on his galaxy s was so bad. I had to kindly let him know that the lag wasn't caused by low ram (was caused by internal file system), and a task killer wouldn't help at all.
So take everything they say with a pinch of salt
[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
Actually he wasn't a "phone shop person" - he was a HTC Mobile Engineer, who just happened to be in T-Mobile store whilst I was there.
I uninstalled it, and I'm sure my Battery is dieing a lot faster than before!
SUroot
Extreme Android User
The thing is it is impossible to prove.
Even if you leave the phone alone on a shelf for 24 hours from Full charge and then power on (one day with task killer, one without), and compare the results - it will not be an accurate reflection.
The biggest things could be mobile reception (signal fluctuates, weaker signals using more power) and even room temperature.
Lab environment, with a factory reset, no apps, airplane mode etc. Only then can a degree of certainty be given. But still will never be 100% accurate
I read the OPs original article and it makes sense, especially for the apps that frequently open in the background and are essential to everyday usage.
However, as in my field of practice, there are no true absolutes.
For instance, on the rare occasion I open my camera app to take a photo, I prefer to close it for the same reason I place a real camera in the carrying case, then store it after usage. The same applies for the camcorder app. I have frequently attempted to use the camera app, only to see the video app come on instead. This would not have happened if all those apps had been closed after I last used them.
One other poster commented that he likes to simply close things he opens. When I take my socks out of the drawer, I prefer to close the drawer too. He later comments (and I agree) that he feels he can decide better than Android can what he does and does not use frequently.
Okay, so I may have a couple of non-utilitarian apps that hog memory and are "poorly written," i.e., the games I like to play. I should be entitled to close them when I'm done playing. To say those games I love to play should not be on my phone to begin with doesn't sit well with me. The same applies to the several applications that are well written that I may choose to use "simultaenously" while bored sitting at the airport on the rare occasion. Do I need to keep those in memory ad infinitum?
Hence, Advanced Task Killer sits on my home page to be used at my discretion when I realize I have opened a bunch of rarely used apps I want to put away.
However, as in my field of practice, there are no true absolutes.
For instance, on the rare occasion I open my camera app to take a photo, I prefer to close it for the same reason I place a real camera in the carrying case, then store it after usage. The same applies for the camcorder app. I have frequently attempted to use the camera app, only to see the video app come on instead. This would not have happened if all those apps had been closed after I last used them.
One other poster commented that he likes to simply close things he opens. When I take my socks out of the drawer, I prefer to close the drawer too. He later comments (and I agree) that he feels he can decide better than Android can what he does and does not use frequently.
Okay, so I may have a couple of non-utilitarian apps that hog memory and are "poorly written," i.e., the games I like to play. I should be entitled to close them when I'm done playing. To say those games I love to play should not be on my phone to begin with doesn't sit well with me. The same applies to the several applications that are well written that I may choose to use "simultaenously" while bored sitting at the airport on the rare occasion. Do I need to keep those in memory ad infinitum?
Hence, Advanced Task Killer sits on my home page to be used at my discretion when I realize I have opened a bunch of rarely used apps I want to put away.
lekky
Lover
If your phone is freezing up, then it sounds very much like an app is hogging cpu causing the freezing.
Mentioned a few times, but in such cases i'd rather find and get rid of the offending app. If the dev doesn't know how to code for android i'd rather get one from a dev that does.
lekky
Lover
Press the back button to leave the camera, not home.
You can't compare like that. Your drawers were made to be closed after using them. Android was made not to close apps after using them (nb: the term close is inaccurate, they are neither open or closed, somewhere in the middle)
Like I said before, it is your device do as you please. The whole point i was trying to make when i wrote the article, when i made this thread was not to tell people how they HAVE to use their phone, but to educate people that they do not need to use task killers, and that the reasons they have been told, the reasons they believe that they have to use one are false.
The thread provides lots of reasons for why you might have encountered that.
Also, while I'm pretty tech savvy compared to most people I know, I will admit that I do not know nearly as much about Android as some of the people here and on XDA.
It's completely different than regular computers (PC or Mac).
I must admit I was surprised to see a Task Killer thread still running. I've not been on the forum for some months. Initial teething problems with phone appear to have been sorted (it was probably me anyway), I once had a screen full of tools for managing the system that I'd downloaded, since deleted all those apps.
Its not the same as a PC. Different OS entirely.
HTC have included an app killer (of sorts) anyway, its in the shortcut section called Manage Applications. There's a tab you can press which shows whatever's running, just force close as you like. It also shows what memory they're using. To be honest the only time I kill anything is after I've used Google Maps, which likes running on, if not closed after use. Sometimes I like to force close Opera if it crashes for whatever reason.
Its not the same as a PC. Different OS entirely.
HTC have included an app killer (of sorts) anyway, its in the shortcut section called Manage Applications. There's a tab you can press which shows whatever's running, just force close as you like. It also shows what memory they're using. To be honest the only time I kill anything is after I've used Google Maps, which likes running on, if not closed after use. Sometimes I like to force close Opera if it crashes for whatever reason.
Frisco
=Luceat Lux Vestra=
So am I.
Not.
It's one of those issues that attracts believers from polarized viewpoints, unlike a straightforward support query with a straight path to the remedy/answer. Kind of like a political or religion thread.
Frisco
=Luceat Lux Vestra=
People are starting to see the light
That's right. They finally believe the word of (fill in the blank).
SUroot
Extreme Android User
Lots of bad advice on this about unfortunately