Such a thing as redundant apps? Please help

[libradawg]

Hey, newbie here wondering about all these apps in the Google Play store. More specifically I'm talking about the Utilities apps. Lookout was my first download, followed closely by Advanced Task Killer. Then the trouble began when I went looking for file managers. It seems as if half the reviews and articles I read live and die with Astro while the other half would bet vital organs that ES File Explorer is better. It's even worse with battery savers, with about 5-6 apps claimed to be the best, some say "by far". It seems like the more research I do, the more certain I am I picked the wrong one.

I decided I probably couldn't go wrong and left my phone as-is. Then I stumbled across Advanced Mobile Care today, which basically claims to do all of that by itself. Five star user ratings and tech reviews seem to back that up. WTF?

Basically my question is: Is all this as complicated as I make it look in the first paragraph or is it actually as simple as the second paragraph? Phone space isn't exactly plentiful for me so I'd like to believe there really is a legitimate "jack of all trades" utility sufficient enough to handle all those tasks at such a reasonable price (it's free). I simply don't buy a word of that, though, especially with IOBit designing it. They cornered the market for PC programs that do everything possible as mediocre as possible.

1- What should I do? Listen to the Advanced Mobile Care reviews or listen to my gut? Is it even serviceable as a compliment to stand-alone apps?

2- Do any of the file managers, battery savers, program launchers, malware removers, task killers etc etc etc REALLY stand out from other similar apps?

3- Is there any cocktail of apps that anybody would recommend, or are they really as redundant as my research is telling me?

4- Final question: After all this, who wants to help me with my next project of choosing a flashlight?

That last one was a joke. Sorry for the long post, but I did a ton of research which, so far, has only served to drive me crazy (and that's not a very long drive). Any help would be appreciated.

 

[hstroph]

It depends entirely on what one is willing to believe. I try to always remember that opinions are like arseholes ... almost everybody has one. :egg:

BTW, this is absolutely the finest post ever made in Android Forums, absolutely everyone thinks so. I am entirely willing to email or SMS a copy of it to anyone who PayPals me USD $20.

 

[Hadron]

Hi libradawg, and welcome to AF

A lot of it is personal preference. Sometimes one app may have a particular feature that makes it essential to one user but wouldn't matter at all to another. In many cases the simplest answer is just to try a couple and see which you prefer - if they are free apps you can just do this, then uninstall the ones you like less or find you don't use.

The one truly redundant app is the second one you mentioned. It's been discussed many times, so let me just suggest you read this: Android Task Killers Explained: What They Do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them.

 

[electricpete]

Hey, newbie here wondering about all these apps in the Google Play store. More specifically I'm talking about the Utilities apps. Lookout was my first download, followed closely by Advanced Task Killer.

From my perspective, lookout is a good call. ATK not so much.. especially if it is set to auto-kill tasks.

Then the trouble began when I went looking for file managers. It seems as if half the reviews and articles I read live and die with Astro while the other half would bet vital organs that ES File Explorer is better.

Either one works fine. There is no big difference that I know of except ES File explorer I think gives some capabilities for advanced users like tweak attributes of files.

It's even worse with battery savers, with about 5-6 apps claimed to be the best, some say "by far". It seems like the more research I do, the more certain I am I picked the wrong one.

There is another current thread on battery savers. Personally, I didn't use any when I was brand new to Android and I still don't use any after a year. If it's not a program you have a clear need for, don't bother. Battery savers falls in that category imo.

I decided I probably couldn't go wrong and left my phone as-is. Then I stumbled across Advanced Mobile Care today, which basically claims to do all of that by itself. Five star user ratings and tech reviews seem to back that up. WTF?

Ah, the one program does everything program. There are a lot of them out there too. Never tried 'em and haven't missed 'em. It may be a matter of personal preference, but I'd stay away from them.

Basically my question is: Is all this as complicated as I make it look in the first paragraph or is it actually as simple as the second paragraph?

Phone space isn't exactly plentiful for me so I'd like to believe there really is a legitimate "jack of all trades" utility sufficient enough to handle all those tasks at such a reasonable price (it's free). I simply don't buy a word of that, though, especially with IOBit designing it. They cornered the market for PC programs that do everything possible as mediocre as possible.

1- What should I do? Listen to the Advanced Mobile Care reviews or listen to my gut? Is it even serviceable as a compliment to stand-alone apps?

Here is a punchline I wanted to deliver. There are many different ways to get things done. Unless you are a professional App evaluator, you are not going to evaluate each of them. Spend as much time reading the reviews as you feel like, and then go with your gut. Chances are it's not a right / wrong decision... both choices will do what you want.

2- Do any of the file managers, battery savers, program launchers, malware removers, task killers etc etc etc REALLY stand out from other similar apps?

It's a very broad question. In general most categories have several competing programs with very similar features. Pick one, install it, and if it seems to work well then move on with your life. I'm not trying to insult you with the "move on with your life" comment... it's something I tell myself in the same situation.

There's nothing wrong with asking questions. For successful question asking in the future, you might want to narrow the scope of questions within a single thread.

 

[UrsusVIIILXXXVII]

As far as file managers go, I was a long time user of Astro. Then when I found Solid Explorer I completely ditched Astro. I went back a few times but I just personally preferred the UI of Solid Explorer. I think that's what it boils down to; personal preference. It's almost the universal answer to any Android apps question and I'm sure it may fluster new users.

Go with what you like, what you're comfortable with and what you trust and you should be alright.

 

[chanchan05]

Its just like on a PC. Some will say Chrome is the best browser, some will say Firefox is. Some will swear by Photoshop, others can't stop using Corel. Some prefer Rocketdock over Objectdock, or LibreOffice over MS Office. And each one of their supporters will say that what they picked is best. Just choose one and see which is best FOR YOU.

 

[libradawg]

Its just like on a PC. Some will say Chrome is the best browser, some will say Firefox is. Some will swear by Photoshop, others can't stop using Corel. Some prefer Rocketdock over Objectdock, or LibreOffice over MS Office. And each one of their supporters will say that what they picked is best. Just choose one and see which is best FOR YOU.

You see, now that's actually kinda my problem. I've done this forever with PCs and I can pretty much look you dead in the eye and say Firefox, Malwarebytes, Glary Utilities, CCleaner, REVO Uninstaller, Belarc Profiler and Auslogics Defrag. And for freak's sake upgrade from XP so I don't have to waste breath on that last one!" That's because Explorer, Advanced System Care, Spybot and virtually ANY registry cleaner not named CCleaner can lead to everything from frustration to outright disaster.

What I'm going for are the ones like that; the ones that actually do provide significant services. I wouldn't waste time recommending AVG/Avast/Avira or Superantispyware/AdAware or Zone Alarm/Online Armour because it really does not matter.

That's what I'm going for here. Longtime users will know when one app trumps out everything else while with others that are one in the same.

 

[libradawg]

From my perspective, lookout is a good call. ATK not so much.. especially if it is set to auto-kill tasks.

Either one works fine. There is no big difference that I know of except ES File explorer I think gives some capabilities for advanced users like tweak attributes of files.

There is another current thread on battery savers. Personally, I didn't use any when I was brand new to Android and I still don't use any after a year. If it's not a program you have a clear need for, don't bother. Battery savers falls in that category imo.


Ah, the one program does everything program. There are a lot of them out there too. Never tried 'em and haven't missed 'em. It may be a matter of personal preference, but I'd stay away from them.

Here is a punchline I wanted to deliver. There are many different ways to get things done. Unless you are a professional App evaluator, you are not going to evaluate each of them. Spend as much time reading the reviews as you feel like, and then go with your gut. Chances are it's not a right / wrong decision... both choices will do what you want.


It's a very broad question. In general most categories have several competing programs with very similar features. Pick one, install it, and if it seems to work well then move on with your life. I'm not trying to insult you with the "move on with your life" comment... it's something I tell myself in the same situation.

There's nothing wrong with asking questions. For successful question asking in the future, you might want to narrow the scope of questions within a single thread.

I was careful not to make it a "one size fits all" type question. Yes, there are a lot of apps mentioned but take another look at which ones they are. Space savers, battery optimizers, malware protectors, file and program managers? I'm basically asking which should be the first five apps I install on this phone, period. I am planning on using another thread to sift around photo programs, media players, mp3 music and ringtones, Widgets and such. I'll probably ask about flashlights and mean it this time. But for this one I wanted to kinda nail down the best apps for the most important tasks.

 

[Hadron]

Well of the 5 categories "space savers, battery optimizers, malware protectors, file and program managers" I personally only regard the file manager as essential. Even there I have two that I use regularly. There isn't a "best app of this sort for everyone", it depends on your device, what functions you need, and your own UI preferences.

As for the other categories, I regard anti-malware as "install if it will give you some peace of mind, but not essential" and would steer clear of the others outright. What the "most important tasks" are also depends on who is asking

BTW: TeslaLED, since you didn't ask

 

[Sheerluck]

I am also new ( about one month in to android experience ) and understand what your dealing with. As far as google play reviews I generally take them with a grain of salt. I try to make my app selections three ways. 1: I enter the type of app Im looking for in my browsers search engine with best or top and reviews for parameters. I also search it with and without device specific ( n4, n7, etc. ) parameters. I then look for well known website reviews ( pc mag, cnet, etc. ). 2: I check out the android forums and see whats said there by advanced members. 3: I also watch what permissions the apps ask for. To me I want as few as possible and still have complete and robust app.
I personally use ES File Explorer, Avast Mobile Security ( to me better safe than sorry ) and Brighter Flashlight ( free and no special permissions required ). I dont have a battery monitor and from what Ive read in forum threads task killers arent a good move just let android handle it.
Also like was said before some of it is just opinion and personal preference. Hope this helps.

 

[kristalsoldier]

While I can't speak for a phone since my droid is over two years old, but I can speak from my experience of my recently acquired Nexus 10. My must have apps are...File Manager - ES File Explorer (why? It is simple to use, does what i want which is to move files around and it has not given me grief thus far). I don't use a space saver - have no need for it; Don't use a battery manager - have no use for it; Don't use a malware protection programmes - have no use for it (touch wood, thus far at least). You may be interested to know that I pretty much follow the same principle on my phone.

When it comes to other apps - like eBook/ PDF readers, browsers etc., I ask on this and other forums- very helpful and knowledgeable people here, I might add. I also read the app descriptions carefully. If the apps are paid apps, I try to use their free versions for sometime, if available and only then make my purchase.

I also think you will find - this is to the OP - that Android compels you to be adventurous, experimental, independent and open minded. You are constantly being encouraged to try out new stuff with less than complete information. In turn you share what you have learnt with others and become open to suggestions from others. I think , in many ways, this is also a part of the ethos of the Android community.

Good luck with your adventures!