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Task Killers: the legend continues

T

Traviswf

Member
When i first got my hero i was told to install a taskiller. I found this annoying and bothersome and my phone had several issues such as force closing and awake time. Then i read somewhere online that Android "is a smart os" and you don't need a task killer. So I uninstalled.

Everything got better. My phone will lag or slow down here and there, but i think that's more the insufficient hardware of the hero... Usually I just wait a second and it's fine. Or press the home key.

But here's the thing. I bought my wife an Intercept, and two best buy mobile employees told me to install a task killer - that this is how you "manage" android. Honestly, if this were true... Which I don't believe it is... I would not like the Android OS. But then a Sprint employee told me to also install a task killer... Only HTC has confirmed my earlier understanding that they're not necessary.

So I've heard mixed things. In my own limited experience, it's not necessary. But i still see articles and forum posts talking about using them.

So what is it? Are task killers a nagging and persistent myth... Or is there any real net benefit from using them? Or is it that they were more useful to version 1.5?
 
I use Advanced Task Killer more or less only to stop the Sprint TV Widget from running all the time. For me, this provides a battery savings. But it seems everybody's phone is different. Some people find that the task killer service uses loads of battery life itself. If a task killer makes you happy then use it. If not, don't bother.

You can always go to Settings -> Applications -> Running Services to stop services. Also, the excellent AndroZip on the market is a powerful file manager and includes a full featured task killer that doesn't itself consume resources by running in the background.
 
Install system panel. If and when you ever actually need to kill a task, which you shouldnt, this
program will show you.
 
My phone sometimes tends to run slow and the only way to speed it up is by using task panel and it actually works for me!
 
Some apps that don't close correctly sometimes need to be killed, otherwise they will keep running in the background using battery and ram. Apps like this are somewhat rare, no apps/service that came on the phone should be killed.
 
Joehunni said:
Some apps that don't close correctly sometimes need to be killed, otherwise they will keep running in the background using battery and ram. Apps like this are somewhat rare, no apps/service that came on the phone should be killed.
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What about the annoying Sprint TV widget? I call that SonofaBITCH all the time, its a nuisance. I think you can kill non essential bloatware when you get a chance.
 
It shouldn't be hurting anything, even when I was stock and had that I just left it alone with no impact on battery life. I've been sold two heros by best buy, both times they downloaded a task killer before even handing me the phone and told me to use it religiously. For about one month I did as they said to, phone became increasingly laggy throughout this time. One day I just deleted the task killer, paid version at that, and never looked back, phone ran smoother with no noticeable difference in battery life. Ultimately its up to you whether you use one because you truly think it helps, just keep in mind, the software was not designed to be killed off by third party apps.
 
I agree with Joehunni. Its up to the person and its all in your eyes. Ive had a Sam Moment and now have the HTC Hero for a while. Ive noticed the phone runs so much better without the task killers on it. it even had my dialer faster aswell as my contacts list, because the damn task killer was ending stuff the phone needed to be able to perform smoother. Because like its been said the programs are sleep until you repoen them.

And also i know nothing in this world is perfect, but im sure the programers at Google,HTc, etc. would of put it there if it was needed.
 
Indeed, I bet at least 75% of the people bitching about the dialer lag or other problems are running task killers, I know all my problems went away why I uninstalled mine. Even more problems went away when I rooted and flashed custom roms but that's a different story lol.
 
Joehunni said:
Indeed, I bet at least 75% of the people bitching about the dialer lag or other problems are running task killers, I know all my problems went away why I uninstalled mine. Even more problems went away when I rooted and flashed custom roms but that's a different story lol.
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No task killer here (even while on 1.5) and still have major dialer lag ;):rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
I've used a TaskKiller religiously since I got my Hero 7 months ago... I finally took the plunge and deleted it today. Best decision I've made in a while. My Hero is faster and the battery life is significantly better. It also fixed a couple minor little problems that I've been having for a while.
So if you haven't kicked TaskKiller yet.... do it now!
 
Joehunni said:
It shouldn't be hurting anything, even when I was stock and had that I just left it alone with no impact on battery life. I've been sold two heros by best buy, both times they downloaded a task killer before even handing me the phone and told me to use it religiously. For about one month I did as they said to, phone became increasingly laggy throughout this time. One day I just deleted the task killer, paid version at that, and never looked back, phone ran smoother with no noticeable difference in battery life. Ultimately its up to you whether you use one because you truly think it helps, just keep in mind, the software was not designed to be killed off by third party apps.
Click to expand...

Isn't Best Buy doing a huge disservice to Android owners in this way? I was told the same thing -- immediately install a task killer!

Not only is this an annoying bit of micromanagement -- it does not seem at all necessary. And, in fact, seems to be detrimental to the operation of the phone.

Shouldn't there be some sort of proclamation from Google about not using task killers? It seems to me that a multi-tasking OS that does not require the use of a taskkiller or any other annoying micromanagement should be something to cheer about.

Instead the issue remains muddy and confusing and those who are selling people phones don't seem to know any better.
 
Every time I've been inside a Best Buy, Verizon, or Sprint store I see someone returning/exchanging an Android device. Almost every time it has something to do with obscene battery life. I honestly believe they support the use of task killers just to basically use them ad scapegoats. Its either your battery life is bad because you don't use a task killer or your phone has problems because your task killer is acting up. Just another way to make people put up with defective hardware or shitty software.
 
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