via LifeHacker: http://lifehacker.com/#!5650894/android-task-killers-explained-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them
Android task killers improve your phone's performance while also boosting battery life—or at least that's the much-debated promise. Here's a look at how task killers actually work, when you should (or shouldn't) use them, and what you can do instead.
A task killer is an app from which you can (sometimes automatically) force other apps to quit, the hope being that the fewer apps you have running in the background, the better your Android's performance and battery life will be. Not everyone agrees with this premise, though. The argument about whether task killers are effective rages all over the internet: Android forums are full of threads with constant bickering and conflicting anecdotal experience, making it difficult for most users to make sense of the situation.
Below, I'm going to dig into the truth about Android task killers: that apart from maybe some older phones, Android manages tasks fairly well on its own, and how task killers present quite a few problems. I'll also take a look at the rare occasions when they're useful, and offer some alternatives you should try to improve your phone's performance and battery-life quirks.
Before we dive in, here's a quick overview of how Android handles process management by default.
In Android, processes and Applications are two different things. An app can stay "running" in the background without any processes eating up your phone's resources. Android keeps the app in its memory so it launches more quickly and returns to its prior state. When your phone runs out of memory, Android will automatically start killing tasks on its own, starting with ones that you haven't used in awhile.
The problem is that Android uses RAM differently than, say, Windows. On Android, having your RAM nearly full is a good thing. It means that when you relaunch an app you've previously opened, the app launches quickly and returns to its previous state. So while Android actually uses RAM efficiently, most users see that their RAM is full and assume that's what's slowing down their phone. In reality, your CPU—which is only used by apps that are actually active—is almost always the bottleneck.
Apps like Advanced Task Killer, the most popular task killer in the Market, act on the incorrect assumption that freeing up memory on an Android device is a good thing. When launched, it presents you with a list of "running" apps and the option to kill as many as you want. You can also hit the Menu button to access a more detailed "Services" view, that lists exactly which parts of each application are "running", how much memory they take up, and how much free memory is available on your phone. This set-up implies that the goal of killing these apps is to free up memory. Nowhere on the list does it mention the number of CPU cycles each app is consuming, only the memory you'll free by killing it. As we've learned, full memory is not a bad thing—we want to watch out for the CPU, the resource that actually slows down your phone and drains your battery life.
Thus, killing all but the essential apps (or telling Android to kill apps more aggressively with the "autokill" feature) is generally unnecessary. Furthermore, it's actually possible that this will worsen your phone's performance and battery life. Whether you're manually killing apps all the time or telling the task killer to aggressively remove apps from your memory, you're actually using CPU cycles when you otherwise wouldn't—killing apps that aren't doing anything in the first place. In fact, some of the processes related to those apps will actually start right back up, further draining your CPU. If they don't, killing those processes can cause other sorts of problems—alarms don't go off, you don't receive text messages, or other related apps may force close without warning. All in all, you're usually better off letting your phone work as intended—especially if you're more of a casual user. In these instances, a task killer causes more problems than it solves.
What You Should Do Instead
That said, not all apps are created equal. Many of you have used task killers in the past and actually found that after freeing up memory, your phone works a bit better. It's more likely that this is because you've killed a bad app—one that was poorly coded, and (for example) keeps trying to connect to the internet even when it shouldn't. Any performance increase you experience is more likely because you killed the right app, not because you freed up loads of memory (or, in many cases, it's just placebo). Instead of killing all those apps, find out which ones are actually causing the problems. If you really know what you're doing, you may benefit from using a task killer to stop the one or two inefficient-but-loved apps on your phone.
Note, however, that this is still a contested notion. A lot of developers (including ROM builder extraordinaire, Cyanogen) will not even look at your bug reports if you're using a task killer. In this humble blogger's opinion, your best bet is to stay away from regular task killer usage entirely. If you absolutely have to have that one battery-killing app on your phone, though, kill away—just be aware that when you experience a recurring Android bug later on, the task killer may be at fault. Of course, you can just stop using it to determine whether that is or isn't the case.
With task killers firmly in the better-off-without box, there are still a number of other things you can do to fill the void, improving your performance and battery life:
Watch for Runaway Processes:
Watchdog is a slightly different kind of task killer, in the sense that instead of telling you your phone's out of memory and it's time to go on a task killing spree, it alerts you when the occasional app starts eating up CPU for no reason. You can then kill the app with Watchdog and get on with your day (though honestly, at that point, I usually just reboot my phone). If it happens often with the same app, however, you may want to move on to the next step.
Uninstall Bad Apps: Worse than the occasional, one-time runaway app is the poorly coded, always-eating-CPU app. If you find (with Watchdog or through some other method) that a particular app seems to drain CPU and battery life whenever it's running, confirm your suspicions by uninstalling it and seeing what happens. If an app is causing problems on your phone, you're probably better off without it.
Root Your Phone: We advocate rooting Android devices a lot at Lifehacker, but that's because it really is as useful as everyone says it is. You can over- and underclock your phone with SetCPU, install custom ROMs that noticeably improve performance and battery life, and use the ever-useful, crapware-thwarting Autostarts utility to stop apps from starting up on your phone in the first place. Honestly, with one-click rooting apps like previously mentioned Universal Androot available for most phones, rooting only takes a few minutes to do, and you'll be much happier for it.
Update: Many of you also mentioned the root-only app Titanium Backup, which will help you get rid of the pre-installed crapware that comes on most phones, which are one of the worst offenders of phone lag. Thanks to all of you that sent this in!
Seriously, Use the Power Control Widget: This may sound ridiculously obvious, but if you aren't already using some form of the Power Control widget, you should. The things that drain the most battery on any smartphone are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and your screen. Turn them off when you don't need them and you'll find that you can eke out considerably more battery life.
Charge Your Phone: Even more obvious yet rarely heeded advice: Charge your phone often. This isn't as hard as it sounds for most people. While you're sometimes stuck going out for 14 hours with no place to charge your phone, the majority of us spend our days in our homes, our offices, and other places rife with electrical outlets. Buy a few extra chargers and place them strategically around your home, car, and office. Whenever you're sitting around at home or working away at your desk, you can use that time to dock your phone and give it some extra juice without worrying about battery or performance drains. Before I upgraded to Android 2.2, my battery life was pretty awful, but just having a charger in my car and next to my computer made a huge difference in how often I got the dreaded "low battery" message.
Big thanks to LifeHacker for a great post on why you SHOULDN'T need to use a task-killer. They've obviously done their research, and these are the results they've found, but if you have some other battery-saving strategies feel free to comment below and share them with the world.
One of the biggest complaints about the HTC Evo 4G is the battery life. I was lucky to stumble on this article this morning providing a few tips and suggestions for users on increasing their battery life. Please note the suggestions for every day users vs. root users! If you're not rooted, ignore the suggestions for root users:
18 Battery tips and tricks for longer battery life
If you’re new to owning a smartphone the biggest thing you’ll have to get used to is how often you’ll have to charge your phone. Especially if you’re coming from a phone that was, well, just a phone; it’ll be a big change from charging your phone once every other week to once every other day. So here are some tips that can help you max at your battery life. If you try and do all of these it may ruin your Android experience because you’ll be constantly finicking with your battery; thats not what this is for. These are ALL the tips/tricks I know. Even I don’t use all of them. Using just a few of these (possibly even one or two) should be enough that you notice an increase in your battery life. FOR ALL USERS 1. Turn off of your radios when not using them Radios are what connect your phone to the rest of the world. You have your general mobile connection, wifi, data/internet connection (3G), GPS, and/or 4G. Those are listed in order from least to greatest in battery consumption. If you’re not using the radio turn it off. If you know you won’t be online for a long time, why turn 3G data on? If you’re at home, use wifi instead of 3G. If you’re not using Google Maps why is your GPS on? You’d be amazed at how much battery life you can save just by turning off the radios that you aren’t using. There are plenty of widgets in the market that will allow you to turn off the radios without even going through settings (Sense users have these widgets packaged in). 2. Vibrate uses more battery Anytime your phone vibrates a lot of battery is used. This include haptic feedback. A lot of keyboards have the option to turn off haptic feedback and I would recommend it. If you’re a heavy texter you’ll notice very quickly how much longer your phone will last. Also, if you’re in a place where you can easily hear your phone why do you need to have vibrate enabled? If you know you’ll be able to hear your phone there’s no reason for it to be buzzing too. 3. Don’t use task killers Crazy, right? Especially if you’re on Froyo (Android 2.2) or higher, Android has it’s own task killer that’s actually very good. If programs are using too much memory your Android OS will kill it. A common misconception is that apps run in the background forever; this is not true. If an app is using too much memory (which links to battery life) it’ll be killed by your phone. That’s why if you play a game, check a message, and come back the game is still running. It’s memory usage isn’t that high. However if you put your phone down, walk away for an hour, and the game is still trying to run in the background, there’s a good chance it will be closed before you come back. Separate task managers have to constantly be running in the background which can actually use more battery than it saves. Yes, task managers can use more battery than they save. 4. Do this shenanigans Originally posted by kthejoker20, this trick came from HTC themselves and can seriously DOUBLE your battery life. With the phone in the on position. Fully charge the battery with the phone on… (until the led turns green.) Once the led turns green, unplug the charger until the led goes off. After the led goes off, plug the charger back in. When the led turns green , power off the phone. now…. with the phone fully powered off… 1. Unplug the charger. 2. Wait until led goes off. 3. Plug charger back in until the led turns green. When it turns green, unplug the charger again and go to step 1. 4. repeat steps 1 and 3, 10 times. This may take anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 mins per cycle. Typically only about 1 minute. though. It takes too much work for me, but I’ve done it once just to test it. It works. 5. Juicedefender A lovely free app (there’s an extended version called UltimateJuice) that helps your phone save battery. You have to see it to understand it, but anyone who is serious about saving battery needs this app. 6. Don’t use live wallpapers They look awesome, right? They also use a lot of battery (especially the more complex ones). We’ve all used live wallpapers to show off how cool our phones can be, but for daily use they can KILL your battery. 7. Set your screen timeout to something shorter Some phones start with their screen timeout at 3 minutes or more. That’s completely unnecessary. While you don’t want it to be instant, you know your preferences. Set it to as low as you see fit. The sooner your screen goes off, the longer your battery life will last. 8. Kill tasks you aren’t using Not the same as an automated task killer. Find an app in the market that can kill programs MANUALLY. People running AOSP Devices (Android Open Source Project…aka your phone is pure Google and not HTC Sense or some other skin) have the benefit of being able to hold the back button to kill apps. 9. Your camera flash and battery don’t get along If you like using your camera LED for a flashlight realize that will absolutely MURDER your battery. In all seriousness, your flash uses battery more than any other process on your phone. 10. Low cell signal hurts battery Your phone is always searching for a stronger signal…This process gets more hectic as the cell signal goes down. So if you’re at one bar your phone’s battery life will drop faster than if you’ve got full coverage. There’s not much you can do here, but if you’re in a place where your phone has little to no signal anyway, you probably won’t be making calls so you might want to just turn on airplane mode or your phone off. 11. Turn off always on mobile data I know on my Evo the setting is hidden under menu>settings>wireless & networks>mobile networks>disable always on mobile data. What this will do is turn off your internet/data when you’re not using it (specifically after your phone’s been asleep for 5 minutes). It will turn back on shortly if you have a new email or need to sync something. 12. Speaking of syncing… Check your settings to see what is syncing and when. You probably have things syncing you don’t even use (stocks, news, contacts, etc). You can turn those off and edit the other ones. I don’t need my contacts’ statuses every hour, so my facebook sync is scheduled for once a day rather than the old once an hour. However, I like my weather being up to date so it’s synced every half hour. Find out what you need and how often you want it, and turn the rest off. 13. Don’t use GPS unless you have to Some apps give you the option to precisely determine your position using GPS, or make a general estimate (usually within 100 meters) based on wifi or 3G data. While this isn’t always the best (like if you’re driving or getting navigated), try to use the 3G connection when it doesn’t really matter. The data radio uses far less battery than GPS. FOR ROOT USERS If you’ve rooted your phone you have a few more options. You don’t gain too many more options, but they are even more effective than the ones listed above. 14. Trickle charging kernels Try and get kernels that use trickle charging. These will really ramp up your battery life. 15. Find out if your phone likes HAVS Basically, try undervolting kernels and see if your phone likes them. If it does, use them. They change the voltage your phone uses based on your activities and how much battery life you have left. 16. If it doesn’t… Use the Collin_ph Battery Tweak. That one is specific for the Evo, however there are other builds for other devices. I personally use this and can testify that it works WONDERS. 17. Underclock your phone Just like SetCPU can overclock your phone, it can underclock it as well. Set it to underclock when the phone is sleeping or even lower the max clocking speed. 18. Try different kernels Just because he/she said that it works for their phone doesn’t mean it will work for yours. Every phone handles kernels differently. Trying some of them (GIVE THEM A DAY OR TWO TO SET IN) can give you a perfect experience of performance and battery. Try using these tricks and your battery life will never be better! article via http://www.talkandroid.com/33477-18-battery-tips-and-tricks-for-longer-battery-life/
With how fast Android has been advancing, anti-Android pundits like to point out that your device will be outdated merely a week or two after you buy it. What does that say about your device in 10 months? Does that make it archaic? The HTC Evo 4g was released to the public on June 4th, 2010. This was in the middle of possibly the most heated stage of the “Android vs iPhone” war. The iPhone 4 was just around the corner, Android was starting to really pick up steam, and the Evo 4G was marked with the typical “iPhone killer” (stupid phrase) even with the expected iPhone 4 coming out just later that month. The device received rave reviews, numerous awards (including a rather prestigious award from Popular Mechanics), and few criticisms. It set the standard for devices with large screens and brought about a new wave in how people view smart phones. Suddenly the standard 3.5 inch screen that the iPhone taught the world was the norm wasn’t as appealing. 4+ inch screens became the new black with the Evo leading the way (Yes, Verizon supporters, the Droid X was released in response to the Evo). Of course, all new technology is amazing when it’s initially released. The shelf life and its use months later, however, are what set the device apart from the pack. I’ve been asked a lot lately whether or not I’m considering selling my Evo for a newer phone (Evo 3D anyone?). Well, let me ’splain it to ya:
Software
The Evo is currently running Android 2.2, or Froyo. The device originally launched with 2.1 with the promise of Froyo coming soon from HTC. The Evo was the first device (excluding the obvious Nexus) to receive the Froyo update, yet the phone still runs beautifully and majestically. Froyo really was quite a step up from Eclair (2.1) and that still shows with the Evo. Combined with it’s 1 GHz processor, Froyo allows the device to load apps and menus almost instantly. How many of you remember the days where hitting “all applications” in your settings meant waiting a good 10 seconds before the list showed up? Probably very few of you. Now you click the same option and your list appears before you instantly. In terms of technology performance, 10 seconds is huge. The Evo still feels plenty fast and can stand toe to toe with even recent phones when it comes to its speed. Pretty nice for an old phone, eh?
Upgrades
Another big problem people have with buying expensive devices is the fear that the company will stop supporting the device. It has to happen eventually (unless your Sony and you can’t let go of your PS2 love child), you just don’t want it to be while you’re still using/depending on the device. When will that time come for the Evo? The bad news: with the release of the Evo 3D, probably sooner than your two year contract expiration date if you bought it recently. The good news: probably not in the immediate future. HTC has the best track record for upgrading their phones (according to a study done in January) and Sprint is behind only Verizon in upgrading times. You have the most reliable phone maker and the second quickest carrier; you’re in good hands. All of this is besides the point for two reasons:
1) [The Average Consumer] : HTC has already announced that the Evo will be getting Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). While most of us were already guessing they would, HTC wasn’t going to let their original flagship phone die off so easily. So to the 95% of you that don’t root your phone, GB and more than lidely Sense 2.0 are just around the corner. HTC has claimed it for Q2 of this year which is in the April-June range.
2) [The Root User]: Do you care that HTC may eventually forget about your phone? Does it matter to you that HTC takes longer than Google to release updates? Probably not. Many of you are already running the newest version of Android through ROMs (such as Cyanogen’s CM7) and could soon be even running Honeycomb. You’re like myself, as long as the developing community doesn’t forget about the Evo I’ve got nothing to worry about (and seeing how popular the Development section is over at XDA, I’m no where near worried).
Hardware
The final nail in the coffin for most electronic devices is hardware. Software can be upgraded but that can only take it so far. That’s not even accounting for software upgrades that requiremore up to date hardware. The Evo’s 4.3 inch multi-touch capacitive screen is still one of the best of its kind. It is still just as smooth and responsive as the day I got it and the capacitive buttons are much the same. It does not feel like a brick and still has a slim profile by modern standards. When someone inevitably comments with “the [insert your favorite phone here] is slimmer by x mm!!!” I won’t even reply. Here’s what I say to you: Do you REALLY notice it while holding it when the difference is almost indistinguishable to the human eye? Probably not.
The 8 megapixel camera is still top of the line. I’ve actually developed a small fondness for photography now that I have a camera with me that doesn’t take pictures that looks like they’ve been assembled by Lego blocks. The Wimax radio also still holds its own. You can make any claim for LTE you want (because honestly, it is that fast), but Wimax isn’t exactly the poor child. For those of us with 4G access you know how fast it is and probably don’t care that you can finish loading your Youtube video while 4 seconds into the video instead of 6; it’s still better than the constant stuttering and stopping or waiting for it load that we’ve been accustomed to on 3G. Sprint might switch to LTE, only they really know. But for the time being, Wimax will more than suffice. And besides, some people claim LTE is a bigger battery eater than Wimax (which I’d be amazed if that’s true).
Last but not least, the “Achilles Heel” for the Evo: The Battery. The only problem people could find with the Evo was that its battery life was often horrendous. How can age affect that? Other than the argument that there are newer, bigger, more efficient batteries out there (which you can buy for the Evo as well, by the way), there’s not much HTC could do about the battery life, right? Wrong. HTC sent out an update that somehow has DRASTICALLY improved the battery life for stock users. It was found that Sense was the biggest killer for the battery (excluding the gorgeous 4.3 inch power sucker you’re accustomed to looking at) and HTC corrected that. Will the Evo ever win best battery out of the box? No. But it no longer has the tag of “worst battery life ever.” In fact, if users are smart, they can adjust the Evo so that it runs for DAYS without needing to be recharged (not you frequent gamer/GPSer). I personally don’t charge my phone but every other day and I’m on it constantly. A little knowledge about your phone can go a long way.
The Verdict
In case you haven’t been able to draw a conclusion until now, I have no problems with my Evo. In fact, it doesn’t feel a day older than when I first got it. Whenever it starts to get that old, crusty feeling I just flash a new ROM and it feels like I have a new phone. I love that about Android, and I love that about my phone. The Evo is still selling well so I’m not the only one who finds this phone still attractive. So how about it Evo users? How’s your relationship with your device?
This morning Sprint released a statement that they will be changing their $10 Premium data charge from just a 4G device charge to an all smartphone charge starting January 30th 2011. What does this mean for you?
If you're new to Sprint: starting January 30th 2011 you will be required to pay a $10 data charge on any smartphone (BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile) that you activate.
If you're a current Sprint customer: this change will not effect you until you go to upgrade your unit. If you choose to upgrade to a smartphone, you will have to pay the $10 data charge. If you already have a 4G device you are already paying this $10 data charge and should expect no change.
Please keep in mind that this is a good thing! Unlike other carriers, Sprint wants to continue to be able to offer you the best data service possible without limiting you to 2GB a month (which goes very quickly if you're a heavy user) while still keeping your service affordable. By charging their customers $10 for unlimited data access, Sprint can allow you the freedom to use your smartphone as much as you want without worrying about costly overages. Even with the $10 charge, Sprint's monthly charge is still significantly less than other carriers.
Sprint Awards $250,000 in 4G App Challenge
Posted by: Scott WebsterDecember 16, 2010
Sprint just doled out $50,000 to five different Android developers as part of the 4G App Challenge. Designed to build momentum around their growing 4G network, Sprint and a few other partners that include WIRED, Reddit, and Ars Technica kicked off the contest back in September. Developers were asked to submit their apps in one of five categories (Entertainment, Productivity, Gaming, Social Networking, and Multimedia.
Winners received not only the $50,000 in cash, but a handful of other goodies. Each grand prize winner also gets either an HTC EVO 4G or Samsung Epic 4G with one year of Sprint service, a one-year membership to the Sprint Professional Developer Program, and an invitation to WIRED’s VIP party during the 2011 International CES in Las Vegas. Hit the break to see the list of winners, which includes our very own Carmen Delessio!
- Andrei Goumilevski, Tallahassee, Fla. – NASAImages (Entertainment): NASAImages showcases 4,000 space images from the NASA APOD site. Because the images are large, Sprint 4G enables customers to download them quickly.
- Rob Miley, St. Charles, Mo. – Say What? Mobile Game (Gaming): Say What? is the mobile version of the kids game Telephone, where one person whispers a phrase in someone's ear and then that person would repeat what they heard to the next person. Once the game is complete, players can hear the beginning and ending phrase. Players are randomly connected to active games. Interaction with the app and the game server is frequent, so the Sprint 4G Network provides a fast and reliable Internet connection for optimal play.
- Rajan Singh, San Jose, Calif. – Recipe Search (Productivity): Recipe Search is a reverse recipe finder app. The user simply speaks the ingredients they have in their refrigerator or pantry and they will see a display of meals with directions that they could cook. Sprint 4G will reduce latency and deliver results quicker.
- Carmen Delessio, Pound Ridge, N.Y. – BFF Photo – Facebook Upload (Social Networking): BFF Photo brings Facebook photos to the user’s phone. Consumers can use the app to view photo albums, friends’ albums and take and upload photos and videos. The app fully uses the bandwidth and reliability of the Sprint 4G Network to manage the connection to Facebook and the speedy media download to the customer.
- Jason Shah, Chicago, Ill. – Mediafly (Multimedia): With Mediafly Mobile, users can organize and discover podcasts, audio, video, radio and streams from their Android phone. The Sprint 4G Network makes watching streaming video on this app easy and enjoyable.
We are very excited for the new software update for the Sprint HTC Evo 4G! Updated features include:
Blockbuster (including WM DRM 10)
Kindle eReader
Preloaded try/buy video game: NOVA from Gameloft
Sprint Zone update
Latest Telenav
Latest VVM App
Latest Sprint TV app
SWYPE Keyboard
Scan Now Widget for 4G (does not need to be available on any panel, just a widget option users could find and use).
We recommend that if you do not have experience with manually installing software to your phone that you wait for the over-the-air update to push to your unit!!!
We've had a lot of questions about what we know in regards to the new HTC Evo Shift 4G. As of right now, your guess is as good as ours! We are very excited for the official release of information about this phone, and will update as we get any verified details.
Theme created for Posterous by Obox
