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Hello All,
I wanted to see what everyone thinks is the best application manger for Android.
Also is anyone familiar with the Getjar free app store?
Thx All,
Force
What do people think of "Advance Task Killer"
It seems to me it shows all tasks, not jsut the open ones.
Regards,
Force
FYI,
Many people say talk killers are not necessary, as that is a windows phenomenon, Linux & android treating background processes differently.
Regards,
Force
I personally use Advanced Task Manager for $0.99. I have read the articles about how Android does not need task Managers because it is built in, but I know from personal experience that without it if there are running programs in the background my phone gets really sluggish especially when I get a phone call and it makes it difficult to answer etc. Take in account, this experience was mainly with the Hero (slower) but I use on my Evo now.
You know people will argue either way, because there is evidence to support both sides of the argument. so with that in mind- i honestly havent had the need for one with my evo, but it you truly are considering one- i actually have a pair to suggest.
one is OS Monitor- free on the market- great app for pinning down process that could be an issue- also supports dmsg repporting- and logcat is built in to- so if your testing something and it goes all wonky you can export the log to view on a pc and send it to the developer too.
the second is AMM- or Auto Memory Manager- free and donate versions on the market. There are pretty much a couple of sliders and you set it how you want android to handle the process. I have had great success with this app on my other device- normal free memory was around 30-35 and using this set aggressively i saw gains of 50mb at most times keeping my freememory to around 75-80mb range.
Hope this helps.
I take both sides. I have task manager installed, but use if ONLY when needed. Aka, I used it when I want to kill the browser after I'm done with it so next time I launch it I won't be seeing old pages.
I like EStrongs Task Manager.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/nextapp.systempanel.r1 is nice, it can kill processes, monitor system stats, uninstall apps and more. There is also a free version.
TREYisRAD said:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/nextapp.systempanel.r1 is nice, it can kill processes, monitor system stats, uninstall apps and more. There is also a free version.
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i installed that last night, cool app
why someone who know don't explaine exactly how android works and do we need killers and if yes which one is best...
Everyone of us using something but question is that which one is best for our needs.
quick system info pro (free)
I only use the manual task killer widget when memory gets down around 100. Spikes it right back to about 250.
Whats your guys' normal memory range? I see someone on here saying 50 was normal for them but that seems REALLY low to me.
frifox said:
I take both sides. I have task manager installed, but use if ONLY when needed. Aka, I used it when I want to kill the browser after I'm done with it so next time I launch it I won't be seeing old pages.
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Does the stock Sense browser not have an option to kill the windows by hitting menu? On CM, I do menu, windows, and X them out
Hey, I want to know if its possible to disable multitasking or make it so hitting the "back/ok" button will close programs not minimize. I hate the multitasking in windows mobile because its very annoying to hit that tiny task manager on the top right corner just to close programs. It also sacrifices performance and battery life to keep those apps running in the background. I hardly ever need to multitask so is there any way to disable multitasking or something close to that?
Tada1228 said:
Hey, I want to know if its possible to disable multitasking or make it so hitting the "back/ok" button will close programs not minimize. I hate the multitasking in windows mobile because its very annoying to hit that tiny task manager on the top right corner just to close programs. It also sacrifices performance and battery life to keep those apps running in the background. I hardly ever need to multitask so is there any way to disable multitasking or something close to that?
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Dude, there's 65k+ of software for PPCs including taskmanagers.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND buying iphone, if you cannot manage.
Or wait for w7.
Anyway, you may give away your device for poor ones, too.
It also sacrifices performance and battery life to keep those apps running in the background.
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So, maybe CLOSE them with any TASK MANAGER available....
Info for moderators:
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Can you imagine, there are people that are not aware, that "x" is not closing apps?...
Despite of all knowledge of the world, people, internet and FOCKIN twitter.
Iphones are way too expensive. I know that there are task manager apps but none of them solve my problem. Iam saying that its annoying to constantly close apps in the background. It's also annoying to hit the tiny X button, which I know closes apps. The multitasking feature is useless to me and I want it disabled because it would make this phone much better for me. I am not a heavy power user, just a casual user.
Multitasking can not be disabled. That basically defeats the purpose of android and having a smart phone. All you can do is use a task manager or task killer. Whatever you want to call it. I don't know how it doesn't solve your problem because what it does is close the app.
See the thing is that android is a much better multitasker and I didnt see any performance drops when multitasking on a android phone. Windows mobile gets real slow and requires you to either soft reset or clean ram often. Yeah, I think iam done with windows mobile phones for now, Iam really looking forward to Windows phone 7. The perfect phone for casual users like me.
Tada1228 said:
It's also annoying to hit the tiny X button
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have you ever thought about mapping taskkiller to button....
Advanced Task Killer can end apps on screen-off. I use this keeps phone running smoothly. Can also be set to do it at a timed interval.
You can use app from google play store name Ram Manager Pro this app can manage options multitasking and swap file. When you check more multitasking then depending from your available ram android will keep in memory lot of apps or reverse will be better for games with free memory for hard gaming. You can use swap file 256 mb recommended and swampiness to 80. I have multitasking set at full.
i use advance task killer and set it to auto kill every hour...but ive been reading everywhere that people say not to use task killer. whats ur opinion on this?
Don't use them. Kick the habit. Get the monkey off your back. Go cold turkey. Just say no.
It's okay, in my opinion. The key is to use it safely (that means not using an auto kill). I use advanced task killer as well. I have the security set to High, and I have established an ignore list (for applications that need to remain open to provide me updates, like Gmail, Market, Clock - for alarms, Yahoo Messenger, etc). Setting the security to high ensures that processes aren't killed when you kill everything else. I put a widget on the homescreen that kills, when you select it. I kill everything whenever I put my phone down. In my experience, not using a TK gives me too much lag for my taste. I also noticed quicker battery drain without a TK. This is my personal experience and I strongly recommend doing a couple of days both WITH a TK and WITHOUT a TK. Remember, if you do continue using a TK, do so carefully. Review this article for a little more insight. Good luck
I use it and personally have noticed increase battery life. I set it to autokill every hour but i have left security at high and all the applications i need running plus widgets that need to keep updating, market, and alarm i have put on the ignore list. As long as you do this it should be helpful to you.
SiL3nTKiLL said:
i use advance task killer and set it to auto kill every hour...but ive been reading everywhere that people say not to use task killer. whats ur opinion on this?
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They are so many robot-lovers out there and they will claim Android is the best. They will tell you the OS is so advanced that you don't have to worry about the background processes. Well, don't just believe them. Try a task killer yourself and you'll find out if it's good for you.
For me, a task killer is definitely necessary.
(1) You need a task killer to kill those AT&T crappy processes. Things like AT&T hot spot, AT&T navigator will start automatically every time you start your phone. If you don't root your phone, you need to kill them manually. I've tested it, those stupid, useless processes drain your battery like crazy.
(2) To kill other auto-sync, auto-update apps. A lot of the app use background syncing or updating. If you don't configure them correctly, chances are they will run in the background and drain your battery.
I have used two different Android phones. Without task killer, I would probably have a battery for less than half of a day. With task killer, I can at least last a whole day.
PS, In case you didn't notice, I hate the way Android handles multitasking. I like the idea of letting the OS to handle background processes. But the job it is doing right now is just horrible.
This is my first android phone and i do no use a task killer. i started the first few days using one and then stopped after reading alot of things saying not to. i may try one again and use it only for things i do not want running
I guess this is my honeycomb ignorance (still getting used to the features) but when pulling up recent apps with the softkey I really only want apps that are currently running.
Are some of these apps are already "closed" and by choosing a thumbnail from the list I'm re-opening these?
Is there a setting anywhere to "limit" the history I see? Like <5 apps or something?
I have Task Killer pro intalled now to manage the real running apps but the Softkey is handier, if I can just be sure of what its supposed to indicate.
Thanks
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
I was wondering this as well. I haven't found any way to do it yet.
I don't know of any way except to manage apps in the settings and then kill "running" apps....but remember; these are apps "in memory" like you'd think in Windows.....they are not sucking resources...
I think that there is an article here somewhere about this list and why you shouldn't use an app killer in Honeycomb....
I'm more interested in changing it to a grid layout, like a speed dial.
yeah I know theyre not in memory but they are wasting screen space. I finished playing chess yesterday, I dont think the game should stay in the recent apps list. Froyo & Gingerbread are much better at managing this.
moo99 said:
yeah I know theyre not in memory but they are wasting screen space. I finished playing chess yesterday, I dont think the game should stay in the recent apps list. Froyo & Gingerbread are much better at managing this.
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I agree. I just want a cleaner recent apps list. Sometimes it's hard to find what you're looking for.
I guess a workaround would be to longpress the home screen, put a widget there that is linked directly to "manage applications" and then it would only be one press and then zap the offending apps.
You do realize the Recent Apps button on the homescreen is just that, a Recent Apps button. It's not exactly a "running in the background" button.
"I finished playing chess yesterday, I dont think the game should stay in the recent apps list."
Why not? It is a recently played app isn't it? LOL.
And yeah, agree with the other reply, if you want a list of running apps.... don't touch the Recent Apps list button lol.
Stop worrying about what's running in the background. Just enjoy the damn Android.
Im not near my TF now but I use Multitasking Pro on my Galaxy S for that. you can choose to open it by double clicking the home button and see only running apps or recent apps - its configurable in the application settings. i does cost about 2$ i think but it was the best 2$ I've spent
this is called a 'Recent apps' list for a reason...it's 'Recent'..not current running...
Well you could always downgrade to 3.0 if it really bothers you. That only showed 5 apps!
LOL. Its a nuisance, not so much a grievance; but I'm glad I'm not the only one annoyed, perhaps this will get looked at ;-)
Possibly once Honeycomb is more prevalent there will come market apps or enough reportage to have an updte with a setting for it, or a utility that tweaks it. Regardless, I appreciate the feedback. At least now I know its sort of "normal".
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
My number one wish is for Google to improve multitasking (and give back control to the user as to which programs are running).
As is, the implementation just isn't very usable if you consider it to be a multitasking device -- it's really closer to single-tasking with a memory of what it did recently and the ability to reopen with a similar state to what it last had.
For example, I use my tab during F1 races for timing and scoring. I have F1.com's timing and scoring app, and I have access to a (non-public) website which provides further real-time info through Adobe Flash in a web browser.
If I switch from the web browser to F1.com's timing and scoring app for more than say 10-15 seconds, then back again, the flash app has to reconnect to the server because the web browser ceased running, even though the browser and the F1.com app were the only programs running and had ample memory / CPU power / a mains power supply connected, ie. no reason to halt the browser.
This isn't the only time I hit this issue, it's just one easy-to-explain example.
I'd much rather I had the ability to exit programs / apps myself when I'm done with them, and to keep programs / apps running in the background when I want them to. It'd make the whole experience much more coherent and logical.
The Flash plugin was designed to suspend when you switched apps. It's not an android issue.
Adding "close programs" to the current implementation would not make it more logical, it would make it more convoluted. It doesn't need it.
knoxploration said:
.I'd much rather I had the ability to exit programs / apps myself when I'm done with them, and to keep programs / apps running in the background when I want them to. It'd make the whole experience much more coherent and logical.
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The problem is that the vast majority of users won't want to handle this themselves, and would expect the OS to do if for them.
Personally, I'm in favour of having some sort of mechanism whereby you can tell the OS not to kill specific tasks if you so choose, but otherwise task management performs as is.
With specific regard to your example, I think that the OS believes it is always OK to kill the browser, which is why it can be killed so quickly after switching away. For other apps, this doesn't seem to happen - for example, yesterday I was connected to a remote server using Wyse PocketCloud, and I frequently switched away to do something else for 30-60 minutes at a time, yet my remote desktop connection was never dropped or killed.
Regards,
Dave
Me personally don't need and don't like this "recent" app button. Or I need it to have an option either to clear it or not. You know we sometimes need privacy over such things
JCopernicus said:
The Flash plugin was designed to suspend when you switched apps. It's not an android issue.
Adding "close programs" to the current implementation would not make it more logical, it would make it more convoluted. It doesn't need it.
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Agreed, if flash is left to run in the background it will drain the battery like hell..and other system resources as well.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
...and it should be *my* choice whether that happens. That is where this argument totaly falls on its face. *I* know whether it is vital to me that an app remain open, or can safely be closed. The tablet doesn't.
As long as it remains in the tablet's hands, it will continue to annoy me by leving open apps that I no longer need running, while closing apps that I strongly do need running.
magicpork said:
Agreed, if flash is left to run in the background it will drain the battery like hell..and other system resources as well.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
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that's just it....it doesn't.
Revisiting Android Task Killers and Why You Still Don’t Need One
from another forum.
We almost hate to approach the topic of Task Killers on Android after all this time, but with so many new faces here at Droid Life and in Android in general, it’s something that needs to be done. In fact, after seeing the Amazon app of the day and reading through the Twitter conversations we just had with many of you, this thing needs to be posted immediately.
Let’s see if we can’t get you all some better battery life!
First off, please ignore the image up at the top of the post. If this was 2009 and we were all running something less than Android 2.2, that statement plastered on that red banner might be somewhat correct. But since it is 2011 and the majority of people on the planet are running Android 2.2, we need to get you away from the mindset that killing off tasks on your phone is a good thing.
So rather than me blabbering about the inner-workings of Android and how it manages RAM for the 10,000th time, I’m going to just pull from some posts that friends of ours have done that explain this in the plainest of ways.
First up is our boy @cvpcs who you may know from CM and his Sapphire ROM days. He knows Android inside-and-out, so when he goes into memory management which is done by the OS itself, you should listen up:
…What people don’t seem to realize is that android is designed to have a large number of tasks stored in memory at all times. Why? Well basically we are talking about a mobile device. On a mobile device things tend to be slower. The hardware isn’t as robust as say a desktop or a laptop, so in order to get that same “snappy” feeling, there have to be workarounds.
One of these is how android deals with memory. Android will load up your apps and then keep them running until they absolutely HAVE to kill them. This is because that way, if you want to re-open an app, the system already has it loaded and can then just resume it instead of reloading it. This provides a significant performance increase.
What a lot of people don’t realize as well is that android kernels have their own task manager. This means that:
it will be more efficient than any app-based task manager as it is run at the kernel level, and
it should be left up to that task killer to decide when to free up memory
There is only one case where having a task killer is a good idea, and that is when you want to kill ONE SPECIFIC APP. Killing all apps is never a good idea. You don’t know what operations they are performing or if they are necessary.
Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker suggests that you should be more worried about CPU usage than what’s going on with your RAM. We agree:
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.
More on how Android has a built-in memory-management system, but also on how killing all tasks is not a good thing (via: NextApp):
Android was designed from the ground up as an operating system (OS) for mobile devices. Its built-in application and memory-management systems were engineered with battery life as one of the most critical concerns.
The Android OS does not work like a desktop operating system. On a desktop OS, like Windows, Mac OS X, or Ubuntu Linux, the user is responsible for closing programs in order to keep a reasonable amount of memory available. On Android, this is not the case. The OS itself automatically removes programs from memory as memory is needed. The OS may also preload applications into memory which it thinks might soon be needed.
Having lots of available empty memory is not a good thing. It takes the same amount of power to hold “nothing” in memory as it does to hold actual data. So, like every other operating system in use today, Android does its best to keep as much important/likely-to-be-used information in memory as possible.
As such, using the task manager feature of SystemPanel to constantly clear memory by killing all apps is strongly NOT RECOMMENDED. This also applies to any other task killer / management program. Generally speaking, you should only “End” applications if you see one which is not working correctly. The “End All” feature can be used if your phone/device is performing poorly and you are uncertain of the cause.
And we could go on for hours with source after source on why task killers do nothing but work against Android, but you probably get the point now don’t you? Ready for a quick recap? OK.
Basically, Android keeps tasks handy because it thinks you’ll want to perform them again in a very short amount of time. If you don’t, it will clear them out for you. It also likes to keep as many things handy as possible so that the overall performance of your device is top notch. If Android were to completely kill off everything that your phone is doing, then it would require more resources to restart all of them and you would likely run into slowness and battery drains. By keeping certain things available to you, your phone is actually running better than it would without. So please, stop killing off tasks and let Android do the work for you.
Your goal for the week is wash your brain of the idea that having little RAM available is a bad thing. The more RAM available, the more Android will find ways to use it up which means your battery will be dead in hours. Instead, let it manage itself, so that you can spend more time playing Angry Birds or reading Droid Life.
All good now?
A simple reboot clears the list of recent apps. And as others have stated, it's not about running apps but something like the "recent documents" list in Windows 7
I am now a ICS user and I realize when you hold the home button you'll have a list of recent apps. Cool, but I realize the list is very very long, are all those apps currently running at low usage for quick access? If so, is there a way I limit the amount of apps, I remember with 2.3.4 (whatever) cyanogenmod you could modify the number for recent apps. I ask because with so many running I imagine it will drain battery. Thanks
You can remove them from the recent apps list by swiping them away (either left or right).
I understand that, but if I let it stay because it is sort of a hassle having to deal with them individually. Will it consume a lot of battery? Am I better off leaving it, or just swiping constantly killing the task.
That, I'm not too sure of. I believe that by swiping it, it'll dismiss it from the recent apps and kill the task because there would be no point to just remove it from the recent apps list and still have it runing in the background but I think you'll need more clarification on that.
Sorry I can't help so much; I'm not running ICS yet, so I can't be too sure.
Thanks, I'll give it a Google anyways
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
You are better off leaving it as it is. It is really just a recent apps list, just with a thumbnail, exactly like the one in gb. Swiping can just resets the app, the same as 'backing' out of it. This has the effect of removing some apps from cache completely, though not all.
Thanks mate. My concern was that it would be a battery drain, but I'll let it be.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
No battery drain unless it's some kind of service (which is usually (always?)) in the notification bar. When you press the home button, the app will be put into RAM and classified as cache, so it is quicker to open up next time. Note that filling RAM uses no extra battery, RAM is powered the same regardless. If you are using an app that requires more RAM than is available that is classified 'free', it will start removing some of the apps android has put into ram as cache and fill it up with necessary data from the foreground app.
Task managers are useful, however not any more useful than Androids built in managing (system settings --> apps). There is never a need to close any app forceably UNLESS it is not working as it should, whether it be frozen, excessively slow or not loading in some way or another, etc. All other circumstances are taken care of for you and memory is used as efficiently as possible.
Thank you Harbb for the very detailed explanation. That is exactly what I was looking for. I thought myself the same but needed clarification simply because the list was so long, I semi feared it could be running. Cheers mate!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
No problem mate, just happy to help. Always good to clarify these things.
i disagree Harb. RAM management is sometimes pretty poor without using a task manager.
For example some apps that use a lot of RAM such as Real Racing 2, could force close because of lack of RAM.
I've never experienced something genuinely FCing because of a lack of RAM, but will try out the RR2 demo and see how it gets on, i'll try and get it to crash or FC. 768mb of RAM would've been really nice on the NS though as a good chunk is used by the system.
Just a tip instead of going to settings/apps..ect
Just go to recent apps hold down on the app and click app info much quicker
also most of the top recent apps are not using any resources but the lower ones are swiping will close and free up the RAM
Its a built in taskkiller that Google put into ICS even though they always said one was not needed.