Just not that smooth

[DGalt]

My girlfriend just got an HTC hero and I got a chance to play with it.

Even though it's specs are obviously less than those of the Droid it worked so much smoother, and I just don't understand why. Does android 2.0 just need to go through some growing pains?

 

[MotoDroidHelpandInfo]

Download a task killer and kill unnecessary apps. Mine runs perfectly smooth just got to watch so app don't start building up in the background.

 

[johnlgalt]

Yup - for one thing, Android 1.5/1.6 have been out longer than 2.0. For another, this is a brand new device with all its capabilities supposedly not hamstrung by VZW - so that means some things may have some growing pains.

 

[DGalt]

Download a task killer and kill unnecessary apps. Mine runs perfectly smooth just got to watch so app don't start building up in the background.

I open TaskPanel about every 5 minutes to close things lol

 

[MotoDroidHelpandInfo]

Well how slow is it? On mine the browser opens and loads the page in about 5 seconds on 3g. The only slow part is turning on. Do you have any home replacement apps cuz those will really slow them down. Also any incompatible apps could hurt performance.

 

[johnlgalt]

I have to agree - my navigation is pretty fast, and with the Browser from the apps market, it is even faster now - and tabbed!

All apps work just fine, but every now and again, especially when I have been using twidroid for a while, it gets sluggish - but a quick run of Advanced Task manager and I am fine again.

 

[Robobandit]

Maybe it is a difference between HTC's custom interface and stock android.. keep in mind that the hero has a full UI replacement that HTC has been working on for a while..

The droid seems quite fast for me overall, but that isn't to say that there isn't a lag or two on occasion.

 

[Fabolous]

The only times I find the Droid to be "slow" is switching between home screens or pulling down the notifications bar, and only if the phone was just idle.

This leads me to believe that there's some sort of CPU throttling going on to conserve battery.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

Weird I had the Sprint Hero and the Droid is a lot better.

 

[drudometkin]

My droid is very fast. No lag. I'm coming from a slow BB curve though.

 

[ajm144k]

Well how slow is it? On mine the browser opens and loads the page in about 5 seconds on 3g. The only slow part is turning on. Do you have any home replacement apps cuz those will really slow them down. Also any incompatible apps could hurt performance.

if youre considering turning on your droid slow...just to put this into perspective...

try turning on a blackberry. i would say i could turn my droid on, then off at least 8 times before any blackberry device in the world could just turn on.

im dead serious. the droid boots up pretty damn quickly.


but back on topic, the only time my droid isnt that smooth is sometimes when i first start to scroll in a list it sort of waits a second before moving with me. but only the very first time i try scrolling in a list- if i release then immediately start to scroll in that same list, its fine.

 

[athflying]

I think by smooth he means fluid. Play with any phone using Sense UI based on Android or an iPhone and transitions between home screens are "fluid" where as the Droid is jerky. I think it is definitely related to the sw and not the hw. My G1 was the same and it seems HTC has either modified the code or the homescreen they use is completely different running on top of Android. It's not jus 2.0, it's the nature of Android.

As far as speed between apps and loading pages, etc...the Droid kills them all.

 

[johninbigd]

Maybe it is a difference between HTC's custom interface and stock android.. keep in mind that the hero has a full UI replacement that HTC has been working on for a while..

The droid seems quite fast for me overall, but that isn't to say that there isn't a lag or two on occasion.

I love my Droid, but there is no comparison in smoothness when compared to the Eris, which shouldn't be the case. My boss has one and it is faster to respond to touch and smoother when sliding things around. I'm sure this is a software bug. The Droid UI needs to be optimized or something. It's even less responsive in some ways than my iPhone 3G.

That doesn't mean that it's slow, by any stretch, but it's just noticeable in some places.

I sure wouldn't give up my Droid to go back to that iPhone, though!

 

[atlbuc]

What do you mean it worked so much smoother? I got the Hero on Friday before launch day and it was ok for about 3 or 4 days but after that it started to lag, the notifications shade wouldn't come down until after about 3 swipes. I used task killer on it and it caused more problems than it solved. The Droid to me is so much smoother, nice transitions to different screens and it is very quick.

 

[CRPercodani]

Most of the smoothness you guys are talking about is the difference in a 320x480 resolution vs 480x854 resolution. The CPU/GPU has to render so many more pixels. That is why with open/close apps you see the DROID is faster, but when scrolling the Hero/Eris is faster.

Also be careful with using task killers. Android was designed to run the way it does and not need to have tasks killed UNLESS they are problematic or the developer has them setup to hog resources. If you do a lot of researching you will see more advanced users recommend against using them.

 

[johninbigd]

Most of the smoothness you guys are talking about is the difference in a 320x480 resolution vs 480x854 resolution. The CPU/GPU has to render so many more pixels. That is why with open/close apps you see the DROID is faster, but when scrolling the Hero/Eris is faster.

Also be careful with using task killers. Android was designed to run the way it does and not need to have tasks killed UNLESS they are problematic or the developer has them setup to hog resources. If you do a lot of researching you will see more advanced users recommend against using them.

That makes a lot of sense. I guess my expectations were too high because I know the Droid has a separate graphics processor. I would have expected it to be just as smooth as the Eris or iPhone when scrolling. It's not bad, by any stretch, but I expected it to be a bit better. It is definitely faster in other ways, though, and I definitely would not go back to the iphone.

 

[QrafTee]

Most of the smoothness you guys are talking about is the difference in a 320x480 resolution vs 480x854 resolution. The CPU/GPU has to render so many more pixels. That is why with open/close apps you see the DROID is faster, but when scrolling the Hero/Eris is faster.

Also be careful with using task killers. Android was designed to run the way it does and not need to have tasks killed UNLESS they are problematic or the developer has them setup to hog resources. If you do a lot of researching you will see more advanced users recommend against using them.

Even with the difference in resolution one would assume that the geniuses behind the design of the hardware and software knew about the necessary hardware required to run the device smoothly. There is no excuse in that sense; in fact it's more likely that the OS isn't fully optimized yet so that's why it's not running smoothly yet. If you're right then Verizon, Motorola, and Google is full of fail.

 

[athflying]

Even with the difference in resolution one would assume that the geniuses behind the design of the hardware and software knew about the necessary hardware required to run the device smoothly. There is no excuse in that sense; in fact it's more likely that the OS isn't fully optimized yet so that's why it's not running smoothly yet. If you're right then Verizon, Motorola, and Google is full of fail.

I have never seen an Android phone that is running stock android software transition from home screen to home screen as fluid as an iPhone or an HTC phone with Sense. I think it is the nature of the stock OS and has nothing to do with hardware.

 

[johninbigd]

That could very well be true. I hope Google/Verizon/Motorola get this optimized for the Droid quickly. It's not bad, but I'm picky. I want it to be nice and smooth.

 

[athflying]

Most of the smoothness you guys are talking about is the difference in a 320x480 resolution vs 480x854 resolution. The CPU/GPU has to render so many more pixels. That is why with open/close apps you see the DROID is faster, but when scrolling the Hero/Eris is faster.

Also be careful with using task killers. Android was designed to run the way it does and not need to have tasks killed UNLESS they are problematic or the developer has them setup to hog resources. If you do a lot of researching you will see more advanced users recommend against using them.

I agree....my Droid runs flawlessly without ever killing off apps and I have never seen proof that somehow doing so preserves battery life. Unless the app is using GPS or transmitting data in the background, don't see how it's going to drain the battery any faster. I use Advanced Task Manager to kill all apps once a day, I look at it as a daily reboot without rebooting. Probably not as good as a full reboot, but better than nothing. Personally I like to just enjoy the phone, you guys get so hung up on details sometimes I think it takes away from your enjoyment of the phone. If there is an app that is slowing down your phone noticeably, there is something wrong with that app.

 

[Aquineas]

I agree that killing extraneous tasks seems to improve the home-screen responsiveness. My question is, what are the "bare-mininum" apps to keep the phone running?

• Messaging (will you still get text messages with this turned off?)
• Gmail
• Email (seems to free up about 12MB)

It's an open question.. I humbly request any info and clarification from the more knowledgeable userbase

 

[QrafTee]

I agree....my Droid runs flawlessly without ever killing off apps and I have never seen proof that somehow doing so preserves battery life. Unless the app is using GPS or transmitting data in the background, don't see how it's going to drain the battery any faster. I use Advanced Task Manager to kill all apps once a day, I look at it as a daily reboot without rebooting. Probably not as good as a full reboot, but better than nothing. Personally I like to just enjoy the phone, you guys get so hung up on details sometimes I think it takes away from your enjoyment of the phone. If there is an app that is slowing down your phone noticeably, there is something wrong with that app.

Well battery life preservation via task killer makes sense on a logical level. The CPU has to do work for all programs no matter how small they are even if they're not fully "active" and "running in the background." True, most of us using PCs can't tell the difference (unless we run out of RAM and then our whole computer slows down), but when we're talking about a mobile device the battery life can definitely be affected by running multiple applications.

True, depending on how Android is programmed, how the app is programmed, it could be in definite suspension when it's "running in the background," but that's not likely the case and that would defeat the purpose of "multi-tasking."

 

[johnlgalt]

I could easily stop ending my tasks - if my battery would last longer. If I have a way to stop getting updates on my FB, Twitter and GMail, without having to close the apps, it would be nice - the updating process is what is sucking my battery, I know this, but short of killing the apps I am not sure what else to do....

 

[Deleted User]

I think that they need to optimize it a bit more for this hardware. All Android phones have the same hardware until this phone debuted. Ive seen videos of Android running on Intel Atom netbooks and it wasnt smooth either. Its the hardware/software scheme they use. Once Verizon or Google get around to sending us some updates (Dec 11?) We will really be able to use the hardware to its full potential.

 

[johnlgalt]

Sort of off-topic, but not really - does anyone know if Android makes use of the graphics processor (like Windows 7) for the regular home app?

Also, I tried using Panda Home - the default icons that were on the home screen started doing this multiple image flicker / dopple-ganger thing when I would move to either screen from the middle home screen, so I uninstalled it....shame too. I really liked the look and feel of it....

Anyone have any idea when (if?) Sense UI will be 'ported' to other Android phones by some crafty dev?