Task Killer--Yes or No ?

[one11sgt]

I am trying to make an informed decision about whether or not to use a task killer with the Android OS.

I have read bits and pieces of info in different treads from both sides but cannot find a central forum or thread discussing this, so its hard to figure out the majority opinion.

I would prefer not to use one since its just an extra step every time I use the phone....but if it is beneficial to either processor or battery or both, I will.

Any opinions and/or experiences are welcome. Thanks in advance!!!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

moved to DINC forum. sorry cant figure out how to delete the thread here

 

[jwmacdon1231]

Its all a matter of personal preference. Task killers aren't necessary. It does make it easier when you need to kill an app for any reason. I stopped using one simply b/c w/ froyo there is a tab that lets you view all running apps.

[/URL][/IMG]

Like I said, though, it is not necessary.

 

[dmevis]

Everyone says that the X includes a built-in Task Killer.

However, I have yet to see it kill ANY task.

I am finding that a 3rd. party Task Killer works MUCH better than whatever is built-in to the X.

 

[yadda yadda]

Using advanced task killer seems to not only free up memory, but consequently speeds my phone back up again - I was surprised how many were still running in the background when I hadn't used them for a couple of days. No negative results from using one as yet for me.

 

[rtb35]

No you dont need a task killer,the android operating system is more than capable of killing apps by itself.

Also in my experience a task killer causes more problems than it solves,e.g slow downs etc

 

[Ngo93]

It's not really needed

 

[jweber]

No need really, You'll just spend all day killing off apps that need to be on. Just because a service is shown running in the background doesn't mean it is actually using any resources. Many times the service will be completel idle and just queued up incase an application needs it. Android 2.1+ is very efficient now.

 

[troffe]

I'd suggest keeping one around but using it as little as possible.

Sometimes task killers mess up the functionality of some apps.

I'm using a Froyo Nexus One. I find that with Android 2.2, the memory management is so good that I use my task killer maybe once a month.

 

[meyerweb]

As you can tell already, you're not going to get any more clear of an answer here. It's almost like religion. Many swear by them, some swear at them, most don't seem to believe they're necessary.

If you get an app like System Panel, you'll see that all the apps that are idle don't use any cpu, so they can't affect battery life. My belief is that if a task killer does make a real improvement in battery life, you've got an app that's causing problems, either by continuing to process when they're not needed, or by continually accessing the radios. You can use a task killer as a band-aid for the problem, or you can figure out what's causing the problem and fix it.

 

[hrbib21]

Try it and see if you like it. That's about the best anyone can tell you.

For me, after a restart with every damn app running, the phone runs slower than a one legged hooker. Using System Panel to ditch everything I don't need running solves the problem and the phone flies (as much as the Eris can, anyway), not to mention I don't get tweet or fb notifications constantly.

 

[yadda yadda]

...

If you get an app like System Panel, you'll see that all the apps that are idle don't use any cpu, so they can't affect battery life...

An app that's running HAS to use battery, because it's running! What else would it use - fresh air?!

 

[ck4794]

well, i was running one. and a few hours ago finally got mad enough at my phone to do a factory reset, and haven't reinstalled the task killer. so far there has a been a noticeable improvement in smooth operation, with no apparent difference in battery life. so far i find the biggest difference in battery life has been disabling background data when in areas of low to no service.

 

[meyerweb]

An app that's running HAS to use battery, because it's running! What else would it use - fresh air?!

I guess it depends on what you mean by "running." In Linux, if an app is loaded into memory but "idle", it uses no resources but memory. And memory uses exactly the same amount of energy whether it's empty or has data in it (empty is just another value of data). Unless it's actively processing data and using cpu, it uses no more battery than not being loaded in memory.

What does use battery is having to reload data into memory because your task killer cleared it out.

This isn't your father's OS.

 

[hood420]

Task killers may seem to work at first, but they tend to wreak havoc with the phone after a little while. Task killers seem to cause all sorts of random problems with the phone.

Check this out: FAQ: Why You Shouldn’t Be Using a Task Killer with Android Geek For Me – Sprint Evo 4g & CDMA Hero

 

[spiz]

No. Never. This isn't a matter of one opinion vs another. It is a fact that you should stay away from them.

 

[xzero425x]

dosent using them tho save battery? like isteed of running them in the background. if the task killer dosent save battery ill get rid of it right now . someone let me know D:

 

[Droid Ninja]

Task killers may seem to work at first, but they tend to wreak havoc with the phone after a little while. Task killers seem to cause all sorts of random problems with the phone.

Check this out: FAQ: Why You Shouldn

 

[agarygirl]

I installed Task Manager last night thinking it would be a good way to increase battery life. I just uninstalled it partially because I saw no appreciable difference in battery life, partially because of what I read in this thread, but mostly because I was driving myself crazy by going to the task killer every time I put the phone to sleep and woke the phone up. There would always be apps there that I did not want or need (at least I don't think I needed them). I thought, maybe if I could find a program that would control which apps were opened on start-up, I wouldn't have to keep going back and forth to the app killer. I know one day of use is not enough time to really anayize the app and weigh in in this discussion, but I've decided an app killer just isn't working for me.

Maybe it's like my middle school band teacher use to say: there's a loose nut holding it (in this case the phone ). At this point, however, I think I'll make my life easier and be app-killerless. Maybe after reading some more, I might change my mind and try again; but right now, I'm staying away from it.