Pro tip - getting the most out of low-power apps!

[NeoteriX]

Were we to see improvement in push technology for all areas of weather, stocks, mail, messaging, social stuff, etc etc, we might more quickly agree on these definitions of use. Too many apps work in processor and network intensive loops seeing if new information is available to be pulled in, and these are the battery hogs.

...

That is an example of perfected push technology.

Other apps need to behave like that.

Protip for the others out there:

For any app I install that requires updates (instant message, social media, etc.), I make sure it is asking for the C2DM (Android Cloud to Device Messaging) permissions, because then the app is implementing Google's low power push API. It generally works quite well (though some times the pushes can be hung up... and oddly enough particularly when on WiMAX 4G) and definitely saves battery.

You can just google for the app name and C2DM and there are some Android app indexes (AppBrain I think?) that will list the permissions.

 

[EarlyMon]

This needed its own thread, and will be going into the forum sticky, no question.

I took a swag at the title, please use advanced editing on your post to make it as you like.

(Later today, I'm going to _copy_ this post over to scary alien's app permissions thread in Applications - it deserves a home here because it's our issue first, but also there, because it's of importance to the general Android community.)

 

[NeoteriX]

This needed its own thread, and will be going into the forum sticky, no question.

I took a swag at the title, please use advanced editing on your post to make it as you like.

(Later today, I'm going to _copy_ this post over to scary alien's app permissions thread in Applications - it deserves a home here because it's our issue first, but also there, because it's of importance to the general Android community.)

Haha I didn't realize it was so significant, but in that case, I'll augment my post with some more details.

So Top Android Apps and Games in the Android Market | AppBrain.com works well for this, and so by way of example, if you look like the popular Asian messenger, "Line": LINE for Android | AppBrain.com

Near the top it says:

>250,000 downloads, 81958 ratings (4.16 average), 8496 kb, Permissions, Official Page

If you click on "Permissions" you'll get a popup box that provides all the app permissions. Scroll to the bottom under "EXTRAS" and you'll see:

Extra

com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE,
jp.naver.line.android.permission.C2D_MESSAGE,
android.permission.CHANGE_COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE,
android.permission.DEVICE_POWER, android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE,
jp.naver.line.android.permission.C2D_MESSAGE,
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE,
jp.naver.line.android.permission.AOM_MESSAGE,
com.skt.aom.permission.AOM_RECEIVE,
jp.naver.android.npush.permission.PUSH_MESSAGE

These permissions indicate that Google's low-power C2DM "push" functionality is (likely) being used for the messaging notifications.

Same goes for an app like Pocket/Read it Later ( Pocket -formerly Read It Later - Android app on AppBrain ), which is an Instapaper-type articles saving app. When I save an article to Read it Later on my browser, that gets pushes to my Android device and it starts downloading it to my phone.

Here, the Read It Later permissions are as follows:

com.ideashower.readitlater.pro.permission.C2D_MESSAGE,
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE

And the same goes for the WhatsApp messenger: WhatsApp Messenger - Android app on AppBrain

Extra

com.whatsapp.permission.C2D_MESSAGE,
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE,
android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS,
com.android.vending.BILLING

By way of contrast, the popular Kik Messenger: Kik Messenger | AppBrain Android Market

It does not use Google's C2DM protocol, and implements its own push functionality. Maybe it's as efficient as C2DM, but maybe not. This is somewhere that you'll need to look closely and evaluate carefully using System Panel App or some other per-app battery use tracking software.

Extra

kik.android.permission.CONTACT