Help Task Killer apps - Not needed

[MichaelW]

I've seen a lot of posts from new users recently stating how these task killer apps are wonderful and improved their speed and battery life no end.

I say, rubbish!


Android/Linux doesn't work in the same way as windows and just because applications are still cached in memory it doesn't mean they are using up CPU cycles or battery life. Sure, I started out using a task killer app when I first got the phone too, but I haven't done for a long time now. I haven't noticed any decrease in performance or battery life since stopping using it.

Try it yourself for a week or so.

 

[Rastaman-FB]

actually task killer apps are very handy if you are using programs like root explorer or slidescreen were the program often conflicts with running apps and will just black screen your phone.
if this happens you can press home screen and open the tak manager/killer and kill none essential apps in one click and these programs will work correctly.


they certainly have their uses

 

[MichaelW]

actually task killer apps are very handy if you are using programs like root explorer or slidescreen were the program often conflicts with running apps and will just black screen your phone.
if this happens you can press home screen and open the tak manager/killer and kill none essential apps in one click and these programs will work correctly.


they certainly have their uses

Oh yes, in situations like that where a program doesn't behave correctly absolutely. But I used to routinely kill tasks before locking the phone, stopped doing that and no difference whatsoever.

 

[Riksu8]

For the first five months I fought with this phone I kept trying different task killers and getting frustrated with the quick battery drain (which kept me switching apps). Two days ago I wandered to the Eris section following a topic with stuff about task managers. After a very compelling argument to not needing one I made my choice and removed any and all task managers I had from my test periods.

In the two days that I've not had a task manager my battery life has actually *improved*. I haven't had to charge my phone since I uninstalled my last task manager app with the battery at 80 %. Now, after 42 hours, I'm looking at 30 % with 2G, wifi off, an hour of music, a couple of hours of random browsing. Out of the 42 hours I forgot background data on for about 10 hours.

My verdict? Definitely no need for a task manager!

 

[Pennywis3]

Some task killer apps actualy drain your battery rather than preserving it.
You have to be careful which programs to use.
As much as i like open source coding, i must admit, there are quite a lot of poorly written apps out there, never be foolish enough not to be cautious.

 

[MichaelW]

Some task killer apps actualy drain your battery rather than preserving it.
You have to be careful which programs to use.
As much as i like open source coding, i must admit, there are quite a lot of poorly written apps out there, never be foolish enough not to be cautious.

Yes the widget for TasKiller listed the number of active tasks on it, which it had to keep updating... Which killed the battery usage!

 

[GODMODE]

I say... stop worrying and post something useful to the people who want your opinion.

Not a jab. Seriously. You are assuming everyont with android uses windows. That's like saying everyone with an iphone uses a mac. I have a task killer..and when I DO use it, it does help. For instance... stopping the gps when it gets locked. Or, apps I exit that stay resident and take up memory. More free memory means better performance. Period. Especially for phones like the g1 that has very littie memory.

You can always just not care about what other people think and do.

 

[GODMODE]

I say... stop worrying and post something useful to the people who want your opinion.

Not a jab. Seriously. You are assuming everyont with android uses windows. That's like saying everyone with an iphone uses a mac. I have a task killer..and when I DO use it, it does help. For instance... stopping the gps when it gets locked. Or, apps I exit that stay resident and take up memory. More free memory means better performance. Period. Especially for phones like the g1 that has very littie memory.

You can always just not care about what other people think and do.

 

[MichaelW]

I say... stop worrying and post something useful to the people who want your opinion.

Not a jab. Seriously. You are assuming everyont with android uses windows. That's like saying everyone with an iphone uses a mac. I have a task killer..and when I DO use it, it does help. For instance... stopping the gps when it gets locked. Or, apps I exit that stay resident and take up memory. More free memory means better performance. Period. Especially for phones like the g1 that has very littie memory.

You can always just not care about what other people think and do.

Ooh haven't you got your knickers in a twist. I haven't assumed anything, and I've already stated that they can be useful for apps that don't behave correctly, your GPS application being one very good example. It's just pointless to kill everything every 10 minutes regardless or every time you lock your phone.

Since I noticed a lot of posts in the past few days from new users extolling the virtues of task killers I thought it might be useful to post my findings on their use.

 

[Russ Dill]

There are just too many apps that misbehave. Good for you that you don't install any of them. Its very evident if I have a misbehaving app running in the background because there is a second or longer delay while typing. Kill all and I'm back to texting full speed.

 

[reload]

I used to kill apps everytime (luckily not one by one) before locking. I then tought its a phone and i shouldnt do thing like that. I shouldnt even think about it. So i stopped using task killers... it works as speedy as before, and my battery lasts as long as before. So why use something not useful.

Nobody says that killing tasks is useless when you do some particular things, i just say that killing every inactive apps sistematically is useless. I find the way android handles memory and paging quite good