I ran a TK when I had the POS Eris because, well, it had like crap for memory. Now, with the X and the Incredible, I do not and have not.

 

I use my task killer and task manger several times a day it makes my X run smother IMO. I have a ignore list for both of them as not to kill needed items I need running.

 

Smother or smoother? Mine definitely runs smoother without one.

 

To many, this decision is either black or white. There are those on this forum that firmly believe in ATK and others who firmly are against ATK.

Try both and see what works best for you.

Honestly, that's the only way to determine as that's what I had to do and concluded ATK provided me with better life

 

I don't use it, although some will attest to it's benefit.

There's 2 camps -

a) stand by atk and back the performance gains
b) believe that android has it's own task killing built in and there is no additional benefit or performance boost to using this

 

Absolutely not. Never. Task killers create more problems and hiccups than they alleviate.

 

In a perfect world there would be no need for task killers. This ain't no perfect world though.

 

I hit my TK button everybtime I go on the phone. It always kills a few to several apps. I don't know if I notice a difference. I can't see it making it run slower though.

 

I run a task killer, but I only use it when a program acts up and needs to be stopped, otherwise there is enough RAM and CPU to run everything smoothly

 

I personally tried ATK for the first week, than uninstalled. I just always make sure to back out/quit apps and it does seem to be a little smoother now without it. This may be simply because every time i'd kill more than 5 apps my home screen would have to reset.

 

I dont use one. My phone is rooted. Removed all the useless apps. My battery life increased dramatically.

 

I use ATK simply because it's an easy way to kill apps instead of backing out or force stopping a buggy app.

 

I have ATK and have had it on every android device

I have heard it causes more harm then good but to be honest, i never had any issues with my phone malfunctioning due to an advanced task killer and indeed it does make my phone go way faster

 

I use it to force close an app.

 

I use it and have found much better battery life and performance. I know people say you don't "need" it but my phone performs better that is all I need to know.

 

Always have it. No need to constantly close apps you're not using...but there are always times where you try to switch homescreens and you've suddenly got a bit of lag because something in the background is doing something when it doesn't need to.

It's foolish to think that just because Android is linux it magically closes applications that are either poorly coded or poorly configured that unnecessarily update status or pull data from the internet far too frequently. Even more foolish to think it somehow makes your phone slower...two opinions that are quite at odds with themselves (to say nothing about their lack of validity), even though most who believe one believe the other.

 

Task killer's need is a myth. I ran Advanced Task killer for several months; constantly killing apps i didnt need; cause people said I should. Then I decided to uninstall it and try without.

It runs faster without a taskkiller running. Android kills tasks on its own just fine. Im in the camp that task killers are a waste of time and money.

 

Why you don’t need a task killer app with Android. AndroidSPIN | Your No.1 source for Everything Android.

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

 

Sigh. It's sad people can't think logically. They just don't get it. You don't need a task killer to "manage" memory. You need it to quickly force kill "rogue" applications.

I will repeat it - you want a task killer. Statements like this:

...are oxymorons. If Android runs fine on it's own then running a task killer won't slow it down. For the record - it doesn't slow your phone down. But an application trying to update it's content when you have no need for it to every 5 minutes may be another story - depending on your wants/needs for it.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the debate less about whether it helps the X run smoother and more about battery life?

I had ATK on my phone for a while, and it never caused any problems, and didn't effect the speed of my X. However, after uninstalling it, I did notice better battery life...Nothing significant, so whether or not this was attributed to the ATK, I don't know, but...

 

if you need one app to control another, then u dont need either

 

Is anyone else noticing that there are certain apps ALWAYS shown in the "Running Services" menu that you don't use at all? Four in particular for me are: Skype, News, Amazon MP3, and GTalk. I never use them, don't plan to use them, have not signed up for any updates, feeds, or notifications and went in and selected NOT to auto-launch, but every day, there they are running in the background. So I installed ATK to kill them and for the first time ever, my battery went from 100% to 90% after 2.5 hours. It usually drops to 90% after a max of 20 minutes after unplugging!!! For those who are anti-ATK, how are you going to argue with this? I could probably root the phone and dump those apps altogether, but I don't see the need at the moment.

 

these apps are not running in the background. the android system keeps them at a ready state so that when you do have to access them you don't have to load the whole application. As for gtalk, thats part of your voice service. It is supposed to be running. You should really read the links in my post. JUST BECAUSE AN APP SHOWS UP IN RUNNING SERVICES DOESN'T MEAN ITS USING UP RESOURCES OR BATTERY! Go to the battery settings and see whats actually using your battery.

 

I've read them...so what. What makes them THE source of all that is Android? In fact, on the one from androidspin, there are a number of "Related Articles" at the bottom. The first one on the list, "Tips and Tricks #2: A Speedy Phone" actually recommends ATK as first on the list!!!

I don't want to get into an argument with you on this. I know what I am experiencing on MY PHONE, and it's hard to refute the improvements. I didn't do anything else that could have been the cause of the increased battery life. When the carrier and manufacturer of the phone suggest we use a task killer, it can't be as bad as everyone says. I do agree, however, that closing apps without realizing what they are can have a negative effect, but Amazon MP3 and Skype have no freaking business being active in any way, shape or form on my phone.