i listened and took off my app killer.

[billyk]

Not sure I get the need for a task killer, for me. I am a pretty active Droid user, and when I occasionally check the apps/services that are running, it's just a few in there, and I want them to be running.

Am I missing something here? Are there apps running that I can't see that need to be shut down 'cause the OS is ineffective in doing so?

 

[Shadez]

Yep, I use ATK also and notice a huge difference.. but I also hate chocolate ice cream so who knows

 

[BigMcGuire]

I found that once I got rid of my task killer app, my battery life significantly improved (because I wasn't OCD'ing killing every few mins). I don't notice any difference in speed now that I no longer use task killers. But I remember that good feeling I got when I closed things out and thought it made everything faster.

 

[mrgarrison]

how do you hate chocolate ice cream?!
I have advanced task killer and pretty much only use it after my phone boots up and gets settled. it will usually kill about 15 apps and leave my phone running smoothe.

 

[dolpns13]

i didnt know there was a difference between any task managers. I had ATK and per this thread decided to try ATM. I had no idea different task managers/killers would have any impact on system performances

 

[Darkseider]

I found that once I got rid of my task killer app, my battery life significantly improved (because I wasn't OCD'ing killing every few mins). I don't notice any difference in speed now that I no longer use task killers. But I remember that good feeling I got when I closed things out and thought it made everything faster.

This has been my experience as well as many others here on the forums. If your device is running Android 1.5 then a task killer may be somewhat necessary. Since Android 1.6 and up Google has significantly changed how background processes and free memory is handled removing the need for any third party app. Trust me when I say this. It is a placebo effect that is experienced. No more, no less. Just get rid of all of them, reboot and use the phone as you normally would for a few days (NOT ONE DAY) and you will see.

 

[mrgarrison]

I found that once I got rid of my task killer app, my battery life significantly improved (because I wasn't OCD'ing killing every few mins). I don't notice any difference in speed now that I no longer use task killers. But I remember that good feeling I got when I closed things out and thought it made everything faster.

This has been my experience as well as many others here on the forums. If your device is running Android 1.5 then a task killer may be somewhat necessary. Since Android 1.6 and up Google has significantly changed how background processes and free memory is handled removing the need for any third party app. Trust me when I say this. It is a placebo effect that is experienced. No more, no less. Just get rid of all of them, reboot and use the phone as you normally would for a few days (NOT ONE DAY) and you will see.

i am going to try this for a few days and see. i havent gone one day since getting my droid without ATK so it could help lol.

 

[aminaked]

if its use produces better performance, you are treating a symptom, not a cause.

This is why I don't use an automated task killer. I stay away from apps that autorun on startup. The only one I have installed that does this is k9. When dolphin hd came out it ran in the background on start. A browser doesn't need to do this. I uninstalled and complained to the devs. They fixed it and I reinstalled. I don't tolerate useless background processes on my desktop computer so why should I tolerate them on droid?

I don't use widgets, antivirus, auto task killers, notepads that run in the background (I like Papyrus notepad), etc., etc. My droid is fast fast fast because I stay away from kruft. Note that this is different from apps I open and just sit idle in memory. Those don't really use battery/CPU unless they are poorly designed. It would take more resources to use a task killer on them. The OS will kill them as needed. To each their own, but this is my philosophy. Peace and love, peace and love.

 

[jarby]

I just got rid of ATK and installed BigKiller. I also use EStrongs Task Manager.
ATK hasn't been doing what it's been told to do. So, Goodbye!

I'm gonna ride this one out and see how long the battery life lasts now.

The whole point of this is to remove ALL OF THEM. ATK, BigKiller, EStrongs, KillemALL, Killthisandthat, killyourdog, killyourneighbor, etc... Just get rid of them, period. Use the phone as you normally would over the course of a few days and see how it is. You will more than likely see an improvement.

I'll give it a shot. For sure. I keep reading that the Droid doesn't really need these types of apps.
I'll report back tomorrow with my feelings on this one though

Thanks for the info!

P.S. I didn't have a choice with ATK. The service rep at Verizon put it on there for me because he said I would need it. I just never took it off.

 

[jarby]

how can I tell what is sitting idle and what isn't? Where would I look at in the phone?

 

[Mbk]

how can I tell what is sitting idle and what isn't? Where would I look at in the phone?

Android System Info is a nice app that gives you all that info... and it also can end tasks like a task killer, but without running on a continuous loop

 

[aminaked]

how can I tell what is sitting idle and what isn't? Where would I look at in the phone?

Android System Info is a nice app that gives you all that info... and it also can end tasks like a task killer, but without running on a continuous loop

I'll have to check out Android System Info.

The built in way is:

phone settings > Applications > Manage applications > menu > Filter > Running

Kind of a pain the built in way, but usually there shouldn't be a reason to even go there. And actually, it doesn't look like it shows CPU usage. That would be how you could tell if the app is using CPU/battery.

That reminds me, I had OS Monitor installed for a while. That's a cool one. I just downloaded it again. Neat. Ooops, now I know why I uninstalled OS Monitor. It runs on startup for some dang reason. Guess I'll try Android System Info. Yes, very good.

 

[ctsv510]

I used ATK and then eventually the Apollo Task Killer on my first Droid, mostly because the first thing the guy at the Verizon store did when I bought the phone was install ATK and tell me I needed it.

Well after spending the first month of ownership killing tasks manually, I moved to Apollo and used the auto kill feature. I read threads about these programs not being necessary but always dismissed that idea.

I recently got a replacement Droid because part of the screen on my first one stopped responding to touch. I took this opportunity to test the phone without ATK. I reinstalled all the Apps that I had on the first phone minus the task killer.

I have to say that so far the phone performance has been as good or better now than it ever has been. So far I don't see the need for a task killer.

 

[jlamb30]

I use Apollo Task Manager and JuiceDefender, and have found my battery life increased significantly.

 

[Darkseider]

I am willing to bet that any improvements seen are a placebo effect. Assuming all the apps on the device are playing nicely. If there is an errant app you are simply treating a symptom and not the cause.