Verizon Stores Always Install App Killers?

[Garandhero]

Why is it that Verizon stores always install App Killers on thier phones?? I went into 3 stores today, and all the new droid phones (2, x, inc.) all had app kill programs on them. I did the store a favor and uninstalled them from all the display phones, then talked to the manager about why he should stop doing that since it kills battery and ultimately slows the phone down. 2 other verizon reps joined the convo, and by the end of the talk were uninstalling the app killers from thier own phones.

I showed them the google/android site that says dont use them, and told them about these forums to get more info - but why is it they seem to always want to put these useless apps on thier phones??

 

[hookbill]

Why is it that Verizon stores always install App Killers on thier phones?? I went into 3 stores today, and all the new droid phones (2, x, inc.) all had app kill programs on them. I did the store a favor and uninstalled them from all the display phones, then talked to the manager about why he should stop doing that since it kills battery and ultimately slows the phone down. 2 other verizon reps joined the convo, and by the end of the talk were uninstalling the app killers from thier own phones.

I showed them the google/android site that says dont use them, and told them about these forums to get more info - but why is it they seem to always want to put these useless apps on thier phones??

Funny….The reason they do it is because on their website they recommend a task killer. It's sad that an entire company doesn't understand their own phone.

 

[aminaked]

Some ideas are like a cancer...an ignorance epidemic

 

[sc4fpse]

Why is it that Verizon stores always install App Killers on thier phones?? I went into 3 stores today, and all the new droid phones (2, x, inc.) all had app kill programs on them. I did the store a favor and uninstalled them from all the display phones, then talked to the manager about why he should stop doing that since it kills battery and ultimately slows the phone down. 2 other verizon reps joined the convo, and by the end of the talk were uninstalling the app killers from thier own phones.

I showed them the google/android site that says dont use them, and told them about these forums to get more info - but why is it they seem to always want to put these useless apps on thier phones??

Not that I'm pro task killer, but considering their phones are always connected to a power supply, I think your point about killing the battery is kind of moot on the display phones. But it's good they know that, as I'm sure they've installed task killers on new customers' phones before.

 

[Darryl Richey]

Still A bit uneducated here, but why is the Task Killer bad to have. What are the cons to it and if I don't have it on my phone how can I tell what is running in the background and then keep unneccesary apps and such from running? Just trying to keep my phone as efficient as possible. Thanks.

Darryl

 

[wsbsteven]

Still A bit uneducated here, but why is the Task Killer bad to have. What are the cons to it and if I don't have it on my phone how can I tell what is running in the background and then keep unneccesary apps and such from running? Just trying to keep my phone as efficient as possible. Thanks.

Darryl

A task killer in the wrong hands can hurt battery life. People that blanket kill all those tasks and use the ATK program to kill them every couple minutes end up with less battery life. Many tasks restart when ATK kills them anyway. Only time someone should use a task killer is if they suspect a hung/buggy app and they need to close it.

 

[eliassami5]

Still A bit uneducated here, but why is the Task Killer bad to have. What are the cons to it and if I don't have it on my phone how can I tell what is running in the background and then keep unneccesary apps and such from running? Just trying to keep my phone as efficient as possible. Thanks.

Darryl

this is directly from google..

How to Use a Task Manager
Android was designed from the ground up as an operating system (OS) for mobile devices. Its built-in application and memory-management systems were engineered with battery life as one of the most critical concerns.
The Android OS does not work like a desktop operating system. On a desktop OS, like Windows, Mac OS X, or Ubuntu Linux, the user is responsible for closing programs in order to keep a reasonable amount of memory available. On Android, this is not the case. The OS itself automatically removes programs from memory as memory is needed. The OS may also preload applications into memory which it thinks might soon be needed.
Having lots of available empty memory is not a good thing. It takes the same amount of power to hold "nothing" in memory as it does to hold actual data. So, like every other operating system in use today, Android does its best to keep as much important/likely-to-be-used information in memory as possible.
As such, using the task manager feature of SystemPanel to constantly clear memory by killing all apps is strongly NOT RECOMMENDED. This also applies to any other task killer / management program. Generally speaking, you should only "End" applications if you see one which is not working correctly. The "End All" feature can be used if your phone/device is performing poorly and you are uncertain of the cause.

 

[Rated_R]

Its a bleed over from the blackberry. They still think battery pulls are a must on android phones as well.

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

Its a bleed over from the blackberry. They still think battery pulls are a must on android phones as well.

It is so hard doing a battery pull on my phone. Ive got one of those tough cases, and man i cant get the damn thing off without breaking it. They need to improve on the design of it a tad....

 

[Mean Bro Greene]

Funny story about this, actually. Both times I've brought a phone into my local VZW store for them to look at(First the Droid 1, then the Droid X) their only solution was a task killer. They would cite that I was running too much stuff in the background and I need to close it to keep the phone running smoothly. The last time I went, I actually got into a semi-argument with a rep over how this wasn't an appropriate solution and wasn't really going to fix anything. My problems were never related to running too many tasks, as I would always bring the phone to them after a factory reset.

 

[gspmmafan]

Very interesting. When I first picked up my moto droid the sales rep had my mom and I. Install an app killer in the store. I never knew until seeing this some people don't like them. I never figured the rep wouldn't know what he was talking about. So do most on this site not have one? What about having one but not using it?

 

[Darryl Richey]

Ya, I'm wondering if I should keep it on my phone but only use it in a very sparing manner. So the free memory that it creates when you close all the apps doesn't actually make it faster?

Darryl

 

[aminaked]

It is so hard doing a battery pull on my phone. Ive got one of those tough cases, and man i cant get the damn thing off without breaking it. They need to improve on the design of it a tad....

If this is a joke, then it's pretty funny. If you're serious: you don't need to pull the battery. Just reboot. A battery pull usually won't do anything more than rebooting will...at least on android, according to many peoples' experiences.

 

[aminaked]

Ya, I'm wondering if I should keep it on my phone but only use it in a very sparing manner. So the free memory that it creates when you close all the apps doesn't actually make it faster?

Darryl

Darryl, Android has a built in automated task killer. You don't need another one. You don't need to kill stuff by hand. Uninstall the thing and see what happens.

Just because something is sitting idly in memory doesn't mean it is using your battery. So, you see, installing a task killer will use CPU cycles because it runs in the background killing tasks. A lot of times, the tasks just start up again so more CPU cycles are used. The task killer is spinning it's wheels. There's no point. The Android OS is smart enough to free up memory when it needs to. Don't you think the engineers who made Linux and Android were smart enough to think of all this? Does anyone really think they left out something so important and that third party devs are stepping in to save the day? bs!

 

[eliassami5]

Ya, I'm wondering if I should keep it on my phone but only use it in a very sparing manner. So the free memory that it creates when you close all the apps doesn't actually make it faster?

Darryl

unless you are experiencing lots of lag and you dont know whats causing it, but other than that no it's not doing anything to your phone but slowing it down.