I thought the droid X battery life was supposed to be good?

[jonesjen]

i need help too

I have been searching this and every other sight I can about this droid incredible. I just received my FoRTH DROID in two months. It wont stay charged at all. The last one, had a sync issue that even the rep at Verizon said was not normal. But I charge all night and then after and hour, its DEAD I go to whats using battery, and it says all sort of things, like skype, backup assistant, things I do not even use!!! Is there a way to get some of these things to stop running ? I go to force stop... but they come right back on. I am not computer savvy really so I just need the thing for texting, occasional music, face book... not much really!!! Can anyone please walk me through it???

Could you explain this? I'm confused...if the phone is using more memory its using more power so wouldnt that drain more battery?

No, you're operating on an incorrect assumption. Again, read up on Android. Every task killer thread explains this and there are many articles on how Android multitasks. Don't assume.

Also, if it was the case that background apps didnt use power why are task killers so popular??

Ignorant Verizon CSR's pushing them is one big reason. People assuming that they know how Android works is another...

 

[jsh1120]

Could you explain this? I'm confused...if the phone is using more memory its using more power so wouldnt that drain more battery?

No, you're operating on an incorrect assumption. Again, read up on Android. Every task killer thread explains this and there are many articles on how Android multitasks. Don't assume.

Also, if it was the case that background apps didnt use power why are task killers so popular??

Ignorant Verizon CSR's pushing them is one big reason. People assuming that they know how Android works is another...

Takeshi's correct. It might help to think of memory as a set of chairs in a room. When a task runs the memory it requires is the responsibility of a few of the occupants of those chairs. When the task is over (i.e. cpu cycles are done), the memory "chairs" (slots) are still occupied, but their occupants aren't using any power; they're just sitting there.

Every now and then the phone needs to do a task that requires more memory than there are available "chairs." When that happens, the Android O/S asks some of the occupants to leave and other occupants come in and sit down. (That requires some power.)

And that's why a task killer is both unnecessary and harmful (in terms of battery life.) It "empties" the chairs for no good reason. And if that killed process is ever run again, the memory must be "refilled."

Much of this confusion results from a misuse of the term "running" when applied to a process. A "running" process is using cpu cycles. To do this it must occupy "memory." But just because a process (i.e. task) is occupying memory does not mean it is "running."

Hope this helps you understand.

 

[buffalo_nickel]

thanks so much guys! I definitely have a much better grasp on this now

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

One of the main reasons I got the droid was all the hype about how good the battery is...
Maybe its just my phone, but after average use, I only have about 20-30% at the end of a day (12 hours)
Is this normal? I obviously use a task killer...and my brightness is set to its lowest.is there anything else I can do?
I usually just text, do some browsing, etc...nothing extensive.
I am sure this questions has been beaten into the ground already, but I am definitely not getting the hype of how good the battery is.
Id appreciate any help or input. I am fine if this is normal, just want to know if I should be concerned.

From Google Devs:
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 a task manager/killer to constantly clear memory by killing apps is strongly NOT RECOMMENDED. Generally speaking, you should only "End" applications if you see one which is not working correctly.