HTC's "multitasking" spread to the Evo 3D?

[crxssi]

So, the big news today is that the Evo 3D has *FINALLY* been granted ICS (4.0) by HTC/Sprint. Yep, I kept my 3D as a backup, and it is updating as I type this. But I just had to mention this posting from someone else on AC:

"One bug that I do notice is that when updating apps in Google Play, when the screen is turned off for about 2 minutes, the updates seem to idle and stop downloading. It's happened twice today with ICS."

Sound familiar?? http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-evo-4g-lte/178779-wifi-disconnects-sleep.html

I responded: "Welcome to the world of HTC's broken multitasking under ICS and Sense!" I wonder if it will suspend/reload apps the same way as the Evo LTE now...

 

[Pew446]

Fffffffork in the road.

 

[Quis89]

So htc really thinks this method of "multitasking" is a good idea? Hmmm....

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[ImNoPrince]

I ran into my 1st real issue with the MultiT this weekend. We were doing MiniGolf late at night and it was raining out so the indoor was packed.

I use Tally Up to keep track of our score and everytime I switched to Fb or Email ( hey it was a 10min wait for most holes , when I switched back it would reset the app and lose my scores. The thing is it didn't totally reset only would go back to 1st hole with blank scores.

This wasn't bad for the 1st few as I could remember the scores but after that I just had to stop doing everything else.

 

[crxssi]

I can now confirm that Google Play is completely suspended on the ICS Evo 3D shortly after the screen is not active (when the phone is placed into "sleep"). I repeated it several times. I suspect it is intentionally coded that way (for reasons I am not sure about, perhaps to attempt to save battery).

In the hour I used the phone for updating apps and tweaking some stuff, Sense "restarted" three times; far worse than I have experienced on the Evo LTE.

I then started the browser on the ICS Evo 3D, went to a complex site and loaded it. Then jumped into a newly launched camera app (pressed shutter button), took a photo, looked at it in Gallery, returned to the home screen, then pulled browser back up and the page DID NOT RELOAD. This tends to indicate that the phone has more free memory available and is better able to deal with more than one task at a time.

If I repeat that same test with the Evo LTE, it will reload the web page from scratch every time, starting all over again - meaning it was not multitasking, it had suspended (or more likely even unloaded) the web browser.

I will stress that, technically, there is no overall "works" or "broken" with multitasking in Android (that I am aware of). It is a scale of how much can it handle before resorting to suspending apps to free enough RAM to work with another app. It will greatly depend on exactly which apps are chosen, what priority they are, and what resources they each need. But if I can't multitask between a browser and the camera on one of the highest-end smartphones in mid 2012, to me, it is "broken". The Evo LTE was released with one or multiple of the following problems: too little memory (1GB is simply not enough), too much overhead (Sense running components and other addons are simply too large), or improper scheduling methods (task handling was altered in unfavorable ways).

 

[Nreeldeep]

I can now confirm that Google Play is completely suspended on the ICS Evo 3D shortly after the screen is not active (when the phone is placed into "sleep"). I repeated it several times. I suspect it is intentionally coded that way (for reasons I am not sure about, perhaps to attempt to save battery).

In the hour I used the phone for updating apps and tweaking some stuff, Sense "restarted" three times; far worse than I have experienced on the Evo LTE.

I then started the browser on the ICS Evo 3D, went to a complex site and loaded it. Then jumped into a newly launched camera app (pressed shutter button), took a photo, looked at it in Gallery, returned to the home screen, then pulled browser back up and the page DID NOT RELOAD. This tends to indicate that the phone has more free memory available and is better able to deal with more than one task at a time.

If I repeat that same test with the Evo LTE, it will reload the web page from scratch every time, starting all over again - meaning it was not multitasking, it had suspended (or more likely even unloaded) the web browser.

I will stress that, technically, there is no overall "works" or "broken" with multitasking in Android (that I am aware of). It is a scale of how much can it handle before resorting to suspending apps to free enough RAM to work with another app. It will greatly depend on exactly which apps are chosen, what priority they are, and what resources they each need. But if I can't multitask between a browser and the camera on one of the highest-end smartphones in mid 2012, to me, it is "broken". The Evo LTE was released with one or multiple of the following problems: too little memory (1GB is simply not enough), too much overhead (Sense running components and other addons are simply too large), or improper scheduling methods (task handling was altered in unfavorable ways).

You need to apply for a job at HTC. They sorely need this type of talent.

 

[RyDawgBoston]

This is ridiculous. HTC really needs to get on the ball and fix these issues. This is the reason why I jumped ship. I spoke to them on the phone numerous times and they told me this is how multitasking should work. If your done with a program, it should close out. I told them, then why have a multitasking button. Make it a menu button instead.

 

[Saneless]

This tends to indicate that the phone has more free memory available and is better able to deal with more than one task at a time

It does have more memory. My guess is the S3 uses less VRAM than the S4. On startup there's about 800 or so on the 3D compared to 680 on the LTE.

The LTE has more crap installed by default from HTC, sense 4 is more bloat, it's just compounding the issue.

I've actually been using my 3D the last week because of CM9 being completely usable and I'm experiencing very little problems. The problems on the LTE > CM9 alpha issues at this point, which is sad.

I don't miss the LTE that much. It's lighter and the screen is a bit better, battery life is better, but the 3D is a damn good and fast phone when it's running AOSP.

 

[digink#AC]

I honest to god with you could sue OEMs for this sort of thing.

Anyone who bought the E4GLTE at launch was never aware of this, many of us, stuck with these devices for 2 years.

They crippled the device based on the standards set by Android, which is ludicrous on a HIGH END Android smart phone.

At this point HTC has done nothing but state that this isn't a problem indicating it more than likely won't get fixed. So yet again, I'll have to resort to rooting the device when decent ASOP ROMs become available.

These are some of the reasons I hate the Android platform.

 

[crxssi]

These are some of the reasons I hate the Android platform.

I don't those are good reasons to hate the "Android platform", only to hate that vendors and carriers keep *altering* the platform to meet their vision of what Android should be. This does not occur with any other mobile OS. The freedom of the platform has partially backfired.

The first years of Android, the user interface and such was lacking and things like Sense and Touchwiz and Motoburr actually did greatly help "mature" the platform. Now, they are hindering the platform because the base/stock Android has corrected much of what was missing. It is making the user experience inconsistent from device to device, it is slowing down the update process, it is reducing device performance and available resources, it introduces lots of new bugs that can't be fixed except through the vendor AND carrier, and it makes it more difficult for software developers.

 

[LesMiserables]

These are some of the reasons I hate the Android platform.

You make some good points about where HTC could have perhaps put more thought into their latest devices. But if the platform is that troubling to you, you can always pick up another phone sporting a different OS.

 

[digink#AC]

I don't those are good reasons to hate the "Android platform", only to hate that vendors and carriers keep *altering* the platform to meet their vision of what Android should be. This does not occur with any other mobile OS. The freedom of the platform has partially backfired.

The first years of Android, the user interface and such was lacking and things like Sense and Touchwiz and Motoburr actually did greatly help "mature" the platform. Now, they are hindering the platform because the base/stock Android has corrected much of what was missing. It is making the user experience inconsistent from device to device, it is slowing down the update process, it is reducing device performance and available resources, it introduces lots of new bugs that can't be fixed except through the vendor AND carrier, and it makes it more difficult for software developers.

The platform is controlled by Google, it is Google that allows OEMs to do this to this degree. I am all for being open and allowing customization, but when they change the core of the OS and limit functionality that is where I draw the line.

Android isn't truly open like many people believe anyways, so why Google picks and chooses things it allows to be done to the OS is beyond me.. you'd think they'd try to streamline core functionality to some degree to ensure UX across the board.

You make some good points about where HTC could have perhaps put more thought into their latest devices. But if the platform is that troubling to you, you can always pick up another phone sporting a different OS.

I've given Windows Phone a try, hated it... way too simple. I will never in my life support Apple, and iOS is also too simple for my tastes.

I love the freedom of Android, and in the past I've always loved HTC and their devices. Hell I even love Sense, but it just bugs me they muddy some core functionality of the OS and ruin features inherent to Android in the name of making an overlay more bloated and feature rich for the sake of being feature rich.

I'd love to just go stock Vanilla and stay Nexus, but Nexus devices never match hardware that OEMs put on their skinned flagship phones.