What would be nice

[jeffrok]

Don't know where to post this since I don't see a "general Android discussion" forum other than this one, but I will try to explain..

I have a Nexus S phone, and used to have a Palm Pre. While I have the Nexus S in for repair, I am back to my Palm Pre, and I forgot just how much better the multitasking on WebOS works than on Android. This is not a bash against Android, as I love Android most of the time. I'm just saying that you can open pretty much ANY app on WebOS, and "minimize" it to a card (much like real Windows or MAC), and while it isn't TRUE multitasking like Windows, it doesn't close programs down like Android does most of the time. It doesn't necessarily RUN the programs in the background, but it doesn't lose the current state of the program either, like Android usually does..

For example in WebOS, I could open 5 "cards" (instances of programs) in WebOS, the first being a game, the second being two browser cards, the third being another game, and the 4th being Pandora. As I swipe each card into "minimized" mode, it stays where it is, and when you go back to the card, you pick up exactly where you left off.

In Android, no such thing exists. Yes, I know certain programs like web browsers and music players will "multitask" like WebOS, but not to the extent and not with the ease of WebOS. It sure would be nice that seeing it's almost 3 years after WebOS pioneered this on a cell phone, that Google caught up to it. Apple and Microsoft are making constant improvements on the quality of its multitasking, but since I got my Nexus last year, it's pretty much the same as it was. Even with Ice Cream Sandwich now, it "tricks" you into thinking you're multitasking with its recently used apps (the long-hold on the home button), but that's really not any different than how Gingerbread worked other than the look of it.

I'm not sure I'm explaining my self very well. OK, that's all. You former Palm Pre/Pixi owners will know exactly what I'm talking about if you've used the Pre/Pixi for any good amount of time.

Just a bit frustrated that it seems Google is going more towards flashiness with ICS than with innovations. Face unlock to me is a gimmick, and other than that and improved web browsing, ICS is just a polished version of GB, sadly.

 

[srkmagnus]

I have seen many posts in-line with your thoughts about WebOS. There have been a few attempts at mimicking WebOS on Android: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...mobilemerit.wavelauncher&hl=en&token=7uJoh3HM

But nothing that truly comes close. I have not owned a WebOS phone so it's hard for me to compare. I've been accustomed to what Android offers and use the available apps to suppllement what I need to do. Great post.

 

[Rukbat]

Android doesn't lose the state of properly-written apps when it "closes" them. Apps not written properly are a different matter.

 

[RogerC55]

Android keeps the state of the most recent half dozen or so apps that you have opened. To see them and switch among them, press and hold the Home button to get a pop-up window showing them. Like Rukbat said, individual apps must be coded to remember their own state in order for this to be really useful. The Gmail app is one that does a good job: I can be in the middle of composing an email, switch out to another app to look something up, then go back to Gmail and continue right where I left off.