phone speed

[ulnek]

what slows down a phone? too many apps or too many running apps. I'm using 125 of 256 and having around 32mb free ram. no matter what I take out it seems my ram maintains at 32mb. sure I kill running apps and it goes up to like 70 but it eventually goes back to 32mb. if I don't kill anything and let it manage itself, it will remain around 32mb anyway.

 

[sniffs]

Let the phone manage the running apps. You can run up to 6, but after a little while the apps go into low-power/low-resource mode and basically close. They still show on the 6 running apps list so that you can quickly re-open them.

 

[Cory Streater]

I agree. My phone consistently performs well without the use of task managers or app killers. I never notice any variation in lag or slow downs after continued use. Maybe it's because I don't use any home screen replacement apps or task managers; both of which seem to be the #1 cause of issues.

 

[ericatomars06]

My phone seems to be running great! Never had a lag problem. wait i take it back once I got to many txt msgs all at once and it took a minute to catch up. you may have a lot of apps running in the background, that would slow it up.

 

[ulnek]

for the most part i let it manage itself because whether i do or not it seems to want to stay around the 35mb free-ram state. i don't use a home replacement anymore as that lagged sometimes after coming off the web browser or market. just wondering in general what would slow down a phone. i want to have it running well so i need to know if i shouldn't put too many apps in or not have too many processes running or something.

 

[ali.fazal]

Hmmm-- because of all the raves of 'Adv task killer' over in the top apps thread, I've been using it since Day 1.

Maybe I'll try without it-- It's just frustrating when I look at the Task Killer and see apps like 'Corporate Calendar' running when I've never even opened that app. Ever.

 

[ali.fazal]

Sniffs- How do you then explain when the task manager is opened and shows like 15 running apps? Are they all not actually running if the limit is 6?

 

[MikeB]

I am not using a home replacement anymore because of slow downs BUT I am experiencing lag sometimes and I am also trying to figure out what causes it. Sometimes I'll press one of the four haptic buttons on the phone (Droid) and it won't respond with a buzz or sometimes I'll select an option in an app or start an app and it will seem like I didnt select it .. but then the app starts a 1/2 second later .. just enough to be annoying. Sometimes when I try to scroll, I'll have to pause a sec and then it scrolls.

I don't use a task manager anymore either. I only have 6 icons on each of the 3 desktops and only Beautiful widgets on my home screen. (I just removed that to see if it helps).

So what do we check to see what is causing the slow downs?

 

[sniffs]

Sniffs- How do you then explain when the task manager is opened and shows like 15 running apps? Are they all not actually running if the limit is 6?

It's not possible to run more than 6 concurrent apps. Press and hold home and you'll see 6 running, run a 7th and the last opened app removes from the list.

You can run more than 6 "services" however.. services are what slow a phone down because it's constantly running, using resources and polling for data.

Settings -> Applications -> Running Services.

these run constantly, use cpu cycles, poll for data, these are what really slow/lag a device, drain battery, etc.

 

[thomascj]

I have been using dxtop -- it does slow things down a bit, but not to the point that it outweighs it's usefulness.

after seeing my friends (shiny new) droid with barely anything installed and how snappy everything worked, I got the bright idea to uninstall dxtop.

After less than 4 hours of trying to use the linear screen layout I was fed up with it. I found that the regular home screen will lag just as much if you get it loaded up w/ widgets and icons and folders.

Anyway, back to using dxtop, and still happy =)
I am hopeful future updates might speed it up a bit more, but I really don't think it's a
huge deal.

 

[MikeB]

It's not possible to run more than 6 concurrent apps. Press and hold home and you'll see 6 running, run a 7th and the last opened app removes from the list.

You can run more than 6 "services" however.. services are what slow a phone down because it's constantly running, using resources and polling for data.

Settings -> Applications -> Running Services.

these run constantly, use cpu cycles, poll for data, these are what really slow/lag a device, drain battery, etc.

I checked that out and I had some I didn't need for apps I wasn't using .. like FlipClock. I downloaded it to check it out and ran it once but it had a service running! Some others I removed and can't remember.

Are these needed?
- GoogleVoice: UpdateService (have gv setup but not using for calls)
- Dolphin: Bookmark.sync.service ? (sounds self expl but is it needed)?? I do use the dolphin browser however.

 

[sniffs]

GoogleVoice process is needed to receive sms/phone calls with the app closed.

I don't have the Dolphin service running for some odd reason.. perhaps it closes after awhile? not sure.

 

[MikeB]

Found it ..

Sync with Google bookmark
Sync your local bookmarks with your Google Account. Access your favorite pages from your computer on your phone.

- Also I see BatteryWidget. I keeps starting back up even though I removed the widget from the screen. I just uninstalled that thing.

 

[MikeB]

Based upon what I have found, I think you need to keep an eye on running services since apps that you install and run once can have services running all the time!! Folks that have some lag should check it out and report back!

 

[tealturboser]

It's not possible to run more than 6 concurrent apps. Press and hold home and you'll see 6 running, run a 7th and the last opened app removes from the list.

You can run more than 6 "services" however.. services are what slow a phone down because it's constantly running, using resources and polling for data.

Settings -> Applications -> Running Services.

these run constantly, use cpu cycles, poll for data, these are what really slow/lag a device, drain battery, etc.

Who told you that the 6 are the only apps that are opened?

 

[sniffs]

You can open as many as you want.

https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/18320;jsessionid=5F18F57878BD09B8A474032C0B4EE88A.node0

however, if you press and hold home, only 6 are showing. This to me shows that the OS is allowing you to task switch only between 6 concurrent running applications. Or, only allowing 6 running applications at the same time.

applications are different than services. services always run unless you force close them, applications get bumped off the list and within a short period, they go into low resource mode and basically close and require you to reopen them.

 

[tealturboser]

Yeah that link doesnt tell me anything. It is just more hearsay and I think stuff. I want data form someone who actually knows and can confirm that the phone actually only runs 6 applications at a time rather than people assuming just because long pressing the home button only shows 6 applications.

I was doing some "testing" opening programs and hitting home and reopening them. I also open a program and hit back until it closes.

Some programs will load to the last state since you hit the home button, while others reload to the opening screen regardless of how you exit.

I opened several programs that will reload to the last screen you were in. I noted the order of the applications. After the 7th program is opened, the first drops of the Long press home running applications. Launching the 1st application from the normal icon will still bring me back to the last screen I was in depending on the program. Some brought me back to the main screen while most brought me to where I last was.

So there are 2 cases here.
1. There are only 6 programs that are allowed open, once this limit is hit the programs are closed but the current state is saved
2. More than 6 applications can be opened

 

[sniffs]

Try running Ebuddy and leaving it open

you'll notice that the application does infact go into low-resource mode, closes and when you reopen it from the "6 open app list" it's basically acting like you're reopening it, signing back into your list.

 

[tealturboser]

I don't have eBuddy but I think this low resource mode is application specific. After opening 12 different applications Bloo always brought me to the exact profile I was in. Perhaps it is an API option or perhaps that option can be set for a certain time or amount of running applications.

 

[sniffs]

how long are you leaving these apps open/running? I know it doesn't happen immediate.. I think between 30m-1hr and it'll happen.