Running & Installed apps - can I stop them?

[LeighAngela]

Question #1: In the application manager when I click on running, only 862MB of ram is free on day 3 of owning the phone. I see apps running that I have not used in a day or two, and I have shut down and restarted since using those apps. The only way I know to stop using an app is to back out of it or press the middle button to go home. Is it bad to only have 1/2 RAM free and have these apps running when I don't need them? Should I be routinely coming in here to stop apps? And it always scares me into letting them run because it says stopping service may cause it or other apps to fail.

Question #2: Some apps have auto-upated that I don't recognize, like BlurbCheckout and Quick Connect. Why do I have to have these wierd apps running/installed that I don't know if I need? Baby crying detector? ANT Radio Service? Bluetooth share? I don't even use Bluetooth.

 

[LeighAngela]

Update: found this helpful article for question #1: You Don’t Need to Install a Task Manager: How to Manage Running Apps on Android

 

[AZgl1500]

Angela,

goto settings/....../Application Manager/ALL


Scroll down thru that list and press on any app you don't want on the phone.
Click on Uninstall/Disable

If you downloaded it, it will uninstall. If it came on the ROM it will be disabled and never interfere again.
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contrary to that article you found, that is way too involved to mess with, and there is nothing "wrong" with installing a Task Manager to make your life easier. Just use one, not a mess of them or they will interact badly.

I use Battery Doctor which has two Static Widgets (means they are not active all the time, simply Switchers)

One of them will kill all unnecessary apps and background processes.

The other one will let you turn ON/OFF things you might not want for a while, like when you are sleeping, or at the office and can't use the phone anyway.

I turn OFF, Data, Sync, WiFi, Bluetooth everytime before putting the phone to sleep. GPS is on Power Saving Mode.. and sometimes I just turn it OFF also.

Greatly extends the battery life.

It is worth taking a look at.... it will NOT be everyone's favorite as it is a manual choice. But it does have an automatic mode also which will put background stuff to sleep after 'X' minutes. You decide.

* Battery Doctor (Battery Saver) - Android Apps on Google Play

 

[B. Diddy]

800 MB of free RAM is more than plenty. Keep in mind that Android likes to keep RAM somewhat full with apps in order to make app opening and switching faster and more efficient. Apps are either kept open in the background if you were using them recently, or other apps might automatically open based on usage patterns or their code. Excessive task killing can actually cause a negative impact on your battery, because those apps often will open on their own again, which takes CPU and battery. See this article by Jerry Hildenbrand: RAM: What it is, how it's used, and why you shouldn't care | Android Central