Related
Is Multi-tasking currently supported in 2.1? I get this doubt because everytime I open a new application the previous goes hidden. This apparently takes up or keeps eating the resources in the background.
Instead, if 2.2 (froyo) comes up with something like the iPhone 4 handles it will be simply superb. I know even now there are add ins from the market, still they are not easy and friendly as iPhone 4 handles multi-tasking - where we can simply scroll through the application and open or close or minimise the different applications that are already open.
Please someone confirm this...or am I missing something until android 2.2 comes out.
Your right... whenever I am running an application and I press the menu button then start another application, I can see the old application running in the Services (or background).
When I quit the new application and go back to the former app, it shows me where I left off... Now, this is "technically" multi-tasking but of the sucky kind...
To minimize just press the homebutten. To switch between the last 6 task just press the homebuton for about 1 second.
In 2.1, you still long press the home key to show the most recently run applications. This is not necessary the running application. You could have manually closed an application but it will still be shown. Similarly, you could have application actually running and yet not shown there.
Another point to be aware is that although long press of home key brings up the most recently used application and allows you to jump to them, there is no facility to force close an application from there; unlike in iOS4, where on the multitasking application dock, you can force close it, as well as jumping to that application.
Another key difference between the two is that in Android 2.1, only the last 6 used applications are shown, although most of the time, I find 20+ applications running, often started by themselves mysteriously (that's another story though). So, for the running application not listed as one of the six, you can't jump to them via long pressing home. Instead, you have to go back to the desktop, find your application, and launch the application in order to switch to them.
So yah, 2.1 is a little "backward" still compared to iOS4. Hopefully 2.2 improves on this.
As far as I know the multitasking from android is better than the one in iOS4. Multitasking is not complete on iOS4, there are some applications that you are not available to use as multitasking application.
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html
Here is the link to why and how the android multitasking works.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/199528/multitasking_with_ios_4_is_horrible_apple_blew_it.html
Here an article of PCWORLD giving negative feedback about iOS4 multitasking
eaglesteve said:
In 2.1, you still long press the home key to show the most recently run applications. This is not necessary the running application. You could have manually closed an application but it will still be shown. Similarly, you could have application actually running and yet not shown there.
Another point to be aware is that although long press of home key brings up the most recently used application and allows you to jump to them, there is no facility to force close an application from there; unlike in iOS4, where on the multitasking application dock, you can force close it, as well as jumping to that application.
Another key difference between the two is that in Android 2.1, only the last 6 used applications are shown, although most of the time, I find 20+ applications running, often started by themselves mysteriously (that's another story though). So, for the running application not listed as one of the six, you can't jump to them via long pressing home. Instead, you have to go back to the desktop, find your application, and launch the application in order to switch to them.
So yah, 2.1 is a little "backward" still compared to iOS4. Hopefully 2.2 improves on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..now that's one place where we look ancient than iOS4, are there any words that this will be improved in 2.2?
Instead it could have just been without multi-tasking so when we start a new app the previous one to get closed atleast that saves on the RAM. I hate iPhones but just this feature makes me disturbed why android hasn't dones this yet as this is so very basic.
I know the third part app in the adroid market does this but not as elegant as the iphone 4 handles this.
sany said:
..now that's one place where we look ancient than iOS4, are there any words that this will be improved in 2.2?
Instead it could have just been without multi-tasking so when we start a new app the previous one to get closed atleast that saves on the RAM. I hate iPhones but just this feature makes me disturbed why android hasn't dones this yet as this is so very basic.
I know the third part app in the adroid market does this but not as elegant as the iphone 4 handles this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the way iOS4 handles it is not even half as elegant as the way jailbroken phones do it. It is even better to disable iOS4 task switcher and use Cydia task switchers (there are 5 or 6 different method, you pick the one that you like most). If I'm the developer at Google, I'd copy jailbroken iPhone's switcher called the Circuitous. With it, you can swipe the task bar left or right to go to the previous or next active application!!! You can also double press the home key for example to show a list of task actually running (rather than most recently launched applications). You press home key to truly quite the application, and long press to make it run in the background while in both case show the desktop.
I personally don't like the task switcher in iOS4. It does not let me force close the application with the same act of quiting it. Instead, one has to bring up the task list and remove it there in order to force close. This is not productive. Also, very often I toggle betwen two or three application, and I find swiping the taskbar to be a lot more fun and productive.
How do I know if there's programs running in the background or not?
And how do I shut down programs where I can't find any Quit button (mostly of the programs I think is like this).
Chrilleee said:
How do I know if there's programs running in the background or not?
And how do I shut down programs where I can't find any Quit button (mostly of the programs I think is like this).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung's stock widget will tell you if anything is "running" other things will be idling that the widget may or may not pick up on. You can pick up a 3rd party task killer to see more details.
3rd party task killers would be one way to quit the programs after closing. The way Android operates, if you hit the "back" button out of your program it quits running but will stay in memory if there is available room in your memory.
Actually the Android 'idea' is that you don't close applications. Android will keep applications around in case you want to go back, and only close them when memory is needed. Before closing them outright it will try to close secondary activities and recover memory elsewhere, so that closing an app is the last resort.
Android applications are explicitly organized in autonomous activities so that they can be stopped independently.
Keep in mind that the fact that an application is 'in background' does not mean that it is actually doing something, and empty memory does you no good unless it's actually needed, so it might as well be used to keep an application loaded.
Only applications that stay active in background have a quit button, like IM clients for example. The others don't have it because ideally you don't need to close them. Of course when the system does need to free memory you might experience some delay as applications are closed.
On the iPhone OS there is a similar model, with the difference that applications don't have 'activities' that can be independently closed. In case of memory starvation the OS first asks applications to free some memory, if possible, then starts killing them outright, but it has no means to force applications to free memory.
I stopped using task killers and found that they are not that needed unless you really can't stand small delays now and then. I didn't find the iPhone multitasking any friendlier at all...
eaglesteve said:
Actually, the way iOS4 handles it is not even half as elegant as the way jailbroken phones do it. It is even better to disable iOS4 task switcher and use Cydia task switchers (there are 5 or 6 different method, you pick the one that you like most). If I'm the developer at Google, I'd copy jailbroken iPhone's switcher called the Circuitous. With it, you can swipe the task bar left or right to go to the previous or next active application!!! You can also double press the home key for example to show a list of task actually running (rather than most recently launched applications). You press home key to truly quite the application, and long press to make it run in the background while in both case show the desktop.
I personally don't like the task switcher in iOS4. It does not let me force close the application with the same act of quiting it. Instead, one has to bring up the task list and remove it there in order to force close. This is not productive. Also, very often I toggle betwen two or three application, and I find swiping the taskbar to be a lot more fun and productive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there anything similar to Circuitous available in the market for use.
thanks
S
I really do not understand how people say that iOs 4 is better in multitasking than 2.1 android. I've used the "multitasking" feature of iPhone and it is for sure not multitasking. It behaves as it should only for native apps and I believe it will not finally work for every application of the appstore.
On the other hand, multitasking on android is better. Every app you choose to re-start comes at the state you left it. Not on the first screen. Of course there is a lot of room for development, but it actually is multitasking and not multitasking in quotes.
P.S. I kind of laugh with Jobs's enthusiasm for things that already exist in the market even for years (for example videocall). It is like they invented something revolutionary and actually there are many people who totally fall for all these...
Uneducated sheep...
darnap; said:
On the iPhone OS there is a similar model, with the difference that applications don't have 'activities' that can be independently closed. In case of memory starvation the OS first asks applications to free some memory, if possible, then starts killing them outright, but it has no means to force applications to free memory.
I stopped using task killers and found that they are not that needed unless you really can't stand small delays now and then. I didn't find the iPhone multitasking any friendlier at all...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damap,
In both iOS 4 and jailbroken iPhone running backgrounded, any activities other than the telephone application can be manually closed rather then left running in the background, in order to free up memory.
I don't know about the other Android phones but I find SGS unbearably slow, whether if I do not use task killer to manually kill off the application every now and then. Not sure how much of it is due to the way Android multitask though.
ivas75 said:
I really do not understand how people say that iOs 4 is better in multitasking than 2.1 android. I've used the "multitasking" feature of iPhone and it is for sure not multitasking. It behaves as it should only for native apps and I believe it will not finally work for every application of the appstore.
On the other hand, multitasking on android is better. Every app you choose to re-start comes at the state you left it. Not on the first screen. Of course there is a lot of room for development, but it actually is multitasking and not multitasking in quotes.
P.S. I kind of laugh with Jobs's enthusiasm for things that already exist in the market even for years (for example videocall). It is like they invented something revolutionary and actually there are many people who totally fall for all these...
Uneducated sheep...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is some important points to be aware of, and most iPhone users are not aware of these points:
- If you want "true" multitasking, you must jailbreak and use backgrounder. All third party applications could then multitask. However, even that will not have two applications with audio running simultaneously. So, you can't have radio and music playing at the same time. The one in the background must pause.
- To be eligible for multitasking under iOS4 third party applications must specifically enable so. If not, you can only multitask them with jail breaking.
- if an application has been enabled for multitasking under iOS4, then backgrounder application in a jailbroken phone offers the option of letting user select the method of multitasking. The choices are to either multitask this application the "true" way as it always did prior to iOS4, or the iOS4 way (which means you don't start your applications from the beginning, but when in background, only certain processes such as GPS, VOIP, downloading, audio are running), or to automatically select the method, which means that if the application has been enabled for iOS4 multitasking then that mode will be used, otherwise it will multitask the "true" way.
sany; said:
Is there anything similar to Circuitous available in the market for use.
thanks
S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I'm not aware of such customization possibility yet. But i would like to request for such tools so that multitasking in Android can be more easily performed. One thing about using back button for quitting application is that I find it goes to a different screen of the same application rather than the previous application, so it can be confusing. Sometime back button merely get rid of a pop up message but does not seem to quit the application.
You can't really get more simple than the os doing everything for you though. The point with android is you don't think about things like multi-tasking and just use your phone. Can't get more simple and elegant than that.
There is no need for a task manager like ios as you just open the apps you want without worrying about closing apps, or what's open and what's not.
ios on the other hand uses sudo multi-tasking, the apps don't actually stay open. I'm sure this works well but it has it's limitations. So when you close an app in ios task manager, you are not actually closing the app as it is already closed, essentialy you are just removing the icon from the drawer.
Android's system is far better. Why have a task manager when you don't need one, and especially when you only use sudo multi-tasking so the apps in the task manager are not even open at all.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
bushbox browser said:
You can't really get more simple than the os doing everything for you though. The point with android is you don't think about things like multi-tasking and just use your phone. Can't get more simple and elegant than that.There is no need for a task manager like ios as you just open the apps you want without worrying about closing apps, or what's open and what's not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both Android and iOS4 are exactly the same in saying that nobody shoud have to manually close an application. Both advocates that you let the OS close it when resources are insufficient. For iOS4, most of the application merely save the state where you left off, so it is not actually active, but with some exceptions: GPS, VOIP, audio playing, downloading, etc.
However, I personally do not find it to my liking. If I've been using say TomTom navigation software and have just completed a trip, and know that I wont be using it again in the next few days, I would rather be able to long press the home key to completely stop it, instead of just pressing the home key to keep it running in the background.
bushbox browser said:
So when you close an app in ios task manager, you are not actually closing the app as it is already closed, essentialy you are just removing the icon from the drawer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bushbox browser, this is not how it works, based on what I was told. If you have removed the icon from the multitasking dock, then come back to launch the application, it will start from the beginning rather than where you last left of. This was a question that I asked and was told the answer. Therefore, it is capable of stopping the task from running there, not merely removing the icon from the drawer.
Hope that helps to clear up the misconception.
eaglesteve said:
Both Android and iOS4 are exactly the same in saying that nobody shoud have to manually close an application. Both advocates that you let the OS close it when resources are insufficient. For iOS4, most of the application merely save the state where you left off, so it is not actually active, but with some exceptions: GPS, VOIP, audio playing, downloading, etc.
However, I personally do not find it to my liking. If I've been using say TomTom navigation software and have just completed a trip, and know that I wont be using it again in the next few days, I would rather be able to long press the home key to completely stop it, instead of just pressing the home key to keep it running in the background.
bushbox browser, this is not how it works, based on what I was told. If you have removed the icon from the multitasking dock, then come back to launch the application, it will start from the beginning rather than where you last left of. This was a question that I asked and was told the answer. Therefore, it is capable of stopping the task from running there, not merely removing the icon from the drawer.
Hope that helps to clear up the misconception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks all, it is really comforting enough to see comments from knowledgeable people in the forum who are really researching with the apps and how they work.
My only concern is that nothing in the background should slowdown the performance by hogging the resource. As long as it is taken care off that is fine.
sany said:
thanks all, it is really comforting enough to see comments from knowledgeable people in the forum who are really researching with the apps and how they work.
My only concern is that nothing in the background should slowdown the performance by hogging the resource. As long as it is taken care off that is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My concern is the same as yours too. Unfortunately, I'm personally of the view that allowing so many applicaitons to be kept alive DO hog resources and slow things down. Therefore I'm using the task killer on my SGS to manage it. I'm using a task killer that also kill itself after killing off the unwanted task, so that itself would not be taking more resources (or at least that's how I hope would turn out).
Then the other aspect of multitasking is the user interface or how we effect:
- showing all live applications (not just most recent 6 applications), to swith there. As I said, I've notice that on my SGS, if left alone, typically have 20 to 30 applications live. The long press of the home button showing just 6 of them is not exactly a workable way to switch, is it?
- then, there is an issue of being given the freedom to truely quit an application rather than minimise it to the background, and here Android's as well as iOS4's design leaves much to be desired IMO. They both need to learn from jailbroken iPhone's backgrounder.
- finally, I believe Android as an OS could improve by having a true task manager showing applications which are truely alive, thus allowing switching to them, as well as allowing quitting of the listed applications. Yes, if user want to let the OS manage it they could just leave the list alone and not quit it, but freedom should be given to users to do so.
That's the reason I much prefer the jailbroken iPhone's method of multitasking (especially when using the Circuitous method of task switching) over iOS4 as well as Android's.
This is like a neverending story, when I had WM phone everybody was b*tching about the way he have to go to task manager and close apps and always look for tha apps that are running. Now I have android which is doing everything on its own, u dont have to care about running apps and now is everybody dreaming about iPhonish multitasking. Did I land on Mars here?
Hi everyone. I just purchased my Droid X last week, and I'm having some migrating pains coming from Windows Mobile 6.5 (HTC Touch Pro 2, Mighty ROM) over to Android. I'm wondering if the fine folks here at XDA can help me ease into the Android OS a little easier.
Here are the things I miss most about WinMo, maybe you can tell me some viable alternatives.
1) The Dialer. - Skip the next 3 paragraphs if you're familiar with HTC Sense on WinMo.
The dialer absolutely sucks compared to the TP2. Having to click different tabs juts annoys me. In the TP2, the dialer and recent calls were displayed in a single window, so if I wanted to dial Steve, I had 2 ways of doing it.
The first way was to dial 7(S), 8(T). The phone would recognize I am spelling out Steve, and list everyone who fits the ST criteria sorted by most recently called. The more I spelled out his name, the narrower the results got.
The second method was to dial his number. Pretend Steve's number is (123) 456-7890. If I dialed 123, it would sort all contacts with numbers who matched the area code, and it would narrow the results as I typed more of his phone number.
I really hate having to tap between Contacts (there is a contacts soft button next to the dialer anyway), I would just click that if I wanted to from the beginning.
Are there any dialers out there closer to the HTC Dialer?
2) Contacts.
There has to be a better contact manager. Not being able to quickly tap a letter to get to contacts is really dumb.
3) Ninja Applications.
Why do I keep seeing applications running that I never started when I load Advance Task Killer. It's really annoying when I load up an App, and go to close it, and see Skype and CityID running when I never launched either of them. I'm almost afraid to set up AIM on my phone at this point.
4) GPS.
If I keep my GPS on, my battery gets killed. With my TP2, it would only use the GPS when it needed it, so for weather updates, and Google Maps, otherwise it stayed off (or was in a suspend state). I turned the GPS on my first day and had 0 battery by around 2 (left the house at 8). Is there any way to set the GPS to only be used, as needed?
5) APPLICATIONS EVERYWHERE.
Is there anyway to sort these into folders? Also, is there anyway to add an X to the application so I can close it when I'm done with it rather than having to launch an App just to close the App I just used?
I really liked the Sense way of doing it, where I had an X in the Application, and a drop down on the home screen that would list the open Apps so I could close them 1 at a time.
6) MotoBlur.
Ugh, I really hate this UI. Has anyone had any experience with SenseX?
7) Custom Roms.
I've seen a handful of Custom ROMs, and I'm planning on putting one on when I have some time next week. I need a good way to backup contacts, after I just spent an hour linking everyone, but I'd like to know if there is a decent Apples to Apples comparison of the ROMs. They don't seem to be outlines as detailed as I'm used to.
On this topic, are there any problems setting up things like MMS once you install a Custom ROM? It was a nightmare on the TP2, but those ROMs were also made for multiple carriers, which isn't a problem with this phone, so I imagine it shouldn't be an issue.
----------------------------------
Thank you for taking the time to read this wall of text.
Other than the 7 things listed, I love the phone. Finding MortPlayer for Droid made my day. I'm looking forward to unlocking it's true potential, and I hope my list isn't a bunch of things I'm just going to have to adjust to.
Thank you again, have a great day.
EDIT:
Also, it's really annoying that every time I connect my phone to my PC, it launches a Verizon web site. Is there anyway to disable this?
Ok... I will take a stab at this.
FIRST, You DO NOT have to settle for the apps that come preinstalled on your phone! Just had to clear that up... Ok, here we go:
Check an app called "Dialer One" and see if that fits your needs... I haven't used it in a while... but heard it still a great replacement for the stock dialer.
Searching for a better Contact Manager is on my To-Do list.. hope someone comes in and help out a little more with that one
Don't worry about the "ninja" apps TOO much. Android Froyo has an amazing task manager and even though you SEE the apps as "running applications", they are not really RUNNING. They are more like... in a queue.. so they are ready for whenever you come back to them....but you still have to watch what the apps are doing. Some do not play nicely and hog memory. I'll link a good post here in a minute explaining that a little better.
There is a widget that can help you out here.. it's called "Power Control" put that bad boy on your homescreen and the option to turn on/off wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc is at your fingertips (for even more controls... check out "Extended Controls" in the market. It cost like $1 and some change)
I'm... not really following this one. For one.. you CAN use folders on your homescreen and put whatever your heart desires in them.. and label it accordingly. I'm not sure what you mean by the "X" in the app
SenseX?? What is that?? Anyway.. as you will find out soon, 99% of the Droid X community despise MotoBlur!! You can use a different Home Launcher and not use Blur. Two of the major Home Launcher replacements are Adw.launcher & LauncherPro... which one is better is a whole different story. They are both great and only YOU can choose which one is best. There many threads comparing them and they run neck to neck mostly. I'm on LauncherPro personally
Custom Roms?? Eh.. I personally do my own developments and theming on my phone and do not use them... there not really all what they cracked up to be because whatever they have on them... I can do myself. So I'm not much of an help on that one... Somebody else maybe will chime in.
P.S-To fix the Verizon thing, go to the "M" in the taskbar at the bottom of your screen by the clock on your PC and right click it.. there should be an option saying to tell it to NOT send you to the Verizon site when you connect your phone. I don't know the EXACT wording of the option menu.. I'm on a mac
Thank you for your reply.
I will check out the Dialer. Thank you very much.
Darn!
A friend of mine told me that, but it's hard for me to not be a bit OCD about background Applications. I've been a Windows user most of my life, and coming from WinMo, background apps really kill performance.
More than anything, my issue is with things like Skype loading when I do not want to be signed in. I want auto-login when I launch the Application, but I don't want the application loading when it feels like it, and me getting a random IM or call from someone when I didn't even tell it to log in.
It also bothers me that Amazon MP3, something I've never even loaded, has turned itself on. It makes me feel like I don't have control over my phone.
I do have a widget that lets me turn these things on and off, I was just hoping for a way to set it up so that the GPS is "pinged" and only used as needed, and turned back off. My TP2 did this, and was a great battery saver. Having to turn the GPS on and off just to get a weather update based on location is a bit annoying.
I didn't mean on the home-screen, I meant in the application list. So when I hit the application list, I can sort them by "Games", "Google", etc.
For the "X", what I mean is in reference to closing an App. In WinMo, the top right of the screen had an X, and if I touched that X, the app would close. Now, once I exit the App, I need to use an application killer to close said App.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=764840
Looks like Sense for the Droid X. In Beta now, so I'm waiting for a stable release.
Really, it's just to get rid of bloatware and take advantage of some performance optimizations that have been made.
A couple of other things that have come up.
I need a better keyboard. One with arrows so I can navigate text. Touching isn't precise enough, and I don't have a stylus with this phone. Today I voiced a text message, and I went to correct an error, but I couldn't get the curse to go in the exact spot I needed it to go into. My old OSK had arrow soft-keys I could tap to navigate with.
Also, I notice when I pull my phone out of the leather pouch I have, when I hit the power button it comes up in landscape, and the accelerometer doesn't pick up on the turn. I need to turn the screen off and turn it back on.
Finally, I'm having extender issues, but I think I need to call VZW for that. When leaving my house, I can't reconnect to Data without a power-cycle.
Thank you for the reply.
my .02
3. Break yourself from the taskiller need. If you have programs allways running that you dont need, ie skype or city id. Root and delete those SOB's. you can look around and there are plenty of articles of why not to use them. Android is a linux based os. Linux is far supirior to Win in memeory management. You dont need task killers.
4. if your gps is turned on its not always running. It only runs when needed. Is by chance your wifi on? that will run all the time by searching for access points. if not you might have maps running, make sure to always back out of maps and not just hit home. That way it closes and doesnt just run in background. (actually goes for most apps)
5 organization- you cant sort the app drawer, you can hide apps (just the icons) using launcher pro, not sure if ADW has that option. Useing folders or the app "app manager" is your best bet
extra. swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
I came from winmo- so I know all about your "X" pains. But I say forget about a task killer or even killing tasks (except maybe maps and navigation). I did a little reading about pros and cons and decided to try the "no task killer" approach. I haven't had any problems. the task killer is a pain anyways. you can kill apps all day long and there are a bunch of them that are just going to repopulate themselves in like 5 minutes. I just said, "fegetaboutit". My phone runs great.
if you open the dialer and are on the contacts tab just long press the menu button (the physical button) and your keyboard will pop up. start typing and contacts will appear.
I like "Zeam Launcher". There is a thread here on XDA. I have Launcher Pro+ -but actually liked Zeam so much I use it. Just different preferences though.
that's all i got for now.
Thank you for your replies.
I will try to be a bit less OCD regarding my tasks. I did kill a couple of services of applications that kept starting, like Skype.
I'll check out those launchers and see if I like them better.
Any good stock widgets?
EDIT:
So I just tried to check my location on Google Maps with GPS turned off, and it says I need to turn it on.
How do I set it up to use the GPS as needed?
I leave location services on (GPS)
My theory is that applications will only enable GPS when they need them, so if you have a application running that wants GPS, it will use it.
The GPS icon appears in the notification bar when I'm using something that is using GPS, so I assume its only actually on when this icon is present. Leave it on in settings just makes is available.
Any widget or application that has a setting for manual location (Weather, IMDB) I use it, and disable GPS location, to keep GPS from running all of the time.
To exit an app you are using, either hit the back button or the home button.
If you are worried about "ninja" apps using cpu and memory, you can try a minfree adjustment application such as AutoKiller Memory Optimizer. It fine tunes android's inner memory manager to be a bit more aggressive in closing applications.
I use another Rom (rubiX, link in sig) that already has minfree adjusted (according to the author) and it does help in keeping the X smooth. It also removes all (well most) of Blur and default installed apps as well, so you start with a very clean X.
The default home screen (blur) is crap. I would also suggest replacing it with LauncherPro or ADW
For removing the pre-installed applications. Follow this guide
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/d...ta-3-ways-super-easy-safe-safe-easy-free.html
Some apps in /system/app/ are not named what they are
(IE. mynet.apk = 3g Hotspot)
For a keyboard anywhere, you can hold the menu button, and it will pop up.
Swype is really a few keyboards. Swype from the icon to the SYM button, it will give you the edit panel (arrows, home, end, copy, paste, etc...) press the ABC button to go back.
Swype from the icon to the f key, it will turn into a number pad. Press the ABC button to go back to the normal keyboard.
Run the tutorial on Swype too, it will give you some very nice pointers on it's use. I used Swype on windows mobile and I found out a few things about Swype I never knew.
Also, as for touching where your cursor is in a text field, if you press and hold, and magnifying bubble will pop up. This makes moving the cursor easier
Did you find a dialer yet? I saw these posted and thought about this thread...
http://www.appbrain.com/app/kz.mek.DialerOne
http://www.appbrain.com/app/acontacts/kz.mek.aContacts
Haven't had a chance to try them yet.
bad4u6669 said:
.... swype has arrows. swype from the swype icon to abc and it will bring up a new keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG. thanks. been loving swype but that has been driving me nuts. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for the replies.
One of the things I liked about my TP2, is I could leave location services on, and it used very little battery.
I guess Weather Bug just SUCKS battery out like crazy. I turned on the GPS last night for something, and decided to see how well it did with battery today. It turns out that some grocery shopping app I wanted to try was sucking my GPS dry (no idea why)... yet another "ninja app" that just started up because it felt like it (this kind of **** really makes me , programs should only start up when I tell them to, not when a component of my phone turns on).
I live in an apartment that has really bad signal (I actually have a Network Extender), so that might be my GPS constantly trying to update when I'm at home killing my battery.
WeatherBug is set to update every hour, so I'm going to see what happens tomorrow with the GPS turned on. It would be nice if I could just set it and forget it, not need to turn it off every time I come home.
Thank you for the contact program, I might check it out. I've been pretty content since I got DialerOne and found out I can get the keyboard up by holding the options.
I tried LauncherPro, and I LOVED it at first, and my phones performance was fantastic!
Then I found out it charges me to resize widgets... WTF is that crap?
I'm going to try some other launchers and see what happens. I'm getting the hang of it, but I still do not like things starting up on their own. Regardless of memory management, my phone should not just decide to boot up programs on it's own.
the phone only does what the app or the user tells it to do. If theirs an app that you don't like, delete it.
And complaining that launcher pro charges for every thing it offers is ridiculous. Every thing it offers for free already ( 7 home screens, 10 rows and columns, unreal speed improvement, etc. ) then to get the extras its less than most people throw away on a daily basis. Where as this three dollars its money that pays off on a daily basis
Adw and lp should be paid apps from the start for all they offer.
You have 3 options, write your own program, use the stock launcher, find a free one.
-end rant
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I usually leave my location setting on "Use Wireless Networks" and don't bother with GPS other than for maps and navigation. Works fine for all of my other apps that need a location (e.g., weather).
There are apps out there that can turn GPS on and off automatically when you run a particular app, such as Tasker (which can do a whole host of things, but that is one one of them). Tasker is a paid app, but there might be something free out there that does something similar.
Also, I agree with the previous poster re: Launcher Pro. It's really a fantastic home launcher and well worth a few bucks to support the developer. The LP Plus widgets are also a lot better than any of the Blur widgets.
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
EtherBoo said:
In the end, I probably will buy it, but I'm going to play around with some of the free ones first.
Tasker sounds like it might be worth it for that feature alone (being able to turn the GPS on and off at will). I'm just surprised a feature like this wasn't built in to begin with, considering WinMo has had it for years.
On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend a good media player? I'm going to be flying soon and want to test the battery out on Airplane mode while watching a movie from the SD card. I need something that can decode a variety of formats, mostly XviD for stuff like digital movie copies and TV shows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to look into RockPlayer. That's the only one I found so far that decodes ALMOST anything on the spot.
The "Ninja Applications" are running because Android is a true multi tasking OS.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I hope necromancy isn't frowned upon on this board, so my apologies if it is.
I found a new problem because I had the nerve to attempt to update a contact photo after Facebook had saved it's picture to it.
This is especially frustrating because I'm going to want to override a lot of these photos very soon.
Apparently, updating the photo updates the Google Contact photo, but the phone only displays the Facebook photo. This is a bug confirmed by Moto that will be fixed in a future update.
This leaves me with 2 options.
De-Sync FB, which I'm not thrilled about only because I like getting the most recent status update prior to receiving a call, and There is a lot of info that FB fills in for me.
Copy down all the FB info, and fill it in manually. With Google Contacts not being the best contact manager (I'm very OCD about uniformity in the way things are formatted), I really don't want to do this.
So I figure I need a new contact manager. I tried AContacts, and it crashed every time I tried to edit a contact.
I would love something like the HTC one that comes with WinMo, or maybe even the iPhone one.
I would be willing to pay for this.
P.S.
I'm now rooted and running a custom ROM (zapX I think it's called). I'm loving my phone much more now. My battery life has skyrocketed, and my performance is amazing now. Very iPhone smooth (one thing I was always jealous of, and I hate the iPhone).
Hi Im a new user at this site, Been scouring the internet since monday looking into evo shift stuff and came across this site. This site is awesome and I love how the threads are based off phone and not just software or carrier like other phones which makes forums messy as heck.
Btw I am new to andriod software
K here is my question..
What should I do with my Evo Shift 4G ?
My time searching I have came across stuff like "root" - "ADW Launcher" "wimix keys"
First off I know what root is, Its like jail breaking I heard, Is it suggested I do this?
Also what is this wimix keys or another , wmix keys or something that I hear alot of people talking about when rooting?... What information is that holding and why is it so important to back em up?
Also If I where to root would I have to worry about any applications running like Lookout and Advance task killer?
So I guess in all, What do you recommend I do with my Evo Shift to spoof it up abit.
Protejae said:
Hi Im a new user at this site, Been scouring the internet since monday looking into evo shift stuff and came across this site. This site is awesome and I love how the threads are based off phone and not just software or carrier like other phones which makes forums messy as heck.
Btw I am new to andriod software
K here is my question..
What should I do with my Evo Shift 4G ?
My time searching I have came across stuff like "root" - "ADW Launcher" "wimix keys"
First off I know what root is, Its like jail breaking I heard, Is it suggested I do this?
Also what is this wimix keys or another , wmix keys or something that I hear alot of people talking about when rooting?... What information is that holding and why is it so important to back em up?
Also If I where to root would I have to worry about any applications running like Lookout and Advance task killer?
So I guess in all, What do you recommend I do with my Evo Shift to spoof it up abit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, let me preface this by saying that congratulations on purchasing the best phone in the current sprint lineup. How are you liking it so far?
In response to your first question, I don't think I, or anyone else for that matter, am qualified to tell you what to do with your phone. The best I can do is give you a list of pro's and con's and be helpful and polite in answering questions you may have.
Rooting is like jailbreaking an iPhone in that it gives you administrative access to your phone. Unlike the iPhone, Android is open-source and hacker friendly, which means that rooting your Shift also allows you to do things like install custom versions of Android (ROMs), apply themes over current versions of android, and use apps that require root access.
That being said, there are some downsides to rooting your phone. Obviously, it voids both HTC's and Sprint's warranties for the phone. This means that while your phone is rooted, you can not take it to a sprint store and get it replaced or repaired. Also, rooting is a somewhat delicate procedure and if you make a mistake in the process, you will be left with a $549 paperweight.
Furthermore, please read through the forums BEFORE rooting and if you have any questions about the process, please ask. Were here to help.
In response to your other questions, ADW Launcher is simply a replacement launcher (the program that comes up when you press the home button). It does not require root and if you're curious about it, you can download it from the android market for free and play around with it.
Wimax is Sprint's 4g service. Without Wimax keys, the Shift cannot connect to 4g. The custom recovery that is available on the shift does not back them up, so when you use the restore function in recovery mode, you will lose them, unless you back them up to your SD card (which is one of the steps in the rooting process).
Lastly, Because of the way that the Android OS utilizes RAM, task killing apps are usually frowned upon. Killing background tasks does not result in a noticeable increase in speed or benchmarks and uses more battery restarting vital apps than it saves when they're not running.
There is an app for root users that does help though, its called Cache Cleaner and is available for free on the market. Instead of force stopping background processes, it periodically clears up space in your cache (which is comparable to deleting your web history, cookies, and cache in your internet browser at home in order to make videos and webpages load faster).
I hope this post was helpful and I apologize for the length. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Well first off, length on post doesnt matter to me, I thank you for a quality post.
So in a nutshell wifimax or wimax are files thare are essential for the 4g connection when it is present in your area. For me we dont have 4g yet. So if I where to ROOT I would need to back these files up, because if I dont, I lose the option to have 4g and then basically I am jacked?
I tried ADW Launcher and I dont see whats so special about it, With the HTC Sense option to have different scenes,I dont see a reason to really mess with it.. I just got it so maybe Im not bored yet with the flipping options and theme yet.
If it matters I have experience flashing PSP with a custom firmware if that helps any with rooting.
I have came across many apps in my 3 days owning this phone, Amazing stuff out there. Stuff from barcode scanners, Scan2PDF,AngryBirds,EasyTether,etc.. I feel like there are other apps out there Im missing that I would love.
So your saying get rid of the advance task manager and run that cache cleaner instead?.. Does it accomplish the same thing in a nut shell?
Thanks for any help, it is appreciated
I would also give Launcher Pro a chance, its free unless you want the Launcher Pro Widgets which give you simular to Sense Widgets (Calendar, Messaging...ect) I prefer it to ADW because its incredibly smooth in comparision.
Task killers are generally bad on android period. Cache cleaner just clears temp files.
If you feel you must run a task killer, don't set it to ruin continuously, and only use it kill single apps that lock up or wake lock the phone. Which - by the way, has not happened to me in the month I owned this phone. It was a daily occurence seemingly on my old hero
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
I found that by checking out the top apps in various categories, I started learning a lot about the capabilities of the phone. Oh, and go through the settings menu.
Enjoy your Shift! Root and read the forums, well worth the time.
My #1 recommended "maintenance" app, free in the Market:
Android Assistant
-cache cleaner already built in, as well as "quick boost", which will clean up unnecessary background apps. You can even tweak it to run periodically. Additionally, you can access sound settings, and there are a wide variety of efficiencies in the tools menu. Battery level, current RAM usage....too many things to mention. Needless to say, I went from using AutoKiller, Quick Settings, and numerous toggle widgets to just using this app, and enabling access in the notification bar. Haven't looked back since.
I agree with you about ADW but I too am new and perhaps didn't give it a chance. On the other hand I love Launcher Pro. has a tendancy to FC (force close) every now and then but it is very customizable. On a side note I saw something in the works for SPB shell I think it's called and it looks very promising.
I have some questions re: multitasking. My understanding of the way that honeycomb works is that apps usually don't close when you exit them. They stay open until you use them again, or until honeycomb needs more memory, at which point it starts closing background apps. Is this accurate?
What puzzles me is that, if I have several apps open, some of which I want to keep running and some I don't mind if they get killed, when honeycomb needs memory it will just randomly kill apps?
This seems inefficient to me. Why doesn't it allow me to kill apps that I don't want and only "minimize" apps that I want to keep open? This seems inefficient but maybe I am missing something.
Most apps don't use any processing power when In the background, just ram. U could use a task killer however, it will probably just kill more battery life then it saves. Do u have performance issues when running lots of tasks? Ifso, THEN use a task killer to find out what is using up the processing performance and uninstall/stop the app.
(Using a task killer is NOT recommended)
Sent from my mailbox
I hear you. I think multitasking in Android (not just honeycomb) is an illusion. The new 3.1 "recent apps list" is just that... recent apps, it reopens apps you used, but as far as multitasking goes, it happens very rarely.
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking.
I think the only true multitasking mobile os was windows mobile 6.5.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Dyskmaster said:
Most apps don't use any processing power when In the background, just ram.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess when apps are kept in RAM is isn't a big deal. After all, we have a whopping 1 gig to play with right? Who could ever use up that much?
EP2008 said:
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking[\QUOTE]
It's a bug in the browser then. It should remember all you wrote even if it was closed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Magnesus said:
EP2008 said:
I'd love to be able to lock my browser into memory so it doesn't have to reload all the pages when I get back into it. I was filling out an online form and needed to get an order number from my gmail app... well, when I went back into the browser, it reloaded everything and I lost what I had filled - this is not multitasking[\QUOTE]
It's a bug in the browser then. It should remember all you wrote even if it was closed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically, if it was truly multitasking (as in keeping the browser running while doing another task), then it should have just resumed. This happens on all browsers, but not all the time, only when Android decides to kick it out of memory.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
In webOS, you'd just keep the card open and your document would be retained. And note: I'm not here to bash Android or glorify webOS. I did switch, after all. But man, either developers or Google have to fix this. At the very least, an app like Quickoffice should save its state when it's suspended, to include the currently open document. It doesn't actually have to run in the background, but it certainly shouldn't lose information.
Given how I'm using the Transformer, this a huge thing for me. I wouldn't switch to, say, the Touchpad, because webOS doesn't even have apps like this yet and probably won't for awhile. It might have Quickoffice sometime in the next few months, but that's about it. Oh, and the Touchpad is a weak tablet as well, and certainly doesn't have anything like the keyboard dock available. It's just that Google and the Android development community could learn a thing or two from webOS, starting with better multitasking support.
Okay, venting over. I feel much better now.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
wynand32 said:
By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
In webOS, you'd just keep the card open and your document would be retained. And note: I'm not here to bash Android or glorify webOS. I did switch, after all. But man, either developers or Google have to fix this. At the very least, an app like Quickoffice should save its state when it's suspended, to include the currently open document. It doesn't actually have to run in the background, but it certainly shouldn't lose information.
Given how I'm using the Transformer, this a huge thing for me. I wouldn't switch to, say, the Touchpad, because webOS doesn't even have apps like this yet and probably won't for awhile. It might have Quickoffice sometime in the next few months, but that's about it. Oh, and the Touchpad is a weak tablet as well, and certainly doesn't have anything like the keyboard dock available. It's just that Google and the Android development community could learn a thing or two from webOS, starting with better multitasking support.
Okay, venting over. I feel much better now.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just using the Playbook at staples and it also has the browser multitask problem... when I open a bunch of tabs (cnn, bbc, globeandmail, espn, etc.) and go to another app, returning to the browser causes all tabs to refresh - it's actually worse than on android because at least on android the tabs can remain "active" without the need to refresh SOME to MOST of the time.
So the illusion of multitasking remains on all mobile os's.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Multitasking means services running in the background. Which Android can, and does do. It does not mean having every single process and application running live in the background(who wants that anyways? not even windows does multi tasking like that anymore.).
JCopernicus said:
Multitasking means services running in the background. Which Android can, and does do. It does not mean having every single process and application running live in the background(who wants that anyways? not even windows does multi tasking like that anymore.).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, light services that check for certain notifications is one thing, but apps that were run in the last 5 minutes should not close so quickly. In the meantime, I have a lot of services running and taking up memory that I DON'T want - I wish there was a way to adjust what apps stay in the memory (and which never load automatically), even if it does mean having to manually manage memory usage, I would rather it truly multitask than "fake it".
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Apps don't close, they are hibernated. If an app restarts from zero, it's a problem of the developer not implementing their save states properly. (I believe engadget app is notorious for this).
The concept of "closing" an app doesn't really exist. The closest thing is a force close, which is just removing it from memory.
There are a few apps that allow you tweak the thresholds, but they require root if I remember correctly.
Maybe even if it could use some of the 16/32 GB storage as a swap file it would help. It wouldn't slow the system down much since it's not on a magnetic platter like on a PC. I'd gladly give up a gig or two of my 32GB for a swap file if it meant the apps (or browser tabs) I was working with wouldn't get unloaded from memory while I was using them.
Mutnat said:
Maybe even if it could use some of the 16/32 GB storage as a swap file it would help. It wouldn't slow the system down much since it's not on a magnetic platter like on a PC. I'd gladly give up a gig or two of my 32GB for a swap file if it meant the apps (or browser tabs) I was working with wouldn't get unloaded from memory while I was using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Archos did this on their 256mb ram devices (added 32mb swap I believe). It did absolutely nothing on those devices, but maybe a gig or two would make a difference. I'm willing to sacrifice some battery life and speed for a true multitasking device.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
JCopernicus said:
Apps don't close, they are hibernated. If an app restarts from zero, it's a problem of the developer not implementing their save states properly. (I believe engadget app is notorious for this).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you, and I do wish Quickoffice and Polaris Office would handle this correctly. That's really my only concern with Android, that these apps lose edits and new text with frustrating regularity.
illusion multitasking ? lol
want to see fake multitasking ,look at ios,it fakes it. but android is pure multitasking. multitasking allows app to still running and finish it's process in the background. try open a browser,load a rich content page, change to other app,wait for few second n backt to browser,the page should be loaded.
case when ur app won't continue from previous state just because android has its own way to kill processes, this is merely due to memory management.
xufuchang said:
illusion multitasking ? lol
want to see fake multitasking ,look at ios,it fakes it. but android is pure multitasking. multitasking allows app to still running and finish it's process in the background. try open a browser,load a rich content page, change to other app,wait for few second n backt to browser,the page should be loaded.
case when ur app won't continue from previous state just because android has its own way to kill processes, this is merely due to memory management.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the point is, if I return to the browser more than just a few seconds later, it restarts and then reloads all my tabs - this isn't multitasking. With the amount of RAM we have on these devices, apps shouldn't be closing so aggressively - and worse yet, apps that I don't want in memory shouldn't be taking RAM away from important 'active' apps!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
EP2008 said:
But the point is, if I return to the browser more than just a few seconds later, it restarts and then reloads all my tabs - this isn't multitasking. With the amount of RAM we have on these devices, apps shouldn't be closing so aggressively - and worse yet, apps that I don't want in memory shouldn't be taking RAM away from important 'active' apps!
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes some apps just buggy, even honehcomb itself isn't perfect. but multitasking sure is working in android.
wynand32 said:
By far the best multitasking mobile OS is webOS. If a card is open and is anything other than a video, then it's running in the background unless the developer specifically codes it to suspend. Since I switched to Android, this is the one thing I miss the most about webOS.
For me, the only problem with how Android multitasks is with Quickoffice and Polaris Office. Try this: create a new document, add some text, and then start switching back and forth between it and other apps. Eventually (sometimes immediately) you'll return to a blank document, with no way to retrieve any edits. It's the same for a document that's been saved, and really limits how an Android device can be used to write long-form pieces while doing other things. Basically, you have to save every time before you switch to a different app (say, to look up some research).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like a design flaw in the applications. What happens when you switch to another application is the application being pushed into the background receives an OnPause() event. The application should handle this event by saving the user context in a manner that ensure no loss of data (ex write to the drive) and free resources. When you make the application the active you move it to the top of the activity stack and the app receives and OnResume() event. The app should handle this event by restoring the user context to the saved state.
This is all very well documented in the Android API along with the expectations of the actions the application should take. However, a developer can choose to ignore the recommendations.
jerrykur said:
That sounds like a design flaw in the applications. What happens when you switch to another application is the application being pushed into the background receives an OnPause() event. The application should handle this event by saving the user context in a manner that ensure no loss of data (ex write to the drive) and free resources. When you make the application the active you move it to the top of the activity stack and the app receives and OnResume() event. The app should handle this event by restoring the user context to the saved state.
This is all very well documented in the Android API along with the expectations of the actions the application should take. However, a developer can choose to ignore the recommendations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation. I'm surprised then that these particular apps are having the problem--I mean, Quickoffice should know better, right?
Well, I've reported the issue, perhaps they'll resolve it.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Can someone clarify this for me... (as I am used to Windows).
Let say I will start task like zip/unzip of a file/files or download of a file from the net. Can I do something different in the meantime and wait for the task to finish in the background?
Hi,
I likes to use Weather and twitter,FB apps of Win8.But hot to close them after opening them?I have to go to Task manager to kill them.
When i go to task manager there was Suspended written in left side of Application name.
What does it indicate?
What is difference between Suspend & Killing??
Sorry for Bad English
My basic understanding is that it is sort of like a mobile OS (Android, iOS...). Suspended apps are kept in RAM for quick resume but not actively processed. They can also be cleared from memory automatically as soon as it is needed for something else. In theory, you shouldn't have to worry about it, just let it do it's own thing. In practice, task manager is there if something goes wrong.
Correct, Supended apps are held in memory, but they do not use any processor nor do they have any effect on battery life. Very effecient way of multitasking like Windows Phone 7.5.
someone tweeted about it to Sam Moreau in channel9.
and he explained people have to stop thinking about "closing" an app and have to close apps to get your computer work fast. of course they have to tweak it.
and difference with killing, its apps are suspended so they eat some memory but its not like it will kill your memory.
with all apps suspended and all, still I use like 10-15% less memory than windows 7. which is amazing
This is not completely true. Several days ago, I was playing with Windows 8 and I have noticed that it got significantly slower. So I opened a task manager and weather app was using 60% of the CPU. In background. I am not sure, what was doing but I guess that it was drawing weather animation?
Also another drawback is that you cannot control what is in "app switching menu". You just have to keep sliding apps to the right and hope that you find one you are looking for. Apps you don't need don't close and apps you do need might suspend/close.
matejdro said:
This is not completely true. Several days ago, I was playing with Windows 8 and I have noticed that it got significantly slower. So I opened a task manager and weather app was using 60% of the CPU. In background. I am not sure, what was doing but I guess that it was drawing weather animation?
Also another drawback is that you cannot control what is in "app switching menu". You just have to keep sliding apps to the right and hope that you find one you are looking for. Apps you don't need don't close and apps you do need might suspend/close.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But its because its Dev Preview. and remember these apps are just place holders to have something to show in windows 8. its not like they will be there in the end, since they aren't optimized for example.
so the point is... you will not have to close the app. but since its a dev preview it will have problems. sometimes i cant even type here in IE desktop because it gets slow i guess for the spellchecker. and it wont stay that way in the end, they are fixing all this stuff, adding new features and making awesome apps for stuff like photos, people, messenger hub. stuff like that. but these apps you see like [email protected] and weather are just placeholders.
also developers have to optimize everything for their apps.
and the apps switching is for tablets, the swipe thing. you only click on the left of your screen and it goes to next app. if you pause a second and click again you will go back to your last app. also you can use scroll wheel. and alt+tab and win+tab. and ctrl+win+tab, ctrl+alt+tab.
so you don't have to think these apps you got in dev preview are going to be in RTM or beta. and apps will not be optimized to run nicely (like they do in WP7).
this OS needs work and it will have alot of bugs.