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Android rather disappoints me:
Applications are left running?:
Why? What was going through the head of the operating systems developers? The Android operating system needs to place a standard "X" button at the top right of the screen or FORCE all applications to have a "EXIT AND CLOSE" option in the apps menu. I can see the intended application of this serious lack of natural closing of applications; it integrates nicely with the back button, that's about it. Your applications are left running on the chance you may want to navigate back through their states via the back button.
If you've never used an Android phone or tablet, let me draw you an analogy. Imagine using your choice of operating system (OS for short) on a computer, and not being able to close applications after you are through with them. Let me propose the following scenario:
Now before you say anything about having the need to keep ___ application open for notifications, the argument is moot because notifications are checked by a service, so there is no need to leave the apps open.
Now, Android applications programmed by a smart programmer(s) will automatically close when they go idle. However, as it stands, there is no method managed/provided by the OS for closing these applications after you are through with them. That means there is no close button at the top right of the window, no task-bar to right click and close, only a task-manager which requires an excessive amount of clicks to close a single application. Instead you have to download a 3rd party application to ease this process.
Installed application services:If you've never used an Android phone or tablet, let me draw you an analogy. Imagine using your choice of operating system (OS for short) on a computer, and not being able to close applications after you are through with them. Let me propose the following scenario:
You're browsing the web, have 3 tabs open. Feel like checking your email, open your email app up. Reply to an email you received. Bored and need to kill a few minutes so you play a round of solitaire. Get on ___ instant messaging application. Colleague comes in: open up ___ office application to review a document and finalize it.
Returning to your desktop, on the android your web-browser with 3 tabs open, email application, instant messaging application, solitaire, and office application are all still up and running in the background.Now before you say anything about having the need to keep ___ application open for notifications, the argument is moot because notifications are checked by a service, so there is no need to leave the apps open.
Now, Android applications programmed by a smart programmer(s) will automatically close when they go idle. However, as it stands, there is no method managed/provided by the OS for closing these applications after you are through with them. That means there is no close button at the top right of the window, no task-bar to right click and close, only a task-manager which requires an excessive amount of clicks to close a single application. Instead you have to download a 3rd party application to ease this process.
I suppose the software developers are more to blame for this, but the Android OS ultimately is the one which equips (and encourages) software developers to have data collecting services for their applications.
For example, I got the PayPal app thinking "sure I might use this ONCE a month." However simply having the PayPal application installed has a service running in the background sucking up memory, but for what?
Sure it may not be much, but they add up quick. Real quick. Hell my old HTC Touch did not freeze up, lockup, and slug like my current Droid. And for me, a serious windows (and especially windows mobile) HATER to say that, truly says something.
NEARLY EVERYTHING has a service:
For example, I got the PayPal app thinking "sure I might use this ONCE a month." However simply having the PayPal application installed has a service running in the background sucking up memory, but for what?
Sure it may not be much, but they add up quick. Real quick. Hell my old HTC Touch did not freeze up, lockup, and slug like my current Droid. And for me, a serious windows (and especially windows mobile) HATER to say that, truly says something.
NEARLY EVERYTHING has a service:
- Blink 2.7mb
- background services using up memory to check if it needs to inform you that your low on memory....
- Dictionary.com 2.9
- ICE 1.7
- Paypal
- what on earth could this be doing?
- Advanced task killer 14mb
- Lookout 2x 4.6mb total
- Switch-pro widget 2.6mb
- battery watcher
- Weather 5.9mb
- Not sure what this does, definitly not check for weather updates, as they are NEVER up-to-date when I check the weather widigit...
- Backup assistant
- I wish this app would burn in a firey pit. The concept of the Android centrializes most of your important data in your google account. So what this app does is usless because Google does it for you. Though this may be an app used by Google for that purpose, if it is, thats utterly stupid. I expect Google syncs when you make changes (ex: add a contact), which is how it should be done. Not a service running in the background to constantly check if you need to sync.
- News, 3 services 6.9mb
- I do not have any news widgets or anything news related, so this is utterly wasting memory.
- Motorola photowidget
- Don't use it, yet it its sucking up memory.
- Skype
My only guess to this is that Google was forced to allow phone/tablet manufacturers to deny customers root privileges on their devices, when the manufacturers saw the potential for free advertising. My best example of this is: imagine buying a laptop or a prebuilt PC, which came with preinstalled software like Norton Antivirus, Yahoo instant messenger, AIM, and a whole bunch of other junk you do not really want. The kicker: you cannot uninstall the applications or disable the applications from autostarting. So they (the applications) and/or their services are always running, bogging your phone down. The best part is, they are advertisinal software: Pre-installed on your phone for the single purpose of encouraging you to buy the full application OR pay-to-use service the application offers. That is to say, its not even software you will always use, its software, you MIGHT use and if you choose to do so, HAVE to pay for (with the exception of Skype, which does have pay to use features, however does have some free features [skype to skype calling and chat]).
For example one verison the droidx comes preinstalled with:
My phone was rooted, sure. I am a Linux user, I breath software freedom, so naturally. The first thing I did after rooting was to thoroughly enjoy deleting the applications which had been forced upon me. However, later down the road, Motorola released an update for the platform. I shortly learned the success of these updates is dependent upon having the manufacturer installed applications still installed. So upon trying to apply the update, the update failed during the process, always yielding my phone in a state between platform versions: royally botched. I.E. I could receive some calls, and those I did, I could not hear the caller nor could they ever hear me. The fix for this, was a ROYAL, finger crossing pain. Since I did not have the files for the applications I removed to restore them for the update.
All of the aforementioned pet-peves summate into a phone that runs depressingly slow for such a powerful device. Truly, truly an embarrassment to the Linux community.For example one verison the droidx comes preinstalled with:
- Blockbuster
- Skype
- Don't get me wrong, I love Skype and probably use it more than 90% of people that use Skype (let alone just regular Android users... perhaps this is why i dislike it?). There are many features of Skype on the Android which drive me insane. For example, the inability to customize notifications. Now say you have Skype on your PC, and chat a lot. Well you're going to get super delayed notifications of your chat on your phone, in patches, LONG after you've had the conversation. Each chat message results in a notification, which your phone syncs in batches, grabbing only X lines per each sync. That means if you had a chat longer than X lines, you'll only get a part of it on your phone, and will get the rest later. At this point, I would rather disable Skype on my phone than get 60 notifications of hour-old (if not day-old) chats every X minutes. But I cannot because Motorola dictated it so.
- Verizon Navigator
- A pay-to-use service, that royally sucks. Best part, Android comes with Google Maps and beta navigator, which ARE FREE and royally kick the snot out of Verizon Navigator. Why any sane person would want it is beyond me.
- "My Verizon Mobile"
- City Id
- Madden NFL 11
- Media Share
- Fm radio
My phone was rooted, sure. I am a Linux user, I breath software freedom, so naturally. The first thing I did after rooting was to thoroughly enjoy deleting the applications which had been forced upon me. However, later down the road, Motorola released an update for the platform. I shortly learned the success of these updates is dependent upon having the manufacturer installed applications still installed. So upon trying to apply the update, the update failed during the process, always yielding my phone in a state between platform versions: royally botched. I.E. I could receive some calls, and those I did, I could not hear the caller nor could they ever hear me. The fix for this, was a ROYAL, finger crossing pain. Since I did not have the files for the applications I removed to restore them for the update.
Finally, considering Linux's axiom of open source, the Android OS has many close source sections. Many of these sections are ones which have dictated a necessity for customization at the OS level. For example, locking process (and buttons) of your phone when entering an existing locked. Making it very, very difficult for apps to override/step into this process. Many preinstalled apps.
For example car dock:
I've boasted about maps.google.com on the PC for a while now. So of course I was looking forward to selling my Garmin after I got my droidx. Well this is not the case. There's a huge buzz kill if you want to use your droidx for music and navigation. If your in navigation mode, you cannot change the song playing, without exiting the navigation mod. Which means after you change the song, you have to reconfigure and input your destination, hope your not driving while doing this because the process is anything but user friendly.
I would love to extend the alarm app on the Android, just ever so much, and allow the Android to randomly select an mp3 to play from a selection, instead of always playing the same song. Also a side note: I've had days when the alarm fails to go off (luckily I have a backup alarm, ie: a physical old school alarm clock that goes off 10 minutes after my Android alarm should have gone off). Hours later, I look at my notifications and come to find the alarms been asleep for several HOURS. Which is strange considering that my sleep time is only 5 minutes... But I cannot extend this, because its not open source AND I cannot replace this application with another application for features at a system level; instead you have to override everything to mimic similar functionality.
I suppose this is done for security, because people are evidently (from windows) incapable of filtering the applications they install for virus's. Then there's always the fact that Android uses java... don't get me started about that.I would love to extend the alarm app on the Android, just ever so much, and allow the Android to randomly select an mp3 to play from a selection, instead of always playing the same song. Also a side note: I've had days when the alarm fails to go off (luckily I have a backup alarm, ie: a physical old school alarm clock that goes off 10 minutes after my Android alarm should have gone off). Hours later, I look at my notifications and come to find the alarms been asleep for several HOURS. Which is strange considering that my sleep time is only 5 minutes... But I cannot extend this, because its not open source AND I cannot replace this application with another application for features at a system level; instead you have to override everything to mimic similar functionality.
All in all, VERY disappointed and I'm not hopeful because fixes would require major redirection....
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