Android, Task Killers and Performance

Many Android users are made to believe (by some "so-called technicians" and bloggers) that in order to speed up their android device or to lengthen its battery life they need to use a task-killer of some sort...NOT TRUE!!

Android is not Microsoft Windows where you can run out of RAM.  On a Microsoft Windows computer the more programs you have running at one time the slower your computer gets  therefore, by simply closing the applications you’re not using will help speed up your Windows computer.

Well, Android is not Windows and does not manage processes/resources like Windows would (or would not) .  When you leave or back out of an Android app by returning to your home screen or switching to another app, the app that you backed out of stays “running” in the background.  In most cases, Android will freeze/pause the app in the background.  This means that the app will no longer be using up CPU resources (unless it is an app like your music player, or email clients that plays or syncs in the background).  Then when you return to the app you were recently using, Android simply “unfreezes/unpauses” that app and you resume where you left off quickly.  This is fast because the app is still stored in your RAM and ready to be used again.

So you see, not only will the Task Killer do nothing for your precious battery life, but most of them are designed to solve problems that do not actually exist (for instance running out of RAM on your Android device - something that the OS is designed to handle once the version of android you are running on the device is recommended for the device). 

If perchance however you do experience a performance boost with a task killer, it is most likely because you're killing a task/app that has either malfunctioned or has gone "crazy" (in which case it would make more sense to just reboot your device) OR because you've downloaded and installed a poorly designed/written application (in which case the best thing to do is to uninstall it). 

Truth be told Task killers can often cause more problems on your device than they will actually solve and as a result should only be used if you're using a very, very old android device with very, very outdated software.

Personally I hate task killers and have never recommended them to anyone.  Android has evolved to the point now where these apps are null and void...did I hear someone say ICS or Jelly Bean?