[INFO] So you want to buy a smart phone? Some platform comparison

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335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#563284 31-Dec-2011 16:40

alasta:
I have started making a habit of clearing out background apps from time to time (which is actually a bit of an annoying chore) but I'm not convinced that it's made any difference. You make a good point though that it would be worth checking which apps are running each time a crash occurs - I'll give that a try.

Unfortunately it's hard to really know which apps are actually 'running' in the background anyway. It's my understanding that when you double-tap the home button the active apps that appear are not necessarily doing anything unless there is some specific thread of activity that the app is designed to perform in the background.

I was hoping that there may be some hardware self check app available, but I suspect that App Store rules may prevent apps from making low level hardware calls. I'll do some research on that anyway.

This is something that really annoys me about iOS. I regularly have people bring their iPhones to me asking why it's freezing or crashing. 99% of the time it's because they have pretty much all the applications open/suspended/cached.

When double tapping the home key there's usually 20+ applications in there and I have found it causes various issues. I don't use an iPhone myself (not as my regular phone at least), but I have seen issues such as the dialler not working, touchscreen becoming unresponsive, unable to send text messages, gallery not displaying photos correctly, and a few others. Clearing out the running/suspended apps almost always fixes the issue.

I have an iPhone 4 that I have refurbished and just have for modding and playing around with. I installed an activator command to clear out the background applications. I have it mapped to the volume down key, so I just hold down on that and it clears all of them. Probably THE most useful mod I have put on it so far.

codyc1515

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#563285 31-Dec-2011 16:43

uglyb0b:
alasta:
I have started making a habit of clearing out background apps from time to time (which is actually a bit of an annoying chore) but I'm not convinced that it's made any difference. You make a good point though that it would be worth checking which apps are running each time a crash occurs - I'll give that a try.

Unfortunately it's hard to really know which apps are actually 'running' in the background anyway. It's my understanding that when you double-tap the home button the active apps that appear are not necessarily doing anything unless there is some specific thread of activity that the app is designed to perform in the background.

I was hoping that there may be some hardware self check app available, but I suspect that App Store rules may prevent apps from making low level hardware calls. I'll do some research on that anyway.

This is something that really annoys me about iOS. I regularly have people bring their iPhones to me asking why it's freezing or crashing. 99% of the time it's because they have pretty much all the applications open/suspended/cached.

When double tapping the home key there's usually 20+ applications in there and I have found it causes various issues. I don't use an iPhone myself (not as my regular phone at least), but I have seen issues such as the dialler not working, touchscreen becoming unresponsive, unable to send text messages, gallery not displaying photos correctly, and a few others. Clearing out the running/suspended apps almost always fixes the issue.

I have an iPhone 4 that I have refurbished and just have for modding and playing around with. I installed an activator command to clear out the background applications. I have it mapped to the volume down key, so I just hold down on that and it clears all of them. Probably THE most useful mod I have put on it so far.

Surely this would be because the device is running out of memory, right? If so, just save the devices ram into flash after it hasn't been used for x amount of time or x amounts of apps are being used "con-currently".

CdTDroiD

869 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#563287 31-Dec-2011 16:48

my iPhone 4S used to crash to. In my opinion I think its a kernel (CPU) issue because iOS5 was made on iPhone 4 with a single core. When iPhone 4S came out I think the CPU table goes to low when the screen sleeps and it can't wake up again. Although not everyone is experiencing this issue

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toyonut

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#563288 31-Dec-2011 16:49

I would have to say that there are a ton of points that make each phone good, but I think now that since updates ala windows, mac and linux are the norm for everybody, microsoft and apple hold the upper hand for now. They both control the software and Apple and to a certain extent Microsoft, control the hardware. Some android manufacturers like Samsung and HTC put out solid regular updates, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

This means you know what you are getting and it will be consistently fast and workable. I think with the latest hardware specs for ICS, we will see less and less low end devices for android. Nexus S should be the slowest phone to get it officially. Slow phones will use GingerBread for a while, but phones like the 8150, x1, p350 and 858 wont happen next year.

My advice would be to skip the low end androids as they give a bad impression of android. They can be tweaked to get them running right, but your average user cant and wont do that, they just wont buy android next time.
Minimum spec I would look at is true 600mhz+, 3.2 inch+ screen, 320*240+pixel screen, and capacitive screen, you can easily get something this spec for $200-$250 and make sure it runs Gingerbread at a minimum because it is unlikely to get an update if it is still running froyo (2.2) now. Phones like the X3 and p500 should be the minimum for android. If you have/want to spend low, buy a nokia feature phone instead.

If you want updates, look to spend $350 up and look at recognised phone manufacturers like samsung, htc, LG etc. Huawei have a poor track record of updates, but their hardware is good. Look for 3.5 inch+ screen, 800mhz+ and Gingerbread (2.3). Think Galaxy ace, wildfire S, but try go higher now, Nexus S and Galaxy S are solid mid range phones now and comparable to the iphone 4.

More than $6-700 you are looking at high end phones, Lots of choice here, but look for screen you like, dual core, guaranteed updates to ICS. If you are paying this much get what you like, you have to pay for it and use it so you must enjoy it. Iphone 4 falls into this price range, but is outclassed by it's android and windows mobile competitors in my opinion. It is still nice, but other phones will be better hardware wise and you just choose what you want feature and looks wise.

That I am aware of, there is no phone bar the iphone 4s that costs above $1000 outright so it still sits along at the top of the price pyramid. Something like a Galaxy S2 should be comparable to the 4s is spec and costs a little less, but if you want an iphone, then often nothing else will do! Get the 4s and be happy.

I can only speak for iphone and android as they are the only ones I have experience with. That said, windows mobile looks really cool. I am just sold on the android integration with gmail etc, everything syncs on the move and back to my desktop at home. It is too easy.

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uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#563302 31-Dec-2011 17:17

codyc1515:
uglyb0b:
alasta:
I have started making a habit of clearing out background apps from time to time (which is actually a bit of an annoying chore) but I'm not convinced that it's made any difference. You make a good point though that it would be worth checking which apps are running each time a crash occurs - I'll give that a try.

Unfortunately it's hard to really know which apps are actually 'running' in the background anyway. It's my understanding that when you double-tap the home button the active apps that appear are not necessarily doing anything unless there is some specific thread of activity that the app is designed to perform in the background.

I was hoping that there may be some hardware self check app available, but I suspect that App Store rules may prevent apps from making low level hardware calls. I'll do some research on that anyway.

This is something that really annoys me about iOS. I regularly have people bring their iPhones to me asking why it's freezing or crashing. 99% of the time it's because they have pretty much all the applications open/suspended/cached.

When double tapping the home key there's usually 20+ applications in there and I have found it causes various issues. I don't use an iPhone myself (not as my regular phone at least), but I have seen issues such as the dialler not working, touchscreen becoming unresponsive, unable to send text messages, gallery not displaying photos correctly, and a few others. Clearing out the running/suspended apps almost always fixes the issue.

I have an iPhone 4 that I have refurbished and just have for modding and playing around with. I installed an activator command to clear out the background applications. I have it mapped to the volume down key, so I just hold down on that and it clears all of them. Probably THE most useful mod I have put on it so far.

Surely this would be because the device is running out of memory, right? If so, just save the devices ram into flash after it hasn't been used for x amount of time or x amounts of apps are being used "con-currently".

I'm not a developer, I just installed the activator application from Cydia. I haven't found anything that does what you described, but then again I haven't specifically looked.

To be honest that sounds like something that the phone should do as a default. I don't know if it does or not, but I do know that the iPhone's "multitasking" has been described as a pause/suspend style rather than proper multitasking, so this is probably why it doesn't do that (if it doesn't).

Technofreak

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#563364 31-Dec-2011 21:02

Great idea to have a thread giving information on the in and outs of buying a smart phone however as other have said your opening post was certainly very pro Android without really being objective. That spoils your credibility.

So far as OS choices go it different strokes for different folks, you even miss out two major players in the smartphone market, Blackberry and Nokia.

One problem for most first time smart phone buyers is they don't really know what they want in a smart phone unless they've had a good long term play with one and even then it's not till you start to live with the device do you really find what you want/need. Very often the first purchase ends up being a guinea pig in that this is the device where you actually learn what you want in a smart phone.

I would suggest that most people cannot be bothered playing around with the OS. Geekzoners are probably the exception when it comes to phones. It's a bit like hotting up your car. Of all the cars on the road how many owners spend time hotting them up. Percentage wise very few. The same applies to phones. Most people just want to take it out of the box and for it to be reliable and functional.

The best advice I think anyone can give to a prospective smart phone purchaser is to think about what features/functions they are likely to use. Be it camera, email, GPS, bluetooth, calendar/schedular, navigation, games, music, social networking etc. Also what else is important, battery life, how well the phone works in a marginal coverage area, WiFi capability, mass storage capability, physical keyboard, email security, integration with other services like Gmail, Windows Live. Outlook etc.

Once these questions are answered then you can start narrowing down your choices.

Personally I think as far as the app store battle is concerned most apps are over rated, there's a few good ones and generally they or similar ones are available for most OS's, in my mind certainly not a reason to buy or not buy a device unless there is that one killer app that no one else has.

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Damager

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#563369 31-Dec-2011 22:52

Technofreak: Great idea to have a thread giving information on the in and outs of buying a smart phone however as other have said your opening post was certainly very pro Android without really being objective. That spoils your credibility.

It's rough to say the OP's credibility has been spoiled. It's his first time making a post of this kind. No doubt, the OP will be updated with appropriate information.

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alasta

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#563426 1-Jan-2012 10:32

uglyb0b: This is something that really annoys me about iOS. I regularly have people bring their iPhones to me asking why it's freezing or crashing. 99% of the time it's because they have pretty much all the applications open/suspended/cached.

When double tapping the home key there's usually 20+ applications in there and I have found it causes various issues. I don't use an iPhone myself (not as my regular phone at least), but I have seen issues such as the dialler not working, touchscreen becoming unresponsive, unable to send text messages, gallery not displaying photos correctly, and a few others. Clearing out the running/suspended apps almost always fixes the issue.

I have an iPhone 4 that I have refurbished and just have for modding and playing around with. I installed an activator command to clear out the background applications. I have it mapped to the volume down key, so I just hold down on that and it clears all of them. Probably THE most useful mod I have put on it so far.

This is very interesting. It was always my understanding that iOS was effectively self-managing in terms of allocating resources to apps that need to perform some sort of function in the background. It sounds to me like Apple really need to either implement a feature like the hack that you have described, automate such a feature, or otherwise rethink their entire approach to multi-tasking.

Having to frequently look at the background apps and perform the fiddly process of closing them all down is not something that I expect from a "consumer friendly" OS.

uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#563447 1-Jan-2012 11:47

alasta:
Having to frequently look at the background apps and perform the fiddly process of closing them all down is not something that I expect from a "consumer friendly" OS.

My thoughts exactly. Every person I have shown this to had no idea that the phone was doing it or how to fix it. It doesn't make sense coming from Apple.

CdTDroiD

869 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#563512 1-Jan-2012 15:31

uglyb0b:
alasta:
Having to frequently look at the background apps and perform the fiddly process of closing them all down is not something that I expect from a "consumer friendly" OS.

My thoughts exactly. Every person I have shown this to had no idea that the phone was doing it or how to fix it. It doesn't make sense coming from Apple.

Really good point there, with the "new" multitasking it is totally up to the user to take care of it, Android and WP7 will end tasks when needed (usually) at the right times

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Technofreak

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#563524 1-Jan-2012 16:36

Damager:
It's rough to say the OP's credibility has been spoiled. It's his first time making a post of this kind. No doubt, the OP will be updated with appropriate information.

Oh, I thought I was being rather kind. You should see me when I'm not so kind

I think you must admit though that some bias shows through. Yes, for a first time attempt not too bad.

I hope he does update with appropriate information.

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CdTDroiD

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Ultimate Geek

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#563526 1-Jan-2012 16:39

Technofreak:
Damager:
It's rough to say the OP's credibility has been spoiled. It's his first time making a post of this kind. No doubt, the OP will be updated with appropriate information.

Oh, I thought I was being rather kind. You should see me when I'm not so kind I think you must admit though that some bias shows through. Yes, for a first time attempt not too bad.

I hope he does update with appropriate information.

lol, this is appropriate information, the "INFO" is correct. Like i said mate.. a few times now, im not looking for credibility, im just trying to pass on some information

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Technofreak

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#563553 1-Jan-2012 17:50

CdTDroiD:
lol, this is appropriate information, the "INFO" is correct. Like i said mate.. a few times now, im not looking for credibility, im just trying to pass on some information

Sounds like I've offended you, if so I'm sorry.

I was trying to be constructive, my point was; for your information to be useful you need to have credibility.

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CdTDroiD

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Ultimate Geek

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#563554 1-Jan-2012 17:52

Technofreak:
CdTDroiD:
lol, this is appropriate information, the "INFO" is correct. Like i said mate.. a few times now, im not looking for credibility, im just trying to pass on some information

Sounds like I've offended you, if so I'm sorry.

I was trying to be constructive, my point was; for your information to be useful you need to have credibility.

Not really, my info is correct its up to the reader to believe it or not. If its not a fact i have said "In my opinion" and if you want credibility Google my username ;)

I dont see why i should be defending myself about credibility anyway lol, read it or dont i dont mind ;) Actually probably the main reason i wrote it is because i just got my first pair of glasses and i wanted to see how long i could go without getting a head ache lol.

So again, please stop going on about credibility, your making it way to much of an issue. Id rather just take it down. I dont think my credibility has ever been questioned on XDA Developers or the 100s of thousands of people trusting me with there phones

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alasta

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#563567 1-Jan-2012 19:05

CdTDroiD:
uglyb0b: My thoughts exactly. Every person I have shown this to had no idea that the phone was doing it or how to fix it. It doesn't make sense coming from Apple.

Really good point there, with the "new" multitasking it is totally up to the user to take care of it, Android and WP7 will end tasks when needed (usually) at the right times

Based on what I've heard previously and what others have suggested here I don't think that this is strictly correct. It's my understanding that iOS is supposed to withdraw system resources from any app that doesn't need to perform any further actions, hence effectively shutting the app down even though it will still appear in the 'double-tap' menu. So, in theory the multitasking environment shouldn't require any user intervention but in practice this doesn't actually seem to be the case, and I wonder if it's because of poorly written third party apps unnecessarily demanding system resources when they're idle.

It would be interesting if someone with a technical background in iOS could clarify this.

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