running applications vs memory usage

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sqlpro

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#93461 22-Nov-2011 07:06

Hi
am new to android and hoping someone clarify this for me. I always thought only running applications consume memory ,is that correct ?

reason am asking is my phone(samsung galaxy s) uses memory almost 90% all the time. i open the task manager and see that no running applications but when i open battery usage application i see some applications listed that are not in running applications ! whats that mean ?

in my case i installed couple of apps ,one of them ,norton utilities which is not in the running applications but is in memory usage list!.

Thanks for the advise.

jeffnz

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#548224 22-Nov-2011 08:31

Task managert won't show all the Samsung apps running, co to settings, applications, running services which will give you an idea of what is really running.

Being a smartphone unless you have data switched off in settings it will be logging in to check emails, facebook etc etc which will in turn use battery resources.

Galaxy S10

Garmin Fenix 5

sqlpro

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#548241 22-Nov-2011 09:07

jeffnz: Task managert won't show all the Samsung apps running, co to settings, applications, running services which will give you an idea of what is really running.

Being a smartphone unless you have data switched off in settings it will be logging in to check emails, facebook etc etc which will in turn use battery resources.

Thanks Jeff. and thats what confusing most. the lists shown dont match. i mean "running serives" option does not list "dictionary" app where as norton utilities lists it as a running service !

timmmay

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#548246 22-Nov-2011 09:15

Short version: don't worry about it. Android manages memory for you.

Long version: Android only removes things from memory when the memory's needed. That means switching back to recently used applications is faster, especially since they're all Java apps and Java startup time includes the VM startup. I used a task killer for a while, but it didn't help anything. So, in short, don't worry about it.

sqlpro

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#548274 22-Nov-2011 10:06

thanks timmmay, that's comforting :)