Getting ready to get my first Android phone

[SonicSteve]

Extra ram for what though? Just to have free ram?
If an application needs the ram, then Android will close a sleeping (running background program) to free up the ram.
That's how Android works.

Perhaps it's the CPU power needed, I'm not sure. I know that killing the apps will give a performance boost. It's noticeable.

[Merk42]

Perhaps it's the CPU power needed, I'm not sure. I know that killing the apps will give a performance boost. It's noticeable.

or placebo

[SonicSteve]

or placebo

I have a chinese Epad tablet and I can say with all certainty that Angry birds plays choppy before I kill tasks. After the tasks are killed it's much better. Believe it or not I'm telling you my experience, I can't help that it doesn't line up with your theory.

I would imagine that it has more to do with inferior CPU's that can't keep up with the way Android wants to manage things. Each task needs CPU time to operate, they each sync up with servers as they see fit, that requires CPU time. On an Android device with adequate CPU power I think your theory holds true. On inferior devices however having a task killer is needed.

[forrestcupp]

I have a chinese Epad tablet and I can say with all certainty that Angry birds plays choppy before I kill tasks. After the tasks are killed it's much better.

Can't really argue with that.

[cptrohn]

Ok found my first really useful App the other day.... a WiFi analyzer, its actually pretty darn slick and we used it to do some WiFi mapping at a local church where we are doing some volunteer networking stuff...

Much nicer to use that signal meter on the cell phone instead of lugging the laptop around the building doing it..