Hi
I'm currently having problem with apps they are auto opening themselves.
Sometimes at startup when I open my open and use Helix/ADW all launcher manu apps are open automatically. It eats like 50MB of memory and battery.
And even while my screen turns off it opens app. I was sleeping and my screen is turn off/sleep and I check task panel it got apps open even the screen is lock.
Got No Idea on this. Why my apps are auto opening.
And do I need to debrand?
I just got a unit Unlocked
X10i
Baseband 1.0.14
Build Number R1FA014
Kernel 2.6.29-rel [email protected]#2
Do I really need to debrand?
Does it reset my phone and my settings/apps will be deleted?
TIA
It's not the X10, it's an Android thing.
Then how to get rid of this auto opening app? I never exp. this on 1.5 and 2.1 on my HTC Hero just on this 1.6
Get Automatic Task Killer or something similar, and set it to kill apps on open...if you find the apps opening affects your performance.
Also, if they're apps that sync with a service, make sure all syncing is off, or they'll keep coming up anyway, to try to sync with the cloud.
as a personal anecdote, once I stopped using task killers, the phone started running more stable and quicker.
So Task killers are not good?
I check my Task Panel once i boot my phone tons of APPS are open
Like Bluetooth file transfer
SMS Backup and Restore
Email
Alarm Clock
Calender
Settings Voice Dialer
It opens on startup.
seriously I just boot up my phone and use ADW Launcher and those open up automatically? what does those do? for startup? there are tons more like 25 apps on startup. This thing is not good since I'll do task killing always even the phone is screen off. My phone is opening Voice Dialer Handsent SMS even though i dont have message or calls received.
It's like every min or hour I'll do task killing it kills battery
Well, Alarm Clock has to be on, so it knows when to go off... If you don't have any alarms set, delete all the alarms that are in it.
Email is on by default, since it's a smart phone. If you don't have an account set up, email won't sync, and thus, isn't really doing anything. Calendar will attempt to sync with google if you set it up, but if not, again, shouldn't be doing anything. SMS will start to monitor for incoming SMSes. A lot of services start so they're there when you try to start them up. Basically, anything that has to sync to the internet to update will start automatically.
If things like Photoshop Mobile or a game or something start up, those should be killed.
Stand alone apps that don't access the internet should have no business starting up on their own.
Some people on here claim task killers are great and help a lot... some claim they do nothing. I'm torn, because the phone feels a bit faster than when I used the task killer everytime I unlocked the phone. If your phone is new, cycle the battery a few times, and let it 'break in' and, eventually, the battery life should improve.
Thanks. I'm just a little bit worried that I'm not aware that there are many task opening with me noticing or knowing it and use much battery as I do.
Some apps open automatically
I know that apps auto close ok , here's its invers..
Any how use some task killers frequently to kill them....
Or just unistall them
.....:thumbup:
................................................................................................
Can somebody help me? I am running my xperia x8 and as i know since i rooted and got myself new rom i was wondering why my games work slow but after a little research i found out that official Facebook app is working in background so i unninstaled but now my question is is there someone who has some facebook app non-official which i can run without the problems?
PS: Sorry if spam on this thread but i cant make new threads on this app (or i can but i cannot figure it out)
Sent from my X8 using xda app-developers app
gr3yh0und said:
Thanks. I'm just a little bit worried that I'm not aware that there are many task opening with me noticing or knowing it and use much battery as I do.
Some apps open automatically
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android works by loading EVERYTHING it can into memory, up to a threshold and then removes apps from memory if they're not being used and memory is required for newly initiated applications.
Some apps have a terminate and stay resident approach and are seen as 'services' and they just stay active no matter what. Email, Calendars and status bar and etc never leave memory cause they're all waiting for there big moment, an email, an appointment, a finger touch etc.
Using a task killer doesn't really do anything, cause as soon as you 'kill' the process and the moment there is available memory again the process will just return to active/inactive memory because that's the way Android memory processing works.
If you have root access you can delete/freeze system apps you don't require.
A 'slim' Android v2.3 ROM shouldn't have more than approx 110 system apps. Less that 95 if you're good.
gr3yh0und said:
I check my Task Panel once i boot my phone tons of APPS are open
Like Bluetooth file transfer
SMS Backup and Restore
Email
Alarm Clock
Calender
Settings Voice Dialer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the apps you listed are system apps and will, by their nature find there way into memory all the time. That's just how it is.
After a few hours of use many of the non-used apps will drop out of memory and others will take their place.
Loading applications into memory has a time and processing cost and so if it's already in memory, it's quicker to access.
However the Android system doesn't know your usage traits at start-up and that's why some less used system applications may be seem in memory until they're weeded out by those you do use. Again, nothing to worry about,
Using an XPERIA X10i with ~384MB of memory leaves little room for bloatware and thus a lean running machine is the order of the day for the XPERIA X10i.
Related
Hey Everyone,
Just got my Droid Eris yesterday and I'm having fun exploring the phone and checking everything out.
One question, I noticed that many apps (in fact, almost all) don't have a direct "Quit" or "Exit" command. So I'm usually pressing "back" or "home" when I'm done with something. This left me wondering though... when I use "back" or "home", does the app actually exit? From what I can tell, it doesn't... so does the OS automatically clean up these apps from time to time? I came from WinMo 6.1, and it was irritating that everything defaulted to running in the background. How does Android treat it? Is there something special in this regard with the HTC Sense UI? I've seen there are some third-party task manager apps you can get... are they worth getting? Or just "let the phone do it's thing" and i will be fine?
Thanks!
I use a Task Manager from the Market called "Taskiller." But I'm still trying to figure out how the Hero handles the apps because sometimes it gets sluggish and taskiller helps out but then theres other times when I have all sorts of apps open and it runs smoothly, lol, I guess it just works sometimes.
I wonder if it's like the iPhone, where it kills the task when you hit the "Home" button. It doesn't seem like it, as some apps seem to just come up instantly when go back in them, as if I was "switching" to them, and no re-opening them...
false_apology said:
I wonder if it's like the iPhone, where it kills the task when you hit the "Home" button. It doesn't seem like it, as some apps seem to just come up instantly when go back in them, as if I was "switching" to them, and no re-opening them...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I dont think thats the case because Android has a special way of "Multitasking," though I'm not completely informed so you might have to research that on your own. But like I said download a Task Manager from the market so you can see how much available memory there is.
By default, Android applications never really "close" as their components can be called upon at any time. (Android applications are structured to be very modular, allowing individual components to be used from each.) When an application needs memory immediately, and another hasn't used it for a while, it shoves the old app into what's called swap space (presumably it's on your SD card) while the new one takes over. This is why you'll occasionally see a delay while performing a "hard" operation (like opening an app) while the system is under heavy load. That's the old app's memory getting written out to temporary storage and the other one taking it over.
At least this is my understanding of the situation.
From what I've heard Android (linux) does a much better job of managing the memory used by our apps. And, that we "...shouldn't have to use a task killer..." to close out apps that are running in the background, especially on our phones.
For instance, the myTouch 3G usually only gets about 20-30 MB of RAM freed after a full clean up of background apps, the Eris will have about 80+ MB after a cleanup and they both feel about the same to me.
I still use Task Panel to close my apps sometimes because I just like starting fresh in an app from time to time. Also if things start getting fishy (screen stuttering, touch screen not working properly) I'll kill all running apps to see if it fixes the problem which in some cases it just does not and a reboot is still required.
I have found that by holding the home key it will bring up all the apps so you can switch to the one that you want so it is still running them in the background.
refthemc said:
I use a Task Manager from the Market called "Taskiller." But I'm still trying to figure out how the Hero handles the apps because sometimes it gets sluggish and taskiller helps out but then theres other times when I have all sorts of apps open and it runs smoothly, lol, I guess it just works sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use a Task application called Task Manager. It gives lists of all Applications running, all process and even has an uninstall feature. It also has a auto end application feature but on my eris it's greyed out(maybe Pro only?)
Here are a couple of links that I found on this subject. Don't mind that it says Hero in the thread title it talks about android phones in general. Also something to look into once we get the Eris rooted in the second link.
Task Managers and your Hero by romeosidvicious @androidforums.com
How to configure Android's *internal* taskkiller by androcheck @xda-developers.com
So I downloaded the free version of system panel just to get an idea of whats running on my phone, since the default task manager isn't too accurate.
after a restart i have a bunch of random things. for example, calendar storage (dont use the calendar at all), maps (i havent opened it yet), media hub (never use this), Messaging (i use handscent).
i remember how i used to have an app killer to end these things but from what i've learned most people believe app killers waste more battery than they save? and that at this point android is good on ending processes on it's own?
how come these random things are running?
basically i wanna save battery life. i use SuperPower but it's kinda annoying tbh. data disable when screen off = gotta keep my screen on for market to update apps, fb chat to keep running/stay online, etc.
any suggestions?
darkness122 said:
So I downloaded the free version of system panel just to get an idea of whats running on my phone, since the default task manager isn't too accurate.
after a restart i have a bunch of random things. for example, calendar storage (dont use the calendar at all), maps (i havent opened it yet), media hub (never use this), Messaging (i use handscent).
i remember how i used to have an app killer to end these things but from what i've learned most people believe app killers waste more battery than they save? and that at this point android is good on ending processes on it's own?
how come these random things are running?
basically i wanna save battery life. i use SuperPower but it's kinda annoying tbh. data disable when screen off = gotta keep my screen on for market to update apps, fb chat to keep running/stay online, etc.
any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use Super Power, I've come to realize that was a much larger hassle than the benefits it made. If you have Titanium Backup Pro freeze all apps you never use, like Media Hub and other Samsung apps. And things like Calander Storage don't worry about, I'm sure it's nothing that's draining your battery.
And also, task killers DO drain more battery than they save, assuming you're on a froyo 2.2 based rom. And if you want turn off Auto Sync in settings and this will save some battery. Otherwise, your battery life should be pretty solid.
bobbbb said:
Don't use Super Power, I've come to realize that was a much larger hassle than the benefits it made. If you have Titanium Backup Pro freeze all apps you never use, like Media Hub and other Samsung apps. And things like Calander Storage don't worry about, I'm sure it's nothing that's draining your battery.
And also, task killers DO drain more battery than they save, assuming you're on a froyo 2.2 based rom. And if you want turn off Auto Sync in settings and this will save some battery. Otherwise, your battery life should be pretty solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks man, i got rid of superpower and will see how much it truely effected my battery life.
as for titanium backup, i don't have pro but i guess i will buy it if there aren't any free alternatives to freeze apps?
thanks man
Dear Friends!
Glad to be here today (after 2 days! )
My dear Streaker is here!!
As the norm is, I have been busy tinkering with the stock material for couple o days, and I will continue to do so for some more time!
___________________________________________________________
Query: There are too many apps running (background) all the time!! I kill them, they resurrect!, How to do away with that?
Solution applied: Used Advanced task killer (but, apps resurrect!)
Another Solution tried: In Settings>Account & Sync settings> Unchecked Background data and Auto sync options. (Now, they dont connect to the net, but, they still restart!!)
Another Solution: Force close (from Manage apps) .. (Still same issue!)
Now, How can I tell the apps to come up only when I call them!?
(And some other apps I want to schedule them to come up every hour or so.. like my Gmail/FB)
____________________________________________________________
And, So far has been amazing experience!!
The screen is football field sized!! (Monster! yikes Scooby!)
Digging up all old posts to read some problems faced by new users..
Current hobby: Market and apps.
Future hobby: Roms and Flash!
Thank you all for your help!
care,
Sony.
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
from what i understand, froyo is really good with resource management and there is no need to constantly kill processes or apps, its best to just leave them unless your streak is slow like a snail
Telal said:
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lose multi touch!
How?
@rptw
So, It wouldnt really matter if there are apps running in the BG, and they start by themselves too!?
care,
Sony.
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
So, what next!?
rptw said:
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Now, can you or other guys here please suggest how to go to the "root" of this problem!?
Ok.
Look, these apps are open right now!
Voice Search
Email
Messaging
Maps
Astro
Assistant free
I use the Adv Task Killer free.
(It says 7 apps killed and 180 MB free)
I open Adv task killer after 5 seconds.
and these apps are running!
Email
astro
Voice Search
Assistant Free
and I am sure, If I wait for some more time, the other apps will join in too!
(Now it says, 3 Apps killed, 171 MB free!!)
care,
Sony.
have you tried using the stock app manager and killing the apps there? i just checked my phone and i have the same apps under the running tab using the stock manager, i think email and messaging are always running since you have push features on them, in terms of the others im not sure. whats so bad about email and messaging running anyways? im sure you use them often enough to not want to have to open and close them right?
Hey, you posted the same question over at Pocketables forum.
As stated earlier, 2.2 is really good at managing back ground tasks.
I can tell you if you use a task killer and you have a problem with an APP, which currently you do not, the programmer for the app probably will not help you till you remove the APP killer program.
What you might try to do is run though your menus and see what you have selected to run, such as locations and sync services and disable what you can. Also if you do not want some thing running, you may want to just uninstall it. I do understand that you want some programs but you only want them to run when you ask, not sure how to tell you to handle that.
But, are you seeing any difference when you have the background tasks disabled. Try to find the APK for the programs and rename them just to see if you have any issues.
When I open some Apps, 10 other Apps open along with it. Is rooting the phone the only way to have access to the means to stop this?
Thanks,
-Adam
Don't pay so much attention. In general, those applications don't use your cpu and battery. Android has its own task manager system.
Yeah dis is even happening to me,the reason is so simple like one app needs the other apps so they are even opening up.
Devil_Dude said:
Yeah dis is even happening to me,the reason is so simple like one app needs the other apps so they are even opening up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what the appl you using which is opening others appl can u name the apps
if you kill apps, they will probably get restarted automatically and left in the background. If the apps are working correctly, this is not a problem, as a well coded app does not use CPU/battery when in the background.
Actually, I just quit using a task manager to kill tasks (I just let Android kill them as necessary) and I have no problems (phone is not slower, power drain is not higher).
Maybe the thing is that after you stop a task in a task manager it does not update immediately and you don't see the task being restarted, and when you go into the task manager after running some app just then you see the apps restarted.
Also, some apps are very generic (maps) and used by other apps, and some apps need to be running all the time (latitude, mail client, widgets, etc.) and killing them would make them not work properly (widgets no longer updating, not getting new emails, etc.).
My advice is to leave the apps running if you are not very sure of what you are doing, because the OS will eventually kill unnecessary apps, and until then they should not use any CPU or battery.
Only thing is to stay away from badly written apps, the ones that use too much CPU even when in the background or when phone is sleeping. You should probably wait for a night after installing a new app to see if you have higher drain. If so, just uninstall and search for an alternative.
shhbz said:
what the appl you using which is opening others appl can u name the apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like any Google app by searching is opening. Google search and by using voice search its opening voice search app and so on.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App
Hi all,
I just got my Transformer Prime this week, and as a new user both of Android (my phone is a WP7 device) and of tablets in general, I do have a couple of questions that maybe you guys can help me with...
1) Shut it down or not?
Being a tablet something in between my phone and my laptop, I'm still not sure exactly how to manage it. I know this will come with experience, but do you guys leave it always on like your phone or do you shut down like a laptop? I actually only hibernate my laptop, but I don't know how to do that on my TP... is it possible?
2) Services: my battery and OS responsiveness
OK, so I got my TP and started downloading apps... Skype and Facebook were one of the firsts. I quickly realized that, by default, after opening them for the 1st time, they kept giving me notifications, even if I swiped them left of the task manager (i.e. closed them, AFAIK). This is OK for Skype, but I really don't want Facebook bothering me that much, so I disabled notifications on its settings. Is that all that is needed to remove these permanent services? Does the "services" tab under Settings -> Applications really show everything that is running or can some apps hide from there?
3) Closing apps: should I care about it or not?
I still didn't fully understand how "closing apps" work on Android (ICS at least). If I have an app with notifications enabled (i.e. its service is enabled, right?), even if I close it from the task manager, the notifications keep coming. However, if notifications are disabled, is swiping them left from the task manager REALLY closing them? At the end of the day, to improve battery and responsiveness, should I keep closing my unused apps?
4) Launcher: Is ICS launcher the best for tablets?
This is actually part of a more general question, coming below. But anyway, I read that the ICS launcher is much improved from previous Android versions, and at the same time I didn't find a good launcher comparison for tablets only. Many of the launchers reviews only apply them for phones, and only compare them to the Gingerbread launcher (or some device-specific launcher). Since many of the launchers are paid apps, I would like to know: is there any launcher that is really worth trying in my new TP? What do you guys use?
5) Tablet-optimized apps???
I don't have my TP for even a week and I'm already tired of reading great things about an app, only to download it and see that it is not optimized for tablets at all. So, is there any good source of info/reviews on tablet-optimized apps?
Many thanks!
Leo.
1) Shut it down or not?
Personally, I always leave mine tablet running. There is a price to pay from a battery perspective when shutting down / starting up, so unless you know you are not going to be using it for an extended period of time, I would recommend leaving it on.
2) Services: my battery and OS responsiveness
I believe the 'Services' tab will show all the user app services that are running, but I am not sure if you can permanently prevent them from starting back up with ICS. I have seen task manager apps in the market that can prevent services from starting up. In all reality though, if you are concerned about background services draining your battery, the Prime has excellent battery life to begin with, especially if you have the dock, so if I was you I wouldn't get too worked up over the background services. Now if we were talking about a smart phone here (like my Thunderbolt for example which has horrible battery life), I would be much more concerned about this type of thing as I would want to do anything possible to squeeze as much life out of my battery just to get through an entire day.
3) Closing apps: should I care about it or not?
From my understanding swiping an app on the Recent Apps tray won't actually kill the process. Swiping an app from the Recent Apps tray more or less just removes the app from the list of Recent Apps. ICS automatically takes care of shutting down processes and releasing memory when appropriate. If you want to manually kill an app you can Force Close it from the list of apps from the Settings -> Applications menu. But again, my personal preference is to let ICS do its thing and take care of process management. I will remove apps from the Recent Apps tray just keep the tray less cluttered with apps that I don't use or need to switch to that often but I normally won't kill apps manually from the task manager.
On a side note, I would think removing an app from the Recent Apps tray would signal the OS that I am not going to be using the app again any time soon and the OS is free to shut down the process and release its memory, but I am not sure if this is what happens or not. All I know is that I have read elsewhere that removing an app from the Recent Apps tray will not immediately kill the process.
4) Launcher: Is ICS launcher the best for tablets?
Personally, I really like ICS so I haven't tried any of the other launchers that are out there (on the tablet side of things anyways). I used the GO Launcher on my phone for a little while but ended up switching back to the default HTC Sense launcher. This is one of the things I love about Android though; the ability to totally change the look and feel the device by simply customizing and switching between different launchers. If I ever get tired or bored with ICS, I can download a new launcher and just like that, everything will seem new and fresh again.
5) Tablet-optimized apps???
This is one of the big problems with Android and the Android Market right now; not just the small selection of tablet optimized apps but being able to find these apps in the Market. There is an 'editors top picks for tablet apps' section or something like that in the Android Market that I have used. Unfortunately, many of the apps in there are not that great, but at least they are optimized for tablets. Typically I will just do a google search for 'top android tablet apps' to get a feel for some of the best tablet optimized apps that are out there.
Try the Tablified website or app to find tablet optimized apps. Can't download directly from there, but the install link will take you to the market page for whatever app you want.
http://www.tablified.com
jordache16 said:
1) Shut it down or not?
Personally, I always leave mine tablet running. There is a price to pay from a battery perspective when shutting down / starting up, so unless you know you are not going to be using it for an extended period of time, I would recommend leaving it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thanks for taking the time to reply me! Anyway, my point was exactly about the times when I will not use it for an extented period, like when I go to bed or something... But I guess since I don't want any notifications when I'm sleeping, I think it is wiser to shut it down. On the other hand, is there a quick-way to completely silence the tablet, i.e. turn off the volume AND the vibrations?
jordache16 said:
2) Services: my battery and OS responsiveness
I believe the 'Services' tab will show all the user app services that are running, but I am not sure if you can permanently prevent them from starting back up with ICS. I have seen task manager apps in the market that can prevent services from starting up. In all reality though, if you are concerned about background services draining your battery, the Prime has excellent battery life to begin with, especially if you have the dock, so if I was you I wouldn't get too worked up over the background services. Now if we were talking about a smart phone here (like my Thunderbolt for example which has horrible battery life), I would be much more concerned about this type of thing as I would want to do anything possible to squeeze as much life out of my battery just to get through an entire day.
3) Closing apps: should I care about it or not?
From my understanding swiping an app on the Recent Apps tray won't actually kill the process. Swiping an app from the Recent Apps tray more or less just removes the app from the list of Recent Apps. ICS automatically takes care of shutting down processes and releasing memory when appropriate. If you want to manually kill an app you can Force Close it from the list of apps from the Settings -> Applications menu. But again, my personal preference is to let ICS do its thing and take care of process management. I will remove apps from the Recent Apps tray just keep the tray less cluttered with apps that I don't use or need to switch to that often but I normally won't kill apps manually from the task manager.
On a side note, I would think removing an app from the Recent Apps tray would signal the OS that I am not going to be using the app again any time soon and the OS is free to shut down the process and release its memory, but I am not sure if this is what happens or not. All I know is that I have read elsewhere that removing an app from the Recent Apps tray will not immediately kill the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hum, ok, I will try to freak out less about open apps. What's still bugs me, for instance, is the behavior of Google Talk vs. Skype. After turning the tablet on, Skype doesn't open automatically, and after I open it, it will gracefully inform-me of its status on the notifications bar. However, today I just got surprised by a incoming IM from Google Talk, even if I did'nt open it! I realized that it is hidden under "Google Services" in the app list, but there is no setting in the app to disable it from running on start-up! I can only "sign out"... Anyway, on the other hand, there's no setting to have Skype launch automatically on start up...
jordache16 said:
4) Launcher: Is ICS launcher the best for tablets?
Personally, I really like ICS so I haven't tried any of the other launchers that are out there (on the tablet side of things anyways). I used the GO Launcher on my phone for a little while but ended up switching back to the default HTC Sense launcher. This is one of the things I love about Android though; the ability to totally change the look and feel the device by simply customizing and switching between different launchers. If I ever get tired or bored with ICS, I can download a new launcher and just like that, everything will seem new and fresh again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll second that. I've quickly used the Iphone 4 a couple of times and its dullness just bores me to death... hehe
jordache16 said:
5) Tablet-optimized apps???
This is one of the big problems with Android and the Android Market right now; not just the small selection of tablet optimized apps but being able to find these apps in the Market. There is an 'editors top picks for tablet apps' section or something like that in the Android Market that I have used. Unfortunately, many of the apps in there are not that great, but at least they are optimized for tablets. Typically I will just do a google search for 'top android tablet apps' to get a feel for some of the best tablet optimized apps that are out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I saw that, but I hate that I cannot filter that list between apps and games... stupid Google or stupid me? hehe
wikedawsum said:
Try the Tablified website or app to find tablet optimized apps. Can't download directly from there, but the install link will take you to the market page for whatever app you want.
http://www.tablified.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip! I'm cheking it out right now...
reguarding open apps
At times i noticed my stock launcher was laggy to switch between screens. After swiping to close the recent apps it was a lot more responsive, so i think that swiping the apps from the recent list does close them, at least in mose cases.
As to optimization apps, usually they are intended for phones running older software. You need to remember that every phone (aside from the google phones) is running a slightly different version of android.
Since each version of android is different, even between the Froyo on my phone and your phone, because they have different modifications on them there is a chance that the customized software on my phone may be better at handling unused tasks than your phone (in fact HTC phones by default have a LOT of running processes in the background, whereas Samsung phones generally have fewer).
A lot of these optimization apps do several things:
Turn off wifi and bluetooth when not needed
Close tasks when they are unused
lower screen brightness
turn off 3g and use 2g if available and not in a call
Now this may be excellent for your phone, it spends most of its time in your pocket, soon as you unlock it it can connect to wifi again, turn on bluetooth, etc.
HOWEVER!
If you have, say, the weather widget, or a clock, or in my case battery monitor pro, and the task killer is killing those tasks those widgets will no longer update.
Some tasks, like Maps, tend to start up automatically, meaning your wasting MORE battery life closing this app and then it restarts and you have to close it again. It takes less battery life having it run in the background.
Sometimes an app will close (like the browser) that your not fully done using. Theres a difference between the app being frozen in memory and fully closed. Both do not require much power, however when you open that process again the frozen one takes a LOT less battery than the unfrozen one.
On a tablet, having a case that has a magnet in the apropriate spot and, say, tasker (very good app for custimizing your own triggers to turn things on and off) to detect that sensor and shut off wifi, gps, bluetooth, etc. would be very cool. Many apps use the proximity sensor to detect if its in a pocket and shut off everything, or the lockscreen. Because the way a tablet is used many of these battery saver apps will actually use more battery than what would be used in the first place.
You also have to remember that as android advances there are more tweaks for battery life put into them. For instance, you can have ICS close tasks that are not being used right away to save memory and its pretty good about freezing things in background memory.
Older versions of android lacked these features, or they were poorly implimented. I remember on my vibrant i was always going back to make sure all my tasks were closed properly when i was done with them. With newer devices its not an issue android takes care of that for me.
TLDR: Try as many battery saver apps as you like, just be warey as to what devices they are designed for and what version of android they were made for. Doesnt mean they wont work, just means they may do something thats useless for using on a tablet.
1) Shut it down or not?
Never. We got the companion core for a reason.
2) Services: my battery and OS responsiveness
No, everything is shown except core processes. You can get systempanel if you want to see.
3) Closing apps: should I care about it or not?
Don't unless you somehow got froyo or eclair onto your tablet.
4) Launcher: Is ICS launcher the best for tablets?
Depends on your tastes. I would suggest trying all of them.
5) Tablet-optimized apps???
What the other people said.
1) Mine is always on. I shut down when I expect it to be idle for a long time or when I want maximum battery conservation while idle. Pressing the power button is as close as you get to hibernate, officially with Android. I'm interested to know if any of the usual Linux power management stuff applies to these systems or if it's tied to ACPI (A PC thing), and if there would be a way to wake the system. It's certainly not supported by ASUS .
2) Google how Android services work and about the application life cycle. For the most part things like Facebook don't do all that much harm, unless it is dealing with a lot of data. If you do not want it to run and the application lacks a setting for turning the service off, uninstall the app. A startup manager may or may not be able to help but be warned: auto task killers are generally bad, you would actually want to manage the startup services not auto kill them!
3) No. Android will take care of this OK. Closing apps generally refers to the "Activity" not the service. Android has taken decent care of that since at least version 2.2 and this tablet runs 4.0.3 . Swipping stuff out of the multi-task menu is most useful for keeping it tidy, it will not generally improve your life in most cases. For a good explanation you should look for a post Dianne Hackborn reshared on G+, I believe Android Police even carried it.
4) Depends on what is best for you. It's great except for the lack of customization. Nova Launcher offers a bit more. ICS's launcher versus e.g. GB's is almost what could be called a basic custom launcher, i.e. all the important stuff is there but you can't tweak the hell out of it. For more serious work try ADW Launcher Ex (scrolling widgets currently broken) or Go (not quite fully tablet optimized yet but works). I use ADW Launcher Ex, and there is a free version with less features.
5) Tablified Market and XDA usually helps I guess. I rarely have problems except with rarely updated stuff.
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