

Android is a Viable Revenue Stream - Advanced Task Manager application - arron61
http://arronla.com/2010/08/android-revenue-advanced-task-manager/

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gamble
Ironic that one of the best-selling Android apps would be an app that so many
Android users swear isn't necessary.

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houseabsolute
I won't swear it _isn't_ necessary (and I'm not an Android user, quite the
opposite, I dislike it), because I haven't used all Android configurations and
programs to be sure it has no beneficial effect. But it is definitely
something that shouldn't be necessary.

Of course, sales for items like this where necessity is very subjective really
have no bearing on whether or not they provide any benefit. Otherwise the
hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy would not exist.

~~~
bad_user
> _Otherwise the hundred-million dollar a year industry that is homeopathy
> would not exist_

Just because there are crooks in the world that became rich by seeling fake
homeopathic remedies, that doesn't mean there aren't homeopathic remedies that
work.

The placebo effect doesn't work on me because it is in my nature to be
pessimistic about everything. Having asthma also makes my lungs sensitive to
any cold I catch.

Paracetamol [1] doesn't work on me. Oscillococcinum [2] does.

And I'm not into homeopathy, but I'm a tea addict and I know from personal
experience the effects dozens of plants have on my body. Just last week I
drank tea made from cherry tails ... it made me go pissing every half an hour
(really useful when you've got prostate problems).

    
    
         [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracetamol
         [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillococcinum

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ugh
Woah! An anecdote! Now, that sure is convincing!

bad_user, say hi to the Placebo effect. It’s so awesome, it even works when
you believe it doesn’t.

~~~
bad_user
Haha, yeah, maybe it is Placebo :)

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augustl
A shame the android market only offer paid apps in some countries. Only free
apps here in Norway, for example.

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bruceboughton
It's flabbergasting to me that Google haven't fixed this. Cynics say it's
because it boosts the ad income, but if you want to compete against iPhone and
iPad, surely this is a huge boon in those markets and developer communities.

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wmf
Good news, although a utility that works around OS problems that should never
have existed isn't exactly a good example IMO.

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CrazedGeek
They don't exist: [http://android-
developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-...](http://android-
developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html)

~~~
wmf
I'm not sure which is worse: that Advanced Task Manager fixes a problem in
Android or that it's a placebo.

~~~
chmike
The problem with the backgound taskS is that we don't how how much battery
they drain. I found out , for instance, that GoogleTalk is a huge battery
drain. I have a FM radio on my device and this one really sucks. It simply
won't stop and drain the battery in a few hours. The GUI is crapy too any way.
So I don't use it.

The key problem people are fighting for is to save battery life time. This is
the only reason people are using this software. Backups and such are not as
much a problem. Any software that will contribute to save the battery lifetime
will be a hit. An equivalent of the unix top for instance.

The battery life time is the nuisance number one on smart phones. This is why
the iPad is a master piece and all these me too players are a joke regarding
this. It's the energy, stupid.

HTC is apparently planning to release devices with faster cpu. What's the
point if the phone can't run more than 6h with a GPS app, even if continuously
connected to the cigar plug? Bluetouth enabled because of driving. The result
is that I end up restricting my use of the phone to save battery and this is
frustrating and not smart (phone).

So looking around to find means to save battery, the ATM app pops up
immediately and it worked for me. I could extend battery lifetime from 1 day
to three days by keeping it clean.

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chmike
An application that could be useful is one that would help determine what
app/service drains the battery. A correlation between running apps and battery
consumtion would help.

If google removed the ability to manage services or background apps, they got
it wrong. Unless they provide a mean to optimize battery usage.

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nex3
There's a built-in listing of which applications use what proportion of the
battery.

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minus1
I had to look this up. It's Settings->About Phone->Battery Use

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zootm
You also get diverted to it if you tap "Why?" when the "Battery < 15%"
notification appears, for what it's worth.

Took me ages to notice that since it's next to "Okay", and poorly-designed
dialogs have me trained to assume that that's a "Cancel" button that does
nothing.

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relix
Very interesting, although he comes to some unfounded conclusions. Especially
the "if I had increased the price I'm sure I could've gotten a lot more
revenue" remark. Maybe 99 cents is exactly the sweet spot, or by lowering the
price he might increase his sales disproportionally and earn even more.

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nanairo
While an interesting read, this article as well as the others arguing the
opposite, are all anecdotal. What needs to be done is a proper statistical
study on Android _and_ on the iOS and the results compared.

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myth_drannon
Related HN post - Why Android devs are losing money, and it’s not due to
piracy :

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1609643>

