the more apps, the less stable?

[ipaq_wannabe]

has anyone experienced less stability on their devices when there are lots of apps installed?

in my case, upon the installation of several more apps (third-party browsers, IM apps, PIE plug-ins, etc.) and that the BIG ones are in the external storage card; i find that my devices now frequently locks up (hanged, or that certain processes are taking too long), and that it isnt snappy as before....

how about you? any experiences like this? how many apps you have installed in your device?

cheers!!!

PS: mine is an HTC Hermes (TyTN)

- (at) Softbank X01HT w/ Fitaly 4.0

[Sven Johannsen]

Not sure I would postulate that the 'number' off apps has a causal relationship to instability. I would bet that the potential of having ill-behaved apps and app conflicts rises as the number of apps goes up.

The longer I mess with PPC/WM/SP the more reserved I seem to get in app installation. There was a time when I recall having 30-40 & more items listed in my Remove Programs list. Today, on my day-to-day device, there are less than 15.

For various reasons the little guy gets hard reset reasonably often, and I just put back on what I remember actually using. Sometimes I miss something, go to use it and find it is not there, and then that goes back on.

I'm pretty careful about the 'memory resident' stuff too, the Today screen stuff, OS extensions, etc. Just plain apps aren't as big a concern as they don't cause a problem unless you use them, and you can soft reset them out of contention.

I have some WM devices that live in a pretty much 'out of the box' state. Those are remarkably stable. Funny how that works ;)

[isajoo]

well i think it has to do with specific apps more than #'s. i have over 50 apps installed but just about all are on storage cards. only a few main apps are on main memory. now the wierd thing is i have not had a single problem(not 1 hard reset in the past 2 months, compared to ever week before that) since i stopped using a weather today screen app. try it out. it seems to hog memory and cause freeze ups. also try not to run any performance apps like xcpuscalar or pm hackmaster. just let your os / ppc do its own thing and add things that have more functions then form/enhancements. basically if it looks cool but does not really help with quicker function then it may slow down everything.

[victore]

i'm with sven. i'm more concerned with my device to be a "tool" rather than a "toy". when i was just starting out with pda's, i didn't mind the occasional soft resets, now i detest them. i want my pda to be reliable, even if it means not trying out the latest and greatest software. sometimes the leading edge is the bleeding edge.

[ipaq_wannabe]

yes - im also concerned about my device being a 'tool,' rather than a 'toy;' thus being i have almost no eye-candy installed...

what i have currently are:

ReenSoft PIEPlus
OperaMobile 8.65b (microSD)
CoreCodec CorePlayer (microSD)
SBSH.net PhoneWeaver
SBSH.net PocketBreeze
Shape Services IMPlus (microSD)
Spb Time (microSD)
Inesoft Cash Organizer '05 Premium
NetFront 3.3 (in main memory)
WebIS Pocket Informant 2005
Spb BackUp
powerOne Finance
Sleuth255 Sipchange
Resco Picture Viewer
Resco Explorer 2005
Tillanosoft PocketTweak
Lakeridge WisBar Lite
DinarSoft MemMaid
DinarSoft TapText
SplashData SplashID
Tweaks2k2.NET

see? not much 'toys'...

im figuring is that my device usually hangs when i use browsers, ie., OperaMobile and/or PIE. and since these browsers have their caches located in the external storage card (microSD) - im hypothesizing that the read/write access to/from the card may be the bottleneck.

the thing is that the lock-ups happens when i browse certain pages - it takes TOO TOO long just to load some simple pages (simple in the sense there is also absolutely no eye-candy)....

thoughts?

[isajoo]

hey ipaq wannabe....

out of the 3 browsers which one do u like to use most of time? i find pieplus to be the best. opera is good for html emails and non mobile friendly sites...but net front seems useless if u have both opera and pieplus.

a backup app is a neccesity and also resco explorer is great but there are good FREE apps like gs finder.

[ipaq_wannabe]

hey ipaq wannabe....

out of the 3 browsers which one do u like to use most of time? i find pieplus to be the best. opera is good for html emails and non mobile friendly sites...but net front seems useless if u have both opera and pieplus.

a backup app is a neccesity and also resco explorer is great but there are good FREE apps like gs finder.

yes, i agree with you that "PIEPlus + OperaMobile" would be the best combination...

unfortunately here in Japan - if we would like to see cellphones-only sites (the Hermes, though a phone is NOT considered a phone by these sites); NF is the only way to go...

also, i have been a user of resco since 2002 - and that is why ive gotten big discounts during upgrades

[ipaq_wannabe]

Sven,

How do you usually/Or what is your recommended way of cleaning up a handheld?

For example, you just uninstall the programs from your the Control Panel applet; and then clear the registry of all corresponding entries?

Or, do you go for a hard reset?

Thanks!!!

Not sure I would postulate that the 'number' off apps has a causal relationship to instability. I would bet that the potential of having ill-behaved apps and app conflicts rises as the number of apps goes up.

The longer I mess with PPC/WM/SP the more reserved I seem to get in app installation. There was a time when I recall having 30-40 & more items listed in my Remove Programs list. Today, on my day-to-day device, there are less than 15.

For various reasons the little guy gets hard reset reasonably often, and I just put back on what I remember actually using. Sometimes I miss something, go to use it and find it is not there, and then that goes back on.

I'm pretty careful about the 'memory resident' stuff too, the Today screen stuff, OS extensions, etc. Just plain apps aren't as big a concern as they don't cause a problem unless you use them, and you can soft reset them out of contention.

I have some WM devices that live in a pretty much 'out of the box' state. Those are remarkably stable. Funny how that works ;)

[Sven Johannsen]

Sven,
How do you usually/Or what is your recommended way of cleaning up a handheld?
The bad news is, I usually just go for the hard reset. The good news is, but pretty much cures all ills.

I can uninstall programs and blow away directories, but I'm not that good with registries or finding those vestigle support files, so I just go from factory scratch. After a while it doesn't take that long to get a unit back in shape, if you are organized in the first place. Sometimes it's almost like having a new device to play with. You get to try new apps, re-think how you want it configured, etc.

[dsilver]

Sven,
How do you usually/Or what is your recommended way of cleaning up a handheld?
The bad news is, I usually just go for the hard reset. The good news is, but pretty much cures all ills.

I can uninstall programs and blow away directories, but I'm not that good with registries or finding those vestigle support files, so I just go from factory scratch. After a while it doesn't take that long to get a unit back in shape, if you are organized in the first place. Sometimes it's almost like having a new device to play with. You get to try new apps, re-think how you want it configured, etc.

I have found SKTools to be of phenomenal help. It cleans and manipulates the registry in a multitude of ways. I always make a registry backup should there be a hitch, but so far, I haven't had to use it. Though I've had my 8525 for about 3 weeks, I've only done 1 hard reset - and that was almost immediately after I started installing everything I could get my hands on. Right now I have:

PocketBreeze
SKTools (mini)
Pocket Informant
Audible (mini)
Sunnysoft Backup Manager (mini)
Newsbreak (mini)
Opera (mini)
Google Maps (mini)
PTVL
PocketBible (mini)
Spb Finance (mini)
Weather Watcher (mini)
eReader (mini)
Agendus Professional (testing)
phoneAlarm
alarmToday
eWallet (mini)
Magic Button
and a diverse selection of games - all on the mini

They all play well together and I haven't had a hard reset since...

There was a lot of trial and error - I installed tons more stuff and had my PPC slow down to a crawl. Now I'm happy with the way things are - but will most probably continue to experiment.

[LegacyHH]

I have seen on my IPAq that it hangs, sometime for minutes, while it is trying to read through all of the information on the SD card. I've noticed that it has gotten worse as I have added more to it.

Unlike everyone else, I see the IPAq as more of a toy. I do sync it to my Outlook, but I usually go everywhere with my laptop anyway, so I use it to pass the time in the plane, or airport or whatever.

The hard reset is the best way to go for a fresh clean feeling! :D Besides, I usually install everything to the SDcard, so if I need something after the reset its still on the card.

Take care,

[Brad Adrian]

Of the applications you list, the ones which I am pretty sure have some component(s) always remaining in memory are:

PhoneWeaver
PocketBreeze
Spb Time
Pocket Informant (a BIG memory user)
WisBar
TapText

In my experience, it's the number (and size) of memory-resident applications that impacts stability the most. And remember, just because an item isn't checked on the Settings> Today> Items screen, it doesn't mean that the application isn't using up memory. Using MemMaid, does it appear as though you have any unexpected apps or processes running (the far-right tab)?

Whatever you do, don't uninstall TapText! It's one of my all-time favorite apps! §;{›>