Hi all,
I'm wonsering if true multitasking is possible...
I have been using the sgs2 for a few days now.and its.my first android.phone.
Im very happy with it but jus missing one feature...
When Im watching video in a browser or app Id like to be able to quickly do something else while the.audio keeps.playing.
Is this possible?
I do know that some apps have this featur (audio players etc.)
But id like to do this with the browser or cnn app
Greetings, dutchy
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I'm not sure if it would be possible, although the video is kept in memory, it has to close in order to open another app, I don't think you could have audio playing in background during a different application. My thought, though I'm still kinda n00b-ish with Android myself.
@SgtDutchyNL
It's possible for sure, but browsers intentionally pauses/stops playback when they're "minimized", because this is what most people want in most cases. I don't know any browser app which does run flash content in the background.
Shame there isnt an option for it, maybe its possible by editing some code?
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Coming from a Palm Pre (WebOS) I really hate multi-tasking on Android devices, switching from app to app sometimes doesn't even let you carry on where you started.
Bawezy said:
Coming from a Palm Pre (WebOS) I really hate multi-tasking on Android devices, switching from app to app sometimes doesn't even let you carry on where you started.
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Really, I've never had an issue switching between browser, sms, email, contacts and maps, all whilst listening to music.
As for video in the browser, Flash has been built to only run whilst in focus to stop the battery from draining when animation is running in a tab in the background.
To help the issue of multitasking, try installing wavelauncher on market. it is exactly like the wave launcher in webos. but it still wont fix the fact that android will close your program in the background when it needs more memory (which is why you have to restart from scratch when you "alt-tab" around)
I have a Palm Pixi Plus which I use for work email. No doubt WebOS is amazing when it comes to multi tasking, their ecosystem(h/w and s/w) should mature but I doubt if it can reach anywhere near Android. For that matter I doubt if M$ or RIM or Intel can ever achieve this.
I've been using Android for the past 2+ yrs. I must admit Android's muti tasking is rubbish. All we need is a simple button X (similar to Windows PC) to close any damn app than closing/killing in a different way in each app/phone. Its confusing at times. Good thing is Galaxy S II is a very good phone. A complete package must say..
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You guys misunderstood, i dont hate android's multitasking, in my opinion it doesnt match that of webOS as that was the mobile os where true multitasking was derived from. As gd as the android operating system is, Galaxy s2 is making me like android more.
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I've also noticed the problem when using sites like mega upload where you have to wait a certain amount of time before downoading a file. If the counter is on 30 seconds, I think I have time to check an e-mail or a few tweets while waiting, so I do that and when I come back to the browser the counter is still at 30 seconds...
It's usually not a big deal but I find it amusing that android fanboys made fun of iOS because it doesn't have true multitasking, although from what I can see android just saves the state of your apps and restores it when you go back to the app... it's OK in most situation but it's hardly multitasking.
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BlueScreenJunky said:
I've also noticed the problem when using sites like mega upload where you have to wait a certain amount of time before downoading a file. If the counter is on 30 seconds, I think I have time to check an e-mail or a few tweets while waiting, so I do that and when I come back to the browser the counter is still at 30 seconds...
It's usually not a big deal but I find it amusing that android fanboys made fun of iOS because it doesn't have true multitasking, although from what I can see android just saves the state of your apps and restores it when you go back to the app... it's OK in most situation but it's hardly multitasking.
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Most sites like that do this on the desktop now to keep your focus on their ads. Not sure if megaupload does but a lot do so i could just be this.
mark2222 said:
Most sites like that do this on the desktop now to keep your focus on their ads. Not sure if megaupload does but a lot do so i could just be this.
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Yes, this happens if you try the same on your computer too.
Huh ? Never happened to me on the computer but I'll check (it would make sense and seems doable w/ javascript), it could be that indeed.
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BlueScreenJunky said:
It's usually not a big deal but I find it amusing that android fanboys made fun of iOS because it doesn't have true multitasking, although from what I can see android just saves the state of your apps and restores it when you go back to the app...
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Click to collapse
No, Android has true multitasking, but that doesn't mean every app should or have to use it, does it? If I browse through internet, I'm on a site with dynamic Flash/Javascript content and I exit browser then I want it to freeze any dynamic content to minimize power consumption. This is exactly what most of people want in most situations and this is why you have problems with Megaupload. It's possible to create a browser which will run Megaupload counter in the background, but no one has created one so far, because it wouldn't be that good.
You all should understand this isn't a technical issue, it's a design concern. If you switch/exit an app then OS (no matter: mobile or desktop one) has to do one of the following:
run it normally in the background
pause it
close it
give user a choice
Each of above has its pros and cons. Desktop OSes use first option, because they don't care about power and RAM consumption. They also use last option, because on a big screen, with mouse and full keyboard there is no problem to add such controls.
But using same solution on a phone would be a disaster, I think. Older mobile OSes use third option: they close app after exiting it, they don't have MT at all. iOS is somewhere between pause and close. Android is between pause and run: it pauses apps by default, but gives them a possibility to run in the background if they want. And this is a big difference between iOS and Android. On the iOS app can't run in the background even if both its developer and user want that. On the Android it depends fully on a developer choice.
What I want to say is: there is no single, perfect solution to this problem. If clicking "home" button would not pause an app by default then OS would be a piece of **** to me. Even if it would give me a possibility to easily pause/close an app - still POS. Pause should be a default action to make OS easy to use, so I think Android design is really good. One thing which could be done is to give more control to user. E.g. an option to resume/not pause an app on demand, so it will run similarly to foreground mode.
And how does work this awesome MT of webos (I don't really know)? Please, don't say it runs apps in the background by default - if so then sorry, but as I said it's a POS to me.
Brut.all said:
And how does work this awesome MT of webos (I don't really know)? Please, don't say it runs apps in the background by default - if so then sorry, but as I said it's a POS to me.
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Multitasking on a WebOS, for those who haven't yet seen it: http://youtu.be/wZht-a0VlD8
Brut.all said:
No, Android has true multitasking, but that doesn't mean every app should or have to use it, does it? If I browse through internet, I'm on a site with dynamic Flash/Javascript content and I exit browser then I want it to freeze any dynamic content to minimize power consumption. This is exactly what most of people want in most situations and this is why you have problems with Megaupload. It's possible to create a browser which will run Megaupload counter in the background, but no one has created one so far, because it wouldn't be that good.
You all should understand this isn't a technical issue, it's a design concern. If you switch/exit an app then OS (no matter: mobile or desktop one) has to do one of the following:
run it normally in the background
pause it
close it
give user a choice
Each of above has its pros and cons. Desktop OSes use first option, because they don't care about power and RAM consumption. They also use last option, because on a big screen, with mouse and full keyboard there is no problem to add such controls.
But using same solution on a phone would be a disaster, I think. Older mobile OSes use third option: they close app after exiting it, they don't have MT at all. iOS is somewhere between pause and close. Android is between pause and run: it pauses apps by default, but gives them a possibility to run in the background if they want. And this is a big difference between iOS and Android. On the iOS app can't run in the background even if both its developer and user want that. On the Android it depends fully on a developer choice.
What I want to say is: there is no single, perfect solution to this problem. If clicking "home" button would not pause an app by default then OS would be a piece of **** to me. Even if it would give me a possibility to easily pause/close an app - still POS. Pause should be a default action to make OS easy to use, so I think Android design is really good. One thing which could be done is to give more control to user. E.g. an option to resume/not pause an app on demand, so it will run similarly to foreground mode.
And how does work this awesome MT of webos (I don't really know)? Please, don't say it runs apps in the background by default - if so then sorry, but as I said it's a POS to me.
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Thanx for this very informative post.
And indeed I think the best solution would be for each app to have a default behavior as it is right now, but let the user force the app to keep running at all times if they need to for some reason and don't care about the performance hit.
Ty for all the info, but still, I just want the option to run some app normally in the background, its annoying when youre watching a movie and quickly need to check mail, i like having it playing on
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Intresting to me that good old WM 6.5 was true multitasking and could run for the best part of a week in standby Android in all it's forms, with background program managment, can barely do a couple of days !
Interesting in the video that I didn't see any evidence of true multitasking
Like some1 mentioned already, android is a multiple task/thread OS. So you can pretty much do anything. It's down to the developer. If you wanted music/vid to play in the background when not active in foreground tis easy to extend your application to have a service that constantly runs, and the app (UI) is just the controller. A good example of multitasking is seeing 2 things update where both are either critical data or processor intense. An example being your widgets update while live wallpaper is doing something. So to me, there is either multitasking or not, not really true multitasking. I think from the video of webOs I would call it a task/app/thread visual controller, and not a few words like "true multitasking".
Just my brain dumb on the issue
i'm new to Android and i gotta say, i really like the Android App store better than the iPhone's.
anyone else in the same boat as me and liking it?
seems to have alot more apps (and alot more free USEFUL apps). of course, this is probably because Android phones are so customizable & open.
two things i'd like to see is:
1) improvement of the screenshot / sample pictures in the description of each app. the ios sample pictures are high quality. the Android's sample pictures are honestly just terrible.
2) a way to order each app by: highest to lowest price; average user review; free to paid; etc...
otherwise, the Android App Market has been a very nice surprise for this former iP guy
Recently switched from an iphone and I love the android app store
only thing is that a developer is most likely to make an app for the apple market before making it for the android market. like that game temple run
Have you been to the webpage on your desktop computer? You get a little more functionality there. And you can see a little bigger screen shots. If you're signed in, you can push the apps right to your phone from your computer.
https://market.android.com/apps
ARTAQaf said:
i'm new to Android and i gotta say, i really like the Android App store better than the iPhone's.
anyone else in the same boat as me and liking it?
seems to have alot more apps (and alot more free USEFUL apps). of course, this is probably because Android phones are so customizable & open.
two things i'd like to see is:
1) improvement of the screenshot / sample pictures in the description of each app. the ios sample pictures are high quality. the Android's sample pictures are honestly just terrible.
2) a way to order each app by: highest to lowest price; average user review; free to paid; etc...
otherwise, the Android App Market has been a very nice surprise for this former iP guy
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droidal said:
Have you been to the webpage on your desktop computer? You get a little more functionality there. And you can see a little bigger screen shots. If you're signed in, you can push the apps right to your phone from your computer.
https://market.android.com/apps
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nice to know! i just installed via push for the 1st time. tx alot Al
The pictures are likely not very good resolution on the Note because they were taken on a phone that isn't as high of resolution as the Note.
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I'm the opposite. I like the Apple app store better. For some reason I can always find something interesting to download on my iPhone while browsing the app store, but not on my Note. I also don't like downloading an app and having it tell me it's not compatible with my Note.
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Bl00dRunzC0ld said:
I also don't like downloading an app and having it tell me it's not compatible with my Note.
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that won't happen if you login to your gmail account that you setup with your Gnote. once you're logged in, it will only list app's compatible with the Gnote (unless you specifically Search for an app and it isn't supported by the Gnote.)
someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think that's right
Market seems cheaper price and more free quality apps.
I love using the website and it pushing to my device
The market app seems faster.
Android
Galaxy Note -rooted
Nook Tablet -rooted
iOS
iPhone4 sometime jailbroke
iPad
3G
ARTAQaf said:
that won't happen if you login to your gmail account that you setup with your Gnote. once you're logged in, it will only list app's compatible with the Gnote (unless you specifically Search for an app and it isn't supported by the Gnote.)
someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think that's right
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I don't know. What I do know is that I tried to install some app that I was excited about and it told me no.
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ARTAQaf said:
that won't happen if you login to your gmail account that you setup with your Gnote. once you're logged in, it will only list app's compatible with the Gnote (unless you specifically Search for an app and it isn't supported by the Gnote.)
someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think that's right
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Yes when signed in on the market site it won't let you download apps that aren't compatible with your device. Like Google Chrome Beta, grrrr!!!
I play scramble with friends, draw something, and words with friends with my wife. Are there any of these games on the wp7 marketplace? If not are there third party apps that are like them?
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I moved on from my mytouch 4g slide. I cant stand not being able to play games with my friends
There is an app called "Spell it" on the market that is similar to "Words with friends."
"Words By Post Free" is almost identical to Words With Friends and is available on Android, iPhone, and WP7 so you can play all of your friends, despite their platform. "Wordament" (also a free app) is very similar to Scramble With Friends, except you don't play with one person at a time...you compete in a live game against everyone else playing at that moment. Your score determines your ranking and you can see how others scored, common/obscure words, etc. To my knowledge, there is not an app like Draw Something available yet, but there probably will be soon. Hope this helps!
Edit: I have found an app similar to Draw Something--though the reviews note that it is a bit glitchy. Hopefully this will be fixed by future updates. It is called "Draw and Guess."
This is perfect,thank you. Hopefully the windows market market will catch up with the others
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I saw another thread about hiding apps in some guy's wife's phone to track her. I'm looking for something similar with my wife, but it does not need to be hidden. Mainly to be used because I commute quite a distance and this would let her know how close I am to home (rather than having me text while driving). Similarly for her when she's travelling.
Just an app that would:-
1. Allow me to see where she is (and vice-versa)
2. Use GPS if on, otherwise fall back on net information
3. Not use SMSes (some sort of internet-based communication between phones)
I could probably hack something up using Tasker but her phone isn't rooted like mine is so the capabilities for GPS etc are a bit more limited (and time is limited, of course).
Thanks!
Already built in
ngoonee said:
I saw another thread about hiding apps in some guy's wife's phone to track her. I'm looking for something similar with my wife, but it does not need to be hidden. Mainly to be used because I commute quite a distance and this would let her know how close I am to home (rather than having me text while driving). Similarly for her when she's travelling.
Just an app that would:-
1. Allow me to see where she is (and vice-versa)
2. Use GPS if on, otherwise fall back on net information
3. Not use SMSes (some sort of internet-based communication between phones)
I could probably hack something up using Tasker but her phone isn't rooted like mine is so the capabilities for GPS etc are a bit more limited (and time is limited, of course).
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
You can actually do this with the built in google maps application. It's called local/latitude. You can share where you are and control who sees it an when. Go ahead and look into it. Much better then downloading another app IMHO.
See here: Google search latitude android
Thanks, yeah I know about latitude features but it seems to lack a way to "ping" the other party with the equivalent of "hey, I've reached road X"
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Use an app called Backitude from the Play Store. Latitude updates pretty arbitrarily on its own. This app allows you to control how and when it updates, and also let's another person force an update on your phone by sending an SMS. It's all Internet based except the update triggering part. You can also use the tracking features of Cerberus, another app in the Play Store.
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I recently posted a question in Q&A about any TV remote apps that can be voice controlled. No luck. I stumbled upon this tasker plugin by Ozkaya that is awesome. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45572797. It allows you to program your IR remote with Pronto hex codes(many found here http://www.remotecentral.com/ as posted in the Dev's thread).
I combo'd this with Utter! and like magic, I was able to program voice controllable macro's, functions, anything really as long as the hex codes were available. And there is alot of them. I have Verizon Fios and the motorola codes worked for my box even though they weren't the same model. To me, this is an awesome show off tool (and slightly practical if I am eating chicken wings and need to switch between football games!). I literally say "phone" to wake up utter and "channel back" or "ESPN". as a command.
I did nothing here but stumble upon a combo of apps that work great together. If you like the idea please check out the thread and thank the Dev's and support their work. I feel this is one of those gems that slipped back a few pages and got lost. Hope you like it too.
Will this work on stock toch wizz
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IEndz said:
Will this work on stock toch wizz
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I used it on Alpha and Gravitron. I don't believe there would be any limitations on any Rom as long as Tasker and Utter! are installed. The rest is just setting up the codes and then setting Utter to use the Tasker plugins.
If someone really wants to get tweaky, here is another plugin for Tasker that will initiate the voice recognition in Utter! when the phone is on charge and the stop it when is taken off charge. Its towards the bottom of the thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=34339449.