Tablet upkeep

[TDsoundwave]

My tablet has been running slower and I hoped to get some advice about what i can do to get it running as fast as it was when i got it out of the box. Obviously i have downloaded some apps but everything was from the android market. I have some widgets but again all from the market. Are programs running in the background that I need to shut down? I would appreciate any help! Also I would like to know if it is possible to hook up my wireless printer with my tablet. Again thank you for any advice.

 

[gurgle]

So many questions, so little time. The usual things that slow your performance are things like widget overload and installation of special utilities like Anti-Virus Apps. There are things you can do to improve performance. And this is true whether you are using 3.2 or older versions like 2.2. Turning down high CPU eaters like Clocks, Weather monitors, GPS on all the time, Animated Wall paper... Sure they make your tablet cool looking, but they nibble at your performance. The closer you get to using up all your 1Gb RAM the slower your Tab becomes.
The difference of Foreground vs Background is not as big of an issue as what the apps do. If you are using the GPS continuously in the background, it eats at performance is a really good example.
There are apps and Cloud services which allow you to print. I use the in-between with a device called a PogoPlug. But it is also my personal Cloud Storage. It works for me but is not for everyone. You just email the file to the device and it prints. But you have to be connected to the Internet for full functionality. The most important thing is to find a printer app that works for you. I did not find one that met all my needs. That is why I use Pogoplug. But that is my experience.

 

[TDsoundwave]

Thanks for the help! Is there an easy way to see what is running in the background? Also my browser keeps closing unexpectedly . . . does that have to do with too many programs running or having an animated wallpaper?

 

[miked]

PrintBot works pretty well for wireless printing. Supports a large number of printers.

 

[TDsoundwave]

miked, printbot was exactly was I was looking for! After a quick scan i was set up. Thanks!

 

[androidguy]

Go to taskmanager and shut down apps you don't need. Also go to settings and check applications that are running in background and try to shut down what you don't need.

 

[Walkop]

Thanks for the help! Is there an easy way to see what is running in the background? Also my browser keeps closing unexpectedly . . . does that have to do with too many programs running or having an animated wallpaper?

Yep, there is. Settings>Applications>Running Services.

Also, the Browser crashing is a known bug. Just a bug; not related to wallpaper, etc. Honeycomb 3.2.1 is due out for the TF soon (it's actually being rolled out as we speak) which supposedly fixes this issue, so you shouldn't need to worry. I'm hoping it fixes this as well - it's really annoying me too.

Also, I would recommend not using a task killer or the applications menu (that I mentioned earlier) to kill apps wanton unless you're sure you're not using them. Closing them won't help too much, and it'll cause a lot more delay when you try to open them again. Closing apps to gain memory doesn't always work since it might just cause more delay in the end.

Closing some apps is good though - ones you don't need.

 

[goodintentions]

Or you could flash in a custom rom that does zip allign.

 

[donmcdougall]

I use an app called ANDROID ASSISTANT, it has a cashe cleaner and lets me set which programs to keep running. On any given day I find 75% or my memory is being used, this cuts that in half.

 

[TDsoundwave]

this is all really good advice, thanks everyone! Good intentions, I dont know how to flash in a custom rom. is there another forum you can direct me to for this?

 

[Vach]

For monitoring what is running I recommend advanced task manager: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.arron.taskManager.

As mentioned earlier, however, be careful what you close. This app should be used for monitoring and not exclusively for shutting things down.