Tom's Guide: Android Performance Tips & Apps

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Check out Tom's Guide's latest story on Android performance tips.

The great thing about smartphones is that they can do so many different things. Gone are the days when your phone just made phone calls. These days, your cell phone is your camera, your email, your photo album, your gaming device, your media player and so much more. However, with all this functionality and so many different apps running this feature or that widget, your phone can get slow or die within a few hours. Check out 'Android Performance Tips & Tricks' for tips to get the most out of your Android phone.

Android is a wonderful platform because it encourages users and programmers to experiment with various apps, programs, and tweaks to make devices running the OS to perform even better. Change your keyboard, select the web browser of your choice, or even root your device guilt-free! There's always something else you can do to tweak your system to your liking, extend your battery life, and improve your performance. Here are a few suggestions, ranging from simple usage tips to full on optimization apps, to get more juice out of your battery and more performance out of your machine.Android Performance Tips & Tricks

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Jane McEntegart
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • willard
    Disappointed. Just a bunch of apps that do things you can do yourself with minimal effort, most of them redundant.

    I was expecting things like undervolting and overclocking. You know, things that actually improve your battery life and performance. Clearing apps out of memory does little for your phone's performance and makes apps start up slower.
    Reply
  • kawininjazx
    Tip #1: Buy a fast phone with ICS or JB.

    As much as I love Android, it's a different experience depending on what you use. Compare a cheap phone with 2.2 Froyo and 256mb of RAM to a older premium phone like a Droid X 512mb running 2.3 GB then compare that to a Galaxy S3 with 4.0 ICS and 2GB of RAM. There is no comparing to each other. I have to say it wasn't until ICS came out that I thought that Android was finally "comparable" to iOS as far as performance and reliability. The only good news is that you can actually download new apps on your old phone whereas once an iPhone loses support your apps won't update.
    Reply
  • willard
    kawininjazxI have to say it wasn't until ICS came out that I thought that Android was finally "comparable" to iOS as far as performance and reliability.Actually, with half an afternoon of work most phones are just as smooth as the GS3.

    Step 1. Root your phone.
    Step 2. Install a custom ROM and kernel that allows overclocking and undervolting.
    Step 3. Set a profile to downclock the CPU while idle and overclock it while in use.
    Step 4. Enjoy your blazing fast Android phone with doubled battery life.
    Reply
  • house70
    willardDisappointed. Just a bunch of apps that do things you can do yourself with minimal effort, most of them redundant.I was expecting things like undervolting and overclocking. You know, things that actually improve your battery life and performance. Clearing apps out of memory does little for your phone's performance and makes apps start up slower.Actually, not half bad for an Apple-oriented website. Enthusiasts know better to go to other sites for more in-depth coverage.
    Reply
  • kawininjazx
    willardActually, with half an afternoon of work most phones are just as smooth as the GS3.Step 1. Root your phone.Step 2. Install a custom ROM and kernel that allows overclocking and undervolting.Step 3. Set a profile to downclock the CPU while idle and overclock it while in use.Step 4. Enjoy your blazing fast Android phone with doubled battery life.
    Actually I flashed and rooted my Droid X with a custom ICS (liquid) and it ran pretty good but it was still spotty in performance and I had enough of it. Plus having a 4G phone is great, I'm getting 12mbs.
    Reply
  • aracheb
    house70Actually, not half bad for an Apple-oriented website. Enthusiasts know better to go to other sites for more in-depth coverage.you are completely right
    my visit to this website had reduced from 5-10 a day to probably only once and I tend to not click on the apple links anymore i don't the one sided Amateur Journalism and click generating misleading news titles and fanatic cultist follower one sided news, this website is not what it use to be,
    You see when Jane who was one of the few who had a non biased point of view of news had joined the flock of the click generator bunch by publishing apple rumors you know this website is no longer worth the amount of visit,
    Reply
  • unksol
    arachebyou are completely rightmy visit to this website had reduced from 5-10 a day to probably only once and I tend to not click on the apple links anymore i don't the one sided Amateur Journalism and click generating misleading news titles and fanatic cultist follower one sided news, this website is not what it use to be, You see when Jane who was one of the few who had a non biased point of view of news had joined the flock of the click generator bunch by publishing apple rumors you know this website is no longer worth tree amount of visit,
    While Toms apparently has no editors, typos are rampant, fact checking is minimal, and their "journalists" are incredibly poor, they do occasionally do something useful. However your English, grammar, and spelling are absolutely atrocious. More of a failure than Toms could ever muster
    Reply
  • thanks for the tips and tricks Jane,

    if you don't mind we will discuss it on our android performance blog

    Android Performance
    Reply