Question about "background apps"?

[dvdqnoc]

So I heard that if you open an app on iPod touch, it doesnt really close by hitting the home button, but that you must hold it down for 5 seconds to completely close it.

My question is, don't you think that's a big hassle?

Is it really true that it drains the battery to have an app still "running in the background"? And also, does it still drain the battery if i dont completely close my apps (by holding the home button) and putting it on sleep?

Is there a way to close all of my apps completely at once instead of holding it down for each? Thanks

[S2_Mac]

The theory is that if you opened the app once, you're p'bly gonna want to open it again; letting it "idle" in the background makes it respond faster the next time you want it (as opposed to completely reloading). If an app is just idling (as opposed to doing work "in the background"), the power used is negligible; the app retains only enough consciousness to check the event queue for any calls. Even when checking 60 times per second (typical of a computer), it's only a few tens of thousands of cycles per second...no more energy than is spent waiting for your next touch of the screen or the home button.

[DerekVOF]

Actually background applications seem to use VERY little processor power. In many cases, it appears they're almost asleep (having to reload webpages rather than just having them already cached, etc.).

In addition, the holding down the home button works more like a Force Quit - you're killing the application & all processes rather than closing it entirely.

[ArtDamage911]

if you have jailbroken your Touch you can download a system manager that should answer all your questions. i believe its in the "utilities" package in the install tab and its called "SysInfo".

[dvdqnoc]

Then is it ok if I just akways press the home button once, and never hold it down to close an app? Will my battery life be ok if I do this?

[DerekVOF]

Well, considering that would mean I've got Safari, Music, Video, Installer, NES, VNsea, and HP-15c calc running in the background, battery life is great :) Typically I'm getting 4+ hours of music, 2+ hours of video, and 2+ hours of Internet/Safari on one charge (with being lazy and leaving Wi-Fi and SSH on), I think it works out pretty well. Just charge it over night...

[ArtDamage911]

Well, considering that would mean I've got Safari, Music, Video, Installer, NES, VNsea, and HP-15c calc running in the background, battery life is great :) Typically I'm getting 4+ hours of music, 2+ hours of video, and 2+ hours of Internet/Safari on one charge (with being lazy and leaving Wi-Fi and SSH on), I think it works out pretty well. Just charge it over night...
that seems pretty low to me... im getting 10+ hours and i have just about everything running you do. maybe you leave the screen on longer than me/brighter display settings?

[DerekVOF]

I rarely hit 20% battery left - I just charge nightly so it won't run down on me the next day. :)