[Android Apps and Games] ckollars:
performance hints

Great app, very useful, I leave my HTC Droid Eris under the desk and control it entirely from Webkey now. I had some performance issues with slow response, intermittent non-response, and even occasional hanging. So here's what I did:

First, this phone can try so hard to get a GPS fix on its position that it doesn't pay enough attention to Webkey. So I went into its options, went further into "Location & Security", and un-checked "Use GPS Satellite" (leaving only the lower resolution "Use Wireless Networks" checked). Many things -such as of course launching the "News and Weather" app- speeded up noticeably.

Second, this phone's effective average data rate over a period of several seconds is only somewhat less than 4Mbs. It can receive the first segment of an 802.11g (54Mbs) transmission at full rate, BUT if there are too many packets back-to-back, it starts to miss some of the packets - apparently its receive functionality is being overrun. I worked around this by re-configuring my WiFi base. I set it for 802.11g only (the phone apparently uses 802.11b if both are available, but 11Mbs may still be too fast in some circumstances, and 802.11g is more configurable), _and_LRS_mode_ (LimitedRateSupport makes the base space out packets to a single destination) with the rate set to the first quantum _below_ 4Mbs. Then I _partially_ negated these limitations by also enabling "Frame Bursting" (sending two or maybe three packets [but not more] back to back regardless of LRS limits), something the HTC Droid Eris seems to be able to handle just fine.

It's counter-intiutive, but this slowing down of the WiFi resulted in Webkey _speeding_up_. No more slow responses, intermittent non-responses, or hangs. (This issue is correlated entirely with the phone hardware, and may not happen at all with some newer phones. Very old phones though will have an issue.)

I expect that some enhancements in the Webkey code -combined with its use of TCP- would take care of this. But there's no need to wait, just re-configure your WiFi to solve the issue right now with the version you've got.

(I don't think any of this matters at all for this issue - but just in case-- My HTC Droid Eris is one of the first ones made available, so the hardware is very old. The software on the other hand has been updated, so now it has ROM OMGB 1.2.2 and Android 2.3.3. And it's "rooted". I use only Wifi - I have no carrier activation [i.e. I use it as a very small computer, _not_ as a telephone]. I use a Static IP configuration [rather than the usual DHCP, because it's simpler and maybe a little more secure]. It's the only WiFi device in my house. I host a closed/hidden WiFi network. There's _lots_ of other WiFi activity in the neighborhood (urban area served by Verizon FiOS, also nearby barbershop), but I've found a fairly clear channel, and I have about a 35db advantage over what other users of that channel there are in the neighborhood. My eyes aren't so good any more, so I've un-checked both the Webkey "Screen Properties" items "Low Resolution" and "Half Size" [I tried checking PNG too, but found it used a whole lot more bandwidth for little or no visible improvement, so I went back to JPG].)

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When a long long time has passed, the phone shuts itself off and the browser disconnects the network circuit and the phone seemingly can't be awakened from Webkey reliabily. Clicking the virtual power button on the Webkey screen in this situation does nothing. The solution that works for me is to first tell the browser to "recirc". (_Sometimes_ it will ask for re-entry of the username and password, which my browser remembers so all I have to do is click "Okay".) After that when I click the virtual power button, the display changes to the usual power on screen with "Lock" icon. I click on the lock icon and drag it, and the phone finishes starting up and lets me control it entirely in Webkey. (Of course I had to make sure my phone's settings kept the WiFi on even when the screen was off. This uses more power - but I don't care because I always have the charger on anyway.)