Reloading marvin

[Luckyniccie]

Hello Marvin users,

Since ios 7 I have the problem that marvin keeps reloading in the multitask bar, when I switch between apps and go to marvin again it reloads and so my reading time isn't saved. Does anyone else have the same problem?
The problem occurs on the ipad mini aswell on the ipad 2.
I have the latest version of marvin: 2.3

[Faterson]

Reloads happen from time to time for me as well, but generally, precisely tracking reading time is problematic in Marvin. (See here.)

[Luckyniccie]

Thanks for the link and reply. Hope there will be a solution soon

[Faterson]

My proposed fix was an optional and user-configurable time-out. I would put it at 180 seconds (3 minutes) myself. During that time, Marvin's timer would continue "ticking away" even if the user is outside the book. (The reader may be consulting a 3rd-party dictionary app as part of reading the book, etc.) There are iOS time-keeping apps that can keep their data and running timers even between iDevice restarts (!) -- the time continues running up or down, even when the app itself is not running -- so in a similar way, Marvin might be able to keep the time-keeping intact even if iOS interferes and kills Marvin while Marvin is in background.

[Faterson]

One more aspect to consider: iOS 7 is more resource-intensive than iOS 6. The amount of RAM on a device determines how often iOS will kill Marvin while Marvin is in background. If you have iPad 2 and the original iPad mini, neither of the two devices has sufficient RAM to run iOS 7 as smoothly as the new iPad Air and the mini Retina. Unless the 64-bit infrastructure interferes in unintended ways, Marvin should be restarting a lot less frequently on iPad Air or Retina mini, because those devices have at least twice the amount of RAM compared to old-generation iPads.

If at least the proposed time-out is introduced, which would mean that Marvin's time-keeping would no longer require for Marvin to be in the foreground, then at least Marvin's time-keeping data won't be affected when iOS kills Marvin while Marvin is in background. Upon the next Marvin launch, Marvin would simply resume with the timer where it left off at the moment when it was killed by iOS.

[Luckyniccie]

Thanks for your explanation, I hope that the option will be available that marvin would resume even if ios kills the app

[Luckyniccie]

I just recently bought the ipad mini without this knowlegde, do you think i can get a refund or trade it for ipad mini retina?

[Faterson]

That's tough! Hard to be optimistic about that, unfortunately. You can always ask at the place where you bought it, but... If given the chance, definitely go for the new Retina mini, even if it costs $100 more. The two editions are just incomparable, hardware-wise. Although the difference in terms of their release time is only 1 year, in terms of hardware specs, it feels more like 2 years/generations -- although the original mini was praised for its form factor when it was originally released, it was criticised for its hardware specs (particularly the screen) even back then.

[Luckyniccie]

Damn I didn't know about the cricits about the ipad mini, I bought it in july without the knowledge of the release date of ipad mini retina. Unfortunatly I can't buy the ipad mini retina. Don't have the money for that. But I did buy ipod touch 5g they have the good harware right?

Then I only have to buy the marvin app for ipod touch..

[Faterson]

July is too far back, I'm afraid. Well, lots of users are happy with their original iPad minis; it's just that its hardware specs, particularly the screen, are no longer up to late 2013 standards.

Originally Posted by Luckyniccie

But I did buy ipod touch 5g they have the good harware right?

I'm not an iPod expert (have never owned one), but iPod touch 5g does offer the Retina screen, which is the crucial difference between the two iPad mini versions, so yes, especially for reading purposes, Marvin on your iPod touch should be perfect. I have a 3.5-year-old iPhone 4, and Marvin works flawlessly there. I'm sure neither the iPhone 4 nor iPod touch 5g contain the most recent hardware, but for a device with rather marginal (albeit unavoidable) daily use, I do not consider it essential for it to contain the most recent hardware. Would I trade my iPhone 4 for an iPhone 5S? Yup, right this minute. But the increase in functionality, I'm afraid, would not correspond to the €650 or so Apple currently charge for it.

[Luckyniccie]

Thanks for your answer, I will let you know how marvin works on the ipod touch ;-)

[MeSue]

I've noticed a lot of different apps, not just Marvin, reloading more often since iOS 7. I think iOS 7 is just more aggressive about kicking apps out of memory.

[Faterson]

Including on iPad Air, Sue? I heard app crashes on the new iPads being described as having been caused by the new 64-bit infrastructure not performing optimally at this point.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Including on iPad Air, Sue? I heard app crashes on the new iPads being described as having been caused by the new 64-bit infrastructure not performing optimally at this point.

Yes, I think so, although I can't do a direct comparison because I use different apps on my iPhone and Air, but it seems like many apps reload more often. This despite that fact that it's now much easier to keep the app switcher pared down. I generally only keep 5-7 apps at the ready in iOS 7, when I used to not pay much attention and let it grow to 10, 20, or more.

I had several crashes during the first week of having the Air, but none that I can recall since the iOS 7.0.4 update.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by MeSue

I think iOS 7 is just more aggressive about kicking apps out of memory.

I was discussing the frequent reloading problem with the developer of the AudiobookCD app I use and that is how he described it. He did something to improve it in an update to his app right after iOS 7, but then when 7.0.3 came out it seemed to get worse again.