Noob here...i have 3 Pearls and an 8900 in my household...T Mobile. Im sorry if this issue has been discussed before but i would really appreciate some lessons learned, etc., on the topic.
If you hit back and not close that will only exit you out of that application. If you select menu>close that's the way to properly close a third party app. Keep in mind there are five apps that are always running, Call log, Home Screen, Browser, BBM, and Messages.
Yes, hitting the ESC (Back) key is like hiding/minimizing the application. Selecting Close from the Menu is actually closing the application, except for the Call Logs, BB Messenger, Homescreen and Messages, as mwdb4au listed.
The Browser is a special case. If you select Close from the menu, you actually close your browser session*, yet it still remains loaded in memory.
* - If you press the Back/ESC key on the Browser, then next time you open it, you are taken to the page you were viewing when you pressed ESC. If you select Menu > Close, the next time you open the browser you are taken to the start page, not to the page you were viewing. It seems like the Browser closes when you press Menu > Close, yet it always appears in the list of running applications. Go figure.
so will i encounter memory issues if i constantly exit (back) and not close the apps or folders? I mainly talking about navigating in and out of media, inbox, and Tool folders.
I have done both, and the memory tends to be the same regardless of which method I use. Most apps I use will allow me to close it by using the Escape key. You can always check to see if it's open by viewing a list of opened applications. I tend not to use it too often for the browser, because the Escape key is also used as a Back key. If you have viewed several pages it may take a while to back your way out of the browser. So I use the close method for the browser.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
I am obsessed about properly closing the application when not in use.
I have heard, however, that if you press and hold the ESC button that it closes all open apps. I've tried it, I don't notice a huge difference.
Holding the Esc Key and closing all running apps does not work on my 8330. I can't say it doesn't work. Just not on my phone. It does back you out of the browser faster.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
It really depends on the app. By default, closing the last screen quits the application entirely. But developers can specify a different behavior. At least for the apps I wrote, hitting ESC on the last screen is the same as Close. You can use alt-ESC to open the ribbon and confirm that the application is actually shut down. As others pointed out, some of them will not quit at all.
