When writing :
CountDownTimer timer = new CountDownTimer(1000, 100)
{
@Override
public void onTick(long l)
{
}
@Overr
Definition from multiple publications, tried and tested:
"Another timer is provided with the built-in class CountDownTimer.This encapsulates the creation of a background thread and the handler queuing into a convenient class call..."
CountDownTimer's implementation uses Handler and sendMessageDelayed(), so no background thread is needed. This does mean that the timer will not update if you are tying up the main application thread elsewhere in your code.