Week Old Droid User

[tclarktc]

So, finally after about 7 years of BlackBerrys I called it quits for good. That being said, the extent of my Android knowledge was some research on various sites, messing around with a few friend's phones, and BayouFlyFisher's article in a battery life thread (very helpful, sir). All in all, I've got a fair amount of questions and would love some help.

1st. As a college student, each device needs to be registered with the university to grab WiFi. I'm assuming its just like a computer and to just register my MAC address?

2nd. As cool as the dancing, bikini-clad chick was, I opted away from Live Backgrounds. After reading Bayou's article and him mentioning Launchers I'm kinda confused. Are they just simple more efficient home-screens and is Zeam the best one?

3rd. I'm assuming Lookout is considered Antivirus? During some of my research people seemed to be freaking out about keyloggers. Is that a justifiable threat? And should I use JuiceDefender?

4th. Coming from BlackBerry, I wanted to experiment with the Android Market: ScoreCenter, Opera, The Weather Channel, Pandora, Twitter, Angry Birds, Bank Of America, Defender, Finance, JuiceDefender, Movies, Pulse, Total Frat Droid, and WhatsApp. I rarely ever have these running, with the exception of Pandora, Twitter, and Facebook but does the apps simply being there drain the battery?

5th. Can I get rid of some of the stock apps? I see no real value in them but I cannot figure out how to delete them. NFL Mobile and both Blockbuster seem dumb to me.

6th. Do ya'll recommend any apps that help with functionality or are really good quality?

7th. What is the best keyboard? I've got big hands and have been experimenting with pretty much anyone I could find. I tired the original, SwiftKey, BetterKeyboard, Gingerbread (my current keyboard), the ICS keyboard, and a few others.

8th. I have heard really mixed things about the Task Manager and don't really understand the debate about it. The same goes for the Smart Actions but that is probably because I am not using it correctly.

9th. Having had a BlackBerry for some long I'm guessing I have terrible charging habits which carried over to my Razr. I bring my laptop with me everywhere and always have my Droid hooked up to it. If I'm going out at night I bring along the portable battery and usually keep it plugged into that. From the battery life article I read I'm assuming this is wrong? I do charge it via the wall at night. What is a good charging routine to get into?

10th. I'm a heavy user. I text literally all day, use twitter and facebook, often but don't really use e-mail. Is there a way I can minimize my e-mail synch? I'm using two accounts my school e-mail as well as my my GMail account. Am I correct in thinking that Twitter and Facebook can be used on only WiFi?

11th. Are there any other additional measures I should take to improve battery performance?

12th. Lastly, I got the SIM Card Error a few days ago, did a few soft resets and it stopped. However, it came back today and I've tried resetting it at least 5 times with no avail. I'm guessing the network really did die out? Also, how do I re-seat my SIM card/do a factory reset without loosing all of my information.

I apologize for the massive wall of text and appreciate any advice ya'll can give me.

-Tyler

 

[mopar57]

So, finally after about 7 years of BlackBerrys I called it quits for good. That being said, the extent of my Android knowledge was some research on various sites, messing around with a few friend's phones, and BayouFlyFisher's article in a battery life thread (very helpful, sir). All in all, I've got a fair amount of questions and would love some help.

1st. As a college student, each device needs to be registered with the university to grab WiFi. I'm assuming its just like a computer and to just register my MAC address?
What college? Sounds kinds lame, The college I'm at doesnt require that, nor have any of the ones I travel to. But whatever the case you OIT would be best to answer that

2nd. As cool as the dancing, bikini-clad chick was, I opted away from Live Backgrounds. After reading Bayou's article and him mentioning Launchers I'm kinda confused. Are they just simple more efficient home-screens and is Zeam the best one? -simple answer is yes, but different launchers have different tweaks

3rd. I'm assuming Lookout is considered Antivirus? During some of my research people seemed to be freaking out about keyloggers. Is that a justifiable threat? And should I use JuiceDefender? lookout- yes antivirus, does some other things. I never had a reason to worry about virus, but to each there own. If your talking about carrierIQ then your going to have to wait for a rom or some other fix. Say on the forums and you will stay update on most threats! JuiceDefender- depends on you. I tried it (not on razr) didnt seem to help

4th. Coming from BlackBerry, I wanted to experiment with the Android Market: ScoreCenter, Opera, The Weather Channel, Pandora, Twitter, Angry Birds, Bank Of America, Defender, Finance, JuiceDefender, Movies, Pulse, Total Frat Droid, and WhatsApp. I rarely ever have these running, with the exception of Pandora, Twitter, and Facebook but does the apps simply being there drain the battery? Possible...if you dont use them, I would recommend either Titanium Backup or Jrummy's app manager and freeze them ( root required)

5th. Can I get rid of some of the stock apps? I see no real value in them but I cannot figure out how to delete them. NFL Mobile and both Blockbuster seem dumb to me.
See answer 4

6th. Do ya'll recommend any apps that help with functionality or are really good quality? see 4

7th. What is the best keyboard? I've got big hands and have been experimenting with pretty much anyone I could find. I tired the original, SwiftKey, BetterKeyboard, Gingerbread (my current keyboard), the ICS keyboard, and a few others. Try swype?

8th. I have heard really mixed things about the Task Manager and don't really understand the debate about it. The same goes for the Smart Actions but that is probably because I am not using it correctly. ......too many arguments- best thing about android try it for yourself and decide from there. Personally I only use it to close an app when Im do lazy to go though settings..

9th. Having had a BlackBerry for some long I'm guessing I have terrible charging habits which carried over to my Razr. I bring my laptop with me everywhere and always have my Droid hooked up to it. If I'm going out at night I bring along the portable battery and usually keep it plugged into that. From the battery life article I read I'm assuming this is wrong? I do charge it via the wall at night. What is a good charging routine to get into? What ever fits your routine.

10th. I'm a heavy user. I text literally all day, use twitter and facebook, often but don't really use e-mail. Is there a way I can minimize my e-mail synch? I'm using two accounts my school e-mail as well as my my GMail account. Am I correct in thinking that Twitter and Facebook can be used on only WiFi? Might be something if you have data saving settings

11th. Are there any other additional measures I should take to improve battery performance? root and read the forums...many ideas

12th. Lastly, I got the SIM Card Error a few days ago, did a few soft resets and it stopped. However, it came back today and I've tried resetting it at least 5 times with no avail. I'm guessing the network really did die out? Also, how do I re-seat my SIM card/do a factory reset without loosing all of my information. factory reset= bye bye information. If your rooted try app manger..or my backup root (messaging) and TiBu for apps and data

I apologize for the massive wall of text and appreciate any advice ya'll can give me.

-Tyler

Answers in the quote

 

[tclarktc]

Thanks for the response. When I look in the task manager it says the unwanted apps/excess apps are not running so should I still freeze them? And what does freezing them do. I had less than good luck with swype. Not something I think ill be able to do. Ill look around the forums for some optimization ideas. I really want to take advantage of everything the phone can do. What is a beginning optimization technic I can start with?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums