Newbie Needs Advice

[pattikate]

I'm seriously considering upgrading from my piece o' junk feature phone to the Droid X smartphone. Since I am a total novice when it coms to smartphones, having only used the internet on laptops and pcs, I have one urent question for you Droid X-perts:

Do I need to install any type of antivirus app on my Droid X, or am I safe without one?

Thanks for your input!

 

[spaz33g]

As of right now there is no need for antivirus on a droid.

tappin and a talkin

 

[mwhartman]

^^^^^^^What he said!

And you do not need a task killer either.

 

[pattikate]

^^^^^^^What he said!

And you do not need a task killer either.

Assuming you don't need Task Killer, what's a more effective way of cancelling or disabling apps running in the background that drain the battery?

 

[DROOIID]

Titanium back up and freeze unwanted apps... make sure you don't freeze important ones.

Sent using Droid Forum app.

 

[christim]

^^^^^^^What he said!

And you do not need a task killer either.

Assuming you don't need Task Killer, what's a more effective way of cancelling or disabling apps running in the background that drain the battery?

Here is some good reading on task killers: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/65483-task-killers-answer-google-developers.html

You can use the Power control bar widget to easily turn off wifi and GPS to save on battery life. I rooted my phone and changed how often the phone scans for wifi which saves battery life too.

 

[spaz33g]

The whole apps in the background drain battery thing is actually a misconception. Apps that run in the background aren't actually doing anything most of the time. Just look in your battery manager and you will see that the running apps aren't actually using noticable battery.

tappin and a talkin

 

[pattikate]

^^^^^^^What he said!

And you do not need a task killer either.

Assuming you don't need Task Killer, what's a more effective way of cancelling or disabling apps running in the background that drain the battery?

Here is some good reading on task killers: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/65483-task-killers-answer-google-developers.html

You can use the Power control bar widget to easily turn off wifi and GPS to save on battery life. I rooted my phone and changed how often the phone scans for wifi which saves battery life too.

I've read a lot about rooting, and being new to this experience I am clueless to the meaning of the term. Could someone explain what exactly rooting is and how is it done? Thanks!

 

[mwhartman]

The Android OS does an excellent job of managing apps.

Here are a few links that may help:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/re...-dummies-guide-android-terminoligy-lingo.html

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-hacks/632-what-root-means-stop-asking.html
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/rescue-squad-guides/70875-what-you-need-know-about-rooting.html

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/re...08-multiple-phones-root-them-unroot-them.html

Hope this is helpful.

Mike

 

[christim]

I've read a lot about rooting, and being new to this experience I am clueless to the meaning of the term. Could someone explain what exactly rooting is and how is it done? Thanks!

Someone once explained it like this: Gaining root is gaining access to your locked basement. Down in the basement is the furnance, breakers, hot water heater, etc...all the things needed to run the house.

Gaining root is gaining administrative access to the system. You can replace and delete anything you want, for good or for bad. Doing so lets you tweak your system. For instance, I changed a file so when wifi is on it checks for an access point every 90 seconds instead of every 15-30 seconds ( depending on your phone). This saves me hours of battery life.

How to root: read, and read some more. There are various methods for each phone. The more you understand the easier to fix what might go wrong. And I always suggest you know exactly how to get your phone back to how it is right now, before you start. That way if things go sour you have a plan to recover.

 

[harrellj]

Also, I'd recommend using the phone for a period of time before you root and have a reason to root. Don't root just to root.

 

[pattikate]

Interesting stuff! Thanks to everyone for the info.

 

[DROOIID]

Good luck if you decide to go that route. Really not that scary when you read up on it.

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