A little help for a n00b.

blkshirt · September 10th, 2010, 09:59 AM

So today I should be getting my Samsung Moment. I've had 4 HTC TouchPro 2's go bad on me with touch screens failing, ear pieces that don't work and finally I couldn't send texts. I got fed up and Sprint is sending me a Moment (even though I really wanted an Epic, but didn't want to pay the $400 to get one since I'm not eligible for an upgrade until October of 2011.)

So I've read the Moment guide yesterday and will be going over it again today and will take some notes. I just wanted to know if there are any apps (hopefully free) that you can't live without? My girlfriend has the LG Ally but I haven't had a chance to play around with it as much as I would like because she has issues with the phone in her house and it kills the battery (Verizon is claiming it is because she was an Alltel customer and is now on Verizon).

Any help in advance would be appreciated. Finally glad to get over to the Android world....

pastafarian · September 10th, 2010, 12:16 PM

Welcome to a fellow Winmo convert. The best advice is to play with the phone a bit stock, before you make significant changes. The free stuff I use most is-

Launcher Pro- desktop replacement that provides some of the 2.1 features Samsung left out.
Handcent sms (or Chomp Sms)- better texting alternative to the stock sms.
K-9 mail- great if you have multiple gmail accounts.
xscope browser- many like Dolphin, but xscope's zooming works better on a phone that the manufacturer won't activate multi touch.
ES File Explorer- For all your file manipulation needs. Used to swear by Astro, but this is better.
Google Goggles and Sky Map- because they're cool
Barcode Scanner- Several similar apps on the market, all are pretty good.

Appbrain and its fast web installer- this is a combo pc and phone deal. It has better search than the default market. You can search for apps on the appbrain web site via your pc and install the app on your phone with a couple of mouse clicks.

blkshirt · September 10th, 2010, 12:46 PM

I posted this in the Root Forum as well but you or somebody else may be able to answer here:

What benefits do I get from rooting a phone?
If something happens and I have to take it back to Sprint am I violating any EULA's?
If I do root, should I get a different ROM?

Again, I'm a total n00b at Android but understand computers and technology pretty well, I've just always left my phones stock, just the more I read though the more I think I'll be rooting a phone right away.

SoulTerror · September 10th, 2010, 02:59 PM

It's kinda funny my wife just did the reverse swap as you.

I would suggest rooting your phone and then running Radioactive Froyo 1.8.7. It fixes the air plan mode bug and really helps with the speed of the phone.

If you need to take your phone back to Sprint, just make sure to reflash the stock rom onto the phone and they'll never know the difference.

cheech4 · September 10th, 2010, 10:31 PM

I just got my moment off a trade and so far i am pretty happy with it. i do want to know is there a way to remove apps u don't use with out rooting the phone. im not interested in kernels, roms or rooting. i am too new into android to start messing with that stuff. BUT if there is a easy way to remove programs i would greatly appreciate it.

jasonacg · September 11th, 2010, 06:49 AM

If the app was installed on the phone out-of-the-box (Sprint TV, the football app, Moxier Mail, Bejeweled demo, etc), you probably can't delete them without rooting or using a custom ROM.

If there is a way to do it, I hope someone will post it here, because I want to know for myself, too.

cheech4 · September 12th, 2010, 05:22 PM

Noob question again. is there any desktop software for android specific phones for example the moment. My other phone is a blackberry and it has a desktop software to back up contacts and stuff like that.

SoulTerror · September 12th, 2010, 06:14 PM

No there is not. Your contacts are synced with your Gmail account.

cheech4 · September 12th, 2010, 08:37 PM

ok is there a easy way or an easier way to remove apps that u dont want with out rooting? i got this phone on a trade and i will root it eventually one day but i am not that savvy and i dont want to mess things up.

cheech4 · September 12th, 2010, 08:42 PM

and thank you for all the help on my questions.

EmoTonyB · September 13th, 2010, 11:47 AM

there is no way that i know of to remove stock apps other than root. launcher pro has an option to HIDE unused icons in the app drawer, but i have not used it as i am root and just removed all the crap i didnt want

dntesinfrno · September 13th, 2010, 11:55 AM

There is a way but it is by no means easy. It involves using an adb shell to access the /system folder on the phone remotely. Rooting the phone is by far easier to do than this method and is what i would recommend if you want to get rid of the bloat.

EmoTonyB · September 13th, 2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dntesinfrno

There is a way but it is by no means easy. It involves using an adb shell to access the /system folder on the phone remotely. Rooting the phone is by far easier to do than this method and is what i would recommend if you want to get rid of the bloat.

wow. you speak a WAY more advanced dialect of nerd than i, sir.

dunno what an adb shell is.... google here i come.

dntesinfrno · September 13th, 2010, 12:40 PM

ADB is part of the source developers kit (SDK) for android. It is a command line interface to assist in development of software for the android OS. The intention of the adb interface (including the shell - interface layer between the kernel and user) is more or less to push/pull apps between emulators used for developing/testing software and devices themselves. Exploiting the capabilities of this interface allows full access to the file system of connected devices and what allowed root access possible on the Moment and similar devices (including the Epic if i recall). Given the techincal nature of the interface and the lack of a GUI it is intended for advanced users.