Help Newbie with mytouch and android

[mestnf]

Hello,
i tried searching for some questions on here but some I couldnt find, so I was hoping someone could help. I just got the mytouch 4g upgrade from a blackberry flip - so completely new phone!

1. issues with apps running in background -
-----I was wondering if I could somehow save some battery power by closing all the random apps running in the background. some of them ive never used before and somehow there still on and running. I heard a task killer is no longer needed because they changed these background apps to hardly use any battery but i was just wondering your opinions.
-----My MAIN CONCERN is that these apps running in the background are using the internet. I have the $10 plan where I get limited internet and I dont want thesee apps using all of my internet and going over my limit without me even knowing it. Im usually in a wifi area, but when I knowingly want to use the internet (facebook, email, etc) ill turn my wifi on and use it so i know its free.
-----Also, whenever I go to send a text, I send it, but i also notice that theres a "text" app that is still running. when i send a text, i just hit the back button to close out of it. Is this what I should be doing or is there another way to close it so that its still not running in the background when im done using it?

2. facebook app - Do I need to download a facebook app? on the setup screen for social networks, i see that you can log in, but i dont see an icon to get to it on my "icon drawer". Im used to the facebook app on the ipod touch/iphone so correct me if its completely different for android

3. Battery Charging - I hear many different stories about different devices on the whole charging issue so I might as well ask this question too, so I dont get confused. Should I charge this phone every night even if its not dead or near dead, or should I only charge this phone when the battery is almost drained all the way?


Thank you so much to everyone who can answer these questions for me! Im new, please be gentle

 

[pantlesspenguin]

Hi and welcome! I'm not 100% sure on this so please anyone correct me if this is wrong. The processes that run in the background don't use data, it's just the programs you're actively using that use data toward your plan. If you're worried about using battery, you can change how frequent your phone checks for things like email. It's true that you don't need to download a task killer, the android platform has its own way of killing tasks and any downloaded task killer would be counter-productive. However, I would look into Juice Defender which is a battery saver.

You do need to download a facebook app if you don't want to just rely on Friend Stream.

I always charge my phone every night regardless of how much battery I have left so I can start fresh the next day.

Hope this helped!

 

[behold_this]

If you don't like friend stream for facebook, just use the mobile site. I personally hate the idea of more than one facebook app on my phone (the first being facebook for mytouch/friend stream) but find that the mobile or even the touch facebook sites fill in friend streams gaps. You can also bookmark it and set up a shortcut on your home screen for one click access and of course with this phones browser and 4g speeds why not just use the full facebook site?

 

[aysiu]

1. issues with apps running in background -
-----I was wondering if I could somehow save some battery power by closing all the random apps running in the background. some of them ive never used before and somehow there still on and running. I heard a task killer is no longer needed because they changed these background apps to hardly use any battery but i was just wondering your opinions.

You're correct. Task killers are bad and basically also don't work. To properly exit out of an app, keeping hitting the Back button until you get back to the home screen. Do not press Home to get to home.

-----My MAIN CONCERN is that these apps running in the background are using the internet. I have the $10 plan where I get limited internet and I dont want thesee apps using all of my internet and going over my limit without me even knowing it. Im usually in a wifi area, but when I knowingly want to use the internet (facebook, email, etc) ill turn my wifi on and use it so i know its free.

Use the power widget (long-press on an empty space on the home screen and add a widget) and you can quickly turn off your data and turn it back on when you need it.

-----Also, whenever I go to send a text, I send it, but i also notice that theres a "text" app that is still running. when i send a text, i just hit the back button to close out of it. Is this what I should be doing or is there another way to close it so that its still not running in the background when im done using it?

Hitting the Back button is the way to go, but the texting app may also need to run a process even if the app itself isn't running. That's fine.

2. facebook app - Do I need to download a facebook app? on the setup screen for social networks, i see that you can log in, but i dont see an icon to get to it on my "icon drawer". Im used to the facebook app on the ipod touch/iphone so correct me if its completely different for android

If you want to use the Facebook app, you can install it through the Android Market.

3. Battery Charging - I hear many different stories about different devices on the whole charging issue so I might as well ask this question too, so I dont get confused. Should I charge this phone every night even if its not dead or near dead, or should I only charge this phone when the battery is almost drained all the way?

The MyTouch 4G (like almost all smartphones) uses a lithium ion battery, which should be charged regularly before it gets even close to 0%. In fact, running the battery down all the way every time is bad for the battery and will kill its capacity a lot faster. More details here:
How to prolong lithium-based batteries