I Lowered the IQ of Galaxy S Smartphone

[Rotorhead]

I am posting this because I have seen others in the Forum that appear to have been looking for something like this.

My Galaxy S is now "IPod Touch Like" with phone capability with the very important proviso that I'm in control of it. I'm happy with the phone now.

Not a novice to phones, but I am to the Android system.

The phone setup is EXACTLY what I was looking for: Mine is an SGH-i897 AT&T Captivate

1. AT&T pay as you go service. I paid almost full price for the phone to keep from having a contract. I pay by the minute, so I have to manage it. This option isn't for everyone. There are other options available.
2. APNs turned off, so no data via AT&T EDGE.
3. Turned off AT&T browsing.
4. WiFi data connectivity only. You'd be surprised how many hotspots there are.
5. Rooted phone.
6. Android SDK installed onto computer.
7. Samsung Kies installed on computer. It works.

Being new to Android, I spent a lot of time on this Forum and others to gather information.

Taking Root turned out to be so easy I didn't think it "took" at first. (But I had studied hard for days before I took the plunge.)

The most difficult issue for me was turning off the AT&T browsing. That was more hit and miss and reading from the Forum.

So now my phone isn't as smart as it wants to be, but at least it does just what "I" want it to do.

Regards
Steve

 

[Jack45]

First, a belated welcome!

Interesting post...glad you're happy with the Captivate and your customized setup.

 

[Frisco]

Let me add another hearty "welcome to Android Forums," Rotorhead.

Interesting way to go about it, indeed.. good that you have a setup you like (I see you posted it in the AT@T forums, as well ).

Perhaps others will give those pointers a try.

 

[Rotorhead]

Thanks,

I was just tired of being held hostage by the provider, but i still wanted a smartphone. I had tried an iphone but did not like being a hostage to the provider as well as Apple.

Is this the best solution? That i dont know. It's just one Option that I got to work.

Btw Frisco, I posted it here because this is where i got the knowledge to make those changes.

Regards
Steve

 

[mnemonicj]

I think it's great that you could do that. It shows the flexibility of Android and the ability to customize the phone to do what you want. This also goes to show the critics are wrong, Android can be a good tablet OS without a cell chip.

With the iPhone, you get what you want and get get to do what Steve Jobs wants you to do with it. With Android, you get what you want and you get to do what you want with it.

 

[Rotorhead]

Hello mnemonicj,

It's STILL a phone. I just killed the AT&T data. My data is all by WiFi now. There are only a "few" apps that still want/need that phone data download, that is the only downside i found.

Phone works as it always has. So i have a Phone/Tablet/w Wifi.

Regards
Steve

 

[3gAndroid]

It's STILL a phone. I just killed the AT&T data. My data is all by WiFi now.

Phone works as it always has. So i have a Phone/Tablet/w Wifi.

Brilliant...

Congrats for "doing your own thing" and sharing it with all of us here on the forum.

Personally, I think it's really cool that you did what so many of us may have thought of but didn't do because____________ * fill in the blank with appropriate excuse *

Enjoy!

 

[3gAndroid]

With the iPhone, you get what you want and get get to do what Steve Jobs wants you to do with it. With Android, you get what you want and you get to do what you want with it.

Kudo's, this is the best I've heard it expressed yet, I could not agree more ...

 

[Rotorhead]

Thanks 3gAndroid,

There were so many people (mostly AT&T) saying that i couldn't do it as i was already operating on an expired contract.

After doing my homework, I convinced them that it could be done and they then made it work, and i tweaked the rest. I will say that they were as nice as they could have been. AT&T has been good to me, I just get irked at having to have a contract.

Regards
Steve

3gAndroid