New to Ally - optimize

[Beatw/stick]

Hello, I got my Ally a few days ago (didn't get a more advanced phone because I wanted Android but not the price/plans a droid __ would come with) and decided 2 things:
1. It's a tad slow for my liking
2. There's a lot of apps (mostly lg apps) I'll never use (ever) that I can't uninstall.
I've already dabbled with certain things (flashed velocity 0.3 vanilla, found it annoying, restored), so I'm not a complete newbie, but I find all the things I can do confusing/a little scary.
Can someone help me fit these requirements?:
1. run faster than stock (not necessarily faster than dark helmet's ship, we don't want to go to plaid now)
2. get rid of bloatware (one of my favorite words btw) like lg apps
3. reversible via backup (which i do anyway, just nothing dangerous)
4. won't make my battery last 10 minutes (does overclocking drain huge amounts of battery? because i'm fine losing a little)
5. good memory management (i use stock with launcher pro, and i get around 45 megs free most of the time, with velocity 0.3 it was down around 25)
yes i realize some of these requirements are contradictory (speed and battery life namely), I just don't know how to balance these since i'm new to the scene.

Now velocity 0.3 removed a lot of bloatware and made certain applications run faster, but it wasn't quite as snappy (screen would rotate about a full second after opening/closing keyboard at homescreen, other small things).

Roms, OC, JIT, app2sd, themes... a bit confusing. Can anybody give me a simple solution?
Any help would be insanely appreciated - this phone is so much better than my old one (alias 1) and I want to love it.

 

[jreed2560]

First thing is it doesn't matter which Android device you choose they all require the same data plan.
1. Speed-you paid a lesser price so unfortunately you get a lesser device.
2. Root access will be required in order to delete system apps. The easiest way I've found to delete apps is to use a program called Root Explorer. It isn't free but its extremely easy to use.
Requirements
1. You can root, overclock, jit, and turbo this phone and it will run a bit faster, but nothing is going to make this thing run like a 1ghz phone (X, D2, Inc., Fascinate)
2. As I stated before Root Explorer can help you with this.
3.Titanium backup can backup all your downloaded apps and restore them without breaking the market link(the ability to be notified or automatically install new updates) Clockwork recovery or AmonRa recovery can make a complete system image for backup purposes called nandroid backup. these are more helpful than you can possibly imagine
4.Overclocking doesn't have that much of an effect on battery especially if you use a low voltage kernel
5. If you have root, use an app called autokiller. It sounds like a task killer (which I am opposed to) but it isn't. Android's system has a default limit where it starts shutting down apps. this app allows you to adjust where that "cut-off" switch is.

In my honest estimation, if you are within your 30 days, take the ally back and get something with a little more muscle under the hood. The incredible and the droid2 have just had a price reduction. If that isn't an option, try all the other stuff I suggested. Welcome to the community! and Happy Flashing!

ps. I don't want to seem like I'm bashing the Ally. My wife has it and its a great phone for her. It has all the features of android and she doesn't require a lot from her phone (performance wise or battery wise) But if you need Both my honest suggestion would be the DX. It rates very high for battery use. And is overclockable up to 1.48 now I believe.

 

[Beatw/stick]

First thing is it doesn't matter which Android device you choose they all require the same data plan.

actually, the ally had a 15/mo data plan for 150 megs, pretty much all the others had 30/mo unlimited (i dont use much 3g anyway)
I am still under the 30 day thing, but as i say above, its $50 plus 15 a month data vs around 150 +15/mo (i just checked the droid 2, still too much for me, thanks for trying). that hundred dollars would be coming out of my guitar amp fund.
1. so JIT+ oc kernel will speed me up (a bit) without sacrificing much battery?
2. delete apps i shall, thank you
3. I use colckwork mod, and i back up everything on the sd card and on my computer (i also just write down a list of apps (i don't have many since its a new phone) and export/backup my contacts to my computer)
5. i've heard nothing positive about task killers, but i'll take a look (i'm a little paranoid about memory/multitasking, so this sounds good)

would you reccomend any roms? because here's what i plan on doing
nandroid backup
use launcher pro
use autokiller
oc (rec a speed?) and use JIT
use root explorer to delete bloatware

anything i missed?

I just want it to be snappy when i do use it. I got the ally for 3 reasons - price, android, and because most non-smart verizon phones either suck or are notoriously faulty (env touch). besides, i do gaming and such on my ipod touch

thanks for the quick response, you;ve been very helpful

 

[jreed2560]

actually you can get that 15 plan on all smartphones. (I'm a sales rep) The guy/girl who sold you the phone just sold you a line.

I put the latest velocity with the jit, oc, turbo kernel on my wifes ally. She's getting consistant 600-700 quadrant scores and a decent 7 to 8 mflops in linpack (Linpack and Quadrant are benchmark apps, I don't know exactly what the numbers mean, but they make it easy to compare performance) But with my Droid X, I get 1800-1900 quadrant scores. Yes thats 3 times the performance. You can really tell a difference playing games like angry birds and browsing the web.

Launcher pro is a great home replacement. I would recommend if you are going to use it exclusively that you delete the lg launcher and the stock android launcher as they take up valuable real estate.

If you are going to overclock get the app SetCPU. You can donate by purchasing it from the market or check out XDA(another forum) and download it for free. You have to sign up to be a member to get it for free. Its a very clean interface and makes it easy to set your clock speed. Crank it up as high as it will go at first. If you get any reboots or FCs, you can scale it back.

I keep coming back to the feeling that I just don't know if this is enough device for you. You can still get the $15 data plan on any of the other android devices (BTW the ally runs andriod, but it is not a Droid phone. The X, D2, Incredible, and Eris are the flagship "Droid" line of phones. If you don't think there is a difference ask those with the "Binged" Fascinate )

 

[Beatw/stick]

i bought of the verizon website around a week and a half ago. 15/ mo was not an option on the droid (yes i know the difference - droid is a line of phones, such as the droid x/2/inc or fascinate/aria) and android is a modified linux operating system known for being a iOS alternative; yes i keep a backup in case of froyo).
I think you may be getting he wrong impression of me - i'm not a very heavy user at all - i don't game on it, i use the browser occasionally, and apps i would run would basically be productivity apps - nothing major. I know this phone is not a droid, i just cant afford a droid.
i'm happy with the phone as is basically, i just want to see if i can be more happy with it. trust me, i know the droids are better phones, but i'm not exactly in a position to get one. I just come off as being a super heavy user because i'm a little bit of a nerd; i do my homework. You've been very helpful, but stop trying to sell me a droid.

so with setcpu i take it as high as possible (safe) and see if i get a reboot or fc (what's "fc")

once again you've been nothing but helpful

 

[jreed2560]

force close. LOL and if I were selling you a Droid, I would have had you walking out with an X (maybe even at the Ally price! )

 

[jreed2560]

Set Your Location

notice the options for data plans

believe me, these new tiered data plans have been drilled in my head. you can get the 15 or 30 on ANY smartphone

 

[Beatw/stick]

once again - i do realize i can get 15/mo on any smartphone
1. i couldnt do that online at the time
2. it's not happening, drop it please
don't go from being helpful to being a salesperson

 

[jreed2560]

I'm not selling you anything, You said you couldn't get the 15 dollar data plan on the other android phones, I was simply saying that you could.

 

[Beatw/stick]

i realize that now the droids are still out of my price range. and i'm just saying you sound like a salesperson in that you keep informing me of how i can get a droid. how 'bout we bury the hatchet before there is a hatchet eh?

 

[jreed2560]

See, we never got to the "I realize that now" until just now, so I didn't realize you understood. So have fun with the ally, my wife likes hers.

 

[Beatw/stick]

i will, thank you very much

 

[netizenmt]

All that was pretty unhelpful in the end.

Since you are keeping the Ally, which is a great little phone given its limitations, take a look at running one of the custom ROMS on it. I personally am a huge fan of Raptor which has a new version soon to be released. There is also Velocity v0.2 and v0.3 with v0.4 soon to be released as well. There are even rumors that the Ally will eventually get Froyo 2.2. Get on the irc chat and yak it up with the guys on the Ally forum who actually use the phone and get their take on things. Above all, read, read, READ the posts, particularly under All Things Rooted for the Ally. And be aware that not every Ally performs exactly the same way, simply because of hardware vagaries as well as how the enduser uses the phone.

Welcome to the world of LG Ally... it may not be the DroidX or whatever, but it's definitely worth hanging on to.

Good luck and have fun - that's really what it all comes down to in the end, anyway!

 

[jreed2560]

(didn't get a more advanced phone because I wanted Android but not the price/plans a droid __ would come with)

actually, the ally had a 15/mo data plan for 150 megs, pretty much all the others had 30/mo unlimited (i dont use much 3g anyway)
I am still under the 30 day thing, but as i say above, its $50 plus 15 a month data vs around 150 +15/mo (i just checked the droid 2, still too much for me, thanks for trying).

i bought of the verizon website around a week and a half ago. 15/ mo was not an option on the droid (yes i know the difference

force close. LOL and if I were selling you a Droid, I would have had you walking out with an X (maybe even at the Ally price! )

^ this was a joke BTW

Set Your Location

notice the options for data plans

believe me, these new tiered data plans have been drilled in my head. you can get the 15 or 30 on ANY smartphone

once again - i do realize i can get 15/mo on any smartphone

my response to this wasn't to sell him a better phone (BTW I wouldn't make anything off a trade in anyway. What do I care what phone he has.) The data plans are new, and judging by his previous statments he thought they only applied to the ally. I again don't care what phone he has, just wanted to clear that up. When new plans come out sometimes people get confused.

i realize that now the droids are still out of my price range. and i'm just saying you sound like a salesperson in that you keep informing me of how i can get a droid. how 'bout we bury the hatchet before there is a hatchet eh?

See, we never got to the "I realize that now" until just now, so I didn't realize you understood. So have fun with the ally, my wife likes hers.

Again I suggested a whole slew of things the guy could try to make his Ally run better. There was just one point he was mistaken on, and I was trying to clarify that. Even now as I re-read all my post, not once (to me) did I ever come across a salesman like in trying to push him into something more. The guy simply came on here asking how to make an inferior device run like a top of the line device and I suggested the easiest route. Just buy a top of the line device!

 

[Beatw/stick]

ok so you're not a salesperson - my bad
and yes, while it can be sped up, it's never going to perform like a 1 ghz beast
i used the JIT oc kernel, and it's quite a bit snappier now.
just a few questions - how might i use things like root explorer to delete apps?
setcpu does not let me go above 600 mhz - normal? (i looked at the jit turbo page and it said some allys cannot be oc'd)
thanks for all the help, you've been very kind to me

 

[jreed2560]

Some allys can't handle being oc'd. Chalk it up to normal hardware variations at the point of production. If you want to dlete system apps (aka bloatware) open root explorer and navigate to/ system/app. From there check the box at the very top of the screen to mount the folder as R/W. Next just long press and select delete. Look around first for a list of apps that can br deleted without bricking your phone. Im posting from my X so I can't easily link it for you.

 

[jreed2560]

Qhen you ran setcpu did you use auto detect?

 

[Beatw/stick]

Thanks i found out which apps could be safely deleted (and deleted they were). i ran autodetect when i used setcpu and the slider went to 600 mhz max

 

[blay]

Well, that may be because you haven't flashed a kernel that allows for OC'ing. The phone itself, by default, cannot be OC'd.

 

[Beatw/stick]

Well, that may be because you haven't flashed a kernel that allows for OC'ing. The phone itself, by default, cannot be OC'd.

unlikely, i downloaded from here

http://androidforums.com/ally-all-things-root/180796-gnm_turbo-jit-oc-8-mflops.html

"Download_GNM_TURBO4.zip"

 

[blay]

Oh, I apologize. Oversight on my part. Just odd, as even if phone can't handle being OC'd, usually the slider still goes to 787, you will just see KP.

 

[Beatw/stick]

would flashing once more for good measure be acceptable or would that make gremlins pop out of my ally and run away with my family?

 

[blay]

Flash what once more? Turbo4? If yes, make sure to wipe cache & Dalvik cache after you flash.

 

[Beatw/stick]

wait, should i wipe the cache and dalvik cache before or after i flash (last time i did before)

 

[blay]

After.