Help Questions to prep for my optimus s :)

[reb]

Hey Everyone. I've been reading around on this forum & I'm very interested in purchasing the Optimus S. I am currently on my AT&T plan, but my contract is up at the end of this month so I will be switching over to Sprint. This will be my first android smart phone

I have a few questions:

1) Rooting. What are some features that this will give me? Any disadvantages? Is this hard to do?

2) LauncherPro. Once I install this, is there anyway I can switch back to my original screen? What features does this give me? Will this take away Sprint ID?

3) Sprint ID packs. I'm not too interested in having this, however I do want the Sprint TV/Football, etc. and I hear that the only way to get this is to get the Sprint ID pack? Is there anyway I can download this and switch the pack to the blank one? Will it leave the Sprint apps in the app area?

4) What are some suggestions you have for me to do first? Apps I should download?

5) Battery life. What are ways to save it? I want it to last probably 15 hours, but about half of those it would probably be off.

Thank you for answering these in advanced. I know they seem dumb, haah, but I'm completely new to all of this and I want to take advantage of all the "make-the-android-your-own" options.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

2- yes u can you'll have more control over desktop with either Launcher Pro or ADW
3- THE SPRINT ID PACK CAN BE INSTALLED THEN YOU CAN REMOVE THE OTHER STUFF WITH THAT ID. oopps sorry bout the caps
4-?
5-turn off gps and wifi

 

[roadster]

Sprint Id is more a personal app loader, I rather have that than be stuck with standard apps.

 

[Ma}{imus]

Hey Everyone. I've been reading around on this forum & I'm very interested in purchasing the Optimus S. I am currently on my AT&T plan, but my contract is up at the end of this month so I will be switching over to Sprint. This will be my first android smart phone

I have a few questions:

1) Rooting. What are some features that this will give me? Any disadvantages? Is this hard to do?

2) LauncherPro. Once I install this, is there anyway I can switch back to my original screen? What features does this give me? Will this take away Sprint ID?

3) Sprint ID packs. I'm not too interested in having this, however I do want the Sprint TV/Football, etc. and I hear that the only way to get this is to get the Sprint ID pack? Is there anyway I can download this and switch the pack to the blank one? Will it leave the Sprint apps in the app area?

4) What are some suggestions you have for me to do first? Apps I should download?

5) Battery life. What are ways to save it? I want it to last probably 15 hours, but about half of those it would probably be off.

Thank you for answering these in advanced. I know they seem dumb, haah, but I'm completely new to all of this and I want to take advantage of all the "make-the-android-your-own" options.

1) Root will increase your internal memory and give you greater access to customize your phone. You can flash custom ROMs that further tweak settings, appearance, etc. the risk is with root access you can potentially brick your phone. There is however a lot of support and several walk throughs that make the process quite simple.

2) Download the Homeswitcher for Froyo app and you can change easily between launchers.

3) Answered above.

4) This very subjective and really comes down to personal preference. Some suggested apps to get you started:

Quick Settings (must have IMO)
NoLED
Lookout

With root you'll need some other apps for sure.

SuperUser (mandatory to grant SU access to root apps)
Titanium Backup
Make sure you setup Custom Recovery if you plan to flash any custom ROMs.

5) JuiceDefender is a good power management tool. There are lots of apps out there for this, so find the one that works best for you. Just be careful with task killers as they can do more harm than good.

Good luck to you.

 

[Kmfiremedic111]

"5) Battery life. What are ways to save it? I want it to last probably 15 hours, but about half of those it would probably be off."

To save your battery:
Only turn on bluetooth only when you need it, keep GPS off until you need it, Keep your wifi off untill you need it. (yes there is a trend here).
-Keep your screen time out short. Mine is at the 30 second minimum.
-Screen brightness at 25% is plenty bright for me.
-Avoid task killers!! Avoid task killers!! They do nothing but drain your battery. The operating system is designed to kill tasks on its own when space is needed. Slowed my phone down until I uninstalled it. I had the most popular one too.
-Make sure you back out of applications properly by using the back button on the phone or search for an "Exit" or "close" option within that app each time you are through using it.
-I have it check for my mail every hour. (the max setting) The more often you have it check your mail the more it connects to the net and drains battery.
-Shut off and restart your phone once a day. Gives system a fresh start.
-I charge my phone every night. I can usually go from 7am to about 11 or 12pm and just then get in the yellow. That is with moderate surfing, texting, and phone use.

 

[kahale]

"5) Battery life. What are ways to save it? I want it to last probably 15 hours, but about half of those it would probably be off."

To save your battery:
Only turn on bluetooth only when you need it, keep GPS off until you need it, Keep your wifi off untill you need it. (yes there is a trend here).
-Keep your screen time out short. Mine is at the 30 second minimum.
-Screen brightness at 25% is plenty bright for me.
-Avoid task killers!! Avoid task killers!! They do nothing but drain your battery. The operating system is designed to kill tasks on its own when space is needed. Slowed my phone down until I uninstalled it. I had the most popular one too.
-Make sure you back out of applications properly by using the back button on the phone or search for an "Exit" or "close" option within that app each time you are through using it.
-I have it check for my mail every hour. (the max setting) The more often you have it check your mail the more it connects to the net and drains battery.
-Shut off and restart your phone once a day. Gives system a fresh start.
-I charge my phone every night. I can usually go from 7am to about 11 or 12pm and just then get in the yellow. That is with moderate surfing, texting, and phone use.

In other words the more you cripple your phone the better battery life you will get. Rooting will give a nice bump in battery life also. If you expect 15 hrs of use then don't expect to use your phone at all.

 

[stchman]

I recently got the Optimus S and really like it. Best Android phone for the $$$$ IMO.

I have not found a reason to root the phone. I installed Quick Settings to enable the wifi hotspot. The Android Market has 1000s of amazing apps.

I would not root the phone just cause, if you have specific needs that rooting will solve then by all means.

Have fun.

 

[Kmfiremedic111]

In other words the more you cripple your phone the better battery life you will get. Rooting will give a nice bump in battery life also. If you expect 15 hrs of use then don't expect to use your phone at all.

I wonldn't call it "crippling" your phone. Responsibly managing your settings. ALL ANDROID PHONES will suck the battery dry if you leave everything on, screen 100% brightness, automatically checking for email and facebook every 5 minutes. You can easily get a decent battery life out of this phone if you manage them wisely and not hack your phone to do so. For Kahale. I get 15 plus hours out of my phone each and every day no sweat without a root.

 

[kahale]

I wonldn't call it "crippling" your phone. Responsibly managing your settings. ALL ANDROID PHONES will suck the battery dry if you leave everything on, screen 100% brightness, automatically checking for email and facebook every 5 minutes. You can easily get a decent battery life out of this phone if you manage them wisely and not hack your phone to do so. For Kahale. I get 15 plus hours out of my phone each and every day no sweat without a root.

haha lol well with my old samsung moment you had to do just that to get decent battery life. you don't like the word crippling i understand but its still the same imo. so far with the optimus s i been getting decent battery life, like 15hrs+ depending on use. which i think its thanks to the 1500mah battery and android 2.2.

 

[reb]

Thanks so much guys. Just got my optimus yesterday. I love it so far, but much more to figure out and customize.

Also, has anyone had any trouble when adding contacts to a message? I start typing the person's name, but no names show up.

 

[kahale]

Thanks so much guys. Just got my optimus yesterday. I love it so far, but much more to figure out and customize.

Also, has anyone had any trouble when adding contacts to a message? I start typing the person's name, but no names show up.

you mean in the "to" box when you compose a new text message? i just type the first few letters of the contact and a drop down box pops up with similar names.