A few questions about android...

[BklynEnigma]

I'm not new to android, been using it for almost 2 years now, but I have a few general questions that hopefully the community can help me with . I work for T-Mobile by the way, and I do want to learn as much about as Android as possible .

a) Saving apps to the SD. Is there any pros or cons to doing this other than freeing up memory from the phone's memory? I remember reading something about how the app will run better or look cleaner if it was on the phone's memory rather than on the SD card.

b) This seems to be an issue with my Galaxy S II, rather than a general android question. When I have headphones and am listening to music/rhapsody, notifications play thru my speakers. Is there a way other than rooting to force notifications to play thru the speakers?

c) Is there a way to see specifically which apps drain how much battery? On the Galaxy S II, by going to Menu - Settings - Applications - Battery use it actually tells me a few apps but not all of them. Is there any way to tell, and on all/most android phones?

d) Is there any short codes that I should know about for android. I know about *#*#4636#*#* ,but is there any other ones? Also this code doesn't work on my GSII, any other way to access that info?

Thanks in advance for any and all help, even friendly bumps are appreciated

 

[darkuni]

Programs with widgets cannot be stored on the SD card because the SD card isn't mounted until AFTER the OS loads - so your widgets will all come up "dead" (PROBLEM WITH WIDGET error on your screen).

Take a look at Ultimate Backup on the Market .. it will show you what apps CAN be transferred to the SD card and will even do it for you. Surely there are many other apps that do it, but that's my favorite.

 

[BklynEnigma]

Knew that the widgets would "die" if saved to SD card, but didn't know why that was. Thank you .

 

[darkuni]

No problem. Let us know what you end up using to identify and/or move apps. While I'm a big Ultimate Backup fan, there is always something new (and sometimes better) coming out.

Apps are almost like Pokemon ... Gotta catch 'em all

 

[EarlyMon]

Avoid task managers. You don't need them with Android. And they won't save battery or help the operating system, they will screw it up.

Almost everything about the look and feel of most any Android can be changed via 3rd party apps without resorting to root. (As a T-Mobile employee I assume that root is off limits.)

Most problems can be cured with a factory data reset or a battery pull.

To monitor battery usage, try Quick System Info Pro, free in the Market.

Diagnostic key codes vary by make and model. Check our phone forums for various models - some are known and shared here, some are not.

 

[darkuni]

Yes yes .. to Obi Earlymon you listen. No task killers. At least, not AUTOMATIC ones.

Sure, there is an occassional rogue app that needs killing by hand - but there are tons of reasons why you shouldn't use task killers. Mostly because Google tells you NOT to.

This is the best summary of task killer information I've found.

 

[EarlyMon]

GREAT article!

 

[darkuni]

Yeah man ... EVERYONE should get this with their phone.

 

[AndroidAdvntge]

I have recently read that article on task managers, and I was totally misinformed. I had to update my Battery Life Optimization Guide because I was under the impression that task managers were beneficial, and they are in some ways, but the cons outweigh the pros.
Juice Defender is my new "main squeeze" haha.

 

[darkuni]

It doesn't help that friggin' VERIZON REPS (probably AT&T et al) RECOMMEND them to their users when they buy the phone.

Hard to fight that level of misrepresentation.