Help Bloatware Concerns

[RyboCollier]

Hello all,

It seems to be common practice for service providers to bog down their newest phones with bloatware. I've read some information on these forums that seems to indicate that the Evo comes with a lot of sprint programs installed, IE bloatware. I'm a current blackberry user and one of the perks of having one is that I was able to remove all of tmobiles useless, bloatware apps from day one so I could use the phone's memory on programs that I wanted. Now, my question is, is there is a simple uninstall feature that would allow me to unistall programs like sprint tv, sprint nav, etc? Or would I have to root the phone to be able to uninstall those apps?

Thanks!

 

[Roman G.]

Hello all,

It seems to be common practice for service providers to bog down their newest phones with bloatware. I've read some information on these forums that seems to indicate that the Evo comes with a lot of sprint programs installed, IE bloatware. I'm a current blackberry user and one of the perks of having one is that I was able to remove all of tmobiles useless, bloatware apps from day one so I could use the phone's memory on programs that I wanted. Now, my question is, is there is a simple uninstall feature that would allow me to unistall programs like sprint tv, sprint nav, etc? Or would I have to root the phone to be able to uninstall those apps?

Thanks!

You gots to root to get rid of the crap.

 

[SoFLO]

Your only choice to get rid of the bloatware is by method of rooting.

 

[RyboCollier]

Wow, what a pain.

 

[RaiseUp151z]

all this rooting makes me hungry

 

[neodorian]

Still, these programs only take up storage space. It's not like the kind of crap installed on cheap computers where they set it to run at boot and it actually uses memory.

 

[zaltol]

Rooting will allow you to remove the bloatware.

 

[RyboCollier]

Still, these programs only take up storage space. It's not like the kind of crap installed on cheap computers where they set it to run at boot and it actually uses memory.

If thats the case it wont be much of an issue then. I guess the only way they would take up memory would be if I start them correct? I plan on using Google Nav as opposed to Sprint Nav.

 

[Bek]

Still, these programs only take up storage space. It's not like the kind of crap installed on cheap computers where they set it to run at boot and it actually uses memory.

THIS

Don't worry too much about the Sprint add-ons. Except for a few extra unused app icons, and a small amount of storage space, as long as you don't invoke them, they won't hinder your phone.

 

[Gonkutron3000]

I agree i was wondering about this as well...so lame...i had to jailbreak my stupid iphone just to 86 the damn stocks app.. this is getting all to familiar

Wow, what a pain.

 

[cesjr02]

I'd be temped to remove that Sprint football and nascar crap, but the Nav I'd keep

 

[Gonkutron3000]

Heres a question then...i know there are some apps to make folders so can i download that then create a folder called "worthless crap" and shove all the bloatware in there?

 

[Colorado_Al]

Still, these programs only take up storage space. It's not like the kind of crap installed on cheap computers where they set it to run at boot and it actually uses memory.

I'm not too sure about this one. When I boot my EVO there are about 10 apps running (according to Advanced Task Killer) that are Sprint TV and Music and such. I think it is from them being invoked as widgets. So, I think you should at least remove the Sprint Widgets from your desktop to keep them from auto running. Or use a task killer if you dare. Or wait for root and blow them away!

 

[nyijedi]

This stinks. My preference is for stock, vanilla Android, and now not only do I have to deal with Sense, but also this bloatware crap. If there's not a decent custom rom made within my 30 days, I may end up returning this bad boy.

Heres a question then...i know there are some apps to make folders so can i download that then create a folder called "worthless crap" and shove all the bloatware in there?

You can put apps in folders, however, the bloatware apps will still appear in the main menu of apps on your phone (e.g., when you press the menu button at the bottom of the screen).

 

[Gonkutron3000]

ahh piss! i see no way around it then im gonna have to root asap...maybe its my OCD kicking in but i just cant deal with having apps on my phone that get no use.



You can put apps in folders, however, the bloatware apps will still appear in the main menu of apps on your phone (e.g., when you press the menu button at the bottom of the screen).[/QUOTE]

 

[Painkillaz]

is there anyway to "hide" certain icons like you can in blackberries?

 

[nyijedi]

is there anyway to "hide" certain icons like you can in blackberries?

In stock Android, there is no "hide" option. I don't know if SenseUI is different, but my guess would be no.

 

[Roman G.]

is there anyway to "hide" certain icons like you can in blackberries?

You just long press them and drag them down to the launcher which turns in to a delete.
You can always get them back though.
You did say hide though, no way. They are easy to get back though.

 

[nyijedi]

You just long press them and drag them down to the launcher which turns in to a delete.
You can always get them back though.
You did say hide though, no way. They are easy to get back though.

Just to clarify, doing this will remove the icons from your home screen, however the apps/bloatware will still be seen in the menu showing all of your installed apps.

 

[neodorian]

I'm not too sure about this one. When I boot my EVO there are about 10 apps running (according to Advanced Task Killer) that are Sprint TV and Music and such. I think it is from them being invoked as widgets. So, I think you should at least remove the Sprint Widgets from your desktop to keep them from auto running. Or use a task killer if you dare. Or wait for root and blow them away!

That is basically what I was alluding to. Just like on desktops, there is a common misconception that having stuff on your computer will slow it down. With the exception of a computer severely lacking in RAM and needing to swap to the disk a lot, this is just not accurate.

On a Windows PC, you speed up your computer by running msconfig and disabling any unnecessary programs and services from being run automatically at startup. Stuff like launchers, updaters, typically anything Adobe or Apple, or Google, etc. You don't really need those to be running all the time just to save a few seconds of launch time. Those services use available RAM and lead to things like swapping data to and from the hard drive and slowing things down.

In this case it sounds like having a widget on your desktop will load the unnecessary service at startup. This will most definitely eat into available resources so you want to disable any widget you don't want running in the background. Otherwise, just having a small program in storage won't really hurt anything.

Yes, it is annoying that they don't simply offer NASCAR, NFL, etc. and rather install it whether we want it or not, but I assume they make money from those things so they are gonna be part of any stock Sprint ROM. I recommend turning off any widgets using this "bloatware" and forget it's even there. If you get really pissed, rooting your phone lets you delete things like this.

 

[rckymtnrfc]

On a Windows PC, you speed up your computer by running msconfig and disabling any unnecessary programs and services from being run automatically at startup.

Nope, on a new PC I get it home, I wipe the OS and reinstall a retail version of the OS without all the manufacturers crap.

 

[EarlyMon]

You kill the Sprint apps, they come back.

Your rip them out completely and your system logs show less babbling on the net and your battery lasts longer.

At least - that was my personal experience.

The idea that they're harmless and cost no resource - not in my opinion.

 

[Keramidas]

For people with rooted phones: just install Titanium Backup from the Market, then you can un-install system apps easily.

If you're afraid of un-installing these apps, you can first "freeze" them. That is fully reversible (can be "defrosted"), and allows you to test the phone with these apps fully disabled, to ensure everything works fine. Then once you're certain that everything is fine, just un-install them for good.

 

[andwhat]

Yeah, and googles idiot market keeps bugging me to update Facebook even though I don't use it and its not installed (but is in the firmware...)

 

[Trivious]

On the iPhone there is an app called "Poof!" that can "hide" crapware like stocks etc