Help me!

[abcdtrish]

I just bought a Samsung Captivate this morning, and I don't know anything about using an Android phone. I've been using Blackberry phones for as long as I can remember. I've done some research on how to conserve battery life, cool apps to download and some tips. I do have a few more questions that I haven't been able to fully understand. So if anyone can explain this in the simplest form, please do.

First off, I'm usually in areas that provide WiFi and don't want to leave the 3G network on since I don't want to have to be paying for that. Is there a way I can turn off the 3G even when I'm not in an area that provides WiFi?

Second, I don't fully understand the difference between Widgets and Shortcuts. They seem to be the same to me. But maybe not?

Lastly, if anybody have anymore helpful battery life saving tips, other than the norm (black wallpaper, screen brightness, etc) please let me know. As well as other tips I should know so I can put this gorgeous phone to some good use!

Thanks

 

[Martimus]

Welcome to the Android Forums!

To conserve battery, you need to minimize the use of any widgets on any of your home screens, set your battery profile to one of the more restrictive settings, and dim the brightness on your screen, amongst others.

Widgets are different from shortcuts in a number of very specific ways. A shortcut is basically similar to an icon you may have on a Windoze desktop. It does nothing but provide you with a means of starting an app quickly. A widget, on the other hand, is an active program that's doing something while sitting on your home screen. A good example of a widget is a clock app that's continually showing the current time... or a weather app.