Should I use "apps" or just browser "bookmarks" ?

Depends on the app, the m.site and what you prefer.
I use mobile FB 'cause the app sucks, mobile G+ 'cause the app sucked at first, the Twitter app is OK so I use that, the MLB and NHL apps are fine so I use them, the weatherunderground app is a mess so I use the mobile site...
There is no right or wrong, it is what works for you.

 

Main difference is that there is no integration between apps if you use a mobile site or an app. For example, you can't share directly to Facebook from your gallery if you don't have an app.

And its a matter of taste. i kind of like the facebook app.

 

If there was a way to put bookmarks on the homescreen? Then it would be pretty much the best of both

 

Saving bookmarked websites to a common folder, then....

There is

 

Depends on what the app is. Having more apps does not really affect speed and performance. I have more than 200 apps on my phone and it still works as well as when new bought. Background running apps which "eat memory" are no issues, mainly because Android manages memory by itself, and they consume little to no battery unless they are set to be actively syncing. Android is designed to use as much RAM as possible not to keep RAM free. Its not Windows.

The only apps which affect battery are those that are actively running like Twitter or Facebook, but apps that just sit in the background due to app cache (android learns what apps you use frequently, so it preloads them for faster access and less battery use) are using barely any battery.

Performance and Speed is only affected when you have a lot of apps IF YOU USE A TASK KILLER. An Android phone with over 200 apps and all background processes running will work faster and be more battery efficient than another Android phone with the same setup but uses a task killer. TK's diminish Android's batter saving features by not following the instructions, causing Android to restart the apps killed by TKs.

 

Yes you can. Long press HS>shortcuts>bookmarks>choose bookmark. If you are using a third party launcher you can change the bookmark icons to look like apps.

 

Unfortunately the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is not like that when its running stock ICS. It only gives you three options on a long press and shortcuts are not there. It can be found in the widgets area (after applications). I own one too

 

So are you saying that if I turned sync off in the Applications and Sync settings menu. No matter how many apps are installed, battery life and performance will not be affected. I use twitter and facebook sync but I turned auto sync off.

 

I said its dependent on the type of app installed. For example, an active widget will use more battery and cpu than game on idle.

Someone with 300 games installed but no widgets will have better battery life than someone with 100 apps installed but 7pages of widgets.

There are a lot to consider.

 

Do you know how to recognize these apps and widgets that run in the background (Sync) before downloading off the play store? Is there an easy way to see which processes are running (using power) of the phone in the background?

 

Its not just sync, although syncing apps will have more battery usage than other apps that run in the background. Just read the features and look at what the app is for, then you will know if it syncs or not.

For example, any social network app like Facebook, Twitter etc and any cloud storage app like Dropbox and Sugarsync will be syncing in the background.

Widgets on your homescreen, like clock widgets, sms widgets, email widgets, weather, etc, are all active apps draining your battery because they are running processes.

Other processes that drain battery are some of the productivity apps: OneNote, Evernote and Springpad for example syncs to online note databases. NoLED is active in the background monitoring your phone state for new messages for it to notify you.

Basically, look at what an app does, and from there common sense should tell you if it will be running in the background consuming resources or just an idle app unless opened.

 

With ICS you can also restrict specific apps from even using background data

Go into the data usage settings and click on the apps it lists, there is a check mark at the bottom to turn off background data for that app.

 

I think thats to prevent it from connecting to mobile internet data. Not preventing it as a process running on the phone.

 

You could always make a simple webview app... It's what i do anyhow...

 

If you miss the pre-ICS method, you can always install Nova Launcher. It brings back that functionality.

 

I don't miss that, but there is one thing that bothers me slightly. The ability to delete homescreens are not there. Does the Nova Launcher have this option? Looks alot like the Sense interface with the infinite scroll feature I've seen in the Play Store.