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Deleting pre-loaded apps?

C

Cars066

Newbie
Hey guys, I'm very new here and new to the world of Android phones as well. I'm still getting acquainted with features, customization, etc. (if anyone could point me to a sweet intro guide that'd be great).

Anyway, i've got a new Optimus V running froyo a la Virgin Mobile. I can't seem to uninstall the pre-loaded apps - some like Poynt and Where that I have no use for at all. Some of these run in the background and ruin my battery life. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a ton guys.
 
You'll need to root. If you don't care about doing that then you can use titanium backup to delete those apps. There may be other apps that do it but I've only used titanium backup.
 
However you proceed, assuming you're going to stick with the stock ROM, you don't want to delete the apps without having the ability to restore them. This is because their absence will cause any OTA updates to fail, leaving you stuck at the OS version you're currently using.
 
erick123 said:
Thanks, I will try titanium back up.
Click to expand...
Titanium Backup requires that the phone be rooted.

Rooting is currently the only way to enable you to remove preinstalled apps that can't be deleted in the usual way. However, I'd suggest reading some of the threads on Android memory management (they frequently have titles like "should I use a task killer"). You will find that these apps are not hurting your battery life as much as you might think. Android does not need a large overhead of free memory and will cache apps in memory in case you need them. It does not cost any CPU cycles (hence no battery drain) to keep them in memory once they are loaded, since they aren't really running.
 
It's useful to note that just because you see an app "running" in the background does not necessarily mean it's using much, if any, battery. Most apps just sit in the background and do nothing. I have nothing against rooting (I'm rooted) but if getting rid of those apps is your only purpose for doing so, it's probably more bother than it's worth.
 
RichSz said:
It's useful to note that just because you see an app "running" in the background does not necessarily mean it's using much, if any, battery. Most apps just sit in the background and do nothing. I have nothing against rooting (I'm rooted) but if getting rid of those apps is your only purpose for doing so, it's probably more bother than it's worth.
Click to expand...

Well said...
 
Hmm, thanks a ton for all the replies. It sounds like rooting is more trouble than it's worth for just this purpose. But what are the other purposes to root? Say.... community developed applications?
 
Cars066 said:
Hmm, thanks a ton for all the replies. It sounds like rooting is more trouble than it's worth for just this purpose. But what are the other purposes to root? Say.... community developed applications?
Click to expand...
Rooting lets you install custom ROMs, make more comprehensive backups, and run cool root-only apps like Wireless Tether and AdFree, among others.
 
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