general question on data usage and how it works

[k2mj0612]

this is my first time using smartphone and i am currently using Samsung galaxy s2 running on android. I have downloaded apps such as Facebook, Hotmail, and couple games that i would use occasionally, but i have also downloaded the data usage watcher program called onavo and it keeps saying that live data are being used by these apps that i have downloaded and the ones that were already downloaded (Facebook, Hotmail, games, google services, and so on) its not a lot but why is it that they are using data when i am not actually on the app and using it at the moment?? and for my email it alerts me when ever there is a new mail, so does that mean that the apps are always connected? also,if i wanted the app that uses the data to stop using the data would i have to manually somehow disconnect it? and if so will it still work?
(sorry for the long and silly questions... its my first smartphone and i want to know all these basics..) thanks guys~

 

[k2mj0612]

also... is there any way i can get rid of some of the preinstalled programs from the phone? like all share/ buddies now.. and is there any other program that i can use to see which application uses data? cuz i'm trying to get rid of the appl that i wouldn't need.. especially the ones that take up spaces and USES DATA WITHOUT EVEN ME KNOWING IT..

 

[Russell Ng]

1) I prefer 2G Watchdog pro than Onavo. Although Onavo gives you the option to stop certain apps from accessing data. You could try that.

2) Certain apps will always consume a little bit of data. For example the weather widget will poll its server for updates. The best you can do is to spaced out the sync schedule, or to change it to manual.

3) I think the email is important enough to leave it on, and let it consume that tiny bit of data required so that you can receive the emails on time.

4) Apps that came with the phone (stock) cannot be removed unless you are rooted. Although if you do not use the app or WIDGET, it shouldn't be using your data.

5) If you want to control data usage, you probably have to control your data line. You can long press on power button to get option to ON/OFF data line.

Cheers