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GPS questions

Ngo93

Ngo93

Android Enthusiast
Usually I keep my GPS off to save battery. But when I use a the ShopSavvy barcode scanner I gotta turn it on to search for local items. Is there anyway I can set the GPS to only turn on when i use ShopSavvy and have it turn off once I exit that app? Or do I just have to manually do it everytime?

Also, if the GPS gives me directions to somewhere, but I don't want to use that route. Is there any way I can have it check an alternate route to go?

And if anyone could suggest any useful apps or any fun games that'd be great. I'm new to the MyTouch :)

Edit: Oh, haha, 1 more thing. On the unlock code with the 9 points, is there anyway (or app) that would let me just cross through 3 points instead of 4?
 
I don't ever turn on the GPS for ShopSavvy. As long as you have Use Wireless Networks checked under Security and Location you should be fine for most things. If you really want something to do that, though, there's a couple apps that should serve; Setting Profiles for one.

I think you're stuck with the directions Google Maps Navigation gives you. It's not quite as versatile as the online version.

Abduction is probably my favorite Android game.

Welcome to the forums. :)
 
I think I tried only having wifi on and it didn't work. But I'll double check tomorrow since I'm already in bed. Butt thanks for those app suggestions guys, they're pretty fun.

Edit: Alright I tried with just wifi location and it worked, thanks! Does leaving on the wifi location use any battery?
 
Ngo93 said:
Usually I keep my GPS off to save battery. But when I use a the ShopSavvy barcode scanner I gotta turn it on to search for local items. Is there anyway I can set the GPS to only turn on when i use ShopSavvy and have it turn off once I exit that app? Or do I just have to manually do it everytime?

Also, if the GPS gives me directions to somewhere, but I don't want to use that route. Is there any way I can have it check an alternate route to go?

And if anyone could suggest any useful apps or any fun games that'd be great. I'm new to the MyTouch :)

Edit: Oh, haha, 1 more thing. On the unlock code with the 9 points, is there anyway (or app) that would let me just cross through 3 points instead of 4?
Click to expand...

I personally leave my GPS on all the time. It doesn't run down your battery because its isn't always searching for a signal like Wifi or 3G or Edge. My GPS indicator only comes on when I use Google Maps or I enable Weather Bug to find my position, or other apps that may need GPS like Where, or just any location apps. But the GPS only comes on when you use those apps. When you exit the apps or kill them with a task manager, they no longer use the GPS and it doesn't use your battery.

As for the unlock pattern, you must use four. I imagine simply because three would be too easy to crack, but four adds difficulty.

Maps, I haven't found a way to make detours yet.

Fun games: Bejeweled, Flight Director, WordUp, Wave Blazer, ShootMe, (Anything made by Camel Games) and many others, just search in the games section.
 
I have taken to leaving my GPS on all the time also and have not noticed any difference in the battery or it heating up. There were getting to be too many times when I needed to use it and I got tired of having to turn it on. Now I leave it on all the time and my battery still lasts as long as I need it too.
 
The only time for me that the phone runs super hot is in Google Nav like Sensefail said. Probably because it requires so much processing not so much because of the GPS, but because of the video graphics and constant rendering of information. I believe that is the only time I notice it get hot, so I just leave GPS on all the time because Google Navs is an app I only run sometimes and no other app uses the phone so intensively.
 
Oh.. well thanks for the info everyone! And is there anyway I can add an extra page to the phone? Just added on to the already 3.
 
Ngo93 said:
Oh.. well thanks for the info everyone! And is there anyway I can add an extra page to the phone? Just added on to the already 3.
Click to expand...
You can do this by installing a home replacement app. I'm going to start a new thread about this.
 
Alright thanks, I'm gonna look into it. Hey, can anyone explain to me how to connect to the wifi in my house. All I know is that I click add wi-fi network, type in the network name and then what next? We have a password on our network but I'm not sure which security option to choose.
Sorry for so many questions, I'm not good with this kind of stuff. :D
 
Ngo93 said:
Alright thanks, I'm gonna look into it. Hey, can anyone explain to me how to connect to the wifi in my house. All I know is that I click add wi-fi network, type in the network name and then what next? We have a password on our network but I'm not sure which security option to choose.
Sorry for so many questions, I'm not good with this kind of stuff. :D
Click to expand...

Here is how I connect to our Wifi. I have already set up the Wifi with a name and password. Then I turn on the wifi on my phone. Then it may have the wifi symbol with a question mark come up (that is if in Settings--> Wireless Controls--> Wifi Settings --> Network notification is checked) so if I turn on wifi in Phone Settings --> Wireless controls --> Wifi Settings, under Wifi networks there should be a list of the networks that are available. If you have set up a password for your network then you established some kind of security, mine is WPA2, and I just select my network and put in my password. I imagine that is the same for you unless you have some advanced security, some of which won't work. But try this process anyway. Good Luck!
 
My network won't show up for some reason. I tried to manually add it and it just says, "not in range, remembered." But thanks for all the info, you've been a lot of help with all my questions.
 
Ngo93 said:
My network won't show up for some reason. I tried to manually add it and it just says, "not in range, remembered." But thanks for all the info, you've been a lot of help with all my questions.
Click to expand...

No problem, anytime. I don't know how close you are to your router, but maybe try getting closer to it. Beyond that, I'm not sure what else you can do. Maybe make your phone forget the your network and let it find it on its own then put your password in.

And ask all the questions you want, glad to help.
 
Hey, is there anyway I can stop apps like WeatherBug from starting up everytime I use my phone? I already have the app killers and stuff but I'm just wondering if there's anyway I can just completely stop it from running until I click on the icon.
 
Ngo93 said:
Hey, is there anyway I can stop apps like WeatherBug from starting up everytime I use my phone? I already have the app killers and stuff but I'm just wondering if there's anyway I can just completely stop it from running until I click on the icon.
Click to expand...

I don't believe that you've rooted your phone, but the app "autostarts" can help, but if you aren't rooted you can only see what apps start up and which don't.

"Startup Auditor" is probably the better one for you, you can enable and disable certain apps to start or not when you turn on your phone.

Hopefully that helps!
 
My gps only turns on when I use the browser or an app that needs it.once I leave the browser or the app, it shuts off
 
Hey my swype started going really slow now. The blue line lags really slow now and it messes up my texting terribly. It's just a lot slower in general. Everything's slow. Anyway to fix this?
 
Ngo93 said:
Hey my swype started going really slow now. The blue line lags really slow now and it messes up my texting terribly. It's just a lot slower in general. Everything's slow. Anyway to fix this?
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I'd probably say, reboot your phone. If you've done that, use a task manager to kill other unneeded programs. If you've done that, do a factory reset on your phone, then only install the vital apps that you regularly use. That'll keep it running smoothly. But since you have the v1.2 I don't think that you're running low on memory, so that's a strange situation. But either way, I bet it'll speed back up with those suggestions. Good Luck!
 
A factory reset wipes all my apps and stuff off my phone doesn't it? And no other programs are running, it's just slow. When I use the task killer it usually says anywhere from 70m to 100m. Sometimes it even jumps down to the forties. I assumed it was something with memory since the more apps I have open the lower the number. But can you tell me exactly what it is?
 
Ngo93 said:
A factory reset wipes all my apps and stuff off my phone doesn't it? And no other programs are running, it's just slow. When I use the task killer it usually says anywhere from 70m to 100m. Sometimes it even jumps down to the forties. I assumed it was something with memory since the more apps I have open the lower the number. But can you tell me exactly what it is?
Click to expand...

Well be grateful ;) Us on the Mytouch 1.0 have RAM much lower, I was lucky to get 48 Mb one time, and that was with no apps running. But usually for me its in the 20s and 30s. But anyway, those numbers are just the RAM (Random Access Memory) numbers of your phone, and yes, the more you have, then the faster a particular app that is open will run. But when you have more apps open, that means less memory, so a particular app, perhaps your swype keyboard, will be slower. So in order to optimize your memory, close unused apps. I like to use TasKiller and in that apps with yellow font are in use and taking up memory for sure. White font means its using the memory space but not really causing your phone to be much slower. And gray font means they are in the background, and are idle, so they aren't any strain on the RAM. Just keep those numbers high and keep less apps open and your phone will be smoother.
 
Ngo93 said:
A factory reset wipes all my apps and stuff off my phone doesn't it? And no other programs are running, it's just slow. When I use the task killer it usually says anywhere from 70m to 100m. Sometimes it even jumps down to the forties. I assumed it was something with memory since the more apps I have open the lower the number. But can you tell me exactly what it is?
Click to expand...

Oh and yes, a factory reset will wipe all of your apps, settings, etc. So only do that if you feel nothing else is working. You can back up your apps using Astro File Manager, by entering the program, pressing menu, selecting tools, and backup apps or whatever its called.

Also MyBackup Pro can backup apps, and also data - texts, call logs, bookmarks, settings, etc. That is good, but its 4.99, I think there is a trial version, just check the market.
 
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