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New Android User - Unable to uninstall things

T

termi

Newbie
Hello! i just got a new TF300 and have been discovering that this thing has many apps running in the background that i do not need or want. They seem to be marketing tools and are also impossible to remove.

I tried removing "Zinio" which is apparently a newspaper reader... but it rebooted my tf300 and reinstalled itself right after it was removed!?

And now, i only have the option to UPDATE zinio and cant remove it. If i update it, i then can uninstall, but it only uninstalls the update, leaving the previous Zinio version installed

Same for Asus@Vibe... i can only update, not uninstall.

I WANT IT GONE. I have -ZERO TOLERANCE- for this kind of junkware, its highly offensive that its reinstalling itself, this makes me want to return the device entirely if this is what i can expect from android software... And this came preloaded!
 
Called Asus... they told me that Zinio is a system app and it is impossible to remove it without violating the warranty. Un.****ing.believable.
 
Without root you can't uninstall these pre-installed apps.

But you have ICS on your tab.
So you should be able to disable these apps :)
Before you can disable them, you might to have uninstalling their updates.

Harry
 
Let me offer a word of caution. Many apps provide services for other parts of the OS and if you remove them, you can disable certain features or make your phone unusable. More importantly, system apps are not easily restorable like simply installing an .apk file. And once deleted, even a factory reset will not recover them. You will have to locate and flash a stock rom image to get them back. If you plan on rooting and deleting those apps, please check back here first before you do anything so we can make sure it's safe for you to delete those without any negative impact to your phone.
 
Its extremely disappointing to see android touted as an 'open/poweruser' OS, while at the same time giving only 3rd party corporations the ability to decide what runs on my device.

Being a new Droid/iOS/etc user, this type of permission system seems to only benifit companies interested in collecting usage/behaviour information for use in marketing.

Look at the game dead trigger for example. Tell me one legitimate reason a 3d game has for needing to know my phone number, numbers of people who call me, and to start up automatically at boot. There is simply one reason for this: data collection for marketing/ads.

As a PC/Linux user I'm shocked that this type of system is considered acceptable, and even more supprising is theillusion of 'openness' and choice, when its clear five minutes into using an Android that it is absolutely not about user choice... sure you can change the wallpaper, but you CANT STOP AN UNUSED MAGAZINE READER FROM AUTO STARTING AND RECORDING INCOMING PHONE CALLS.

I feel I've been cheated, and it is highly offensive to me, that after paying 450 dollars I'm still not free to remove preinstalled spyware. This information should be made available before purchace. I would have waited for a windows tablet.
 
I guess Android isn't for you. Luckily you determined it very quickly and will be able to return your device. Another option is to install a Linux os when that becomes available. In the future I suggest you do more research before investing in new tech. Best of luck to you.
 
davidchsw said:
I guess Android isn't for you. Luckily you determined it very quickly and will be able to return your device. Another option is to install a Linux os when that becomes available. In the future I suggest you do more research before investing in new tech. Best of luck to you.
Click to expand...

Sadly Asus doesn't care and futureshop won't refund it since its working as intended.
I'll have to try again when different staff are there and lie about the reason for return.. . And hope the last guy didn't make a note of my last visit in a file somewhere
 
Android is an open OS, and technically you can do anything you want with it like the way you are saying. However the manufacturers of the tablets put restrictions on their own versions of Android. The Android you are getting from ASUS, Samsung, HTC etc aren't pure open Android, its already a version skinned and tweaked by the manufacturers. The Android source codes is available for anyone to make their own version of if they so desire.
 
Just ignore the app. You have plenty of storage. Honestly, Asus puts the smallest amount of pre installed apps on their device than most manufacturers.
 
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