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New Ascend user here.....

UOFLcards

UOFLcards

Well-Known Member
Hey.

I just purchased my new Ascend today from my local Cricket store. I love the phone. It's my first Android I have ever owned. My buddies have always showed off theirs and I always planned on getting one so I took the plunge based on Cricket not having the agreement that you have to sign up for at other carriers. I did alot of searchs for reviews on this phone before purchasing and heard nothing but good things about this phone.

I have read alot about rooting my phone but have decided to hold off on the rooting part since I am a noob to these type of phones. I just dont feel comfortable yet. But once I do I know that I can get lots of helpful advice from these forums. Seems like their are ALOT of helpful people here willing to give all the advice one needs for their new Ascend.

I just wanted to post my first post on these forums to say I look forward to all the helpful advice I know I will be getting from you guys and girls in these forums in the very near future. I gained alot of knowledge from these forums about this phone before I even purchased the phone.

Also, I have bookmarked the step by step rooting instructions thread that Jazz and others worked on. That will be VERY helpful when I decide to root my phone.

One quick question, is there something I need to install or download to my phone before I root to help my phones performance in anyway? Right now the only app I have installed is the ESPN Scorecenter App. I was thinking of trying the better keyboard app (since I have bigger fingers and its hard to text with such small keys) or the cache mate (can this help performance before I root?) or the Juice Defender (but have heard rumblings about this being kind of complicated for the noobs).

Hi again guys and girls. Cant wait to gain all the knowledge I know I will gain from these forums. :)
 
UOFLcards said:
Hey.

I just purchased my new Ascend today from my local Cricket store. I love the phone. It's my first Android I have ever owned. My buddies have always showed off theirs and I always planned on getting one so I took the plunge based on Cricket not having the agreement that you have to sign up for at other carriers. I did alot of searchs for reviews on this phone before purchasing and heard nothing but good things about this phone.

I have read alot about rooting my phone but have decided to hold off on the rooting part since I am a noob to these type of phones. I just dont feel comfortable yet. But once I do I know that I can get lots of helpful advice from these forums. Seems like their are ALOT of helpful people here willing to give all the advice one needs for their new Ascend.

I just wanted to post my first post on these forums to say I look forward to all the helpful advice I know I will be getting from you guys and girls in these forums in the very near future. I gained alot of knowledge from these forums about this phone before I even purchased the phone.

Also, I have bookmarked the step by step rooting instructions thread that Jazz and others worked on. That will be VERY helpful when I decide to root my phone.

One quick question, is there something I need to install or download to my phone before I root to help my phones performance in anyway? Right now the only app I have installed is the ESPN Scorecenter App. I was thinking of trying the better keyboard app (since I have bigger fingers and its hard to text with such small keys) or the cache mate (can this help performance before I root?) or the Juice Defender (but have heard rumblings about this being kind of complicated for the noobs).

Hi again guys and girls. Cant wait to gain all the knowledge I know I will gain from these forums. :)
Click to expand...

Welcome!

Rooting is fairly simple, well..for you it should since you seem pretty educated. The guide will help you for sure. As far as doing stuff to your phone " before " rooting...there is really nothing that is really mandatory to do. Your phone is still pretty new. It's " After " rooting that you can then install apps to boost your performance such as SetCPU and other things.

When you are ready, you can come back for assistance if you need it. There is also a list of bloatware that is safe to delete from your phone floating around here in quite a few various threads on page 1.

Enjoy your stay, and once again, welcome to the forum!
 
Welcome,UofL.Go Cards!Just a quick suggestion.Bookmark the ESPN site from your browser & place it on your homepage,if you go there frequently.IMHO,the app. leaves a lot to be desired.Give it a shot & feel free to chime-in w/your comments,questions,or opinions @ anytime.
Welcome & thanks for dropping by!
 
Thanks for the welcome.

So installing a cache cleaner like cache mate or cache cleaner NG will not really improve performance before I root? What about Launcher Pro? Juice Defender?

Should I wait until I root to install these apps?

Also, how is better keyboard, the free version? I have heard it was nice until the update. Any opinions on better keyboard or any other apps I might want to check out that would be helpful or nice to have before I root?

Another question, you mentioned deleting bloatware. Do I can/do I this now or do I wait until I root?
 
UOFLcards said:
Thanks for the welcome.

So installing a cache cleaner like cache mate or cache cleaner NG will not really improve performance before I root? What about Launcher Pro? Juice Defender?

Should I wait until I root to install these apps?

Also, how is better keyboard, the free version? I have heard it was nice until the update. Any opinions on better keyboard or any other apps I might want to check out that would be helpful or nice to have before I root?

Another question, you mentioned deleting bloatware. Do I can/do I this now or do I wait until I root?
Click to expand...

Cache Cleaners won't work unless you are rooted, or actually, maybe one of those do work without being rooted..but it really isn't needed for the root process, it will clear your cache sure, but rooting won't benefit from it. Rooting isn't like jailbreaking, you are not re-installing anything, you just basically just granting yourself administrative rights to the phone file system allowing you to do things your carrier locked you out from doing.

Better keyboard is awesome, it's a must have application. I also use GO SMS instead of the default messaging system, I have it on the iphone setting so it looks cool with bubbles and stuff like it would look on the iphone. You could get LP, and Juice Defender now if you wanted but if you plan to root, just get them after.

As far is deleting the bloatware, this is only possible once you root, as bloatware is pre-installed by the carrier, and then blocked off so you can't get rid of it..rooting changes that.
 
KOLIO said:
Welcome,UofL.Go Cards!Just a quick suggestion.Bookmark the ESPN site from your browser & place it on your homepage,if you go there frequently.IMHO,the app. leaves a lot to be desired.Give it a shot & feel free to chime-in w/your comments,questions,or opinions @ anytime.
Welcome & thanks for dropping by!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the tip. Just bookmarked the ESPN home page to my homepage. The ESPN Scorecenter app is nice but just for a quick look at the teams you labeled at "my teams".

Again, thanks for the advice.
 
UOFLcards said:
Thanks for the welcome.

So installing a cache cleaner like cache mate or cache cleaner NG will not really improve performance before I root? What about Launcher Pro? Juice Defender?

Should I wait until I root to install these apps?

Also, how is better keyboard, the free version? I have heard it was nice until the update. Any opinions on better keyboard or any other apps I might want to check out that would be helpful or nice to have before I root?

Another question, you mentioned deleting bloatware. Do I can/do I this now or do I wait until I root?
Click to expand...


I'm going to defer to other,more capable hands here.NY11725 is a valuable member of the community,he's probably PMing to you,as I speak,with answers/help.Again,welcome to the neighborhood.It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..........................LOL.
 
KOLIO said:
I'm going to defer to other,more capable hands here.NY11725 is a valuable member of the community,he's probably PMing to you,as I speak,with answers/help.Again,welcome to the neighborhood.It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..........................LOL.
Click to expand...

no pms for me :)

I answered above :)
 
UOFLcards said:
Thanks for the tip. Just bookmarked the ESPN home page to my homepage. The ESPN Scorecenter app is nice but just for a quick look at the teams you labeled at "my teams".

Again, thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...


Gotcha,thought of that right after I posted.Dee-de-Dee!
Now that I think about it,my teams scores were too pitiful to have an instant update to remind me,so I un-installed ESPN Scorecenter.
 
So, do you recommend Better Keyboard 7 or Better Keyboard 8? I read some of the reviews and comments about 8 and some of them said stick with BK7.

Any suggestions?

Also, I know this sounds "noobish", but what does BK actually do? Does it make it much easier to type and text on the touch keyboard among other things?
 
UOFLcards said:
So, do you recommend Better Keyboard 7 or Better Keyboard 8? I read some of the reviews and comments about 8 and some of them said stick with BK7.

Any suggestions?

Also, I know this sounds "noobish", but what does BK actually do? Does it make it much easier to type and text on the touch keyboard among other things?
Click to expand...

I have BK 6.3, it's the free one, have not tried 7 or 8 yet. Better Keyboard in short is jus...t.....a better keyboard :P.. the letters are bigger in landscape mode so it's easier to type.and it's less laggy than the stock one, so if you type really fast, you won't lock up so much.
 
KOLIO said:
Point taken,just too slow of a typist to keep up on my end! : )
Click to expand...

hehe.. funny thing is I type really damn fast, but I don't type the proper way like with home keys and stuff...I kind of developed my own way of typing where I don't even have to look down really at all..i just know where each key is, same thing when texting on a regular keypad....im super quick...i've been on a computer for 14 years since I was 9..so I guess I am quick, and the again, I love electronics so..just goes hand in hand :P
 
NY11725 said:
hehe.. funny thing is I type really damn fast, but I don't type the proper way like with home keys and stuff...I kind of developed my own way of typing where I don't even have to look down really at all..i just know where each key is, same thing when texting on a regular keypad....im super quick...i've been on a computer for 14 years since I was 9..so I guess I am quick, and the again, I love electronics so..just goes hand in hand :P
Click to expand...


It gets the job done,that's all that matters.Watching me enter text is like watching paint dry,just not nearly as exciting.TTYL,NY11725.
 
UOFLcards said:
Couldnt find BK 6.3, could just find BK 7 and 8. Mixed reviews about both of them.
Click to expand...

I guess they got rid of the version I have, and I no longer have the .apk in my downloads :(

but, try it out, if you don't like it, delete it :P simple as that :)

anyway, ill bbl... it's.2:35am...im guna lay down
 
KOLIO said:
I'm going to defer to other,more capable hands here.NY11725 is a valuable member of the community,he's probably PMing to you,as I speak,with answers/help.Again,welcome to the neighborhood.It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..........................LOL.
Click to expand...

LOL Thank you Mr. Rogers!!!!

:D
 
UOFLcards said:
One quick question, is there something I need to install or download to my phone before I root to help my phones performance in anyway? Right now the only app I have installed is the ESPN Scorecenter App. I was thinking of trying the better keyboard app (since I have bigger fingers and its hard to text with such small keys) or the cache mate (can this help performance before I root?) or the Juice Defender (but have heard rumblings about this being kind of complicated for the noobs).

Hi again guys and girls. Cant wait to gain all the knowledge I know I will gain from these forums. :)
Click to expand...

Hi and Welcome to our little Funny Farum!! LOL

I think you are wise to wait until you are really familiar with your new phone before you root. One of the reasons I think some have probs after rooting is they don't know enough about the basics before they attempt it.

It sounds like most of your questions have been answered by NY and KOLIO. They are very knowledgeable so you can count on any advice they give you as being really good.

However, you will find that each of us has their 'favorite apps' and we sometimes fight over which keyboard, launcher, messaging app is best. LOL

Don't pay any attention to that, however, because I'm sure you already figured out that it's kinda like comparing chocolate ice cream to vanilla. It's just when you go off on the strawberry that you need to use caution. LOL

Chiming in with NY and KOLIO: The apps I would personally recommend that you try right away being unrooted are:

LauncherPro (it will give you the most bang for your buck - try free version first)

Cache Cleaner NG (really helps in clearing your cache and improving performance)

Juice Defender (saves battery life)

Better Keyboard (stay away from the beta or updates like Better Keyboard 7 or 8 for now)

About rooting:

You might want to hold off for a little while until the new 2.2 is out (if it every is LOL)

Again...welcome! Looking forward to your experiences.

~ Jazz
 
Jazziette said:
Hi and Welcome to our little Funny Farum!! LOL

I think you are wise to wait until you are really familiar with your new phone before you root. One of the reasons I think some have probs after rooting is they don't know enough about the basics before they attempt it.

It sounds like most of your questions have been answered by NY and KOLIO. They are very knowledgeable so you can count on any advice they give you as being really good.

However, you will find that each of us has their 'favorite apps' and we sometimes fight over which keyboard, launcher, messaging app is best. LOL

Don't pay any attention to that, however, because I'm sure you already figured out that it's kinda like comparing chocolate ice cream to vanilla. It's just when you go off on the strawberry that you need to use caution. LOL

Chiming in with NY and KOLIO: The apps I would personally recommend that you try right away being unrooted are:

LauncherPro (it will give you the most bang for your buck - try free version first)

Cache Cleaner NG (really helps in clearing your cache and improving performance)

Juice Defender (saves battery life)

Better Keyboard (stay away from the beta or updates like Better Keyboard 7 or 8 for now)

About rooting:

You might want to hold off for a little while until the new 2.2 is out (if it every is LOL)

Again...welcome! Looking forward to your experiences.

~ Jazz
Click to expand...


Thanks for your input Jazz. I really appreciate all the help you all have given me so far.

Back on topic, what is the better keyboard I am looking for since you mentioned to stay away from the updates or beta like BK 7 or 8? Which specific one would I be looking for?

Also, all of these are noob-friendly right? :o

Just dont want to get something that I have trouble with.

Also, getting all of these apps wont slow my phone down any since I am not rooted right? Again, remember you are talking to a noob. I'm still new to these type of phones. :o
 
UOFLcards said:
Thanks for your input Jazz. I really appreciate all the help you all have given me so far.

Back on topic, what is the better keyboard I am looking for since you mentioned to stay away from the updates or beta like BK 7 or 8? Which specific one would I be looking for?

Also, all of these are noob-friendly right? :o

Just dont want to get something that I have trouble with.

Also, getting all of these apps wont slow my phone down any since I am not rooted right? Again, remember you are talking to a noob. I'm still new to these type of phones. :o
Click to expand...

Very happy to be of help!

Personally, I use Better Keyboard 7. I didn't like 8 at all!!! But there was more of a learning curve to using 7 than I care to admit.

My advice is to just go with the standard Better Keyboard. Try the free one if you haven't already got the paid. It's a MUCH better keyboard than the stock one and is wider when you rotate it, as well as correcting your typos, giving suggestions...just the basic layout.

The only things that really slow your phone down when it comes to apps are widgets. Like Calendar widgets, weather widgets, etc. They can also cause 'force closes'.

Try to stay with the basic until you get rooted. Try some free apps and don't be afraid to try whatever you want. Just be careful to read all about it before you install it. Many apps are made for a specific phone or you must have a certain launcher type. If it says 'don't launch it' pay attention.

LOL

You are going to be just fine so don't worry. And you have lots of people, many who are much more knowledgeable than I am, here to help you.

:)
 
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