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Help New Captivate owner...first "Smartphone"...help!

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dhayse32

Lurker
Hey everyone. First time with a TRUE smartphone. I had a Samsung Jack for the last year and a half and just upgraded to the Captivate throught At&t. Just got it last night and so far it is amazing. I do have a few questions...

First off, how do I keep my data usage down? I constantly worry that it is eating up my data plan. I really don't need a smartphone and I will mostly use it to check email with very minimal websurfing. I did download about 15 apps last night since I get $30 in free data with the upgrade. If I use check an email and then exit, does it still run in the background and eat up mb's? I did just get the 200MB plan for now because I really don't think I will use any more than that on a normal basis. I downloaded AppKiller and use it all the time...

Next, if I open AppKiller, I see that the At&t Nav. is on there as if it is was opened for use, which it wasn't. Is it possible to disable it? I can see me using it once a year MAYBE.

Other than that, what are some other tips on keeping it low?

Thanks and I appreciate the help in advance.
 
To keep your data low you just have to use common sense when you configure your apps.

Reduce the update period to the max. If you don't need your mail app to check for new emails every 5 minutes then put it in manual update mode. Same technic applies to all widgets.

Wifi is now your new best friend :p. If there's a wifi active and available around you, use it. It will drop your data usage by alot. Always check the size of the application or update your downloading on the market. Some apps are heavy (7MB-20MB) so you might want to wait to be in range of a hotspot or wait at home.
 
1) Use WiFi whenever you can, as this avoids any billable data usage. If you have WiFi at work and home, you can avoid almost all data usage. 200 MB is really quite a bit of data, unless you are streaming or downloading lots of apps. It will easily cover email usage.
2) You cannot remove the AT&T apps without doing some work on your phone. Do some research in XDA-Developers forum, and you will find many, many wonderful tools to improve your Android experience. However, do not jump into anything without research and understanding. For instance, do some research on the app-killer apps, and you will see that they can cause lots of problems.

Have fun with your Captivate. I know I love mine! I came from a Blackjack II to Android, and will never look back!
 
Thanks for the help.

How do I go about setting the update time to max for the apps?

Also, since I do have wireless internet at my house, I only need the security password to access the internet for free from there?

I set up my email but it is a new account (gmail), anyway to use a different account? I rarely get emails, can I just stay logged out until I need to actually check it?

Like I said, new to all of this so these might be simple answers. Thanks for taking the time to help. I am sure I will have more questions!
 
dhayse32 said:
Thanks for the help.

How do I go about setting the update time to max for the apps?
Click to expand...

When inside a app hit the menu button (first one from the left on your phone) and it should pop up a menu to access the settings of that app. Now reduce the update frequency to what suits you best.

Also, since I do have wireless internet at my house, I only need the security password to access the internet for free from there?
Click to expand...
Correct.. Just activate the wifi from the notification bar on top and select your wifi network. It will ask for the credentials and store them in the phone. Next time you start your wifi it will auto-reconnect.

I set up my email but it is a new account (gmail), anyway to use a different account? I rarely get emails, can I just stay logged out until I need to actually check it?
Click to expand...

The Gmail app is linked directly to your gmail account. You can use the default email app to add any other email address you want to check or use. Just make sure to enter the setting menu to reduce the scan frequency by defaults it's set to every 15 minutes.

Like I said, new to all of this so these might be simple answers. Thanks for taking the time to help. I am sure I will have more questions!
Click to expand...

Your welcome we all walked that path once :D
 
It nice having you're phone sync whenever new information arrives rather than having "delayed" sync options configured. Since you have $30 worth of free data, I would just leave the sync settings as they are (usually sync immediately) and monitor how much data you're using. You can use the at&t app or log into your account online and see what your data usage is every day. You can then decide if you're going to get close to reaching your 250 mb limit.

Personally, I would really only do this for email. I turn off syncing for Facebook and Twitter. I just check those manually so that they get new information if I fire the app up.

I don't think anyone mentioned this, but change your wifi sleep policy to "Never". I believe Android 2.1 has a default setting to turn wifi off if the screen is off. This means that if you're streaming pandora or something, and turn off your screen, it will start using 3G EVEN if you have a wifi signal.

Menu -> Settings -> Wireless and network -> Wi-Fi Settings -> Menu -> Advanced -> Wi-Fi sleep policy.

Finally, you mentioned AppKiller. I would stay away from App/Task killers. They aren't really needed for the current Android releases (especially 2.1/2.2) and can do more harm for good. They can also help drain your battery.
 
If you look in your contacts, you'll see some AT&T entries. Open AT&T View Data Usage, hit the call button, and you'll get a text message telling you when your next billing cycle starts, how much data you've used and how many messages you've sent/received.
 
Thanks again for the help...

I am about to pull my hair out though. I don't feel like I am doing anything and the phone is still using data, just a small amount but regardless it is still making me wonder if I can keep this phone. I guess I just don't understand how the apps work in regards to pulling data. I downloaded the APNdroid app which is suppose to shut down the 3G/Edge network, but not sure if this is helping.

What do I need to do?
 
dhayse32 said:
Thanks again for the help...

I am about to pull my hair out though. I don't feel like I am doing anything and the phone is still using data, just a small amount but regardless it is still making me wonder if I can keep this phone. I guess I just don't understand how the apps work in regards to pulling data. I downloaded the APNdroid app which is suppose to shut down the 3G/Edge network, but not sure if this is helping.

What do I need to do?
Click to expand...

you can search in the market for an app called smoda i believe, its a toggle widget that turns off data. sometimes you have to turn it on and off a few times for it to work. to be sure its off turn off wifi and wait for the icon to go away. its what i did before i got froyo that has an option in the menu for it
 
dhayse32 said:
Thanks again for the help...

I am about to pull my hair out though. I don't feel like I am doing anything and the phone is still using data, just a small amount but regardless it is still making me wonder if I can keep this phone. I guess I just don't understand how the apps work in regards to pulling data. I downloaded the APNdroid app which is suppose to shut down the 3G/Edge network, but not sure if this is helping.

What do I need to do?
Click to expand...

You need to stop stressing over this, that's what. Going by how you said you are using your phone, you will not get anywhere near to using your 200MB of data in a month. All smartphones will pull small amounts of data for various reasons. Are you watching a lot of videos? Spending the day surfing the net on the phone? If not, you will likely be fine.

Get 3G Watchdog from the Market, it is an excellent app and will keep track of your usage and show you how little you are actually using.
 
Got some of those apps, 3GWatchdog is pretty cool, that should help ease my worries.

I noticed while playing some games (Angry Birds, Paper Toss for example) that the phone uses data while just playing them. Normal? I assumed that once you download them you can run them for free. I understand my Golf GPS and such will use data, but these games I didn't think would.

Thanks!
 
dhayse32 said:
Got some of those apps, 3GWatchdog is pretty cool, that should help ease my worries.

I noticed while playing some games (Angry Birds, Paper Toss for example) that the phone uses data while just playing them. Normal? I assumed that once you download them you can run them for free. I understand my Golf GPS and such will use data, but these games I didn't think would.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Those apps may be downloading advertisements.
 
Doesn't Angry Birds have ads? I'll bet it's the pulling of the ads that causes the slight data usage.
 
sremick said:
Pay the author for their hard work and get the ad-free version instead.

If you're a freeloader, then ads are part of the deal.
Click to expand...

This is not always the case. Some apps do not have a pay version. I know I would gladly pay for Angry Birds. I did when I had an IPhone. There is no pay option at this time.

Using a derogatory term such as freeloader without knowing why a person has ads in his apps seems pretty harsh.
 
Shelbster said:
I know I would gladly pay for Angry Birds.
Click to expand...

Have you emailed/contacted the developers and voiced this to them? They have only released an ad-supported version due to assumptions they're making about the Android market, and they won't know otherwise unless opinion is communicated to them.
 
sremick said:
Have you emailed/contacted the developers and voiced this to them? They have only released an ad-supported version due to assumptions they're making about the Android market, and they won't know otherwise unless opinion is communicated to them.
Click to expand...

Actually, being on Rovio's email list and having kept up with angry birds a little bit, it's my understanding that Rovio made a decision to keep the game free until they reach a certain amount of downloads. Apparently, they are over 7 million downloads on Android. The company is well aware of the demand for a pay product, as evidenced by statements I have read from Rovio regarding the issue.

Further, I would venture a guess that Rovio decided to release an ad supported version based on more than "assumptions they're making about the Android market".

Regardless, when did it become incumbant on the user to demand a pay version when the company puts out an ad supported, free to the user version. Obviously it would seem that the company is making some money off of the ads, otherwise it would be a pretty poor business model. How does using an ad supported app make me a "freeloader"?
 
Shelbster said:
This is not always the case. Some apps do not have a pay version. I know I would gladly pay for Angry Birds. I did when I had an IPhone. There is no pay option at this time.
Click to expand...
I know there isn't. I've got to wonder if perhaps they make more money from the ads than they would from offering a paid version?? Just a though. It does seem bad that they don't have a paid version. I don't do ads. I pay for all software - as a matter of fact, I pay for the full version to test them out, if I don't want it, I uninstall and get a refund. I've only refunded three apps so far. Pay to support developers, they create such neat programs to make our cyber life much easier!

Using a derogatory term such as freeloader without knowing why a person has ads in his apps seems pretty harsh.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is, but I don't think sremick meant it to be that harsh.
 
using a custom rom i have all ads blocked, but that being said i have no problem supporting devs and would gladly buy angry birds if a version were added. i buy any apps i feel are deserving of pay
 
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