Android newby

colinicky

Excuse my ignorance but if I buy a secondhand Android phone with a load of apps on it what happens when I upgrade the software ? Do I lose all the apps ? Can I remove the apps to an SD card first & then reload them or ???
How easy is to upgrade the software on something like the Samsung Galaxy S I1900 from Android 2.1 to 2.2 ?

Can any Android phone be used as a WiFi modem ?

cgk1

Excuse my ignorance but if I buy a secondhand Android phone with a load of apps on it what happens when I upgrade the software ?

Depending on the Rom you flash most of the standard installed apps will be pretty much the same with a small number added or removed depending on who's made the rom.

Do I lose all the apps ? Can I remove the apps to an SD card first & then reload them or ???

Apps that you want as a user, you download from the android market and they are linked to your google account (if you don't have one set one up). If you are getting a secondhand phone, the first thing you want to do is a factory reset to ensure the phone is 'clean', so any user installed apps will be wiped.

Rusty!

When you update the software you don't lose any data. Installed apps/messages/contacts are all stored on /data, and the OS is on /system, completely separate from each other.

When buying a 2nd hand one, you should really perform a factory reset as unless the previous owner has done, it will likely be linked to their Google/Facebook/Twitter/email accounts.

dehaani

colinicky wrote: »

Can any Android phone be used as a WiFi modem ?

Depends on the phone and Android version, any phone with v2.2 (Froyo) or newer has wifi tethering included.

JJ_Egan

Depends on the phone and Android version, any phone with v2.2 (Froyo) or newer has wifi tethering included.

be aware that your network may ban tethering and data charges are another area to keep an eye on .

Smartphones are always on for mobile data unless you turn it off .
I use Quicksettings from the market .

Have a look what apps are on the phone you want to keep factory reset and wipe all data and then use Appbrain for your app downloads .

http://www.appbrain.com/app/quick-settings/com.bwx.bequick


jje

Rusty!

The way Android tethers isn't detectable to the network, they can say you're not allowed to do it, but they cannot prove if you do.

Techhead_2

Rusty! wrote: »

The way Android tethers isn't detectable to the network, they can say you're not allowed to do it, but they cannot prove if you do.

Why isn't it detectable? The operator's proxy can easily see that the header is for a PC application. Whether they'll look or not is another matter.

S0litaire

With android phones, everything you download from the market is logged against your gmail account.
So if you wipe your mobile or upgrade the Software the phone will download all your apps from the market (but you'll lose settings)

But best to use "Titanium Backup Pro" to backup apps and settings you can then restore your apps and settings

One thing you'll need (and I suggest it's your first app you download) is "SMS Backup+"
There's an issue with some HTC Android phones loosing all MMS/SMS's for no reason.
This app backs them up to a Google mail folder and call logs to a google calender (usefull if you need to track who called and when)

As for tethering, you can tether any Wi-Fi device to it or use it on your machine as a USB 3G or Wi-fi access point.

benjus

dehaani wrote: »

Depends on the phone and Android version, any phone with v2.2 (Froyo) or newer has wifi tethering included.

I'm still on 2.1 (thinking of upgrading to Froyo) and find that Barnacle Wifi Tether works pretty well.