Newbie Android user has some questions

I just upgraded my iPhone 4S for a new Samsung Note II. I am still not sure that the Note II was the right phone as I almost bought the Galaxy S III, but that is not what this post is about. As a new Android user coming from the iPhone I don't know if there is an easy way to do a ton of stuff.

1) Is there some easy way to copy the contacts from my iPhone to the Samsung? I would prefer to not have to enter each one by hand again,

2) Same question about passwords. I have been using Callpod Keeper (although I will be changing to something else. Keeper's cost, at $10/device per year, just seems like too much) and Password Safe. Is there good password management software for the phone that allows sync between it and a Windows computer? I don't mind paying to buy the software but I don't much want to pay each year.

3) Is there any way for me to transfer my iPhone Notes information to an Android phone? I have quite a bit of information stored in my iPhone Notes app and would rather not have to recopy it all by hand.

4) In case I have to enter the information again is there a way to use an external keyboard to enter the information?

5) On the iPhone I know how to shut down apps to save battery life. I have not found a way to do that on the Samsung. Anybody know how to do that on the Android phone? Or is there some app I have to install?

6) I know I should read the manual but what, exactly, is that blinking blue light on the top of the phone. I assume it is normal but, short of reading the manual, I have no idea exactly what it is supposed to mean.

Any information would be helpful. And thank you in advance.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote
5) On the iPhone I know how to shut down apps to save battery life. I have not found a way to do that on the Samsung. Anybody know how to do that on the Android phone? Or is there some app I have to install?

Click to expand...

I don't know what you mean by this. As a general rule, on Android the only app that's running at any given time is the one presented on the screen. If you're on the home screen, no apps are running. There can be a number of apps that are waiting to run, but that doesn't take any battery power. They also don't hold RAM memory — Android will let them sit in RAM when they're not active, but if the RAM is needed it'll be taken away from the idle apps.


A few apps do set up services that continue to run when the app isn't active and visible. For example, the Pandora music-streaming app has a service that will continue to play music while you're working with another app (or on the home screen). Those apps are usually pretty obvious.

Anyway, I don't know about your specific phone, but on my ICS-based LG phone, there's an App Manager app (and widget) that lets you see which apps are loaded, and to cancel them. You'll want to have this on your home screen, readily available, so that you can easily kill any apps that get hung or refuse to quit on their own.

If battery usage is a concern for you, you might want to add the 2X Battery app by Sam Lu. It helps reduce battery drain when the phone is idle. The free version should handle most basic needs.

MikeFromMesa said:

6) I know I should read the manual but what, exactly, is that blinking blue light on the top of the phone. I assume it is normal but, short of reading the manual, I have no idea exactly what it is supposed to mean.

Click to expand...

I don't know that phone specifically, but in general, a blue light is used for Bluetooth. A blinking blue light will generally mean that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone but it hasn't found anything to talk to, so it's just wasting battery power.

Doug Pardee said:

Doug Pardee wrote:

I don't know what you mean by this. As a general rule, on Android the only app that's running at any given time is the one presented on the screen. If you're on the home screen, no apps are running. There can be a number of apps that are waiting to run, but that doesn't take any battery power. They also don't hold RAM memory — Android will let them sit in RAM when they're not active, but if the RAM is needed it'll be taken away from the idle apps.

Click to expand...

Apps on the iPhone are kept in memory and use power when replace with another app and there is a specific way to shut down those apps. In the evening I would double-click on the home button and be presented with a list of running apps. I could then shut them down to conserve battery power at night. Without doing that my iPhone might consume 10-15% power at night. If I did it it would use considerably less power (I did not shut down all apps). I assumed Android was the same.

In browsing my phone I found an application manager and that app showed me what it said were running apps. Many of those had been run earlier and were still listed as running even though I was no longer using the app. I was looking for a way to shut them down assuming that I could save battery power at night. I used to charge my iPhone every second night but it looks as though I may have to charge this phone every night.

Doug Pardee said:

A few apps do set up services that continue to run when the app isn't active and visible. For example, the Pandora music-streaming app has a service that will continue to play music while you're working with another app (or on the home screen). Those apps are usually pretty obvious.

Click to expand...

When I checked the application manager on my phone for running apps I found 24 listings. 24. Some of those were processes running, some services and some both. All of those must be using power if they are listed as running.

Doug Pardee said:

Anyway, I don't know about your specific phone, but on my ICS-based LG phone, there's an App Manager app (and widget) that lets you see which apps are loaded, and to cancel them. You'll want to have this on your home screen, readily available, so that you can easily kill any apps that get hung or refuse to quit on their own.

If battery usage is a concern for you, you might want to add the 2X Battery app by Sam Lu. It helps reduce battery drain when the phone is idle. The free version should handle most basic needs.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the recommendation.

Doug Pardee said:

I don't know that phone specifically, but in general, a blue light is used for Bluetooth. A blinking blue light will generally mean that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone but it hasn't found anything to talk to, so it's just wasting battery power.

Click to expand...

Thank you. That makes good sense as I did not turn bluetooth off on the phone. I will do that since I don't genrally use it.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:

MikeFromMesa said:

Doug Pardee wrote:

I don't know what you mean by this. As a general rule, on Android the only app that's running at any given time is the one presented on the screen. If you're on the home screen, no apps are running. There can be a number of apps that are waiting to run, but that doesn't take any battery power. They also don't hold RAM memory — Android will let them sit in RAM when they're not active, but if the RAM is needed it'll be taken away from the idle apps.

Click to expand...

Apps on the iPhone are kept in memory and use power when replace with another app and there is a specific way to shut down those apps. In the evening I would double-click on the home button and be presented with a list of running apps. I could then shut them down to conserve battery power at night. Without doing that my iPhone might consume 10-15% power at night. If I did it it would use considerably less power (I did not shut down all apps). I assumed Android was the same.

In browsing my phone I found an application manager and that app showed me what it said were running apps. Many of those had been run earlier and were still listed as running even though I was no longer using the app. I was looking for a way to shut them down assuming that I could save battery power at night. I used to charge my iPhone every second night but it looks as though I may have to charge this phone every night.

Click to expand...

Settings/Apps/Running/

Once in the "Running" Apps list, click on app you want to close. Once there you should see at least two buttons, "Force Close" & "Uninstall", Click "Force Close"... You'll probably get a warning but as long as you're not closing a core/system app you should be fine... If your phone crashes, chances are you closed something that shouldn't have been closed but all will be well upon powering off & rebooting...

Also:

There are 3 stock Android buttons, either on the bottom of the phone or I think on your phone at the bottom of the screen.

From left to right:

Phone/Home/Recent Apps

Click on the right-most "Recent Apps" Icon/button

Swipe any apps there off the screen. For the most part that too will shut down those apps..

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa said:

A few apps do set up services that continue to run when the app isn't active and visible. For example, the Pandora music-streaming app has a service that will continue to play music while you're working with another app (or on the home screen). Those apps are usually pretty obvious.

Click to expand...

When I checked the application manager on my phone for running apps I found 24 listings. 24. Some of those were processes running, some services and some both. All of those must be using power if they are listed as running.

MikeFromMesa said:

Anyway, I don't know about your specific phone, but on my ICS-based LG phone, there's an App Manager app (and widget) that lets you see which apps are loaded, and to cancel them. You'll want to have this on your home screen, readily available, so that you can easily kill any apps that get hung or refuse to quit on their own.

If battery usage is a concern for you, you might want to add the 2X Battery app by Sam Lu. It helps reduce battery drain when the phone is idle. The free version should handle most basic needs.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the recommendation.

MikeFromMesa said:

I don't know that phone specifically, but in general, a blue light is used for Bluetooth. A blinking blue light will generally mean that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone but it hasn't found anything to talk to, so it's just wasting battery power.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Not sure about what the colors mean but on my Samsung Nexuses (phone & tablet) when the LED flashes there's usually a message/email/etc in the notifications list. Swipe down from the very top of the screen to reveal the Notifications list. Click on whatever to view it or swipe it off the list to remove the notification.

But generally, related to bluetooth & even Wifi as well as GPS... If you're not using either, turn them off in the settings.

MikeFromMesa said:

Thank you. That makes good sense as I did not turn bluetooth off on the phone. I will do that since I don't genrally use it.

Click to expand...

For managing passwords, I love Lastpass (it is widely recommended). It costs $12 per year for an account, and will run on a PC (integrated into a browser or stand alone). I have it on my Windows PCs and on my Android devices, and can even run it stand-alone from a thumb drive (with a copy of Chrome Mobile on the thumb drive) so that it can be run safely from a public computer.

By the way, that's $12 per year, total, not $12 per device per year. (I have it on my phone, my tablet, my wife's phone, two desktops, and three laptops, plus the thumb drive, and still only pay $12 per year.)

I know that the Samsung devices come with Kies software for the PC and it can import a number of things from iTunes. I don't know if it can import contacts, but it probably can. You may also be able to sync your iPhone contacts with a Google GMail account - once you have them there, then as long as this is the same Google account you use for the phone, the contacts will automatically transfer to the phone.

Rossuziers said:

Rossuziers wrote:

Settings/Apps/Running/

Once in the "Running" Apps list, click on app you want to close. Once there you should see at least two buttons, "Force Close" & "Uninstall", Click "Force Close"... You'll probably get a warning but as long as you're not closing a core/system app you should be fine... If your phone crashes, chances are you closed something that shouldn't have been closed but all will be well upon powering off & rebooting...

Click to expand...

I actually tried this. I opened the Application Manager, selected Running and did a forced shutdown of those apps that I was no longer using. The entry did not disappear but did change its display mode to show the entry as darker. I assume this means that it was no longer running, but I don't know why it did not disappear from the Running list.

Rossuziers said:

Also:

There are 3 stock Android buttons, either on the bottom of the phone or I think on your phone at the bottom of the screen.

From left to right:

Phone/Home/Recent Apps

Click on the right-most "Recent Apps" Icon/button

Swipe any apps there off the screen. For the most part that too will shut down those apps..

Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean by the "bottom" of the phone. There are 5 controls on the phone (as compared to on the screen). A volume toggle button on the left of the phone, a power button on the right, a central (what I think of as the "home") button on the bottom front of the phone (but not on the bottom of the phone itself) and two backlit auxiliary controls which are not physical buttons, one to the left and one to the right of the "home" button. Those light up when I press the "home" button and seem to be a context menu (left) for whatever screen is open and a back button to take me back one screen.

When the screen is lit and at the home location I see 5 controls across the bottom of the screen - Phone, Contracts, Messaging, Internet and Apps. I don't see anything that looks like a Recent Apps button nor any 3 buttons that are Phone/Home/Recent Apps. Given that I don't see the buttons you are referring to I can't see any way to swipe them to bring up the information you are mentioning.

I am trying to save battery life. I noticed last night that I lost 1% an hour for the 8 hours the phone was sitting unused. I don't know if that is high, low or normal.

Rossuziers said:

Not sure about what the colors mean but on my Samsung Nexuses (phone & tablet) when the LED flashes there's usually a message/email/etc in the notifications list. Swipe down from the very top of the screen to reveal the Notifications list. Click on whatever to view it or swipe it off the list to remove the notification.

But generally, related to bluetooth & even Wifi as well as GPS... If you're not using either, turn them off in the settings.

Click to expand...

When I went to turn bluetooth off it was already off. Either I was wrong when I said I did not turn it off or it was already off when I bought the phone.

As far as gps is concerned I don't see any setting on the phone that even refers to it let alone a way to turn it off. I would like to have gps active, but do not see it on the phone.

Perhaps I need to read the manual?????

Jeff Peterman said:

Jeff Peterman wrote:

For managing passwords, I love Lastpass (it is widely recommended). It costs $12 per year for an account, and will run on a PC (integrated into a browser or stand alone). I have it on my Windows PCs and on my Android devices, and can even run it stand-alone from a thumb drive (with a copy of Chrome Mobile on the thumb drive) so that it can be run safely from a public computer.

By the way, that's $12 per year, total, not $12 per device per year. (I have it on my phone, my tablet, my wife's phone, two desktops, and three laptops, plus the thumb drive, and still only pay $12 per year.)

Click to expand...

Is there any mechanism to sync between the devices?

I have been using Callpod Keeper but it is $10/device per year which seems too high. I used to have 3 devices but $36 per year seemed like a lot of money.

Jeff Peterman said:

Jeff Peterman wrote:

I know that the Samsung devices come with Kies software for the PC and it can import a number of things from iTunes. I don't know if it can import contacts, but it probably can. You may also be able to sync your iPhone contacts with a Google GMail account - once you have them there, then as long as this is the same Google account you use for the phone, the contacts will automatically transfer to the phone.

Click to expand...

I was able to transfer my contacts from the iPhone backup to the Note II but not able to transfer any other information. There were checkboxes for transferring the iPhone appointments and notes but the appointment transfer failed and the notes checkbox, although it appeared on the transfer window, was not enabled so I could not check it.

The master copy of the password list is kept on their server, encrypted. The device uses a local copy that is updated/synced whenever you connect to the Internet with the application open. When I open Lastpass on my phone without an Internet connection I can still access all the passwords, seeing the values from the last time I ran the App with a connection. The same is true with the version on my thumb drive, so I can pull up a password from the thumbdrive on a computer that doesn't have an Internet connection.

My wife and I share the account, each with folders that show up when you open the application. I have one folder for Websites (I can click on an entry to open the site and fill in the password automatically, or simply see the details for that account, including URL and password), and another folder for my notes (I can store a single password or a list of passwords in a single note). My wife has a similar pair.

Lastpass is more than just a password manager, but it works very well for that task.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:

I am trying to save battery life. I noticed last night that I lost 1% an hour for the 8 hours the phone was sitting unused. I don't know if that is high, low or normal.

Click to expand...

1% an hour is very low drain. That's about a 4-day life. Most smart-phones are good for one day, maybe two before recharging. I recharge mine every night, and whenever I'm in the car I have it on the car charger.

I must repeat that in Android, apps that aren't on the screen are almost never using any power. They may be using some RAM memory, but if you don't see it working on the screen, it's probably not taking power (ones with continuous services like Pandora being the exception). They're idle, waiting for you to reactivate them at which point they will start to run again.


Android is very conservative about kicking idle apps out of memory. And when idle apps do get kicked out of memory, they can store information about where they were when they were originally frozen, so that they can pick up at that point again if you reactivate the app. This is separate from simply writing their status to the memory card. If you press and hold the Home button, you'll get a list of those back-burnered apps; you can swipe them off the list if you want.


If you take a look at your battery status display, you'll find that apps usually have very little impact on battery usage. Especially when the phone is idle. The big power users, aside from Android itself, are the display and the various communications transceivers. I use the 2X Battery app to shut down the 4G and WiFi transceivers when my phone is idle/locked, and the Bluetooth On Call app to shut down the Bluetooth transceiver when I'm not in a call. I have both of those apps configured to leave the transceivers on when charging, which is one reason I keep the phone on the car charger when I'm driving.

Another consideration is signal strength. If you're leaving your phone overnight someplace where the cell signals are particularly weak, that'll increase battery drain, too.


GPS can be quite the power-hog if it's activated. I tend to keep mine disabled, because too many apps like to turn it on just to get a peek at your location. My phone doesn't have AGPS, so it can take a number of minutes to sync up, by which time I've probably shut down the app.

On my phone, I find it advantageous to restart it (reboot it) at least once a week. Also, if it starts acting sluggish when I lock or unlock it, that's a sign it needs to be rebooted. It's a low-end model, so I'm not surprised it has quirks.

MikeFromMesa said:

Perhaps I need to read the manual?????

Click to expand...

That always helps. The place you bought your phone from might be able to help you out, too.

Doug Pardee said:

Doug Pardee wrote:

GPS can be quite the power-hog if it's activated. I tend to keep mine disabled, because too many apps like to turn it on just to get a peek at your location. My phone doesn't have AGPS, so it can take a number of minutes to sync up, by which time I've probably shut down the app.

Click to expand...

I have been looking for some indication that there is GPS functionality on this phone but have not been able to find it. There appear to be no gps apps that came preinstalled so perhaps gps functionality, which I assume is really gps-from-cell-tower triangulation, will not work until I download and install a gps app.

There does not appear to be an actual manual that came with this phone. I guess I probably need to download one from the Samsung web site. The box with the phone only had a Quick Start Guide (which contains very little information) and a health warning booklet (which was considerably longer than the Quick Start Guide).

Look for the SmoothSync apps (contacts and calendar) on Google Play. It will link up with your iCloud stuff. Not 100% foolproof but the best I've found so far.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:

MikeFromMesa said:

Rossuziers wrote:

Settings/Apps/Running/

Once in the "Running" Apps list, click on app you want to close. Once there you should see at least two buttons, "Force Close" & "Uninstall", Click "Force Close"... You'll probably get a warning but as long as you're not closing a core/system app you should be fine... If your phone crashes, chances are you closed something that shouldn't have been closed but all will be well upon powering off & rebooting...

Click to expand...

I actually tried this. I opened the Application Manager, selected Running and did a forced shutdown of those apps that I was no longer using. The entry did not disappear but did change its display mode to show the entry as darker.

Click to expand...

I'll assume when a forced closed app goes dark it's not runnin'.. Maybe upon exiting & re-entering the runnin' app screen, maybe, they'll disappear, maybe not...

MikeFromMesa said:

I assume this means that it was no longer running, but I don't know why it did not disappear from the Running list.

MikeFromMesa said:

Also:

There are 3 stock Android buttons, either on the bottom of the phone or I think on your phone at the bottom of the screen.

From left to right:

Phone/Home/Recent Apps

Click on the right-most "Recent Apps" Icon/button

Swipe any apps there off the screen. For the most part that too will shut down those apps..

Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean by the "bottom" of the phone. There are 5 controls on the phone (as compared to on the screen). A volume toggle button on the left of the phone, a power button on the right, a central (what I think of as the "home") button on the bottom front of the phone (but not on the bottom of the phone itself) and two backlit auxiliary controls which are not physical buttons, one to the left and one to the right of the "home" button. Those light up when I press the "home" button and seem to be a context menu (left) for whatever screen is open and a back button to take me back one screen.

Click to expand...

Buttons just below the screen, on front but nevermind anyway .. I believe I was mistaken & most of what I suggested may be irrelevant...

MikeFromMesa said:

When the screen is lit and at the home location I see 5 controls across the bottom of the screen - Phone, Contracts, Messaging, Internet and Apps. I don't see anything that looks like a Recent Apps button nor any 3 buttons that are Phone/Home/Recent Apps. Given that I don't see the buttons you are referring to I can't see any way to swipe them to bring up the information you are mentioning.

I am trying to save battery life. I noticed last night that I lost 1% an hour for the 8 hours the phone was sitting unused. I don't know if that is high, low or normal.

MikeFromMesa said:

Not sure about what the colors mean but on my Samsung Nexuses (phone & tablet) when the LED flashes there's usually a message/email/etc in the notifications list. Swipe down from the very top of the screen to reveal the Notifications list. Click on whatever to view it or swipe it off the list to remove the notification.

But generally, related to bluetooth & even Wifi as well as GPS... If you're not using either, turn them off in the settings.

Click to expand...

When I went to turn bluetooth off it was already off. Either I was wrong when I said I did not turn it off or it was already off when I bought the phone.

Click to expand...

I believe bluetooth - on, would show at the top-right of the screen in the notification bar along with signal strength & time & maybe even GPS - on...

MikeFromMesa said:

As far as gps is concerned I don't see any setting on the phone that even refers to it let alone a way to turn it off. I would like to have gps active, but do not see it on the phone.

Click to expand...

I believe GPS is in "Location Access" section under the Personal heading, in the settings menu, as well as location access permission & "Wifi & mobile network location" access & I believe it was the same in my 3 year old Android v2.1 OS phone...

MikeFromMesa said:

Perhaps I need to read the manual?????

Click to expand...

Or search YouTube for your version of Android &/or your model phone tutorials/reviews...

Rossuziers said:

Rossuziers wrote:

I'll assume when a forced closed app goes dark it's not runnin'.. Maybe upon exiting & re-entering the runnin' app screen, maybe, they'll disappear, maybe not...

Click to expand...

I tried this. They did not disappear. The only way I have found to remove them from the Running list is to reboot the phone.

Rossuziers said:

Or search YouTube for your version of Android &/or your model phone tutorials/reviews...

Click to expand...

As they say, when all else fails, read the manual.

I went on Samsung's website and downloaded the manual. Apparently the flashing blue light is a notification that I have an email, phone or other message. Nice to know (ha, ha).

Interestingly enough I had to read the manual to find out how to answer a phone call. I would have thought that would be the simplest thing to do with a smartphone, but apparently not. When I get an incoming call I get a screen with two telephone icons - one red and one green. I thought that what I was supposed to do was to press on the icon I wanted. Nope. Doesn't work. I lost 2 calls that way (and hence my trip to Samsung's website). I need to press on the icon and drag it to answer the phone. Someone needs to talk with the developers and let them know there is such a thing as being too cute.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:
I guess I probably need to download one from the Samsung web site.

Click to expand...

Go here: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SGH-I317TSAATT

On the drop-down under the word "MANUALS" on the left half of the screen, select User Manual underneath "English" (unless you prefer Spanish). You'll get the PDF of the manual.

That particular manual is for the AT&T network. If you're on a different network, there will be some differences, so maybe you'll want to search for one for your network. You can find them from http://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads by entering "Galaxy Note II" in the product-name box.

Doug Pardee said:

Doug Pardee wrote:

Doug Pardee said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:
I guess I probably need to download one from the Samsung web site.

Click to expand...

Go here: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/SGH-I317TSAATT

On the drop-down under the word "MANUALS" on the left half of the screen, select User Manual underneath "English" (unless you prefer Spanish). You'll get the PDF of the manual.

That particular manual is for the AT&T network. If you're on a different network, there will be some differences, so maybe you'll want to search for one for your network. You can find them from http://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads by entering "Galaxy Note II" in the product-name box.

Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks. It's more than 250 pages.

MikeFromMesa said:

MikeFromMesa wrote:

MikeFromMesa said:

Rossuziers wrote:

I'll assume when a forced closed app goes dark it's not runnin'.. Maybe upon exiting & re-entering the runnin' app screen, maybe, they'll disappear, maybe not...

Click to expand...

I tried this. They did not disappear. The only way I have found to remove them from the Running list is to reboot the phone.

Click to expand...

Hold down the 'Home' button, it will bring up a list of recent apps. Swipe them away to get rid of them.

With Android though, Apps sitting in the background don't really matter - unless they're 'active' (like a music player app playing music), they're not actually using any power - they're just parked in the RAM, and empty RAM uses exactly the same amount of power as used RAM. And if they are active, Android will mop them up on its own when they're done doing whatever they're doing.