Second Item to Improve Motorola Defy XT (Republic Wireless) Performance

No operating system is totally safe from malware attacks, but some have a broader risk exposure than others. A sure-fire way to have an operating system become popular with hackers who want to have a little fun is for the operating system to gain popularity with “normal” people. The Android operating system has certainly reached that point. According to one study (http://thenextweb.com/google/2012/10/25/in-one-year-android-malware-up-580-23-of-the-top-500-on-google-play-deemed-high-risk/), the number of Android apps that contain malware rose 580% last year. With this in mind, it is wise to consider software for your phone that will help mitigate the risk.

I chose to use avast! Mobile Security on my Republic Wireless phone for a few reasons. First, it is free. Second, it is lightweight and only causes a very small impact on total system performance; most performance penalty is when downloading/installing software. Lastly, in a relatively recent study (http://www.droid-life.com/2012/03/07/over-40-anti-virus-apps-tested-only-7-have-malware-detection-rate-of-over-90/), avast! Mobile Security was able to detect the most malware risks of any scanner available on the Play Store today. Oh, and another cool feature is that avast! Mobile Security can help you find your phone if you misplace it or someone helps themselves to it.

Free version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avast.android.mobilesecurity

*Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with AVAST Software and only offer this as a recommendation that is based on much research and experimentation on my part.

Republic Wireless Referral Program

Now when you refer a friend to the easiest to afford cellular plan, you and your friend both get $19 credits to your account!

http://referrals.republicwireless.com/a/clk/l2V2P

First Item to Improve Motorola Defy XT (Republic Wireless) Performance

After having used an iPhone for several years, I expect a certain level of performance from a cell phone operating system. The Android OS, while wide open and easily customizable, needs help when it comes to memory management. One of the same items that many Android users tout as an advantage actually works against the operating system. Background tasks are poorly handled in the Android OS. Not to go into details, but most apps do not need to be kept in memory if not in the foreground or actively working, e.g. playing music or supplying GPS directions.

For this reason, I highly recommend using Droid Mate’s Smart Memory Booster Pro. This app helps the OS clean up messes by looking for applications not currently in play and cleaning them from memory. This process can be customized in several ways, including at time intervals, when the screen locks, and when memory dwindles past a certain level. They, also, offer a regular version version which does not offer as many automated processes, but which can be used manually and when the screen locks to clean memory. For the $2, it is well worth buying the pro version.

Pro version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=droidmate.memboosterpro

Free version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=droidmate.membooster

*Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with Droid Mate and only offer this as a recommendation that is based on much experimentation on my part.