Mobile & Wireless

What is the oldest Android release that you can actually still use and have a functional Android smartphone? I was looking for a cheap, no-contract phone, and I see some new phones for sale that are still running Android 2.2 and 2.3. 

I know the, "tell him not to use it then" advice, but teenagers being teenagers, that simply isn't realistic, and he needs to be able to reach us because of his participation in many after school activities, so taking it away isn't a good choice either.

My phone is SE E16i,and I flash a 2.3rom named Semc Debrand Engine, a replacement rom for Sony Ericsson Android phone . However, because the ram of E16i is very small, and the apps may be heavy for e16i, so the ramusage is always up to 80%, is there any way to improve the performance of e16i? and I don't want to use 2.1rom which is out-of-date.

I was watching some YouTube at home last night and every other video had a 15 second T-Mobile ad telling me that they had rejected the traditional contract based business model. If I had to list things I hear people complaining about, their cell contracts would definitely make the Top 10 List.

Smartphone technology and specs are moving so rapidly, that I wonder if Apple's product cycle is too slow. A year ago a 1Ghz single core CPU would have been a bland, middle of the road device, now it is a creaky old thing ready for retirement.

How are you managing mobile application performance in your organization? What are the best monitoring apps?

I use Evernote for making lists, clipping things, etc., but it is overkill for a quick reminder to go by the bank or whatnot, plus I have to remember to check it.

I use an Android phone, and one of the first things I always do when I get a new one is root it and remove all of the "bloatware" that the manufacturer and/or carrier installs. I got an iPad recently, and I would like to get rid of the pre-installed apps I will never use. I assume I will need to jailbreak it, but what do I do after that?

I have an LG Android phone that I am replacing, and want to get a few bucks out of it by selling it used. What do I need to do to make sure that it doesn't have any of my personal info on it before I send it off to whatever John Doe buys it?

How do I get a pair of Google of my own?

I am trying to get the backup files for SMS on my computer into a readable format. Someone had mentioned SQLite, but I cant figure that out and don't know terribly much about coding. Cold anyone assist?