Bloat Manager lets you disable unnecessary Android apps  

(Droid 2 only for now)

Wireless carriers and phone makers have a tendency to load up smartphones with a bunch of apps you may never use. But they’re still using system resources and draining your battery whether you use them or not. While it’s often kind of tricky to completely uninstall apps that come preloaded on your phone, xda-developers forum member Nalthos has come up with the next best thing: an app called Bloat Manager which lets you disable apps you don’t need.

Right now there are three big caveats:

Bloat Manager was designed to work with the Droid 2 Global.

You need to have root access to your phone for Bloat Manager to work.

The list of apps can’t currently be customized.

That said, the app is actually kind of clever. What it does is provide you with a list of apps that some people may consider “bloat.” Just uncheck the box next to any apps you don’t want or need, and Bloat Manager will rename the program file. This makes it difficult for the Android OS to find the program and auto-run it, which means the app shouldn’t use up any bandwidth, processor power, or battery life.

If you decide you want to start using an app again, just go back into Bloat Manager and hit the check box.

The developer is open to adding apps to the list, and it’s possible that a future build could be more easily customizable. Since the app was designed for the Droid 2 Global, I’d be careful about using it on other phones. It may work, but it may also cause some problems. If you feel like acting as guinea pigs, feel free to give it a try and let us know how it goes on your device in the comments — just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

You can download Bloat Manager from the xda-developers forum thread. 

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