I'm also not a fan of the account sync on android.
I found a nice tip somewhere to use the Tasker application to only perform periodic Syncs to your Google accounts. It's hard to quantify how much it helped, but I feel it's better for me.
This Tasker profile will turn on Sync ever 30 minutes for 25 seconds, then turn auto-sync back off.
Add a Time Context, set the From/To times to whatever period of time of day that you want the periodic sync to take place (8:00am to 10:00pm for me). Choose to Repeat every 30 minutes. This will perform the Task once per 30 minutes.
For the Task, Step 1 should be to turn Auto-Sync "ON" (auto-sync is under the Net category).
Step 2 should be a Tasker:Wait for 25 seconds (or longer if you find that sync is not occuring within that time period)
Step 3 should be a Net:Auto-Sync to "OFF".
This has been very reliable for me.
A few caveats:
- Of course, any mail received will not immediately be delivered to phone.
- I've also noticed that when "Sending" mail, it will not send the mail out til the next Sync (I wish there was an "auto sync on Send" setting).
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Beyond just Google Account sync.. I'm also using Tasker to manage all my Wireless states..
- I leave Bluetooth on all the time.. it's what I use to trigger the below.
- When Bluetooth connects to my "UConnect" in-vehicle.. it turns off WifI, and turns on GPS.
- When I drive to within 1 mile of my house, is the only time that WifI is enabled by default.
If I were to purchase a Car-Dock, then I could have Bluetooth be disabled all the time, and only enable once connected to car-dock... this would save from it having to "search" for bluetooth all the time.
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In general, check out all the stuff mentioned by others.. the if you're just looking to squeeze more out.. check out Tasker (pay-for in market) to see what it can do "for" you, so that you don't have to remember to enable/disable items at different times.