Configure your Android startup apps with Startup Cleaner

When you turn on an Android phone for the first time, it will load all the default apps and services provided by Google, the phone manufacturer, and your wireless carrier. But as you start installing third party apps, you may find that some of them insist on launching every time you reboot your phone, taking up some of your phone’s valuable resources.

I’ve got a few dozen third party apps installed on my Nexus One and I haven’t noticed any serious performance degradation since installing those apps, but your results may vary. If you want to try freeing up some resources, or if you’re just a control freak, you might want to check out Startup Cleaner.

This free app lets you see which apps are loading every time you reboot your phone — and it lets you prevent some of those apps from starting automatically. For instance, I use the WordPress app once every week or two when I need to make a quick edit to a blog post and I’m not near a computer. Do I really need this app constantly running in the background? Probably not, so I deselected it.

You can download Startup Cleaner from the Android Market. Or scan the bar code to the right with your phone to get started.