Silent Mode, Vibrate, Battery Drain & Upgrading Android OS

Hi,

I have a few q's re my Galaxy S GT-I9000:

1. I use the "Silent Mode" option using the right-button when I turn my phone to silent, then I have to either activate Vibrate from the "Sound and display" menu or the pull-down menu, both options are inconvenient.

Is there a way to change the profile of "Silent Mode" to include Vibrate?

2. Battery drain is a constant problem. My phone lasts about 1.5 days before requiring a recharge. Phone call and internet activity is very low.The following apps are "always on"

* 3G Data
* Accounts and sync - Background data, Auto-sync
* GMail - Sync Gmail
* Hotmail (Account) - Email check frequency = Automatic (Push)

The "Battery Usage" menu item shows the following since recharge:

  1. Display - 41%
  2. Cell standby - 19%
  3. Voice calls - 19%
  4. Phone idle - 13%
  5. Android System - 3%
  6. Internet - 2%
  7 Android OS - 2%

Any tips on how I can increase battery life?

3. I have the default Android version on my phone:

Firmware version: 2.1-update1
Baseband version: I9000DTJG3
Kernel vesion: 2.6.29 root@SE-S604 #2
Build number: ECLAIR.DTJG4

Are there simple instructions for a NOOB on how to upgrade my OS to the latest Android version? Note. I have tried this using KIES and it is not supported (does not work).

Turned off GMail app and auto-sync and now the battery lasts a bit longer. I tried using the email app with "check for new mail every 5 minutes" but this does not seem to work properly, as in does not check/download emails every 5 mins. It works if I "refresh" manually. Anyone else have this problem?


I'm in Australia and the retail store i bought the phone from do not upgrade phone software for you. I'm pretty sure Samsung won't either. Is there a dummy's guide to upgrading to the latest Android version? How have others done it?