Meet the Desktop
Looking at an Android phone loaded with a ton of apps and widgets on the desktop can sometimes be a little daunting for a shopper. It shouldn’t be. Remember, the phone on display isn’t yours. You will be able to lay your phone out however you want and I’m going to go over how. Actually, I won’t, but the video below will.
Your phone may not have the trash can in the same position. It may be at the top or in one of the bottom corners. Additionally, when you delete an icon off the desktop, you are not uninstalling the program. You’re simply removing the icon. In regards to moving an icon from one window to another, if you’re having difficulty, chances are your finger is not close enough to the edge.
Widget? What’s a Widget?
You may see some larger icons on the desktop. They are called widgets. A widget allows you to either view information or control something on the phone directly from the desktop. For instance, if you’ve downloaded the music app Pandora, its widget allows you to pause, play, and skip tracks without going into the app itself (handy if you’re out for a jog).
On some phones the method shown may not work depending on how the manufacturer has laid out the menus on the phone. If this is the case for your phone, find a blank spot on the desktop and then press and hold your finger on the screen for a second or two. This is called a “long hold” or “long press” and will bring up the same menu in the video.
Adding Apps to the Desktop
Adding apps to the desktop is very easy. Most phones will have any icon in the bottom right corner listed as “Apps” or “Applications.” Regardless of how you get into the app tray, find the app you want to put on the desktop, then press and hold the icon. Some phones will automatically bring the icon to the desktop. Others may bring up a menu asking you what command you would like the phone to perfrom.
Notification Bar
The notification bar can be found by dragging your finger from the very top of the phone down to the bottom of the screen. It will alert you of missed calls, emails, software updates, or notifications from an app you have downloaded.
Your notification screen will vary depending on the model of your phone. Manufacturers can differentiate the phone by customizing the notification bar. Some phones may display a list of recently used apps. Other phones may give you the ability to toggle GPS, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. If there are toggle buttons, I encourage you to get familiar with them. Frequently, customers will come into my store with a problem caused by inadvertently toggling one of these icons. The two biggest culprits are disabling the auto-rotate feature or disabling the internet connection to the phone.
" />Navigating Your Settings
We’re going to spend the rest of this post going through our settings. I’ll be going through these on a Motorola Droid 4. To find the settings key you will want to hit the Menu key and then select Settings.
Wireless and Networks – You will find Bluetooth and Wi-Fi settings here. Just because you turn them on does not necessarily mean they’re doing what you want them to do. You must go into “Wi-Fi Settings” or “Bluetooth Settings” and connect your phone to the desired router or Bluetooth device. Generally speaking, after connecting your phone to another device it should automatically connect to the same device as long as the correct signal.
For example: Pair your phone to your Bluetooth headset and then as long as the headset is powered on and Bluetooth on the phone is turned on the two devices will connect automatically.
Sound – Shocker, you can control your audio settings. Your ringtone setting for incoming calls and the notification ringtone for text messages and email will be found here.
Display – If you think your screen goes dark to quickly, you will find the Screen Timeout setting useful for increasing the time the screen stays lit. I wouldn’t go above 2 minutes though as you will see a decrease in battery life.
Privacy – You can perform a master reset by selecting “Factory Data Reset.” This will erase everything on your phone.
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