Getting Comfy With Android

If you’re reading this article, chances I’ve recently sold you a phone and this is your first time owning an Android smartphone. First, thank you for your business and secondly, I hope you enjoy your new phone. I’ve put this primer together for you as a supplement to what I’ve gone over with you in store and to tide you over until you’re able to make it to a class. Verizon Wireless offers free classes at this link. There are online videos to view at your own pace, instructor led classes, and in-store sessions that you can sign up for.

As an FYI, any examples I provide are from the setup on the Droid 4 by Motorola. There may be some slight differences between your device and mine and you’ll just need to look for a few seconds to see the differences.

Meet Your Home Keys

Almost every Android phone has four keys at the bottom of the screen. Starting at the left they are Menu, Home, Back, and Search.

Rule #1 of the menu key is if you know you’re in the right place but don’t see an option for what you want to do, hit the menu key. For example, when you need to add a new contact in the address book and you’ve missed the plus sign at the top of the menu, you can press the menu key to bring up a menu with an option to add a new contact.

The home key will bring you back out to your desktop page. This is the equivalent of minimizing a program on your computer. It does not close the program out, and when you open the app back it brings you right back to where you were. The back key will bring you back one menu at a time. Some people are unable to make the distinction between the two buttons and get discouraged when they struggle to navigate the device.

The search key provides two functions. First, it provides you with easy access to search the web using Google. When you start typing it gives you auto-suggestions just like on the Google website. It will also look through the phone for apps or contacts. Aside from voice commands, this is the fastest way to find anything on the phone. There is no need to scroll through your contacts manually or try and remember where put Angry Birds.

Gmail

You will need to set up an account to access the Play Store in order to download apps, music, or books. You do not need to make it your main email account and continue to use your existing email accounts. I know this may seem like common sense, but make sure you keep your login and password stored somewhere safe. I have had countless customers lose it and you are at risk of losing access to contacts, calendar appointments, apps, and music when you switch from one Android phone to another.

Market Place/Play Store



This is where you can download apps, games, music, books and rent movies. Many apps and games are free because they are ad-supported or allow you to complete micro transactions in game. Within 24 hours of activating your phone, you the Market Place app may disappear from your home screen or simply change names. This is normal. Google has rebranded it to the Play Store. We’ll cover how to get it back on your home screen later. In order to find anything, you can either manually search by tapping on one of the categories or use the search icon in the upper right hand corner to specifically search by name. One last point on the Play Store, you can also view and download apps from play.google.com.

Introducing the Long Hold

A long hold is different from a tap. Sounds stupid, but it needs be said. A tap on the screen is the equivalent of a left button click on a mouse while a long hold is the equivalent of a right click on the mouse. A tap will select something while a long hold will give you options. Long holds are useful for adding widgets to the desktop, opening up websites in another browser tab, or deleting contacts and text messages.

Managing Your Battery Life

Watch this video and add the power widget to your home screen. Some phones may have the widget listed as “Toggle: Power Control.” The only ones you should concern yourselves with are Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi.



Next, go to the Play Store and download “4G Toggle” and add this widget to your desktop following the same. This app will allow you to tell your phone to stop connecting to a 4G network and only connect to 3G. When you tap the widget it brings you to a network settings option. Tap “Network Mode” and select “CDMA only” and you will only use the 3G connection. Switching back to “CDMA/LTE” will enable 4G again.

The lesson here, turn these items off when you don’t need them. When you get out of your car, turn Bluetooth off. When you turn it back on and get within range of your car or headset they will reconnect automatically.

See you next time

Thanks again for visiting. I’m going to leave you here to play with your phones for a bit. Next time I’ll review the notification bar, managing apps and shortcuts on the desktop , digging through settings, and using GPS.