Android Phones For Dummies. Dan Gookin

>

      Dan Gookin

      Android Phones For Dummies

      Android™ Phones For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

      Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

      Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

      Published simultaneously in Canada

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

      Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. Android is a trademark of Google, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

      LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

      For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone]. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

      Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946179

      ISBN: 978-1-119-12600-3; 978-1-119-12601-0 (ebk); 978-1-119-12603-4 (ebk)

      Introduction

      It may be a smartphone, but it makes you feel dumb. Don’t worry: You aren’t alone. As technology leaps ahead, it often leaves mortal humans behind. You paid good money for your phone – why not use all of its features?

      This book makes the complex subject of Android phones understandable. It’s done with avuncular care and gentle handholding. The information is friendly and informative, without being intimidating. And yes, ample humor is sprinkled throughout the text to keep the mood light.

      About This Book

      I implore you: Do not read this book from cover to cover. This book is a reference. It’s designed to be used as you need it. Look up a topic in the table of contents or the index. Find something about your phone that vexes you or something you’re curious about. After getting the answer, get on with your life.

      Every chapter in this book is written as its own self-contained unit, covering a specific Android phone topic. The chapters are further divided into sections representing tasks you perform with the phone or explaining how to get something done. Sample sections in this book include

      ✔ Typing without lifting a finger

      ✔ Making a conference call

      ✔ Dealing with a missed call

      ✔ Uploading a picture to Facebook

      ✔ Recording video

      ✔ Creating a mobile hotspot

      ✔ Flying with your phone

      ✔ Extending battery life

      Every section explains a topic as though it’s the first one you read in this book. Nothing is assumed, and everything is cross-referenced. Technical terms and topics, when they come up, are safely shoved to the side, where they’re easily avoided. The idea here isn’t to learn anything. This book’s philosophy is to help you look it up, figure it out, and move on.

      How to Use This Book

      This book follows a few conventions for using your phone, so pay attention!

      The main way to interact with the typical Android phone is by using its touchscreen, which is the glassy part of the phone as it’s facing you. The physical buttons on the phone are called keys. These items are discussed and explained in Part I of this book.

      Various ways are available to touch the screen, which are described in Chapter 3.

      Chapter 4 covers typing text on an Android phone, which involves using something called the onscreen keyboard. When you tire of typing, you can dictate your text. It’s all explained in Chapter 4.

      This book directs you to do things on your phone by following numbered steps. Every step involves a specific activity, such as touching something on the screen; for example:

      1. Choose Downloads.

      This step directs you to tap the text or item on the screen labeled Downloads. You might also be told to do this:

      1. Tap Downloads.

      Because this book covers a variety of phones, alternative commands may be listed. One of them is bound to match something on your phone, or at least be close to what you see:

      1. Tap the My Downloads action or the Downloads action.

      

Various phone settings are turned off or on, as indicated by a box next to the setting. Touch this box on the screen to add or remove a check mark. When the check mark appears, as shown in the margin, the option is on; otherwise, it’s off.

      

Some settings feature a master control, which looks like the on/off switch shown in the margin. Slide the button to the right to activate the switch, turning on a phone feature. Slide the button to the left to disable the feature.

      Foolish Assumptions

      Even though this book is written with the gentle handholding required by anyone who is just starting out or is easily intimidated, I have made a few assumptions.

      I’m assuming that you’re still reading the introduction. That’s great. It’s much better than getting a snack right