Android® For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020942384
ISBN: 978-1-119-71135-3; 978-1-119-71136-0 (ebk); 978-1-119-71137-7 (ebk)
You know it’s intimidating when they call it a “smartphone.” Worse, the supersize smartphone, the tablet, supposedly does everything your computer does but without a keyboard — or very many knobs or switches. Still, if you own one of these devices, don’t you want to get all the features you paid for?
This book makes the complex subject of Android phones and tablets understandable. It’s done with avuncular care and gentle handholding. The information is friendly and informative, without frightening you. And yes, ample humor is sprinkled throughout the text to keep the mood light. New technology can be frustrating enough without a touch of levity.
Please don’t 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 Android mobile gizmo that vexes you or you’re curious about. Look up the answer, and get on with your life.
Every chapter is written as its own, self-contained unit, covering a specific Android topic. The chapters are further divided into sections representing tasks you perform with the device or explaining how to get something done. Sample sections in this book include
You have nothing to memorize, no sacred utterances or animal sacrifices, and definitely no PowerPoint presentations. Instead, every section explains a topic as though it’s the first thing you’ve read in this book. Nothing is assumed, and everything is cross-referenced. Technical terms and topics, when they come up, are neatly 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.
This book follows a few conventions for using your Android phone or tablet, so pay attention!
First of all, no matter what name your phone or tablet has, whether it's a manufacturer’s name or a pet name you’ve devised on your own, this book refers to it as an Android. Sometimes the term phone or tablet is used, and sometimes device or, rarely, gizmo.
Because Samsung modifies the Android operating system, and because the company’s gizmos sell more than other phones and tablets, its devices are often called out in the text — specifically, when a Samsung galactic gizmo does something different from a typical Android gizmo.
The main way to interact with an Android mobile device is to use its touchscreen, which is the glassy part of the device as it’s facing you. The physical buttons on the device are called keys. These items are discussed and explained in Part 1 of this book.
The various ways to touch the screen are explained and named in Chapter 3.
Chapter 4 covers text input, which involves using an 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 by following numbered steps. Each step involves a specific activity, such as touching something on the screen; for example:
This step directs you to tap or touch the graphical Apps icon on the screen. When a button is shown as text, the command reads:
You might also be directed to choose an item, which means to tap it on the screen.
Various settings can be turned off or on, as indicated by a master control, which looks like the on–off toggle, as shown in the margin. Tap the master control to enable or disable the feature, or slide its button to the right or left. When the feature is enabled, the Master Control icon appears in color.
Though this book is written with the gentle handholding required by anyone who is just starting out, or who is easily intimidated, I’ve 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 now or checking to ensure that the cat isn’t chewing through the TV cable again.
My biggest assumption: You have or desire to own a phone or tablet that uses Google’s Android operating system.
Your phone can be any Android phone from any manufacturer supported by any popular cellular service provider in the United States. Because Android is an operating system, the methods of doing things on one Android phone are similar, if not identical, to doing things on another Android phone. Therefore, one book can pretty much cover the gamut of Android phones.
If you have an Android tablet instead, it can be a Wi-Fi–only tablet or an LTE (Long-Term Evolution) tablet that uses the same mobile data network as an Android phone. This book covers both models.
Any differences between an Android phone and tablet are noted in the text. For the most part, the devices work similarly because they run the same Android operating system.
The Android operating system itself comes in versions, or flavors. This book covers current Android versions 8.0 through 10.0. To confirm which Android version your gizmo uses, follow these steps:
Open the Settings app.
Directions are found in Chapter 3 for accessing the Settings app.
Choose System.
If you see the About Phone or About Tablet item on the main Settings app screen, choose it. This item might be named About Device.
Look at the item titled System Update or Android Version.
Newer devices use System Update to disclose the current Android version. Older devices show a number by the Android operating system item. Also check for the item Software Information.
Don’t fret if these steps confuse you: Check out Part 1 of this book, and then come back here. (I’ll wait.)
More assumptions:
You don’t need to own a computer to use your Android mobile thingy. If you have a computer, great. Your phone or tablet works well with both PC and Mac. When directions are specific to a PC or Mac, the book says so.
Programs that run on your Android are apps, which is short for applications. A single program is an app.
Finally, this book assumes that you have a Google account, but if you don’t, Chapter 2 explains how to configure one. Do so. Having a Google account opens up a slew of useful features, information, and programs that make using your Android more productive.
This icon flags useful, helpful tips or shortcuts.
This icon marks a friendly reminder to do something.
This icon marks a friendly reminder not to do something.
This icon alerts you to overly nerdy information and technical discussions of the topic at hand. Reading the information is optional, though it may win you the Daily Double on Jeopardy!
My email address is dgookin@wambooli.com. Yes, that’s my real address. I reply to every email I receive, and more quickly when you keep your question short and specific to this book. Although I enjoy saying Hi, I cannot answer technical support questions, resolve billing issues, or help you troubleshoot your phone or tablet. Thanks for understanding.
My website is wambooli.com. This book has its own page on that site, which you can check for updates, new information, and all sorts of fun stuff. Visit often:
wambooli.com/help/android
Thank you for reading the introduction. Few people do, and it would save a lot of time and bother if they did. Consider yourself fortunate. No, consider yourself handsome, well-read, and worthy of praise, though you probably knew that.
Beyond my own website (see the preceding section), my beloved publisher also offers its own helpful site, which contains official updates and bonus information I’m forbidden by law to offer to you. Visit the publisher’s official support page at www.dummies.com and then search for Android For Dummies, 2nd Edition — the whole thing! I’d offer more specific information, but I don’t have it. The publisher told me that the actual address of the online material is held in one of 20 briefcases and that if I choose the right one, I get paid — something like that.
Your task now: Start reading the rest of the book — but not the whole thing, and especially not with the chapters in order. Observe the table of contents and find something that interests you. Or look up your puzzle in the index. When these suggestions don’t cut it, just start reading Chapter 1.
Enjoy this book and your Android mobile gizmo!
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Get started with your Android gizmo.
Work through configuration and setup.
Learn basic techniques and procedures.
Force yourself to enjoy the onscreen keyboard.
Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Unboxing your Android
Charging the battery
Locating important things
Getting optional accessories
Storing an Android
You begin your Android adventure by removing the device from its box. Yes, I know: You’ve already completed that task. I don’t blame you; I removed my new Android from the box before I read this chapter. Yet you may consider a few helpful tips and suggestions before that out-of-the-box experience becomes a distant memory.
Like most electronics, your new Android phone works fastest when you remove it from its box. Savor the moment. Breathe deep the scent of the industrial epoxy used to seal the box. Gingerly lift out the packaging. Marvel as you peel back the plastic sheeting.
Array before you the contents of the box. These useful items include
The important thing to do is confirm that nothing is missing or damaged. Ensure that you have all the parts you paid for, including any optional accessories. If anything is missing or appears to be damaged, immediately contact the folks who sold you the device.
I recommend keeping the packaging and its contents as long as you own the Android: The box makes an excellent storage place for that stuff — as well as for anything else you don’t plan to use right away.
Android devices come fully assembled. If not, directions that came with the device describe what to do. Even then, odds are that the nice people at the store assembled the gizmo for you. If not, well then, they weren’t so nice, were they?
Like laser blasters and time travel pods, your Android ships with a clingy plastic sheeting adhering to its surface. The sheeting might describe various features, so look it over before you peel it off. And, yes, you must remove the sheeting; it’s for shipping protection, not for long-term protection.
Check the device’s rear camera to confirm that you’ve removed the plastic sheeting from its lens.
A SIM card identifies an Android device to the digital cellular network. Before you can use it on that network, the SIM card must be installed.
SIM stands for subscriber identity module, which should help you if you enjoy doing crossword puzzles.
Most of the time, the sales staff at the phone store install the SIM card. They pretend it’s a task that requires a PhD in quantum mechanics, though it’s really LEGO-brick simple.
If you’ve purchased your phone or cellular tablet outside the realm of the phone store and you have a SIM card to install (and you know how to obtain service for it and all that stuff), follow these steps when the device is turned off:
Locate the SIM card cover on the device’s outer edge.
The cover features a dimple or hole on one end.
Firmly insert the SIM card removal tool into the hole on the SIM card cover, and press to remove the SIM card tray.
The SIM card cover pops up or the SIM card tray slides out.
Pop the SIM card out of the credit-card-size holder.
Push the card with your thumb and it pops out. Don’t use scissors or else you may damage the card.
Set the SIM card into the SIM card tray or otherwise insert it into the SIM card slot.
The SIM card is shaped in such a way that it’s impossible to insert improperly. If the card doesn’t slide into the slot, reorient the card and try again.
Insert the SIM card tray back into the slot or close the SIM card cover.
You’re done.
The good news is that you seldom, if ever, need to remove or replace a SIM card.
Manufacturers give your new phone enough charge to survive the setup process, but little more. Therefore, one of your first duties, and eventually a routine task, is to charge the Android’s battery. You can wait in an old castle for a lightning storm or just abide by these steps:
If necessary, assemble the charging cord.
Connect the charger head (the wall adapter) to the USB cable that comes with the Android.
Connect the Android to the USB cable.
The charger cord plugs into the micro-USB connector, found at the device’s bottom.
As the device charges, you may see a Charging Battery graphic on the touchscreen, or a notification lamp may glow. Such activity is normal.
When the device is fully charged, the icon is “full” or you see 100% on the battery indicator. At that point, you can remove the charging cord, though leaving the Android plugged in doesn’t damage the device.
No one told the first person to ride a horse which direction to face. That’s because some things just come naturally. If using your Android phone or tablet doesn’t come naturally, refer to this section for help finding important items on the device and learning what those doodads are called.
Take a gander at Figure 1-1, which illustrates common items found on the front and back of a typical Android phone. Android tablets are similar, though larger.
Not every item shown in the figures may be in the exact same spot on your device. For example, the Power/Lock key might be found on the top edge, not on the side.
The terms used in Figure 1-1 are used throughout this book and found in whatever scant Android documentation exists. Here are the highlights:
Power/Lock key: This button, or key, turns the device on or off as well as locks or unlocks the device. Directions for performing these activities are found in Chapter 2.
Volume key: The volume control is two-buttons-in-one. Press one side of the key to set the volume higher, or the other side to set the volume lower.
Touchscreen: The biggest part of an Android gizmo is its touchscreen display, which occupies almost all the territory on the front of the device. The touchscreen is a look-touch gizmo: You look at it but also touch it with your fingers to control the Android.
Front camera: The front-facing camera, found above the touchscreen, is used for taking self-portraits as well as for video chat.
FIGURE 1-1: Your phone’s face and rump
Rear camera: The rear camera is found on the back (duh). Some devices feature multiple lenses for different focal lengths or special effects. The camera may be accompanied by one or more LED flash gizmos.
Speaker(s): The primary phone speaker is located top-center, above the touchscreen. One or more additional speakers might also be found on the phone’s bottom edge or backside. Tablets feature stereo speakers on either side of the device, though some smaller tablets may have their speakers on the back.
Microphone: Somewhere below the touchscreen, you’ll find the phone’s microphone. It’s tiny, about the diameter of a pin. Don’t stick anything into the hole! A second, noise canceling microphone might also be found on the back of the phone. Android tablets put the microphone along the edge, typically on the bottom.
Headphone jack: Somewhere on the device’s edge is the hole where you can connect standard headphones. If the headphone jack is missing, you must use wireless headphones; see Chapter 18 for details on Bluetooth.
Removable storage slot: Into this slot you insert a microSD card, which expands the device’s storage. Not every Android features this expansion option. See Chapter 19 for more details.
SIM card cover: This spot is where you access a cellular device’s SIM card, as covered earlier in this chapter.
USB/Power connector: This slot is where you connect the USB cable, which is used both to charge the battery and to connect your Android to a computer.
Take a moment to locate all items mentioned in this section, as well as shown in Figure 1-1. It’s important that you know where these items are on your device.
You can use your Android without earphones, but they’re nice things to have. If you didn’t find a set of earbuds in the box, I recommend that you buy a pair: The earbud-style earphone sets directly into your ear. The sharp, pointy end of the earphones, which you don’t want to stick into your ear, plugs into the device’s headphone jack.
Between the earbuds and the sharp, pointy thing, you might find a doodle button. The button is used to answer a call on an Android phone, mute the mic, or, on both a phone and tablet, start or stop the playback of music.
A teensy hole on the doodle serves as a microphone. The mic allows you to wear the earbuds and talk on the phone while keeping your hands free. If you gesture while you speak, you’ll find this feature invaluable.
The earphones must be inserted fully into the jack. If they aren’t, you won’t hear anything.
Fold the earphones when you put them away, as opposed to wrapping them in a loop. Put the earbuds and connector in one hand, and then pull the wire straight out with the other hand. Fold the wire in half and then in half again. You can then put the earphones in your pocket or on a tabletop. By folding the wires, you avoid creating something that looks like a wire ball of Christmas tree lights.
Beyond earphones, you can find an entire phone store full of accessories and baubles for your Android. The variety is seemingly endless, and the prices, well, they ain’t cheap. Here are some of your choices:
Phone case: Protect your phone by getting it a jacket, one that further expresses your individuality.
Pouches, sleeves, and keyboard covers: Android tablets have larger-format cases, almost like folios. Special pouches double as tablet stands. The fanciest tablet accessory is a keyboard cover, which features a wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard.
Keyboard: Speaking of keyboards, even if it isn’t part of the case, a Bluetooth keyboard is a handy Android tablet accessory.
Screen protector: This clear, plastic sheet adheres to the touchscreen, protecting it from scratches, finger smudges, and sneeze globs while still allowing you to use the touchscreen. Ensure that you get a screen protector designed specifically for your device.
Belt clip: To sate your envy of Batman’s utility belt, and demonstrate that you’re definitely over 50, consider getting a fine leatherette or Naugahyde phone case that you can quickly attach to your belt.
Arm band: Demonstrate to the world that you’re not only healthy but you’re also under 50 by wearing your phone on your upper arm. Do so only while jogging or wearing such attire while standing in line at Starbucks.
Selfie stick: Cheaper than having friends and more trustworthy than handing your phone to a stranger, use the selfie stick to take a self portrait minus that awkward “I’m holding my own phone” posture. It’s a must for tourists.
Vehicle charger: Use the vehicle charger to provide power to your phone or tablet for a long trip. This accessory is a must for older vehicles that lack USB ports.
Car mount: This device holds your Android phone so that you can easily see it while driving. It makes for easier access, although these things are forbidden in some states.
Wireless charger: Not every phone can be charged wirelessly, but if yours can, definitely get a wireless charger. Set your phone on the pad or prop it up in the dock. The phone’s battery starts magically recharging.
Portable charger: Battery life isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. These pocket-size power plants let you charge your phone anywhere power isn’t otherwise available.
Screencasting dongle: This accessory connects to an HDTV or computer monitor. Once configured, it allows you to cast the Android’s screen onto the larger-screen device. It’s ideal for watching movies or Netflix or YouTube videos, or for enjoying music. Google’s Chromecast is an example of a screencasting gizmo. See Chapter 19 for more information on screencasting.
Other exciting and nifty accessories might be available for your phone or tablet. Check frequently for new garnishes and frills at the location where you bought your Android. Your credit card company will love you.
The good news is that an Android combines multiple devices. So, rather than keep track of a clock, camera, phone, video recorder, game machine, tiny TV, and, possibly, other gizmos, you need to mind only one device. Of course, the panic is still there when you misplace the phone. This section offers hints on how to avoid that situation.
The compactness of the modern smartphone makes it perfect for a pocket or even the teensiest of party purses. And its well-thought-out design means you can carry your phone in your pocket or handbag with no fear that something will accidentally turn it on, dial Mongolia, and run up a heck of a phone bill.
Don’t forget that you’ve placed the phone in your pocket, especially in your coat or jacket. You might accidentally sit on the phone, or it can fly out when you peel off your coat. The worst fate for any smartphone is to take a trip through the wash. I’m sure your phone has nightmares about it.
The ideal place for an Android tablet is in a specially designed case, pouch, or sleeve. The pouch keeps the device from being dinged, scratched, or even unexpectedly turned on while it’s in your backpack, purse, or carry-on luggage or wherever you put the tablet when you’re not using it. Further, the tablet cover may prop up the device for easy viewing in a coffee shop or in the middle seat during a long airplane trip.
Also see Chapter 23 for information on using an Android tablet on the road.
It’s best to keep your phone or tablet in the same place when you’re not actively using it, especially a tablet. I prefer to keep my gizmos by my computer, where I can charge them and also refer to them as I work.
Another ideal location is on a nightstand. Especially if you get a dock for the phone or tablet, you can use it as your alarm clock. Ensure that you connect the Android to a power source so that it charges overnight.
Above all, keep the phone or tablet in the same spot. That’s the key to not losing it. Always set it back in the same place. (This advice applies to anything you’re prone to losing, not just a phone or tablet.)