Android Smartphones & Tablets The Complete Manual

Your Android phone or tablet is the perfect tool for checking your emails on the go, browsing the Internet while you wait for your train or listening to music while you exercise, but it is also capable of so much more. From playing the latest games and watching on-demand TV to managing your work/life balance and writing that long-planned novel. This Android guidebook will take you from getting the most from the stock Android apps such as Gmail and Chrome, through solving common problems and on to learning about adding launchers and rooting your device. We will show you how to explore the OS and get more from any Android phone or tablet, whether it is four years old or the latest cutting edge, flagship model. www.pclpublications.com…

Connections These are the plugs, ports and other interfaces which allow you to connect or add something to your device, or connect your device to the mains for charging. Most devices have a standard set of connection ports, but some may have additional ones. Micro USB/USB-C Most modern devices use Micro USB or the newer USB-C connections for both the charging cable and the data cable (for connecting to a computer to transfer files). The position of this will vary depending on what device you have, but it can usually be found on the bottom edge or sometimes the side of the device. 3.5mm Audio Port Almost all Android devices, including Samsung, feature a 3.5mm standard audio port, for use with headphones, headsets or speakers. This is usually on the…

1 Sleep/Power As well as being the button that turns your tablet on and wakes it up out of sleep, the power button, when held also brings up a menu for shutting down and restarting your tablet. 2 Volume Up/Down The volume profile that the up and down buttons controls depends on what you are doing when it is pressed. When the volume display appears on screen, you can access more volume sliders. 3 Recent Button This capacitive button, when tapped opens the recent app screen. This shows a list of all apps opened recently and allows you to quickly switch between them. 4 Home Button Almost all devices have a physical home button, flanked by capacitive (but part of the hardware) Back and Recent buttons. The Home button often…

Single Touch To activate items on the screen such as application and settings icons, to type letters and symbols using the on-screen keyboard, or to press on-screen buttons, you simply (gently) touch them with your finger. The touch screen is capacitive, meaning it is sensitive to the tiny electrical charge in our bodies. This means you only have to tap the screen, not press down hard with your finger. Swipe or Scroll Many of the menus or web pages that you can access on Android require you to scroll. To swipe or scroll, quickly move your finger across the surface of the screen, without pausing when you first touch it. For example the app drawer lets you slide the screen up or down to scroll through the list and in…

Choosing a MicroSD Some memory cards may not be fully compatible with the device. Using an incompatible card may damage the device or the memory card. Card Capacity As already mentioned, not all tablets can read all sizes of MicroSD card. The largest capacity card you will easily find is 256GB, and the smallest is 2GB. All tablets with a MicroSD slot or tray will accept and work with a 2GB card but only a very few will work with more than 128GB (let alone 256GB). Recycling Cards You may have a MicroSD card in an old device you can use. Be aware that some memory cards may not be compatible with your device depending on the memory card manufacturer and type. To view your device’s maximum memory card capacity,…

Creating a Google Account You can easily find anything you want to do in Google, by simply searching using relevant terms. For example, if you want to find the Google+ account page, simply search for “Google+ Account” in your browser. 1 Using any Internet browser, navigate to https://accounts.google.com and click on the Sign Up button in the top-right corner of the screen. Alternatively, search for “Google Account” in any search engine. Enter your name into the boxes provided and choose your preferred gmail.com email address. This will be your future username for Android. 2 If the name you want is already taken, you will be shown some alternatives. Or you can try another of your own. Complete the remainder of the information, including a phone number and alternative email address…