Book description
If you have a Droid series smartphone—Droid, Droid X, Droid 2, or Droid 2 Global—and are eager to get the most out of your device, Droids Made Simple is perfect for you. Authors Martin Trautschold, Gary Mazo and Marziah Karch guide you through all of the features, tips, and tricks using their proven combination of clear instructions and detailed visuals.
With hundreds of annotated screenshots and step-by-step directions, Droids Made Simple will transform you into a Droid expert, improving your productivity, and most importantly, helping you take advantage of all of the cool features that come with these powerful smartphones.
What you'll learn
Sync all your music, playlists, pictures, videos, and podcasts from your computer
Select and download fun and useful free apps from the Android Market with our Droid App Guide
Find your way with turn-by-turn directions and Google Maps
Take the best photos and videos and have fun adding zany effects
Get productive by editing Microsoft Office documents
Manage your busy life—email, calendar, contacts and more
Use your Droid for all your messaging needs, including social networking and Skype
Use your Droid as a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Who this book is for
This book is for anyone who currently owns or would like to purchase a Droid, Droid X, Droid 2, or Droid 2 Global smartphone.
Table of contents
- Copyright
- About the Authors
- About the Technical Reviewer
- Acknowledgments
-
I. Quick Start Guide
-
Getting Around Quickly
- Learning Your Way Around
- Flying on an Airplane – Airplane Mode
- Touch Screen Basics
- Tapping and Swiping or Flicking
- Swiping
- App Reference Tables
-
Getting Around Quickly
- II. Introduction
-
III. You and Your DROID. . .
-
1. Getting Started
-
1.1. Getting to Know Your DROID
- 1.1.1. What Is Included in the Box
- 1.1.2. Power and Lock Button
- 1.1.3. Volume Buttons
- 1.1.4. Slide to Unlock
- 1.1.5. Slide to Mute
- 1.1.6. Using the Four Buttons Along the Bottom
- 1.1.7. Slide-out Keyboard (for DROID and DROID 2)
- 1.1.8. Dedicated Camera Button
- 1.1.9. Inserting a Memory Card and Removing the Battery
- 1.1.10. Adjusting the Date, Time, Time Zone, and 24-Hour Format
- 1.1.11. Adjusting the DROID's Brightness
-
1.1.12. Charging Your DROID and Battery Life Tips
- 1.1.12.1. Charging From the Wall Outlet
- 1.1.12.2. Charging from Your Computer
- 1.1.12.3. Stopping the Verizon VCAST Video Auto-play (Windows PC)
- 1.1.12.4. What Drains the Battery the Fastest?
- 1.1.12.5. The Power Control Widget
- 1.1.12.6. Getting More Out of Each Charge
- 1.1.12.7. Using the Battery Manager
- 1.2. Setting up Accounts on Your DROID
- 1.3. Securing Your DROID
- 1.4. Maintaining Your DROID
- 1.5. Saving Money on Phone Plans
-
1.1. Getting to Know Your DROID
-
2. Typing, Voice, Copy, and Search
-
2.1. Typing on Your DROID
- 2.1.1. Two Ways to Type: Multi-touch and Swype
- 2.1.2. The Device Keyboard (DROID 2 and Similar)
- 2.1.3. Dictating Your Text
- 2.1.4. Quickly Delete a Word at a Time
- 2.1.5. Typing on the Screen With Two Thumbs
- 2.1.6. Moving the Cursor Around the Screen
- 2.1.7. Saving Time With Suggested Words
- 2.2. Using the Spell Checker
- 2.3. Accessibility Options
- 2.4. Toggling Caps Lock
- 2.5. Quickly Changing a Word
- 2.6. Quickly Change Text
- 2.7. Changing the Language and Keyboard Options
- 2.8. Voice Command
- 2.9. Using Copy-and-Paste
- 2.10. Finding Things with Google Search
-
2.1. Typing on Your DROID
- 3. Sync Your DROID With Your Google Account
-
4. Other Sync Methods
- 4.1. Backing up Your Outlook Data
- 4.2. Google Calendar Sync for Outlook (Windows PC)
- 4.3. Missing Sync for Android
-
4.4. CompanionLink for Android
- 4.4.1. Reviews of CompanionLink and DejaOffice App
- 4.4.2. Supported Software (What You Need)
- 4.4.3. Before You Install
- 4.4.4. Google Calendar First Time User
- 4.4.5. Downloading and Installing the PC Software
- 4.4.6. Installing and Setting Up the DROID Software (Only Required for USB Sync or CL Hosted Server options)
- 4.4.7. Troubleshooting CompanionLink
- 5. Wi-Fi and 3G Connectivity
- 6. Organize Your Home Screen: Icons and Widgets
-
7. Making Phone Calls
-
7.1. Getting Started with the Phone (Dialer)
- 7.1.1. Finding Your DROID Phone Number
- 7.1.2. Muting the Phone Ringer - Slide for Mute
- 7.1.3. Examining Different Phone Views
- 7.1.4. Using the Dialer Keypad
- 7.1.5. Muting Yourself on a Call
- 7.1.6. Dialing Digits While on a Call
- 7.1.7. Using the Speaker Phone
- 7.1.8. Talking Hands-free with a Bluetooth Headset or Bluetooth Car Stereo
- 7.1.9. Opening Other Apps While on a Call
- 7.1.10. Getting Back to the Phone From Any App
- 7.2. Using Speed Dial on Your DROID (DROID 2 and DROID X only)
-
7.3. Using the Recent View (Call Logs)
-
7.3.1.
- 7.3.1.1. Placing a Call from the Recent View
- 7.3.1.2. Viewing Contact Details from the Recent View
- 7.3.1.3. Adding a Number to Your Contacts List
- 7.3.1.4. Sending a Text Message to a Recent Caller
- 7.3.1.5. Assigning a Recent Caller a Speed Dial Number (DROID 2 and DROID X only)
- 7.3.1.6. Tapping the Contact Icon to Access Other Features
- 7.3.1.7. Tapping the Question Mark Icon to Add, Call, or Text a Recent Caller
- 7.3.1.8. Clearing Out or Erasing Your Recent List
- 7.3.2. Placing Calls From Contacts
- 7.3.3. Using Favorites
-
7.3.1.
- 7.4. Voice Dialing
- 7.5. Conference Calling
- 7.6. Accessing Voicemail
- 7.7. Using Google Voice
- 7.8. Customizing Phone Options and Settings
- 7.9. Sounds, Ring Tones, and Vibration
- 7.10. Purchasing a Ringtone from the Amazon MP3
-
7.1. Getting Started with the Phone (Dialer)
- 8. Bluetooth on Your DROID
-
9. Email on Your DROID
- 9.1. Getting to Know Gmail
- 9.2. Understanding Gmail Mobile
- 9.3. Talk and Other Missing Gmail Features
- 9.4. Multiple Gmail Accounts
- 9.5. The Email App
- 9.6. Outlook Web Access
- 9.7. Corporate Sync Accounts
- 9.8. Universal Inbox
- 9.9. Reading Attachments
- 9.10. Third-Party Apps
- 10. SMS, MMS, and Instant Messaging
-
11. Surfing the Web
-
11.1. Web Browsing on the DROID
- 11.1.1. An Internet Connection Is Required
- 11.1.2. Launching the Web Browser
- 11.1.3. Layout of Web Browser Screen
- 11.1.4. Typing a Web Address
- 11.1.5. Moving Backward or Forward Through Open Web Pages
- 11.1.6. Using the Windows Menu Command
- 11.1.7. Zooming In and Out in Web Pages
- 11.1.8. Activating Links from Web Pages
- 11.2. Working with Browser Bookmarks
- 11.3. Browser Tips and Tricks
- 11.4. Adjusting the Browser Settings
-
11.1. Web Browsing on the DROID
-
12. Working with Contacts
- 12.1. Loading Your Contacts onto the DROID
- 12.2. When Is Your Contact List Most Useful?
- 12.3. Adding a New Contact Right on Your DROID
- 12.4. Adding a Photo to Contacts
- 12.5. Searching Your Contacts
- 12.6. Adding Contacts from Email Messages
- 12.7. Sending a Picture to a Contact
- 12.8. Sending an Email Message from Contacts
- 12.9. Showing Your Contacts Addresses on the Map
- 12.10. Contact History and Social Networking Screens
- 12.11. Contacts Troubleshooting
- 13. Managing Your Calendar
-
14. Enjoying Your Music
- 14.1. Your DROID as a Music Player
- 14.2. Buying Music from the Amazon MP3 App
- 14.3. The Music App
- 14.4. Changing the View in the Music App
- 14.5. Viewing Songs in an Album
-
14.6. Playing Your Music
- 14.6.1. Pausing and Playing
- 14.6.2. Playing the Previous or Next Song
- 14.6.3. Adjusting the Volume
- 14.6.4. Repeating, Shuffling, and Moving Around in a Song
- 14.6.5. Moving to Another Part of a Song
- 14.6.6. Repeating One Song or All Songs
- 14.6.7. Shuffling Your Playlist
- 14.6.8. Now Playing
- 14.6.9. Viewing Other Songs on the Album
- 14.7. Exploring Your Music Options
- 14.8. Listening to Free Internet Radio (Pandora)
- 15. Viewing Videos, TV Shows, and More
- 16. New Media: Reading Newspapers, Magazines, and E-books
- 17. The Android Market
-
18. Taking Photos and Videos
- 18.1. Understanding Your Camera
- 18.2. Taking a Picture
- 18.3. The Camera Roll
- 18.4. Scenes
- 18.5. Camera Settings
- 18.6. Shooting Video
- 18.7. Video Modes
- 18.8. Sharing Videos
- 18.9. The Gallery
- 18.10. Using Picasa
- 18.11. Using Photos As Wallpaper and Widgets
- 18.12. Using Photos for Contact Icons
- 18.13. Copying Photos to Your Computer
- 18.14. Editing Photos
- 18.15. Printing
- 19. Finding Your Way With Maps
-
20. Social Media and Skype
- 20.1. Motorola Widgets
- 20.2. Twitter and Microblogs
- 20.3. Social Bookmarking
- 20.4. Facebook
- 20.5. LinkedIn
- 20.6. Blogging
- 20.7. Bump
- 20.8. Buzz
- 20.9. Cross-Posting
- 20.10. Aggregating Content With Readers
- 20.11. Making Phone Calls and More with Skype
-
21. Working With Notes and Documents
- 21.1. Finding and Installing These Apps
-
21.2. Notes-Based Apps on Your DROID
- 21.2.1. AK Notepad App
- 21.2.2. Adding and Labeling (Tagging) New Notes
- 21.2.3. Pinning a Note to Your Home Screen
- 21.2.4. Evernote App
- 21.2.5. Getting Started with Evernote
- 21.2.6. Adding and Tagging Notes
-
21.2.7. Viewing and Finding Notes
- 21.2.7.1. Adding, Tagging and Organizing Notes
- 21.2.7.2. Adding Snapshots (Taking a Picture to Add to the Note)
- 21.2.7.3. Attach Pictures, Audio, Video or Files to Notes
- 21.2.7.4. Adding Text to, Emailing, Deleting, Creating a Shortcut, or Editing a Note
- 21.2.7.5. Viewing or Updating Evernote on Your Computer
- 21.3. Sharing Files and Documents
- 21.4. Dropbox File and Document Sharing
-
21.5. Working With Microsoft Office Documents
- 21.5.1. Finding Product Reviews
- 21.5.2. Moving Documents to and From Your DROID
- 21.5.3. Quickoffice
-
21.5.4. Documents to Go – the Full Version
- 21.5.4.1. Word To Go Tips
- 21.5.4.2. Sending a File Via Email, Bluetooth, Dropbox, and More
- 21.5.4.3. Slideshow To Go Tips
-
21.5.4.4. Sheet To Go Tips
- 21.5.4.4.1. Moving Around the Spreadsheet
- 21.5.4.4.2. Selecting and Editing a Cell
- 21.5.4.4.3. Adding Functions
- 21.5.4.4.4. Freeze Panes
- 21.5.4.4.5. Switching Worksheets
- 21.5.4.4.6. Inserting Various Elements
- 21.5.4.4.7. Selecting an Entire Row or Column
- 21.5.4.4.8. Adjusting Row and Column Sizes (and Hiding or Unhiding Them)
- 22. Fun and Games
- 23. Utilities: Clock, Calculator, and Weather
-
24. Troubleshooting
-
24.1. Basic Troubleshooting
- 24.1.1. What to Do If the DROID Stops Responding
- 24.1.2. Managing Your Apps
- 24.1.3. Resolving Issues With Placing a Phone Call, Syncing With Google, or Browsing the Web
- 24.1.4. Turning Off Airplane Mode
- 24.1.5. Cycling Your Wi-Fi Connection
- 24.1.6. Resolving Sound Issues in Music or Video
- 24.1.7. Resolving Problems When Making Purchases
- 24.2. Advanced Troubleshooting
- 24.3. Additional Troubleshooting and Help Resources
-
24.1. Basic Troubleshooting
-
1. Getting Started
-
IV. Sync Media to your DROID
-
25. DROID Media Sync
- 25.1. Where to Enjoy Your Media on Your DROID
- 25.2. Moving Files With Your USB Connection
-
25.3. Using doubleTwist
- 25.3.1. Downloading and Installing doubleTwist
- 25.3.2. Getting Started With doubleTwist
- 25.3.3. Importing Your Playlists
- 25.3.4. Connecting Your DROID to doubleTwist
- 25.3.5. Syncing Music and Podcast Subscriptions Automatically
- 25.3.6. Fine Tuning the Sync
- 25.3.7. Dragging-and-Dropping Media Onto Your DROID
- 25.3.8. My Music App Won't Play My Music
- 25.3.9. Finding and Subscribing to Podcasts With doubleTwist
- 25.3.10. Finding Apps in the Android Market With doubleTwist
- 25.3.11. Buying Music from the Amazon MP3 Store in doubleTwist
-
A. DRIOD App Guide
- A.1. Document Tools
- A.2. Printing
- A.3. File Management
- A.4. Virus Protection, Backups, and Security
- A.5. Presentation Software
- A.6. Web Conferencing
- A.7. Notetaking and Mind Mapping
- A.8. Email Management
- A.9. To-Do Lists
- A.10. Expenses and Finance
- A.11. Travel
- A.12. Health and Medicine
- A.13. Law and Legal
- A.14. Real Estate
- A.15. Sales and CRM
- A.16. Retail
- A.17. Finance
- A.18. Project Management
- A.19. Education and Training
- A.20. Social Media
- A.21. Information Technology
- A.22. Other Apps
-
25. DROID Media Sync
Product information
- Title: Droids Made Simple: For the Droid, Droid X, Droid 2, and Droid 2 Global
- Author(s):
- Release date: December 2010
- Publisher(s): Apress
- ISBN: 9781430232797
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