Introduction
WHAT GIVES YOU HIGH-SPEED Internet access, runs the hottest games and apps, lets you take high-resolution photos and HD videos, gives you immediate access to your favorite social networks, handles any email you can throw at it, and keeps you in touch by phone, text, and video chat?
It’s the Samsung Galaxy S5—the smartphone with a big 5.1-inch screen that you can control with a wave of your hand.
The Galaxy S5 brings together superb hardware from Samsung with Google’s powerful, flexible Android operating system. Many people consider the Galaxy S5 to be the best smartphone on the planet. If you’re holding this book in your hands, you’re probably among them—or soon will be.
This book will help you get the most out of your Galaxy S5, and there’s a lot you can get out of it. Whether you’re just looking to get started or want to dig deep into the phone’s capabilities, this book has got you covered.
About the Samsung Galaxy S5
WHAT MAKES THE GALAXY S5 so great starts with its hardware. Samsung gave it a 5.1-inch, high-resolution screen; a 16-megapixel camera for high-res photos and video; and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video calling and video chat. Its brain is a superfast 2.5 GHz four-core processor. For keeping you connected, the Galaxy S5 has antennas for Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS.
Note
This book was written based on the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Versions from other carriers may have minor variations in what you see onscreen.
It has access to speedy 3G and 4G networks, which let you talk, text, and surf the Web almost anywhere in the U.S. (anywhere important, anyway).
Google contributed its Android operating system, with seamless access to YouTube, Google Talk, and other Google services. The worldwide developer community has created hundreds of thousands of apps in the Google Play store (with more coming every day).
Put it all together, and you can do just about anything. You can get turn-by-turn directions, check weather and traffic, and identify landmarks. You can work with word processing and spreadsheet files and manage your email and calendar. You can take pictures and share them on Facebook, or shoot videos and upload them to YouTube. You can even turn the Galaxy S5 into a WiFi hotspot for getting up to five computers online.
Oh, and it’s also a darn good phone with great sound quality and all the calling features you could ask for.
You could figure out how to make the most of all these features on your own, but by that time there’d be a whole other generation of smartphones to learn. This book will put you on the fast track to all the Galaxy S5’s magic.
What’s New in the S5
ITS PREDECESSOR THE SAMSUNG Galaxy S4 was a very popular and powerful smartphone. But the Samsung Galaxy S5 is nothing short of remarkable. It introduces countless new features, all of which are useful, and some of which seem more akin to magic than anything else. Here are some of the highlights:
Fingerprint scanner. Want to make sure only you can use your Samsung Galaxy S5? It’s now got a fingerprint scanner so you can unlock your phone by having it check your fingerprints.
Heart rate sensor. Put your finger over this sensor and it’ll check your heart rate.
Faster downloads. The S5’s new Download Booster lets you create a big pipe out of your data and 4G or 3G networks for faster downloads.
Water resistant. Worried about dropping your S5 into a puddle of water or having it rained on? Worry no more. It’s now water resistant. No, it won’t keep water out if you’re way underwater scuba diving, but in normal everyday use it’s got you covered.
New TouchWiz. The software that Samsung layers over Android has changed. It’s now simpler and less cluttered.
About This Book
THERE’S AN ENTIRE WORLD to explore in the Samsung Galaxy S5, and the little leaflet that comes in the box doesn’t begin to give you all the help, advice, and guidance you need. So this book is the manual that should have accompanied the Galaxy S5.
The brain running the Galaxy S5 is a piece of software from Google called Android. Samsung then tweaked Android to operate seamlessly with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. Both Google and Samsung regularly issue updates that improve the way the Galaxy S5 works. So there’s a chance that since this book was written, there have been some changes to the Galaxy S5. To help keep yourself up to date about them, head to this book’s Errata/Changes page at http://tinyurl.com/gS5-mm.
About the Outline
GALAXY S5: THE MISSING Manual is divided into six parts, each of which has several chapters:
Part I. Covers everything you need to know about using the Galaxy S5 as a phone, as well as how to type on it, send text messages, and use all the phone features. So you’ll get a guided tour of the S5, learn how to dial calls, manage your contacts, use caller ID and similar features, make conference calls, and more, including fancy phone tricks like Visual Voicemail. You’ll even learn how to control your phone without using your hands.
Part II. Gives you the rundown on using the Galaxy S5 for taking pictures, recording videos, viewing pictures, playing videos, and playing and managing your music. You’ll also learn all the new Google Maps features, how to navigate using GPS, and how to find any location in the world. There’s also the Calendar app, which you can synchronize with your Google or Outlook calendar.
Part III. Tells you everything you need to know about the Galaxy S5’s remarkable online talents. You’ll find out how to get online either over your service provider’s network or a WiFi hotspot, see how you can turn your Galaxy S5 into a portable WiFi hotspot, master email, browse the Web, and download and use countless apps from the Google Play store.
Part IV. Covers a wide variety of advanced subjects, including how to sync and transfer files between the Galaxy S5 and your PC or Mac, how to use the Galaxy S5 at your workplace, and how to control the Galaxy S5 by talking to it. You’ll also find a comprehensive listing of the Galaxy S5’s settings.
Part V. Has three reference chapters. Appendix A shows you how to activate your Galaxy S5. Appendix B shows what kind of accessories you can get for your Galaxy S5, such as cases, chargers, and screen protectors. Appendix C offers plenty of help troubleshooting issues with the phone’s operation.
About→These→Arrows
IN THIS BOOK AND in the entire Missing Manual series, you’ll find instructions like this one: Tap Settings→Call Settings→“Voicemail settings.” That’s a shorthand way of giving longer instructions like this: “Tap the Settings button. From the screen that opens, tap Call Settings. And from the screen that opens after that, tap ‘Voicemail settings.’”
It’s also used to simplify instructions you’ll need to follow on your PC or Mac, like File→Print.
About the Online Resources
AS THE OWNER OF a Missing Manual, you’ve got more than just a book to read. Online, you’ll find example files so you can get some hands-on experience, as well as tips, articles, and maybe even a video or two. You can also communicate with the Missing Manual team and tell us what you love (or hate) about the book. Head over to www.missingmanuals.com, or go directly to one of the following sections.
Missing CD
So you don’t wear down your fingers typing long web addresses, the Missing CD page offers a list of clickable links to the websites mentioned in this book. Go to www.missingmanuals.com/cds/gS5tmm to see them all neatly listed in one place.
Registration
If you register this book at www.oreilly.com, you’ll be eligible for special offers—like discounts on future editions of Galaxy S5: The Missing Manual. Registering takes only a few clicks. To get started, type http://oreilly.com/register into your browser to hop directly to the Registration page.
Feedback
Got questions? Need more information? Fancy yourself a book reviewer? On our Feedback page, you can get expert answers to questions that come to you while reading, share your thoughts on this Missing Manual, and find groups for folks who share your interest in the Samsung Galaxy S5. To have your say, go to www.missingmanuals.com/feedback.
Errata
In an effort to keep this book as up to date and accurate as possible, each time we print more copies, we’ll make any confirmed corrections you’ve suggested. We also note such changes on the book’s website, so you can mark important corrections into your own copy of the book, if you like. Go to http://tinyurl.com/gS5-mm to report an error and to view existing corrections.
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