Android Phones For Dummies - 4th Edition

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. Lookup 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
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 an 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 is 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 can be enabled or disabled, as indicated by a master
control, which looks like the On/Off toggle 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 turn off the feature.

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