My Droid

by Johnston, Craig James

• ISBN13: 9780789747198
• ISBN10: 0789747197
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-01
• Publisher: Que Publishing

Summary

Step-by-stepinstructions with callouts to Droid photos so that you can see exactly what to do Helpwhen you run into Droid problems or limitations Tips and Notesto help you get the most from any Droid model: Droid Incredible, Droid Eris, Droid X, Droid 2, or Droid 1 Full-color, step-by-step tasks walk you through getting and keeping your Droid working just the way you want. Learn how to: bull; Get started fast! bull; Make the most of Droidrs"s Android software and state-of-the-art hardware bull; Discover hidden Droid shortcuts and goodies, from the Droid X Swype keyboard to face recognition bull; Master the unique features built into your Droid Incredible, Droid Eris, Droid X, or older Droid bull; Save time and money with powerful phone tools such as voicemail, automated transcription, three-way calling, and Google Voice bull; Set up and use any email account, from Gmail and Exchange to POP3 or IMAP bull; Send and receive text and multimedia messages bull; Communicate with contacts, including Facebook, Gmail, or Exchange contacts bull; Create and manage appointments, and sync them with Google Calendar bull; Play music and videos, search YouTube, and upload your own videos bull; Capture, store, and share photoshellip;even take perfect portraits of yourself! bull; Connect to the Internet, Bluetooth devices, and your companyrs"s VPN bull; Get instant information updates with real-time widgets bull; Browse the Web bull; Find, choose, install, and work with new Droid apps bull; Keep your Droid up-to-date, reliable, and running smoothly bull; Even if you have other Android Smartphone models, this book can help you make the most out of them

Author Biography

Craig James Johnston has been involved with technology since his high school days at Glenwood High in Durban, South Africa, when his school was given some Apple II Europluses. From that moment technology captivated him, and he has owned, supported, evangelized, and written about it.

 

Craig has been involved in designing and supporting large-scale enterprise networks with integrated email and directory services since 1989. Craig has held many different IT-related positions in his career ranging from sales support engineer to mobile engineer for a 40,000-Smartphone infrastructure at a large bank.

 

In addition to designing and supporting mobile computing environments, Craig writes about it for Smartphone Essentials and CrackBerry.com, a leading BlackBerry blog. Craig also cohosts the CrackBerry.com podcast and his own Mobile Computing Authority podcast.You can see Craig’s previously published work in his books Professional BlackBerry, My BlackBerry Curve, My Nexus One, and My Palm Pre.

Table of Contents

Prologue Getting to Know Your Droid  3

What Is Droid?  3

Your Droid’s External Features  4

Motorola Droid and Milestone  4

Motorola Droid 2 and Milestone 2  8

Motorola Droid X  12

HTC Droid Incredible  16

HTC Droid Eris  20

Fundamentals of Android  23

The Unlock Screen  23

The Home Screen  24

Using Your Droid’s Touchscreen  26

Your Droid’s Secondary Navigation Method  27

Using Your Droid’s Keyboard  28

Editing Text  34

Starting and Switching Applications  37

Menus  38

Installing Synchronization Software  40

Installing doubleTwist on Windows  40

Installing doubleTwist on Mac OSX  41

Creating a doubleTwist Account  41

Chapter 1 Contacts  45

Getting to Know the Contacts Application  46

Adding Accounts  46

Display Options (Droid 1 and 2)  53

Display Options (Droid X)  54

Display Options (Droid Incredible and Eris)  54

Adding and Managing Contacts  55

Joining and Separating Contacts  59

Organizing Your Contacts  63

Communicating with Contacts  70

Importing and Exporting Contacts  72

Chapter 2 Using the Phone and Google Voice   77

Getting to Know the Phone Application (Droid and Droid X)  78

Getting to Know the Phone Application (Droid Incredible and Eris)  79

Receiving a Call (Droid and Droid X)  81

Receiving a Call (Droid Incredible and Eris)  83

Placing a Call (Droid and Droid X)  84

Dialing from a Contact Entry  84

Dialing from a Contact Entry (Alternative Method)  85

Dialing Using Quick Contact  86

Dialing Using Your Voice  87

Options While on a Call  88

Conference Calling  89

Placing a Call (Droid Incredible and Eris)  91

Dialing from a Contact Entry  91

Dialing Using Your Voice  92

Options While on a Call  93

Conference Calling  94

Configuring the Phone Application  95

Phone Sounds and Alerts (Android 2.2)  95

Phone Sounds and Alerts (Android 2.1)  97

Call Settings  99

Google Voice  100

Setting Up Google Voice  100

Upgrading Google Voice  104

Playing Back and Managing Voicemails  106

Send SMS and Check Your Balance  107

Google Voice Settings  108

Chapter 3 Audio and Video   111

The Music Application–Audio (Droid and Droid X)  112

Controlling Playback  114

Taking More Actions  115

Working and Listening to Music  115

Managing Playlists (Droid and Droid X)  116

Creating a New Playlist on Your Droid  116

Adding a Song to an Existing Playlist  118

Rearranging Songs in a Playlist  119

Clearing a Playlist  119

Deleting and Renaming a Playlist  120

Manually Creating a Playlist on a Computer  121

The Music Application–Audio (Droid Incredible and Eris)  122

Viewing Your Music  123

Taking More Actions  124

Working and Listening to Music  125

Managing Playlists (Droid Incredible and Eris)  125

Creating a New Playlist on Your Droid  125

Adding a Song to an Existing Playlist  127

Rearranging Songs in a Playlist  128

Renaming or Deleting a Playlist  129

The Gallery Application–Video (Droid 1)  129

Sharing Videos  131

Sharing Video Using MMS  131

Sharing Video Using Bluetooth  132

Sharing Video Using Email or Gmail  132

Sharing Video on YouTube  133

Deleting Videos  133

The Gallery Application–Video (Droid Incredible and Eris)  134

Sharing Videos  135

Deleting Videos  136

The Gallery Application–Video (Droid X)  136

Sharing, Editing, and Deleting Videos  137

Editing Videos  139

The Camera Application–Recording Videos (Droid 1)  140

Recording Video  140

Changing Video Settings  141

The Camera Application–Recording Videos (Droid X)  141

Recording Video  142

Changing Video Settings  143

The Camera Application–Recording Videos (Droid Incredible and Eris)  143

Recording Video  143

Changing Video Settings  144

YouTube  145

YouTube Main Screen  145

Playing a Video  146

Filtering Videos  146

Changing YouTube Settings  148

Amazon MP3  148

Setting Up the Amazon MP3 Application  148

Finding Music  150

Purchasing Music  150

Using doubleTwist to Synchronize Audio and Video  151

Running doubleTwist and Mounting Your Droid  152

Synchronizing Music by Dragging It  153

Synchronizing Existing Playlists  154

Creating Playlists  155

Using doubleTwist with the Amazon MP3 Music Store  156

Copying Video  156

Chapter 4 Connecting to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and VPNs  159

Connecting to Bluetooth Devices  160

Pairing with a New Bluetooth Device  160

Changing Bluetooth Options  163

Wi-Fi  164

Connecting to Wi-Fi  165

Wi-Fi Network Options  166

Advanced Wi-Fi Options  167

Cellular Networks (GSM)  169

Changing Mobile Settings  169

Cellular Networks (CDMA - Verizon)  171

Changing Mobile Settings  171

Virtual Private Networks (VPN)  173

Adding a VPN  173

Connecting to a VPN  175

3G Mobile Hotspot  176

Setting Up and Starting Your 3G Mobile Hotspot (Droid Incredible)  176

Setting Up and Starting Your 3G Mobile Hotspot (Droid X)  177

Chapter 5 Emailing   181

Gmail  182

Adding a Gmail Account  182

Composing Gmail Email  187

Reading Gmail Email  189

Gmail Settings  191

Setting Up the Email Application  193

Adding a New Microsoft Exchange Account (Droid 1 and 2)  193

Exchange Account Settings (Droid 1 and 2)  196

Adding a New POP3 or IMAP Account (Droid 1 and 2)  197

Working with the Email Application (Droid 1 and 2)  201

Using Combined or Separate Inboxes  201

Composing Email  202

Reading Email  203

Adding a New Microsoft Exchange Account (Droid Incredible and Eris)  204

Exchange Account Settings (Droid Incredible and Eris)  206

Setting Your Out of Office Message (Droid Incredible and Eris)  207

Adding a New POP3 or IMAP Account (Droid Incredible and Eris)  209

Working with the Email Application (Droid Incredible and Eris)  211

Navigating the Main Screen  212

Composing Email  213

Reading Email  215

Adding a New Microsoft Exchange Account (Droid X)  216

Adding a New POP3 or IMAP Account (Droid X)  218

Working with the Email Application (Droid X)  221

Navigating the Main Screen  221

Universal Inbox (Droid X)  222

Universal Inbox Account Settings (Droid X)  223

Modifying Which Accounts Universal Inbox Shows  223

Composing Email  224

Reading Email  226

Chapter 6 Browsing the Web   229

Navigating with the Browser  230

Managing Bookmarks  232

Using GPS Location  234

Navigating with the Navigation Pad, Trackball, and Optical Joystick  235

Managing Multiple Windows  236

Setting Page Options  237

Customizing Browser Settings  238

Downloading Files  243

Reviewing History and Most Viewed Sites  244

Most Viewed  244

History  245

Chapter 7 Text and Multimedia Messaging  247

The Messaging Application  248

Messaging Application Settings  250

Composing Messages  252

Attaching Files  254

Receiving Messages  256

Chapter 8 Date, Time, and Calendar   261

Setting the Date and Time  262

The Clock Application (Droid 1 and 2)  263

Launching the Clock Application  263

Navigating the Clock Application  264

Managing Alarms  265

Viewing and Managing Weather and News  267

The Clock Application (Droid Incredible and Eris)  268

Launching the Clock Application  269

Navigating the Clock Application  270

Managing Alarms  270

Viewing and Managing Weather  273

The Calendar Application  274

The Calendar Main Screen  274

Adding a New Event/Appointment  275

Editing or Deleting an Event  278

Responding to Event Reminders  279

Calendar Settings  280

Responding to an Event Invitation  281

Chapter 9 Taking, Storing, and Viewing Pictures   285

Using the Camera  286

Original Droid Camera  286

Droid Incredible and Droid Eris Camera  289

Droid X Camera  291

Viewing and Managing Your Photos  296

Gallery (Droid and Droid 2)  296

Album Menu  297

Managing and Sharing Photos in an Album  298

Photos (Droid Incredible and Eris)  301

Gallery (Droid X)  304

Synchronizing Photos with Your Computer  309

Manually Working with Pictures  310

Working with doubleTwist   314

Chapter 10 Working with Android Applications   317

Configuring Google Checkout  318

Navigating Android Market  319

Browsing Apps by Category  320

Downloading Free Applications  321

Buying Applications  322

Deleting Applications  324

Deleting an Application Using Settings  324

Deleting an Application Using Market  326

Keeping Applications Up to Date  328

Chapter 11 Customizing Your Droid   333

Changing Your Wallpaper  334

Wallpaper from Gallery Pictures  335

Live Wallpaper  336

Using Scenes (HTC Droids Only)  338

Changing the Scene  338

Creating Your Own Scene  339

Changing Your Keyboard  341

Swype Keyboard  343

Adding Widgets to Your Home Screens  345

Adding a Widget  345

Moving a Widget  346

Removing a Widget  347

Region and Language  347

Accessibility Settings  349

Search Settings  350

Chapter 12 Maintaining Droid and Solving Problems   353

Updating Android  354

Battery Optimizing  355

Looking After the Battery  355

Extending Battery Life  356

See What Is Using Power  359

Dealing with Misbehaving Applications  361

Caring for Droid’s Exterior  364

Getting Help with Your Droid  365

Index   367