That Android operating system on
your phone can carry out numerous tasks but it's important to know where to
start. Unlike iPhone's cut-and-dried IU, the Android OS affords you ample space
to organize and customize. Here's a guide to getting the most out of your
Android phone's many included features.
The Desktop
Android's desktop differs slightly
compared to other smartphone platforms. With android you command a lot of
freedom to customize your Android desktop-and without any limitations to four
simple rows of flawlessly aligned square icons. Hence, Android lets you
customize your desktop to mirror your likes, including making it as full and
dynamic as you'd want it to be.
The Android desktop runs multiple
homescreen panels. Although if your handset has a particular overlay such as
MotoBlur, or rather a different version of Android, you could have 5-7
home-screen panels.
The first time you power up your
phone, what you see is the main homescreen panel. The panel is normally
centered, plus you can access extra panels on any side of the main panel
through dragging your finger either left or right. You can customize the
homescreen according to your preferences. You can make use of the available
space with any combination of shortcuts, folders and widgets.
Of course, short-cuts are tiny icons
that allow you load apps including other functions on your android phone; they
work the same as the ones you'd see on a computer desktop. These shortcut
options could do anything (according to your preference settings) from opening
a program to connecting to a particular Web page or even initiating a phone
call.
To create a shortcut, long press
your finger on any open space on your handset's home screen, and choose
Shortcuts from the resulting turn-up menu. This is where you should select
Applications, for example (to add an app), Direct message or Direct dial
(creating a shortcut for texting or calling a friend), Bookmark (to connect to
a Web page), and Directions (to activate navigation to a particular
destination).
Widgets include dynamic programs
that carry out activities right on your homescreen. They carry out various
functions-including giving you the latest weather forecast, or letting you play
music from your personal stored collection or streaming from the Internet. If you
want to accommodate more, you can download extra widgets available on the
Android Market.
To add a widget, press and hold your
finger on an open space, similar to creating shortcut (above). Although, this
time, choose the Widgets option availed from the pop-up menu. Whether you've
downloaded anything or not from the Android Market, of course there must be a
handful of options included in your phone. Begin by including the Power Control
widget; it forms a lovely one-touch toggle management system for you android
phone's Bluetooth, WI-Fi, GPS, screen brightness, and data syncing.
Notifications
Android's notification panel places
real-time incoming information at your fingertips, regardless which activity
you may be undertaking at the moment. Notifications come from different places:
voicemail, text messaging, e-mail, social network notifications and news apps.
As soon as you receive a new notification, an icon will emerge at the top-left
of your phone's screen. Dragging down the panel you'll be able to see detailed
information on the notification received.
Try out settings of various apps on
your Android phone to see what sort of notifications
they provide, and then customize them according to your needs.
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