So you have your brand new and shiny Android phone and are wondering where to start? We’re going to cover how to set your new phone up and what to do to get yourself right at home. There are hundreds of different Android devices in the world today so your experience may differ slightly (or dramatically) but here’s a quick overview of the OS itself and some things to consider and get your started.
Set-up
For most Android phones, set-up begins a Gmail account. If you don’t own a Gmail account, one can easily be made within the first few screens of setup. You’ll be asked if you agree to Google’s location services and if you don’t you can simply uncheck the box and continue, though this will affect some applications. You’ll also be asked if you would like to keep this particular device backed up to your account so you can restore settings automatically if you move to another device.
Using your Android Phone
While this will likely change going forward, the majority of Android devices today have three to four buttons found at the bottom of the display. These buttons include back, home, menu and search. The latter of which is not always found on all devices but it’s a nice addition to have. While less intuitive to that of iOS, having these navigation keys below the display allow applications to take advantage of all the screen’s real estate. The menu does take a bit to get used to but it also eliminates the need of having options on-screen when they are not frequently used.
Android gives you home screen panels that are heavily customizable and you can choose what applications and widgets you see front and center when you unlock your phone. Applications are tucked away, not in your face, and accessible when you want, which is at the bottom of the screen (depending on what phone you have, the application launcher will either be in the center or on one of the sides). To place an application on your homescreen, you simply hold down on said application in the app launcher and place it where you’d like it on your home screen. Removing apps from the home screen is just as easy, as you again hold down on the application you want to remove and the option to remove it will appear on the screen.
Widgets in particular help differentiate Android from iOS and Windows phones and allow you to view information right on your homescreen without having to jump into an application. Simple things like weather, stocks, and news can be seen with just a glance, giving you the information you want without opening the full app.
Whether its applications or widgets (or both), place the things you’ll find yourself most frequently using on your homescreens. Depending on the Android device you have, you may have 3 to 7 homescreens to choose from. Some people really only use one or two home screen panels, where others customize each homescreen for different type of content. (social networking, games, etc).
Get Your App On
If you’re a gamer, socialite, or a productivity-whore, you can find the apps that suit you best. Best of all, you don’t even need to use your phone to download the apps you want. You can head over to the Android Market Webstore, select the application you want and send them directly to your phone, where they will automatically be downloaded.
While the Android Market boasts fewer apps than Apple’s App Store, it’s not in short supply. With the insane growth of Android over the past few years, developers are looking at Google’s OS a bit differently and more applications are either being released at the same time as the iPhone, if not exclusive to the platform. Even with Windows Phone recently surpassing the 50,000 application mark, Google’s Android is widely considered the only true alternative to Apple’s App Store. For now.
Back in July, I posted the top ten Android apps I can’t live without but since the introduction of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, some of these apps have changed. Still, feel free to take a gander here.
Top 10 Android Apps I Can’t Live Without
Making the Most of it
Battery life on Android devices, while getting significantly better, has usually always been an issue. This is mainly due to background processes running in the background but we wouldn’t suggest you run to the nearest task manager. If your batter is depleting rapidly, things like screen brightness, CPU usage, WiFi, and GPS are likely the main culprit. However, if you’re rocking a LTE Android device, expect that 4G speed to hit the battery like a bag of bricks.
Applications like Locale and Tasker, while a little tricky to set up, can make your life a lot easier. You can set these applications up so that when you are in a certain, specified area, your settings will changed to what you programmed them for. You could set these apps up to turn on WiFi and lower the brightness level on your phone when you are at your house and different settings for when you’re out an about. Or, if you have NFC on your phone, you can write a tag that will change your settings with a simple tap.
Home replacements
Although we’ve already talked about customizations, one thing you may not even know is that you can completely replace the experience that ships with your new Android phone. If you’re new to Android, you may want to get a little more familiar before jumping into something else but if you’re looking to switch it up a bit, then you can easily install a home replacement app. There are a lot in the Android Market, both free and paid. If you’re looking for something that has a stock Android feel, or something that is filled to the brim with 3D effects, you can find a new home replacement in a snap. If you were so inclined, there are even applications that will skin your phone to look similar to another mobile operating system, like Windows Phone 7.
Home replacements apps are just that: Apps. You can remove them at any point and go back to the software experience that the phone shipped with. If you’re looking for something a little more permanent, continue reading.
To the Tinkerers out there
Even with Android’s heavy customization options out of the box, there is a community out there that pushes what it is to customize your handset. This isn’t like just jailbreaking an iPhone to install applications not found on the App Store (Android does this without any hacks) but the ability to tweak just about anything you want within the phone’s software. This is where custom ROMs come in.
Installing a custom ROM is recommended for those who have some know-how but if you don’t, there are plenty of how-to pages to brush up on before you begin. Hacking your phone will likely void your warranty, so just be aware of that before going forward. There are a multitude of custom ROMs available across most of the Android portfolio but if available, we’d suggest you check out either CyanogenMod or MoDaCo ROMs. These ROMs are essentially stock Android (no custom user interface) but are optimized in many ways and offer up some great features you just won’t find anywhere else.
Going Forward
In 2012, we’re likely going to see the introduction of Android Jelly Bean, the successor to the newly improved Ice Cream Sandwich. We have little to go on as to what the next version of the OS will be offering but it’s said that it will contain some “game-changing” features that were initially set to be released within Ice Cream Sandwich but were pushed back. With innovative features like Android Beam under its belt, we’re excited to see what Google has been cooking up for Android’s next release.
In theory, once the devices that eventually do get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update, the gap between a new version of the OS being released to when it makes it to a handset should grow smaller. Not necessarily close, but get smaller. Still, that’s in theory and we hope Big G is looking for better ways to bring the latest and greatest version of its mobile operating system to the masses without a long wait period. We’ll have to see about that one.
The above is just a few things you can do with your new Android phone and there’s plenty more to explore. Feel free to leave questions in the comments below or tell us the new Android phone you just got!