My Droid

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

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.

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

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Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials