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A new Android phone can be an exciting purchase, especially if you’ve never owned one before. Many people agree that Android phones are by far the most useful operating system in that they can do many things that other operating systems cannot. Unfortunately this means that Android often compromises ease of use, however that is changing with new updates to the operating system. Androids newest operating system, Android 4.2, otherwise known as “Jellybean” is a big step foreword in terms of ease of use and usability. Nevertheless, there are a number of things an Android user should know in order to get the most out of their smartphone.
The first thing to remember when maximizing the usability of your Android smartphone is to use widgets. Widgets range from simple buttons, to complicated and fancy news and weather reports. You can access the widgets on your phone by touching the “menu” button on your home screen and then selecting “personalize”.
Your phone will come with a number of widgets pre installed, though you can also download your own from the “Google Play” store, which is the Android equivalent of Apples “App Store”. Widgets are basically interactive icons on your home screen. They can do anything from turning WiFi on or off, to telling you the weather in your area, to acting as a music player. It is well worth exploring the widgets that your phone comes pre installed with and choosing the best ones for your phones home screen.
Another great feature to take advantage of on your Android device is its integration with Google. Google owns android and because of this there is a heavy emphasis on using Google on all Android phones. Using the various Google apps, if you have a Google account, you can do things like sync your contacts between your phone and Gmail, play your music straight from the cloud using Google Play Music, and access your files in the cloud using Google Drive.
These features come in handy. New to Android 4.2 is Google Now, which is Androids answer to Siri on the iPhone, and a very competitive answer at that. Google Now is proving to be a very powerful feature, and is a big step for Android. It is almost impossible for Android users to not have a Google account, so when you get your new Android phone, make sure to get acquainted with Google and its apps.
An important thing to remember is that Android is open source, meaning that it is easy to get the code behind it, and easy for a hacker to write a virus.
Because of this it is important to have anti-virus software on your Android Smartphone just like it is important to have on your PC. This will ensure that your information remains safe, and that you don’t have issues with security on your phone.
Buying an Android phone is a move you will not regret, if you take advantage of everything it has to offer. These are just a few tips to get you started with your Android phone, but Android has a lot more to offer. The best advice of getting acquainted with your new phone is simply to play with it and test out the features yourself. One thing is for sure – you will never be bored with your new phone.
