Android Phones for Seniors in easy stps, 2nd edition

Updated for Android v7 Nougat

Nick Vandome

• Publisher: In Easy Steps Limited
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781840788860
• Topic: Informatica
• Subtopic: Hardware

Android is the mobile operating system that is used on the majority of smartphones worldwide. It is a robust and versatile operating system that can be used by any manufacturer to add to their handsets. This means that there is a wide range of Android phones available and also different versions of Android that run on them.

Android Phones for Seniors in easy steps, 2nd edition starts with a detailed look at the different versions of Android, and the range of models of phones that are available. It also explains the relationship with Google and the services that can be used with an Android phone.

The book looks at using the interface of an Android phone including:

• Using Home screens
• Organizing apps
• Viewing notifications
• Locking the phone
• Searching for items
• Accessing the range of Android settings
• Syncing with other Android Devices

The book also covers all aspects of the standard communication functions that are now commonplace on smartphones:

• Making and receiving calls
• Making video calls
• Sending text messages
• Adding contacts
• Sending emails
• Browsing the web

Android phones are excellent for a range of mobile entertainment, and the book shows how to listen to music, watch videos and read books. It also deals with taking and viewing photos so that you can use your Android phone as a replacement for a digital camera.

Due to the range of versions of Android and models of phones, Android phones can sometimes appear a bit of a maze. However, Android Phones for Seniors in easy steps, 2nd edition provides a clear guide to navigate through the issues and ensure that you can get the most out of your Android phone, whichever version it is.

Updated for Android v7 Nougat

Table of Contents:

• Introducing Android Phones
• Models of Android Phones
• Android Settings
• Around an Android Phone
• Calls and Contacts
• Using the Keyboard
• Messaging and Email
• Android Apps
• Being Entertained
• Keeping in the Picture
• Online with Chrome
• Staying Secure

1

Introducing Android Phones

Smartphones using the Android operating system are the most used phones, worldwide. This chapter gives an overview of Android on a smartphone. It also looks at creating a Google Account for using Google services on your Android smartphone.

About Android

About Android Phones

Updating Android

Android Overlays

Features of Android 8.0

Features of Android 9.0

Features of Android Phones

SIM Cards

Setting Up Your Phone

Android and Google

Creating a Google Account

Using a Touchscreen

Using Apps

About Android

Android is essentially a mobile computing operating system, i.e. one for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Android is an open source operating system, which means that the source code is made available to hardware manufacturers and developers so that they can design their devices and apps in conjunction with Android. This has created a large community of Android developers, and also means that Android is not tied to one specific device; individual manufacturers can use it (as long as they meet certain specific criteria), which leads to Android being available on a variety of different devices.

Android is based on the flexible and robust Linux operating system and shares many similarities with it.

Android Inc was founded in 2003, and the eponymous operating system was initially developed for mobile devices. Google quickly saw this as an opportunity to enter the smartphone and tablet market and bought Android in 2005. The first Android-powered smartphone appeared in 2008 and since then has gone from strength to strength. Android-based smartphones have a majority of the worldwide market, and it is used by numerous manufacturers on their handsets.

The main differences between the Android mobile operating system and desktop- or laptop-based ones such as Windows or macOS are:

•No file structure. There is no default built-in file manager structure for storing and managing files. All content is saved within the app in which it is created.

•Self-contained apps. Because there is no file structure, apps are generally self-contained and do not communicate with each other, unless required.

•Numerous Home screens. There are numerous Home screens on an Android phone, and they can be used to store and access apps.

•Generally, content is saved automatically as it is created. Apps save content as it is created, so there is no Save or Save As function within many apps.

The New icon pictured above indicates a new or enhanced feature introduced with Android phones using Android 7.0 Nougat.

About Android Phones

Android has been used on smartphones since 2008. Initially adoption was fairly slow, but this has now accelerated to the point where Android is the most widely used operating system on smartphones.

Combinations of Android phones

Since Android can be used by different manufacturers, this means that a range of the latest smartphones always run on Android. In addition, since not all older phones are designed to be upgraded to the latest version of Android, there are phones running several different versions of Android – for instance, the Google Pixel runs the latest version of Android (at the time of printing, Android 9 Pie) while some models of older phones may still only be able to run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. As a result, there are hundreds of combinations in terms of smartphone models and versions of Android on the market. Some are the expensive flagship models, which will run a relatively new version of Android (although not necessarily the very latest version) compared with cheaper models that can only run an older version of Android.

Updated versions of Android are named alphabetically after items of confectionery.

Checking for versions of Android

When buying an Android phone, look at the version of Android in the phone’s specification. Ideally, it should be a relatively new version, in order to enable it to be upgraded to the latest version when it becomes available. Some models of Android phones reach a point where they do not have the required hardware to update to the next version of Android and are therefore stuck with the current version that they are using. This may also limit the phone’s ability to download and use the latest apps that are available.

Android phone differences

Despite the variations in versions of Android, the user experience is generally the same on different Android phones. However, one area of difference is the hardware used by manufacturers. For instance, some newer Android phones have fingerprint sensors for unlocking the phone, and others have more sophisticated ca...