My DROID

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. He has held many different IT-related positions in his career ranging from sales support engineer to mobile architect for a 40,000-smartphone infrastructure at a large bank.   In addition to designing and supporting mobile computing environments, Craig writes about it for BYTE Magazine at BYTE.com and CrackBerry.com, a leading BlackBerry blog. Craig also cohosts the CrackBerry.com, BYTE Wireless Radio, and BYTE Apple Radio podcasts.You can see Craig’s previously published work in his books Professional BlackBerry,My BlackBerry Curve,My Palm Pre,My Nexus One,My Motorola Atrix 4G, and My BlackBerry PlayBook.   Craig would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact Craig about your experiences with My DROID at http://www.CraigsBooks.info. All comments, suggestions, and feedback are welcome, including positive and negative.

Prologue: Getting to Know Your DROID     3

What Is DROID?      3

Your DROID’s External Features     4

Fundamentals of Android     23

Installing Synchronization Software     42

1 Contacts     47

Adding Accounts     47

Working with Contacts (DROID Pro and CHARGE)      52

Adding and Managing Contacts     62

People (DROID Incredible 2)      74

Dialer (DROID X2 and DROID 3)      83

Adding a Contact to Your Home Screen     93

2 Using the Phone and Google Voice     97

Getting to Know the Phone Application (DROID 3, DROID Pro, DROID X2, and DROID CHARGE)      97

Getting to Know the Phone Application (DROID Incredible 2)      99

Receiving a Call (DROID 3, DROID Pro, and DROID X2)      101

Receiving a Call (DROID Incredible 2)      101

Receiving a Call (DROID CHARGE)      102

Handling Missed Calls     102

Placing a Call (DROID3, DROID Pro, DROID CHARGE, and DROID X2)      103

Placing a Call (DROID Incredible 2)      108

Configuring the Phone Application     112

Google Voice     120

3 Audio and Video     133

The Music Application—Audio (DROID 2, Pro, X2, CHARGE)      133

Managing Playlists (DROID 3, Pro, X2, CHARGE)      138

The Music Application—Audio (DROID Incredible 2)      141

Managing Playlists (DROID Incredible 2)      144

Playing and Sharing Videos with the Gallery Application (DROID CHARGE)      147

Playing and Sharing Videos with the Gallery Application (DROID Incredible 2)      152

Playing and Sharing Videos with the Gallery Application (DROID 3, X2, and Pro)      154

Recording Videos with the Camera Application (DROID CHARGE)      158

Recording Videos with the Camera Application (DROID X2 and Pro)      160

Recording Videos with the Camera Application (DROID 3)      163

Recording Videos with the Camera Application (DROID Incredible 2)      165

YouTube     167

Amazon MP3     170

4 Connecting to Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, and VPNs     177

Connecting to Bluetooth Devices     177

Wi-Fi     181

Cellular Networks (GSM—DROID Pro and Incredible 2)      186

Cellular Networks (CDMA—All DROIDs)      188

Virtual Private Networks (VPN)      189

3G Mobile Hotspot     192

5 Emailing     205

Gmail     205

Setting Up Email Accounts     215

Working with the Messaging Application (DROID 3,Pro, X2)      243

Working with the Email Application (DROID CHARGE)      248

Working with the Email Application (DROID Incredible 2)     256

6 Browsing the Web     265

Navigating with the Browser     265

Managing Bookmarks,Most Visited, and History     269

Managing Multiple Windows     280

Customizing Browser Settings     281

7 Text and Multimedia Messaging     287

Text Messaging Application     287

8 Date,Time, and Calendar     307

Setting the Date and Time     307

Alarm & Timer Application (DROID 3, Pro, X2)      309

Clock Application (DROID CHARGE and Incredible 2)      312

Using the Calendar Application     321

9 Taking, Storing, and Viewing Pictures     337

Using the Camera     337

Viewing and Managing Your Photos     349

Synchronizing Photos with Your Computer     363

10 Working with Android Applications     373

Configuring Google Checkout     373

Navigating Android Market     375

Browsing Apps by Category     376

Deleting Applications     381

Keeping Applications Up to Date     386

11 Customizing Your DROID     389

Change Your Wallpaper     389

Using Scenes (HTC DROIDs only)      394

Using Profiles (Motorola DROIDs Only)      396

Using Skins (HTC DROIDs only)      397

Changing Your Keyboard     399

Adding Widgets to Your Home Screens     402

Region and Language     405

Accessibility Settings     406

Search Settings     408

12 Maintaining DROID and Solving Problems     411

Updating Android     411

Battery Optimizing     413

Index     422