My Samsung Galaxy S III

Steve Schwartz got an early start as a computer industry writer and author. Immediately after buying an Apple II+ in 1978, he began writing regularly for the computer magazines of the day. Since then, he has written hundreds of articles for major publications, including Macworld, PC World, InfoWorld, and Computerworld. He is also the author of more than 60 books on game and computer topics, including guides to business/productivity software (Microsoft Office, Access, and FileMaker Pro), Internet software (Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Entourage, and Gmail), and graphics/imageediting software (Picasa, Picture It!, Digital Image Suite, and CorelDRAW).   Before becoming a full-time writer in 1990, Steve served as editor-in-chief for Software Digest and technical services director for Funk Software. He also authored the first trade paperback on the then-new Nintendo phenomenon: Compute!’s Guide to Nintendo Games.   Steve has a Ph.D. in psychology, consults on game and database design issues, and lives in the fictional town of Lizard Spit, Arizona. You can see the complete list of his published books at http://www.siliconwasteland.com/misc.htm.

1 Galaxy S III Essentials  3

The Galaxy S III Hardware  3

The Android Operating System and TouchWiz  6

The Galaxy S III Interface  7

Customization  8

Charging the Battery  10

Powering On/Off  10

Darkening and Restoring the Display  13

Restoring a Dark Display  13

Setting the Screen Timeout Interval  14

Adjusting the Volume   15

Using a Headset or Headphones  17

Wired Headset or Headphones  17

Bluetooth Headset  17

Setting Up Voicemail  21

Gmail and Your Phone  22

Creating a Gmail Account  22

Registering Your Gmail Account  23

Creating a Samsung Account  25

Working with Data  29

Manually Setting a Connection Method  30

Connecting to a New Wireless Network  31

2 Understanding the Android/TouchWiz Interface  35

The Home Screen  36

The Status Bar 36

Main Area  37

Extended Home Screen  37

Primary and Other App Shortcuts  38

Using the Hardware Keys  39

Menu Key  39

Home Key  40

Back Key 41

The Notifications Panel  41

Interacting with the Touchscreen 42

Using Your Fingers  42

Rotating the Screen  45

Entering Text  47

Using the Keyboard: Tapping  48

Using the Keyboard: T9 Trace  50

Using Voice Input  53

Editing Text  55

3 Managing Contacts 59

The Contacts Interface  60

Creating a Contact Record  62

Adding a Photo to a Contact Record 67

Viewing Contacts  71

Editing Contact Records 72

Editing Contacts  72

Setting Defaults for a Contact  74

Joining and Separating Contacts  75

Marking Contacts as Favorites  77

Deleting Contacts  78

Working with Contact Groups  80

Creating a Group  80

Changing a Group’s Definition 82

Adding or Removing a Person from Group Membership  82

Emailing or Texting a Group  84

Reordering the Groups  86

Deleting a Group  86

Backing Up/Restoring and Exporting/Importing Contact Records  87

Backing Up Contact Data 88

Restoring Backups  95

Importing Contact Data from Other Sources into Google Contacts  102

Odds and Ends  109

The Send Email and Send Message Commands  109

Setting Display Options  109

4 Using the Calendar 113

Adding Calendar Accounts  113

Working in Calendar  115

Creating Events and Tasks  115

Viewing the Calendar  122

Managing Events and Tasks  127

Responding to Reminders 128

Setting Calendar Preferences  131

5 Synchronizing Data  137

Developing a Sync Strategy 137

Microsoft Exchange Server 138

Google/Gmail  138

Alternative Software  141

The Sneakernet (Manual) Approach  142

Enabling Autosync  143

Performing Manual Syncs  145

6 Placing and Receiving Calls 149

Placing Calls  150

Manual Dialing  150

Dialing from a Contact Record  153

Dialing and Texting from the Call Log  154

Dialing a Number in a Text or Email Message  157

Emergency Calling  159

Other Outgoing Call Options  161

Speed Dialing  161

Temporarily Blocking Your Caller ID  167

Three-Way Calling 167

Pause and Wait Commands  169

Receiving Calls  171

Responding to an Incoming Call  171

Call Waiting  173

Call Forwarding  174

In-Call Options  175

Icon Options  176

Other In-Call Options  177

Using Voicemail  178

Enabling Silent and Airplane Mode  180

Silent Mode  180

Airplane Mode  182

Configuring Call Settings  183

7 Text and Multimedia Messaging 187

Creating Messages  188

Composing a Text Message (SMS)  188

Composing a Multimedia Message (MMS)  192

Managing Conversations  196

Responding to a New Message Notification  196

Continuing a Conversation  198

Reviewing a Conversation  199

Deleting Conversations  200

Deleting Messages  201

Other Options for Individual Messages  202

Searching for Messages 204

Configuring Messaging Settings  205

8 Browsing the Web  213

Launching the Browser  214

Visiting Web Pages  215

Typing the Address 216

Following a Link  217

Visiting a Bookmarked, Recent, or Saved Page  218

Searching for a Site or Page  220

Viewing Pages  220

Portrait Versus Landscape View  221

Magnification (Zoom)  221

Refreshing the Page  222

Working with Windows  223

Page Navigation  224

Adjusting the Browser’s Brightness and Colors  225

Incognito Browsing  225

Working with Bookmarks  227

Creating a Bookmark from the Current Page  227

Creating a Bookmark from the History List  228

Editing Bookmarks  229

Organizing Bookmarks in Folders  231

Deleting Bookmarks  233

More Menu Commands  234

Configuring the Browser  237

9 Sending and Receiving Email  239

Adding Email Accounts  240

Automatically Adding an Account  240

Manually Adding an Account  243

Configuring Email Accounts  247

Editing Account Settings  248

Deleting an Account  254

Retrieving Mail  255

Reading Mail  256

Viewing and Saving Attachments  260

Composing and Sending Mail  262

Creating a New Email Message  263

Replying to Mail  266

Forwarding Mail  267

Adding Attachments and Inserts  268

Managing the Mail  271

Deleting Messages  271

Moving Messages  274

Changing the Message Read Status  275

Marking Important Messages  277

10 Social Networking and Socializing 279

Using Flipboard  279

Adding Social Networking Accounts  280

Adding Content Feeds  283

Viewing and Interacting with Content and Feeds  284

Chatting with imo  287

About imo Instant Messenger  289

Setting Up imo: First Launch  289

Starting a Chat  293

Responding to a New Message  294

11 Installing and Using Applications  299

Running an App 299

Launching an App  300

Using the Hardware Keys  304

Switching Among Running Apps  307

Exiting an App  308

Downloading and Installing Apps from Google Play  308

Customizing Google Play 312

Enabling App Downloads from Other Sources  315

Using the Amazon Appstore for Android  317

Installing the Amazon Appstore App  317

Downloading Apps from the Amazon Appstore  319

Customizing the Amazon Appstore  323

Managing Apps  327

Creating Shortcuts  327

Uninstalling Apps 328

Updating Apps 332

12 Using GPS Apps  335

Enabling/Disabling GPS  335

Driving Directions  337

Google Navigation  337

Google Maps  341

Google Local (Places)  343

13 Transferring and Sharing Files  349

Using Kies Air  350

Transferring Files from Phone to Computer  352

Transferring Files from Computer to Phone  355

Transferring Files over USB  358

Transferring Files Using Bluetooth  362

Pairing the Phone with the Computer 362

Sending Files from Computer to Phone  367

Sending Files from Phone to Computer  368

Emailing Files  371

Emailing Photos  371

Emailing Songs  373

Transferring Files Between Phones  374

Using Wi-Fi Direct 375

Using S Beam  377

Using Share Shot  380

Broadcasting with Group Cast 383

14 Playing and Managing Music  389

Playing Stored Music with Music Player  389

Working with Playlists  394

Creating a Playlist  394

Playing Songs from a Playlist  397

Managing Playlists  398

15 Shooting, Editing, and Sharing Photos  405

Shooting Photos 405

Shooting Self-Portraits with the Front Camera  406

Shooting Photos with the Rear Camera  408

Changing the Camera Settings  410

Reviewing Photos  415

Viewing Photos in the Gallery  419

Running a Slideshow  425

Using Photo Editor  428

16 Videos from Movies, TV, and Other Sources 435

Streaming Video to the Phone  435

Streaming with a Dedicated App  435

Streaming from Web Pages  438

Playing Videos with the Video Player App  438

Using the Video Player Menu  442

Converting DVD Videos for Playback on the Phone  444

Recording Videos with the Phone 450

Video Chats  453

17 Customizing Your Phone 455

Customizing the Home Screen  455

Selecting Wallpaper  456

Rearranging, Removing, and Adding Home Screen Pages  459

Adding Shortcuts  460

Adding Widgets  463

Creating Folders  465

Repositioning and Removing Home Screen Items  466

Setting the Apps View  468

Changing System Settings  471

Date and Time  472

Ringtones  472

Enabling Motion Settings  479

Securing the Phone  481

Securing the Lock Screen  481

Unlocking the Screen  490

Setting Lock Screen Options  492

Showing/Hiding Passwords and PINs 493

Using Voice Services  494

S Voice  494

Voice Command for Apps  495

Google Search  497

Accessorize!  498

18 Powering Other Devices 501

Creating a Mobile HotSpot for Wi-Fi Devices  501

Tethering the Phone and a PC 506

Mirroring the Phone on an HDTV  510

19 Optimizing and Troubleshooting  513

Managing Memory with the Task Manager  513

Conserving the Battery  515

Configuring and Enabling Power Saving Mode  516

Tips for Manually Conserving the Remaining Charge  517

Viewing Battery Usage by Features and Apps  519

Managing Talk Time and Data Usage  521

Checking Current Usage  521

Managing Data Usage  522

What’s Cheaper? 524

Can This Call Be Made Later?  524

Viewing and Expanding Storage  525

Viewing Used and Available Space  525

Adding a Memory Card  526

Checking for System Updates  531

Troubleshooting  532

General Troubleshooting  532

Fixing a “Lockup”  533

Performing a Factory Data Reset  533