Web Geek's Guide to the Android-Enabled Phone

Jerri Ledford has been a freelance business technology writer for more than 10 years. During that time, more than 1,000 of her articles, profiles, news stories, and reports have appeared online and in print. Her publishing credits include Intelligent Enterprise, Network World, Information Security Magazine, DCM Magazine, CRM Magazine, IT Manager’s Journal, and dozens more. Jerri also develops and teaches technology training courses for both consumer and business users. Some of the course topics she’s been involved with include security, customer service, career skills, and technology for companies such as IBT Financial, Writer’s Village University, Beacon Hill Financial Services, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and CNET.   She is the author of 17 books, including these:     The Web Geek’s Guide to Google Chrome   Google Powered: Productivity with Online Tools   Google Analytics 2.0   In her free time, Jerri travels extensively and enjoys hiking, writing fiction novels, and soaking up the positive ions at the beach with her children.   Bill Zimmerly is a retired computer programmer with interests that include writing about and programming Linux-powered gadgets like Android cell phones and Web applications for the Internet. With “tongue in cheek” sarcasm Bill considers himself one of those “unreasonable” men that the great writer Mr. George Bernard Shaw wrote about when he penned the famous line, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. All progress, therefore, depends upon the unreasonable man.”   Prasanna Amirthalingam is a software engineer who develops applications on both Java and .NET. He is very passionate about developing applications and loves sharing his passion through technical speaking and technical writing. He has authored exam content for more than 15 certification exams on various Microsoft technologies, including .NET, VSTS, VSTO, and Mobile development, and has been a Microsoft MVP since 2005. He loves travelling and has been working in different countries after starting his technical career in the beautiful islands of Sri Lanka. You can read his blog at www.prasanna.ws.  

Introduction 1

Part I: Devices

1 The Theory of the Android Phone 11

The Melding of Google Mobile and Android 13

Today’s Internet Society 16

Bringing It All Together 17

Making Devices Usable 18

Adding Software Applications to the Mix 19

Closing the Door 20

2 Getting to Know Android Phones 21

The T-Mobile G1 22

The Buttons 23

Screen Icons 27

The T-Mobile myTouch 30

Overview of Software and Applications 32

Android in Brief 32

Core Applications 33

Third-Party Apps 36

Device Security 37

Closing the Door 40

3 Basic Use of Your Android Phone 41

Phone Calls 42

Calling Methods 42

Call Capabilities 46

Text Messages, Multimedia Messages, and IMs 49

Text Messages 49

Multimedia Messages 51

Instant Messages 54

To Sync or Not to Sync 56

Syncing with the Web, Not the Desktop 57

You Can Still Sync With the Desktop–Sorta 58

Closing the Door 59

Part II: The Applications

4 Core Applications 63

Connecting with Contacts 64

Adding Contacts 65

Managing Existing Contacts 68

Saving the Date in the Calendar 70

Navigating the Calendar 71

Adding Events 75

Editing and Deleting Events 76

Adding Multiple Calendars 76

Figuring with the Calculator 77

Using the Camera to Capture Pictures 79

Camera Settings 79

Working with Pictures 80

Capturing and Sharing Videos 83

Capturing Video 83

Sharing Videos 84

Closing the Door 84

5 Going Online 85

Getting Connected 86

Connection Is More Than Just the Internet 86

A Bit More on Bluetooth and GPS 87

The Important Stuff: Wi-Fi 91

Understanding the Android Browser 95

Accessing the Browser 95

Browser Controls 97

Link Menus 98

Multiple Page Instances 98

Go to URL 100

Search 100

Bookmarks 102

Refresh 105

Additional Browser Options 105

Settings 107

Closing the Door 111

6 Email Anywhere 113

Introduction to Gmail 114

Accessing Gmail 114

Using Gmail to Send and Receive Messages 117

Reading Messages 117

Receiving Messages 119

Composing and Sending Messages 120

Advanced Gmail Controls 124

Managing Your Email 124

Email Settings 128

Other Email Services 131

Account Settings 132

Message Controls 134

Closing the Door 135

7 Getting Around with GPS and Google Maps 137

An Introduction to the G1’s GPS Capabilities 138

Using Google Maps 138

Getting Directions 139

Additional Options 144

Changing the Map View 144

Other GPS Capabilities 149

Closing the Door 149

8 Breaking Boredom with Entertainment Options 151

Listening to Music 152

Finding Your Music 153

Using Music Controls 154

Putting Music on Your Device 156

Finding Music with Amazon MP3 159

Watching Videos with YouTube 161

Accessing YouTube and Videos 161

Navigating a Video 162

Playing Games and Other Diversions 163

Closing the Door 164

9 Adding Applications to Your Device 165

Finding Apps in the Android Market 167

Downloading and Installing Apps 173

Managing Apps 174

Removing Apps the Easy Way 175

Managing Apps, Including Removal 176

Closing the Door 179

Part III: The Android Platfom

10 Getting to Know Android 183

Understanding Android 184

Key Components of Android 185

Features of the Android Platform 187

The Principles of the Open Handset Alliance 188

The Open Handset Alliance 188

Alliance versus Single Provider 190

Closing The Door 190

11 Developing Native Android Apps 191

Requirements for Development 192

Android Software Development Kit (SDK) 192

Java Standard Edition Development Kit (JDK) 192

Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE) 192

ANT Build Tool 193

Developing Android Applications 193

Setting Up the Development Environment on Windows 193

Setting Up the Development Environment on Linux 195

Making your IDE Android Aware 196

Bringing It All Together: Creating Your First Android Application 198

Creating an Application Using Eclipse 203

Introduction to Android SDK Tools 206

Android Debug Bridge (adb) 206

Android Device Emulator (emulator) 206

Make SD Card (mksdcard) 209

Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (ddms) 209

Android Asset Packaging Tool (aapt) 211

Hierarchy Viewer (hierarchyviewer) 212

UI/Application Exerciser Monkey 213

Trace View 213

SQLite 214

Closing the Door 214

12 Developing Mobile Web Applications 215

Client Code 216

The User-Agent 217

Server Code 225

Security and Authentication 231

Error Handling 232

Designing Web Content for Android 233

WebKit Support for Advanced CSS 233

WebKit Support for JavaScript 234

Performance Tips for Mobile Content 235

Optimal Loading Time 235

Simple Layout 236

Clean Navigation 236

Handling Broken Links 237

Spell-Checking 237

External Links 238

13 Advanced Android Apps 241

Ultimate Portability 242

Make Contact 243

A Few Programmer/Analyst Tips 244

How to Get Advanced Apps 245

Apps by Categories 246

Business Apps 246

Communication Apps 248

Location-Based Apps 249

Entertainment Apps 251

Utility Apps 252

Creating Advanced Apps 253

Appendixes

A Troubleshooting 255

Troubleshooting Device Issues 256

Troubleshooting Application Issues 259

Troubleshooting Design Issues 261

B G1 Keyboard Shortcuts 265

Shortcuts for Navigating Text and Typing 266

Shortcuts for Navigating Applications 266

Browser Shortcuts 267

Index 269