Huddleston
begins with several chapters on the general layout and screens of Android smart
phones. These chapters cover subjects
that all but the newest users of smart phones will already be familiar with:
various screen displays, using the phone to actually call someone (imagine
that), where to find new applications (both free and sold), the Google
calendar, and the set-up and use of Gmail and Email (which is almost always
set-up for the owner by his salesperson).
Part
II of Android Fully Loaded deals in much
detail with the specific areas of maps, music, shooting pictures and video, and
using the web from an Android smart phone.
It was in the music chapter of the book that I had my first revelation,
in fact. Listening to music via my phone
is not something that I do a lot of mainly because that process is a real
battery-eater for most phones, so I was perfectly happy with what I could do
with Pandora (which allows the user to create his own "radio
stations") and I-Heart Radio.
Huddleston, though, introduced me to Google Music, a service through
which I uploaded much of my song collection to a Google server (20,000 songs
can be uploaded at no charge) for playback at my leisure anywhere I can connect
to the web.
The
book's final section is entitled "Working and Playing" and includes separate
chapters on documents, games, cool apps, troubleshooting, and more advanced
topics. These chapters will almost
certainly introduce most users to a few applications that will make them wonder
how they lived without those apps for so long.
What did it for me were applications like "Where" (which uses
the phone's GPS system to locate businesses and the best gas prices close to
me), "Walkroid" (a pedometer that works better than some I have paid
as much as $40 for), and "Zedge" (which offers countless free
ringtones).
Android Fully Loaded is likely to have
something helpful for all but the most sophisticated smart phone users. Newbies will appreciate the full-color
illustrations (actual screenshots from the author's own cell phone) and more
intermediate users will make use of the tips, shortcuts, and new applications
found in the book. Android Fully Loaded, which also covers Android tablets, is one of
the best books of its type I have seen in a while.
Rated
at: 5.0
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