我们已经发表了很多关于Windows Phone的文章。对于一个致力于所有Windows的网站来说，这并不奇怪！我们并没有真正详细介绍Android设备，这也不足为奇。显然，Ciprian 对他的新Windows Phone(Windows Phone)非常满意。🙂 虽然我......好吧，我想我不得不承认，我刚拿到我的第一部智能手机，它是Android。我总是阅读新小玩意的说明，但天哪，我的手机附带了 300 多页的手册！甚至发现它实际上只有一半大小，因为它包含英文(English)和西班牙版本，并没有让通过它的前景变得不那么令人生畏。必须有更好的方法来解决Android的问题。这就是为什么我很高兴得到Android Phones for Dummies 的(Android Phones for Dummies)原因。最近几个月，我对For Dummies(For Dummies)系列的体验参差不齐，所以我真的希望这本书能成为我需要的对 Android 的简单介绍。是吗？让我告诉你我发现了什么。
真正从头开始
Android Phones for Dummies首先是第一次将您的手机开箱即用，然后将它们放在一起。即使这比您需要的更多细节，也值得阅读该部分，只是为了享受在工作中看到For Dummies风格的大师（Dan Gookin - 这本书的作者也写了第一本For Dummies书）。您还将全面了解安装电池、microSD卡和 SIM 卡(card and SIM card)等必要任务。即使电话商店(phone store)的好人为你做了所有这些，你迟早要为自己做这件事，手头有指示和插图可以让事情变得容易得多。
然后是简短但内容丰富的章节，引导您完成手机设置、基本的Android操作、打字、编辑和语音命令。这些章节必然是关于通用Android 手机(Android phone)的，但不难弄清楚哪些内容适用于您的手机，哪些内容不适用，并且将其全部拼写在这里以供参考对于新手（比如我）来说是一个加分项。读到Android(Android)有一个用于语音命令的内置传感器，我很高兴地看到，它会自动用星号、井号或类似但不冒犯的词替换便盆口语——并发现Gookin 先生(Mr. Gookin)进行了广泛的研究以找出什么得到哔哔声，什么没有。谈奉献。🙂
一个响亮的肮脏
信不信由你，有些人（比如我）仍然抱着实际打电话的想法购买手机。我很高兴看到有一个很长的部分专门介绍这种老式的追求。
Android Phones for Dummies引导读者通过拨打电话、使用联系人列表、接听电话和使用通话记录(call log)，然后转到更高级的主题，例如快速拨号(speed dial)、在两个通话之间切换、转接和始终必不可少的“发送直接拨打语音信箱。” ("Sending a call directly to voicemail.")关于铃声的部分比我希望的要短且不那么详细。使用您自己的音乐作为铃声似乎具有广泛的吸引力，因此更多说明可能会很有用。
我必须承认我对语音邮件部分感到惊讶。有使用谷歌语音作为(Google Voice)电话运营商(phone carrier)通用语音邮件系统(voicemail system)的更复杂替代品的详细说明，尽管我有一个谷歌语音号码(Google Voice number)，因为只有通过邀请才能访问，但我没有意识到这是可能的。这本书(book walk)不仅引导您完成所有必要的步骤，还提供了一个二维码(QR code)，可以直接访问Google Play 商店(Google Play Store)中的Google Voice 应用程序(Google Voice app)。
联系人管理(contact management)部分同样详尽，涵盖了添加、删除地址以及与其他联系人管理软件同步的方式。我发现将联系人列表与Gmail同步的说明异常不足。有人提到您可以在Gmail中创建新联系人，这样您就不必用手机输入它们，但没有提到这些Gmail创建的联系人最终会如何出现在您的手机上。
发短信、发电子邮件和上网
大多数拥有手机很长时间的人都熟悉发送和接收短信的过程，而Android Phones for Dummies可以作为对我们大多数人已经知道的内容的回顾。不过，使用手机发送和接收电子邮件对读者来说可能是新事物，而关于电子邮件的章节充满了有用的信息。由于Gmail帐户(Gmail account)是Android手机的默认帐户，并不是每个人都使用Gmail，所以很高兴看到一步一步的解释(step explanation)如何从其他电子邮件服务发送和接收邮件。有些服务是预先配置好的，读者只需从列表中选择合适的；其他的则必须手动添加和配置，并且说明很清楚，应该立即引导读者完成整个过程。
我在本节中没有找到但我认为应该包含的一点信息是，如果您将手机设置为接收电子邮件，您可能会用完您的数据分钟，而且您肯定会正在耗尽你的电池。书的最后有一节关于电池使用(battery use)，它解释了如何弄清楚是什么在消耗你的电池以及如何处理它，我认为在设置你的手机之前应该有一个提示去看看那个部分伸手去拿你的邮件。
在手机上上网(Internet)对于新的智能手机用户来说可能是不熟悉的（比如我——我以前总是有笨拙的手机）。网页浏览(web browsing)部分充满了有用的提示和有用的建议。就在第一页上，提示您应该在尝试之前激活WiFi 连接(WiFi connection)，因为这不仅会更快，而且很可能会为您省钱。还有一个注意事项，你不需要用手机下载应用程序，因为你可以从Android Market获取它们。这是另一个节省时间和金钱的方法，我相信大多数人都会喜欢它。
我也喜欢社交网络的轻松观点，以及一些非常严重的警告，即在你闲聊时过于粗心地分享个人信息。关于保护个人信息，永远不会有足够的警告。
地图和应用程序
今天的手机比我们过去随身携带的手机要早几光年。Android手机内置地图，这些地图可以通过图层(Layers)自定义。层(Layers)的概念对于新手来说可能有点混乱，因此欢迎解释它们是什么以及它们是如何工作的。还有一个关于读者可能希望或可能不希望激活的位置服务的侧边栏，以及有关如何拒绝这些服务或根据需要关闭它们的说明。（地图(Maps)一章还应该包含一个指向 this-eats-your-battery 部分的指针。）
许多读者可能不知道地图(Maps)应用程序内置的搜索功能，或者他们仅使用地图搜索(Maps search)就可以找到地址、附近的商家或兴趣点。直到我尝试搜索(test search)附近的餐馆时，我才知道这有多复杂。多年来，我一直开车经过其中一些地方，却不知道它们是什么！
我想大多数人已经掌握了用手机拍照和用音乐播放器(music player)播放音乐的概念，而且由于安卓(Android)手机可以两者兼得，所以新手会发现照片、视频和音乐的部分对入门很有帮助。每个电话公司(phone company)都提供自己的标准应用程序列表，因此书中的插图可能与特定手机不匹配，但它们足够详细，读者可以很好地了解一切是如何运作的。
手机附带的应用程序将类似，本书简要介绍了这些应用程序。我认为大多数人不需要太多的指导，但是，即使使用像计算器(Calculator)这样的简单应用程序，手头有清晰的书面说明也可以避免很多挫败感。Google Play 商店(Google Play Store)还有一个简短但内容丰富的部分，以及如何下载、购买和管理应用程序(manage apps)。
连接和配置
Android Phones for Dummies的第 5 部分，标题为“基本要素”("Nuts and Bolts,")，在这里可以找到许多最实用和有用的信息。在这里，您可以了解WiFi 和蓝牙、通过(WiFi and Bluetooth)USB 数据线(USB cable)连接手机、同步数据以及确定照片、视频和音乐的存储位置。
还有关于在您的覆盖区域(coverage area)（包括国际）之外使用手机的来龙去脉以及专门用于自定义主屏幕(Home screen)、锁定手机（使用手势、PIN 或密码(PIN or password)）以及更改其他设置的章节也有很好的建议。由于本章中的示例是通用的，因此您绝对应该挖掘手机的使用说明书(instruction manual)以确保您了解它的工作原理。这种组合应该让你在很短的时间内感觉自己像个专家。
最后一章详细介绍了如何防止手机在后台执行的操作耗尽电池电量，如何保持手机清洁和备份数据，以及如何获得帮助和解决烦人的问题。有一个简短的“常见问题解答”("FAQ")部分，写得很轻松，但这可能会使读者不必从电话公司(phone company)获得官方支持。
正如大多数 For Dummies书籍所做的那样，这本书以“The Part of Tens”作为结尾，在这种情况下，它还包括Gookin 先生(Mr. Gookin)认为值得的十个应用程序。
判决
Android Phones for Dummies从一开始就让我着迷。这绝对比翻翻我手机的官方手册（甚至没有打印出来，而且如果我以PDF 格式(PDF format)表达我对手册的真实感受，我的手机会大量审查我）要容易得多。它清楚地解释了Android手机(Android phone)操作的基础知识，并配有大量插图。我对讨论的顺序有一些小问题，但不足以削弱我对整本书的欣赏。写作风格(writing style)非常吸引人，信息清晰，插图完成了工作。有些人可能不同意，但对我来说，如果我阅读了说明，任何 Gizmo 都会更好地工作。傻瓜安卓手机(Android Phones for Dummies)使阅读说明变得轻松有趣(painless and entertaining)。哦，现在我可以高兴地宣布，我的手机不再是随之而来的无聊铃声，而是以 Inspector Gadget 的主题曲(Inspector Gadget)“(theme song)响起” 。
Book Review - Android Phones for Dummies
We've already published quite a few articles аbout Windows Phone. That's not surрrising for a website devoted to all things Windows! We don't really cover Android devicеs in any detail, which is аlso not ѕurprising. Appаrentlу, Ciprian is vеry happy with his new Wіndоws Phone. 🙂 While I... well, I suppose I'll have to admit it, I juѕt got my very first smartphone and it's an Android. I always read the directions for new gizmos, but holy ѕmоkes, my phone came with a 300+ page manual! Even finding oυt that іt's really only half that size becaυse it contains both the English аnd Spanish editions, didn't make thе prospect of plоwing through it much less daunting. There had to be a better way tо figure Android out. This iѕ why I was hаppy to get my hands on Android Phones for Dummies. I've had mixed experiences with the For Dummies series in recent months, so I really hoped that this book would be the easy introduction to Android that I needed. Was it? Let me tell you what I found.
Really begin at the beginning
Android Phones for Dummies starts with taking your phone out of the box for the very first time and putting it all together. Even if this is more detail than you need, it's worth reading the section just to enjoy seeing the master of the For Dummies style at work (Dan Gookin - the author of this book also wrote the very first For Dummies book). You'll also get a thorough introduction to such necessary tasks as installing the battery, microSD card and SIM card. Even if the nice person at the phone store did all that for you, you're going to have to do it for yourself sooner or later, and having the directions and illustrations on hand can make things a lot easier.
Then there are short but informative chapters that walk you through setting up the phone, basic Android operations, typing, editing and voice commands. The chapters are necessarily written about a generic Android phone, but it's not hard to figure out what applies to your phone and what doesn't, and having it all spelled out here for reference is a plus for newcomers (like me). I was very amused to read that Android has a built-in sensor for the voice commands, automatically replacing potty mouth language with asterisks, pound signs, or similar but unoffensive words—and to find that Mr. Gookin did extensive research to find out what gets bleeped and what doesn't. Talk about dedication. 🙂
One ringy dingy
Believe it or not, some people (like me) still buy mobile phones with the idea of actually making phone calls. I was pleased to see that there's a good long section devoted to this old-fashioned pursuit.
Android Phones for Dummies walks the reader through making calls, using the contacts list, answering calls and using the call log, and then moves along to more advanced topics like speed dial, switching between two calls, forwarding, and the always-essential "Sending a call directly to voicemail." The section on ringtones was shorter and less detailed than I would have liked. Using your own music as a ringtone seems to have wide appeal, so more instructions might have been useful.
I must admit that I was amazed by the section on voicemail. There are detailed instructions for using Google Voice as a much more sophisticated replacement for your phone carrier's generic voicemail system, something I had not realized was possible, even though I've had a Google Voice number since access was by invitation only. Not only does the book walk you through all the necessary steps to do this, it provides a QR code to go direct to the Google Voice app in the Google Play Store.
The section on contact management was equally thorough, covering the ways addresses can be added, deleted, and synced with other contact-management software. I found the instructions for syncing contact lists with Gmail oddly deficient. There's a mention that you can create new contacts in Gmail so you don't have to enter them with your phone, but no mention of how those Gmail-created contacts might end up on your phone.
Texting, emailing, and surfing
Most people who've had cell phones for any length of time are familiar with the process of sending and receiving text messages, and Android Phones for Dummies serves as a review of what most of us already know. Sending and receiving email with a phone might be new to the reader, though, and the chapter on email was full of useful information. Since a Gmail account is the default for Android phones, and not everyone uses Gmail, it's good to see a step by step explanation of how to send and receive mail from other email services. Some services are pre-configured and the reader only has to choose the proper one from a list; others will have to be added and configured manually, and the instructions are clear and should walk the reader through the process in no time.
One bit of information that I did not find in this section, that I think should have been included, is that if you've got your phone set to pick up your email, you may be using up your data minutes, and you definitely will be using up your battery. There is a section on battery use toward the end of the book, which explains how to figure out what's eating your battery and what to do about it, and I think there should have been a tip to go look at that section before setting your phone to reach out and grab your mail all the time.
Surfing the Internet on a phone is something else that may be unfamiliar to new smartphone users (like me--I always had dumb phones before). The section on web browsing was full of helpful hints and useful suggestions. Right on the first page was a tip that you should activate your WiFi connection before you try it, because this will not only be much faster, it may very well save you money. And there's also a note that you don't need to download apps with your phone, because you can get them from the Android Market. This is another minute-and-money-saver that I'm sure most people will appreciate.
I also liked the light hearted view of social networking, along with some very serious warnings about sharing personal information too carelessly while you're chit-chatting away. There can never be enough warnings about safeguarding personal information.
Maps and Apps
Today's phones are light-years ahead of what we used to carry around with us. Android phones come with built-in maps, and those maps can be customized with Layers. The idea of Layers can be a bit confusing for the newcomer so the explanation of what they are and how they work is welcome. There's also a sidebar about location services that the reader may or may not want to have active, and instructions on how to decline those services or turn them off if you wish. (The Maps chapter should also have included a pointer to the this-eats-your-battery section.)
Many readers might not know about the search functions built into the Maps app, or that they can find addresses, nearby businesses or points of interest just by using Maps search. I hadn't known just how sophisticated this was till I tried a test search for nearby restaurants. I've been driving past some of those places without knowing what they were for years!
I think most people already grasp the concept of taking pictures with a phone and playing music with a music player, and since Android phones can do both, newcomers will find the sections on photos, videos, and music very helpful in getting started. Each phone company supplies its own list of standard apps, so the illustrations in the book might not match a particular phone, but they're detailed enough that the reader can get a good idea of how everything works.
The apps that come with the phone will be similar and the book covers those briefly. I don't think most people will need much in the way of instruction, but nevertheless, having clearly written instructions on hand can prevent a lot of frustration even with simple apps like the Calculator. There's also a short but informative section on the Google Play Store and how to download, buy, and manage apps.
Connections and Configurations
Part 5 of Android Phones for Dummies, the one titled "Nuts and Bolts," is where a lot of the most practical and useful information can be found. This is where you can learn about WiFi and Bluetooth, connecting your phone via the USB cable, synchronizing your data, and figuring out where your photos, videos, and music are stored.
There's also good advice about the ins and outs of using your phone outside your coverage area (including internationally) and a chapter devoted to customizing your Home screen, locking your phone (with a gesture, PIN or password), and changing other settings. Since the examples in this chapter are generic, you should definitely dig out your phone's instruction manual to make sure you understand how it works. This combination should have you feeling like an expert in a very short time.
The final chapter goes into detail about how to keep your battery's power from being eaten up by the things your phone does behind the scenes, how to keep your phone clean and your data backed up, and how to get help and fix annoying problems. There's a brief "FAQ" section that's written with a lighthearted touch, but which might just save the reader from having to get official support from the phone company.
The book concludes, as most For Dummies books do, with "The Part of Tens," which in this case also includes ten apps that Mr. Gookin thinks are worthy.
Verdict
Android Phones for Dummies had me hooked right from the beginning. It was definitely easier than trying to dig through my phone's official manual (which wasn't even printed, and if I expressed my real feelings about manuals in PDF format, my phone would censor me big time). It explained the basics of Android phone operation clearly and with plenty of illustrations. I had a few quibbles about the order in which things were discussed, but not enough to dim my appreciation for the book as a whole. The writing style is immensely appealing, the information is clear and the illustrations do the job. Some people might not agree, but for me, any gizmo works better if I've read the directions. Android Phones for Dummies makes reading the directions painless and entertaining. Oh, and now I can cheerfully announce that instead of the blah ringtones that came with it, my phone "rings" with the theme song from Inspector Gadget.
