Smart phones for stupid people

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:25 am

Once you got it setup, then comes the fun of backups and tweaks!

You'll spend HOURS trying different widgets, wallpapers (esp. LIVE wallpapers), and later, themes and icon sets/packs!

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:28 pm

I haven't quite finished tutoring myself in the basics yet, but I know that there are three things I want this phone to do. Maybe you can suggest free apps and tell me where to get them.

1. Use it as my primary music player, replacing my iPod. I want a music player that will easily organize playlists from MP3 files that I will dump onto the phone (not streaming). Something like Winamp and unlike iTunes. It came with Google Play and something just called "Music", and I haven't really looked at those yet. "Music" might get the job done. But I thought I'd see what the rest of you use. Ultimately I might want to add spotify or pandora or something like that, but for starters I just want to import and organize my own music collection. I am fine with using my PC as the primary interface and just exporting files and lists to the phone, since that's how I use the iPod.

2. Use it as GPS. I thought that was just built into Android but I don't see an app called "GPS". ALSO, I would like it to map my route and report statistics when I walk, and upload that to Facebook sometimes. I've seen other people do that.

3. Upload photos to Facebook. Everybody else takes pictures of their lunch and posts those on Facebook, so there must be a simple way of doing it. Is that what "Instagram" is? I have the basic camera app that came with the phone, but haven't used it yet. People need to see my lunch!

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:37 pm

I use doubletwist. I don't think it's free but it was an editors choice a couple of years ago and it synced with iTunes (I had an iPod before)

There is a Facebook app. I go to Gallery (or just click on the picture I just took), hit the share icon, and pick Facebook and off it goes

There should be a Map app built in that I used as a gps last night

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:54 pm

I have Google Maps but I don't see anything GPSy-looking about it.

So the photosharing is just done through the general Facebook app?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 9:55 pm

Runkeeper for logging and sharing walks.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:09 pm

Kraken wrote:I have Google Maps but I don't see anything GPSy-looking about it.

So the photosharing is just done through the general Facebook app?

You can use Maps for directions (click on the icon that looks like a road sign in the search bar on the Maps screen to enter your start and ending destination)

I believe that if you have the Facebook app installed if you long click on a picture you can choose the share menu (the sort of sidewise triangle with the three dots and then pick Facebook from the list (or email or messaging or however you want to share)

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:12 pm

Yeah, you can do it from either end-from the photo, shared to Facebook, or via the Facebook app, choosing the photo to upload.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:15 pm

You'll find the toggle for GPS in the Settings section/menu.

GPS Status & Toolbox is a great (free) tool for calibration, etc. Make sure you're outside when you load it though, as it can be tough to position via satellite from indoors.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:18 pm

The facebook app lets you upload directly from it - start a new status update and there is a photo icon where you can upload a photo from your gallery/dropbox/etc, or you can snap one right there. You can also press on a photo in gallery and an option to share it will be there, and facebook will be one of the options.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:46 pm

Pyperkub wrote:You'll find the toggle for GPS in the Settings section/menu.

GPS Status & Toolbox is a great (free) tool for calibration, etc. Make sure you're outside when you load it though, as it can be tough to position via satellite from indoors.

Found it under "Location Services" and I'm sure the NSA thanks me very much. But I want a GPS that I can take with me in the car that will display an active map and yell out instructions as I drive. Does Google Maps do that?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:48 pm

Yes. Search for your destination in Maps, then hit the car button on the destination card. That will get you into Nav. You can also use it for walking or transit directions.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:25 pm

Look on the bright side. You now have an alibi in your pocket.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:39 pm

Waze can be more useful than the navigation in Google Maps, if there's a decent community. Can even send a pretty accurate ETA based on traffic patterns and hazards. Can even crowd source red light cameras and cops running speed traps, etc.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:49 pm

Kraken wrote:
Pyperkub wrote:You'll find the toggle for GPS in the Settings section/menu.

GPS Status & Toolbox is a great (free) tool for calibration, etc. Make sure you're outside when you load it though, as it can be tough to position via satellite from indoors.
Found it under "Location Services" and I'm sure the NSA thanks me very much. But I want a GPS that I can take with me in the car that will display an active map and yell out instructions as I drive. Does Google Maps do that?

I created a shortcut to Location Services so I can turn it on and off as needed. I really only use it for Maps.

In maps, there's a target looking thing in the top right corner. Tap that and the map will focus on your location. Navigation is just as everyone said, tap on a location on the map, tap on the car/bus/bike/walking icon to get car/public transit/bike/walking directions. Once you have directions, a tap on the arrow will put you in navigation mode if you want turn-by-turn GPS style direction.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:08 pm

Pyperkub wrote:You'll find the toggle for GPS in the Settings section/menu.

You can also find a widget, probably named Menu, PowerBar, or some such, that lets you put 5 toggles on the home screen. Customize it to have your toggles.

Some ROMs, like Samsung's Touchwiz, HTC Sense, or Cyanogen, have dropdown menus with those toggles already.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:15 pm

Kraken wrote: 1. Use it as my primary music player, replacing my iPod. I want a music player that will easily organize playlists from MP3 files that I will dump onto the phone (not streaming). Something like Winamp and unlike iTunes.

There is Winamp for Android... Though it's currently unavailable. May need to find alternative download sources:

2. Use it as GPS. I thought that was just built into Android but I don't see an app called "GPS". ALSO, I would like it to map my route and report statistics when I walk, and upload that to Facebook sometimes. I've seen other people do that.

It's maps or navigation or local, depending on which GPS function you want. (Where you are, where you're going, what's near you) Not sure about sharing to Facebook may need another app called "RunKeeper".

3. Upload photos to Facebook. Everybody else takes pictures of their lunch and posts those on Facebook, so there must be a simple way of doing it. Is that what "Instagram" is? I have the basic camera app that came with the phone, but haven't used it yet. People need to see my lunch!

Have you tried looking inside Facebook app, then "photo"? Or attach photo? Or camera?

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:30 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:
Pyperkub wrote:You'll find the toggle for GPS in the Settings section/menu.
You can also find a widget, probably named Menu, PowerBar, or some such, that lets you put 5 toggles on the home screen. Customize it to have your toggles.

Some ROMs, like Samsung's Touchwiz, HTC Sense, or Cyanogen, have dropdown menus with those toggles already.

I use HD Widgets and have mine set up with buttons for flashlight, bluetooth, wifi, gps and tilt lock. It's damned handy.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:36 pm

I figured out the GPS/Maps thing today. Haven't had time to look into anything else yet. Winamp for Android would be perfect, I've been using Winamp for so many years that it's second nature. But its new owner seems to be futzing around with it -- the Shoutcast interface just went through a major downgrade.

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:54 pm

For music player, I am really liking Beat (not to be confused with Beats app). It can even stream files off your cloud accounts which is really cool for those of us with limited space on the phone due to no sd card slot. For video MX Player is a very popular choice. Edit, PowerAmp is kind of the default music player choice if Beat doesn't suit your needs. I also am finding myself to be a heavy Google Music user, they allow 20,000 free songs in your account.

cheeba · Post by **cheeba** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:07 am

Got my first smart phone last night! HTC one m8. Love it, but suck at typing so far.

cheeba · Post by **cheeba** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:48 am

Google Sky Map is awesome. Love it. Anyone got any recommendations for games? An old school RPG would be nice, but I'm open to anything.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:06 am

Check out Puzzle and Dragons. Its free but has a market aspect where you could spend copious amounts of cash if you are not careful. Ive had it for about 6 months and havent spent a dime so its fully playable without a cash outlay. Its a hybrid game with a tile match aspect as well as a monster building aspect.

heres the OO topic on the game:

its not real big but theres a link to the QT3 forums topic on it and that thread is huge.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:21 pm

How can I find out what app is trying to get my attention?

The Galaxy 4 blinks a blue LED when you have a message. That's useful for knowing that a text or voicemail has arrived. Yesterday, though, it started blinking for no apparent reason. I shut down all active apps, cleared memory, and rebooted, and it went back to normal.

Tonight it started blinking again, yet I had no texts, voicemails, missed calls, or anything I want to know about. Once again I shut everything down, cleared the RAM, and rebooted to make it stop blinking. But I suspect that it's going to start again sooner or later.

So: How can I find out what app is setting it off? Blinking for no good reason is worse than useless; it's downright annoying. I need to identify the culprit and tell it to stop notifying me.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:40 am

Is there ANYTHING in the notification area? Usually that triggers the notification lights.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 10:44 am

Where's the "notification area"? I usually see a message counter appear on the app's icon.

I'm beginning to suspect that email might be the culprit, since I don't have that icon installed and a couple of apps have emailed me recently. I never use my phone for email.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:16 am

Kraken wrote:Where's the "notification area"? I usually see a message counter appear on the app's icon.

Drag down from the top of the screen to see the notification area...shows email, texts, and other app notifications without having to open the actual apps. If your light is blinking, that area should tell you why.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:26 pm

Ahh, I forgot about the secret screen. Thanks, I'll check that next time.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:10 am

Tonight I figured out how to use my phone as a wifi hotspot after our regular ISP connection went on the fritz. Shower me with accolades.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:23 am

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 12:20 pm

I'm thinking about finally trading in my old-school cellphone for a smartphone. Per the link, I'm looking at the LG Optimus Dynamic II - Android 4.1 from TracFone Wireless. I've been using Tracfone for the last 3-4 years and have been pretty happy with it. This seems to me to strike a good balance between cheap and functional, since I really don't use my cell all that much and don't really plan to use this phone enough to justify $30-50 (or more) a month for a "traditional" wireless/data plan. Any thoughts before I pull the trigger (particularly from anyone who's familiar with this specific model)?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 1:26 pm

Low-end smartphones are almost never worthwhile. They are too slow, too limited memory, etc. etc. to be useful.

In general, it's probably better to buy a used / refurb older high-end smartphone, like an older Samsung Galaxy S3 (or even S4) than buy one of these terribly cheap smartphones. The problem is getting one to work on YOUR carrier

The problem is TracFone has MVNO agreements with all the major carriers so it's hard to tell which real carrier they use in your area. If you can provide the phone model you're currently using we may be able to identify the network and find you an equivalent operator on the same network (i.e. leave TracFone but stay on the same base network) for a better phone.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 2:56 pm

Argh, that all sounds like a lot of expense and effort. Thanks for the offer, though. Maybe I'll just stick with a regular phone. I dunno - my dad bought the slightly less-expensive Tracfone Samsung Galaxy Centura and he's pretty happy with it. Perhaps I'll just get that one, since I know it works around here. I'd been wanting to go with the larger screen, but it's probably fine.

Part of the problem is, I wouldn't WANT to leave Tracfone. For the little I use my phone, paying $100 a year is a great deal. I'm unwilling to pay any more than that.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:41 am

In that case, just buy the BEST smartphone they offer.

They don't seem to have a "Bring your own phone" plan, too bad.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 7:53 am

Low-end smartphones are almost never worthwhile. They are too slow, too limited memory, etc. etc. to be useful.

Unless of course you dont use your phone much and dont want the additional expense of a higher end smartphone. If you just want a decent device that handles the basics well, you dont need a $300 - $500 used phone. You can get a phone like an HTC Evo 4G for less than $100 that does pretty much everything. If you want the best, most advanced phone, by all means get one but if you are not going to use it to its capacity, save your money.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 12:55 am

There's also the Moto E, which is $100 off contract at most markets (and off Moto itself, I think)

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:28 pm

May I piggyback on this thread? We're going Smartphone for the first time, and this seems to be the place. The providers don't make it easy to figure this stuff out.

Right now, we have a Verizon landline that is our main phone. It is also our internet (DSL). We have also been using two cheap TracFone buy-minutes-as-you-go flip phones for mobile communication. They suck.

There are four of us in the family, but the two kids don't need phones yet. My wife absolutely needs a smartphone for work--she is a university administrator and needs to be able to do texting and email and everything else everywhere at all times. I would like to have one too because it's 2014.

My basic question is this: What would you do? More detailed questions follow, but that's the main one.

From what I can see, a family plan (such as AT&T's or Verizon's) doesn't suit our needs yet. Buying two independent lines is less expensive than such plans, which seem to work best for four or more people.

So, my first question:
1) Do "family plans" offer something great that buying two individual plans would not? Will we be screwed in three or four years when the kids *do* need phones? Will it be possible to switch plans easily then?

I've looked into AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, and T-Mobile is most affordable. However, T-Mobile's coverage map actually shows that I live in a half-mile diameter zone where coverage is "Good" rather than "Excellent." This makes me worry.

So, my second question:
2) If you're deciding among AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, is there anything (besides price) that tips the balance strongly towards or against one or another? Are there hassles or issues that everyone (but me) knows about with one of these providers?

There is also the issue of what to do with our landline and DSL. Third question:
3) I suppose I should ask a Verizon rep about it, but does it make sense to keep DSL while otherwise dumping the landline? I don't want to pay for a landline phone service we don't use. I really don't feel that I need FiOS (or whatever) because we have never had cable TV and don't want it--it seems impossible to pay for FiOS internet without the TV included.

Finally there is the question of the phones themselves. We don't have the latest thing and don't want to be roped into buying it. Last question:
4) Is it possible to buy older-model smartphones (say, whatever was new two years ago) and use those with our new provider, or do the plans require you to buy phones from them as well?

These questions probably seem pretty rudimentary, but this whole process is kind of bewildering to me. Thanks for any advice! I'm trying to avoid boneheaded mistakes that will cost unnecessary money, but I'm having trouble figuring out what the options actually are.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:11 pm

I'm a very happy T-Mobile customer. Their plans are much simpler in addition to being cheap. You might consider trying them-you can return the phone if coverage sucks at home.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 4:18 pm

Have you considered smaller carriers, like US Cellular, Republic Wireless, or even MetroPCS?

MetroPCS is now part of T-Mob, and sell cheaper T-mob phones with even cheaper plans. And NO CONTRACT...

US Cellular and Republic Wireless have somewhat more limited service area but may be worth a look.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 4:37 pm

Longer answer:

1) Do "family plans" offer much?

No, family plans are basically a way to 'share' minutes or data blocks, i.e. instead of having two separate large block or pool of minutes / data to make sure there are no overage, you can "merge" them to minimize spare capacity. If only two of you need data and voice, then family plan don't help much.

2) How to choose the carrier?

Search various wireless forum and see which is the best carrier based on YOUR LOCAL CONDITIONS, work and home and frequent outing spots. THAT is your primary concern. THEN comes price and data speed (if you care)

3) Keep landline or not?

Be careful there. Cutting your landline *may* disconnect your DSL. My uncle who works for a HUGE DSL provider had this tale... Apparently this guy want to switch his landline to Vonage, without checking the implications, so he basically signed up for Vonage, through his DSL, and ported his number. The problem is he didn't specify that he wants to KEEP his DSL, so his DSL was ALSO disconnected since he just disconnected his landline. And obviously, his Vonage won't work without DSL internet hookup. And his (former) DSL provider can't help him because they can't provision his DSL without Vonage releasing the number that had been ported and it's a three day weekend.

4) Can you buy older phones?

Yes, in most cases. The simple answer is find an older phone that was previously used from the SAME COMPANY, i.e. if it was on T-Mob, it will still work on T-Mob. There are occasional exceptions, like when MetroPCS switched from CDMA to GSM (after its merger with T-Mob), but generally not worth worrying about. There are also super-geeky exceptions like how to hack a multi-system phone, switching SIM cards, and so on. I'll skip that.

OTOH, most carriers will give you a current gen phone for about $200-300 if you sign up for a 2 year plan. Considering that most "older" phones cost $150-250 on eBay from a reputable vendor it's really not that much savings unless the carrier gives a discount for BYOP (bring your own phone) plans.

And recently there's more than a few cheaper (but good) new Android phones like the Moto E ($100) or Moto G ($200?) that may be worth considering.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:25 pm

T-mobile will send you an iphone to try out for free. You have to send it back and are under no obligation.

You can buy old phones on any network and use them. As was said above it may not be worthwhile since you can generally get phones for under $200 and in many cases you can get a last gen phone for free. Some of the free phones suck but some are pretty good.

Verizon pretty much has the same old plan they have always had. Subsidized phones on contract. ATT, Sprint, and T-Mobile all have cheaper plans now that don't include the phone. If you buy and older phone to use with one of these plans you can save a fair amount of money on your monthly bill. ATT, for instance, goes from $160 for us down to $130 for us if we move over to their other plan. If you get a new phone regularly, you don't really save anything, though. They'll see you a phone for $25-35/month that eats up your savings.

Finally, coverage maps don't mean anything. ATT's map says I get good coverage at work. In the winter when there are no leaves on the trees that is sort of true. In the summer with leaves my coverage is poor. I have to place the phone next to the window to get anything in my office and that goes in and out. On my drive home the map says they have good coverage the entire way but I lose signal for at least 25% of the 11 mile drive.