Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Reviewing the basic capabilities of just about any mobile phone
Understanding what sets smartphones apart
Mapping out what makes Samsung Galaxy S20 phones so cool
Getting you prepared to enjoy your phone
Whether you want just the basics from a mobile phone (make and take phone calls, customize your ringtone, take some pictures, maybe use a Bluetooth headset) or you want your phone to be always by your side (a tool for multiple uses throughout your day), you can make that happen. In this chapter, I outline all the things your Samsung Galaxy S20 can do — from the basics to what makes Galaxy S20 phones different from the rest.
All mobile phones on the market today include basic functions, and even some entry-level phones are a little more sophisticated. Of course, Samsung includes all basic functions on the Galaxy S20 model. In addition to making and taking calls (see Chapter 3) and sending and receiving texts (see Chapter 4), the Galaxy S20 sports the following basic features:
In addition to the basic capabilities of any entry-level phone, the Galaxy S20, which is based on the popular Android platform for mobile devices, has capabilities associated with other smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone:
I go into each of these capabilities in greater detail in the following sections.
Until a few years ago, the only way to access the Internet when you were away from a desk was with a laptop. Smartphones are a great alternative to laptops because they’re small, convenient, and ready to launch their web browsers right away. Even more important, when you have a smartphone, you can access the Internet wherever you are — whether Wi-Fi is available or not.
The drawback to smartphones, however, is that their screen size is smaller than that of even the most basic laptop. On the Galaxy S20 phone, you can use the standard version of a website if you want. You can pinch and stretch your way to get the information you want. (See Chapter 2 for more information on pinching and stretching. For more information on accessing the Internet from your Galaxy S20 phone, turn to Chapter 7.)
To make things a bit easier, many popular websites offer an easier-to-use app that you can download and install on your phone. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 8. Essentially, the website reformats the information from the site so that it’s easier to read and navigate in the mobile environment. Figure 1-1 compares a regular website with the app version of that website.
The image application on your phone helps you use the digital camera on your Galaxy S20 phone to its full potential. It would almost make sense to call the Samsung Galaxy S20 a smart camera with a built-in phone! There are all kinds of smarts in these applications that automatically figure out what you’re trying to do and make it so that you’re suddenly the next Ansel Adams.
Studies have found that cellphone users tend to snap a bunch of pictures within the first month of phone usage. After that, the photos sit on the phone (instead of being downloaded to a computer), and the picture-taking rate drops dramatically.
The Galaxy S20 image management application is different. You can integrate your camera images into your home photo library, as well as photo-sharing sites such as Google Photos and Instagram, with minimal effort.
For more on how to use the Photo applications, turn to Chapter 9.
On your Galaxy S20 smartphone, you can access your business and personal email accounts, reading and sending email messages on the go. Depending on your email system, you might be able to sync so that when you delete an email on your phone, the email is deleted on your computer at the same time so that you don’t have to read the same messages on your phone and your computer.
Chapter 5 covers setting up your business and personal email accounts.
Some smartphones allow you to play music and videos on your phone. On the Galaxy S20, you can use the applications that come with the phone, or you can download applications that offer these capabilities from the Play Store.
Chapter 12 covers how to use the multimedia services with your Galaxy S20 phone.
Application developers — large and small — are working on the Android platform to offer a variety of applications and games for the Galaxy S20 phone. Compared to the other smartphone platform, Google imposes fewer restrictions on application developers regarding what’s allowable. This freedom to develop resonates with many developers — resulting in a bonanza of application development on this platform.
As of this writing, more than two million applications are available from Google’s Play Store. For more information about downloading games and applications, turn to Chapter 8.
Chapter 11 of this book is for gamers. Although your phone comes with a few general-interest games, you can find a whole wide world of games for every skill and taste. In Chapter 11, I give you all the information you need to set up different gaming experiences. Whether you prefer stand-alone games or multiplayer games, you can set up your Galaxy S20 phone to get what you need.
Your phone comes with some very nice applications, but these might not take you as far as you want to go. You might also have some special interests, such as philately or stargazing, that neither Samsung nor your carrier felt would be of sufficient general interest to include on the phone. (Can you imagine?)
Your phone also comes with preloaded widgets, which are smaller applications that serve particular purposes, such as retrieving particular stock quotes or telling you how your phone’s battery is feeling today. Widgets reside on the extended Home screen and are instantly available.
Buying applications allows you to get additional capabilities quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Ultimately, these make your phone, which is already a reflection of who you are, even more personal as you add more capabilities.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 is a top-of-the-line Android phone. That means you can run any application developed for an Android phone to its full capability. This is significant because one of the founding principles behind the Android platform is to create an environment where application developers can be as creative as possible without an oppressive organization dictating what can and cannot be sold (as long as it’s within the law, of course). This creative elbow room has inspired many of the best application developers to go with Android first.
In addition, Android is designed to run multiple applications at once. Other smartphone platforms have added this capability, but Android is designed to let you to jump quickly among the multiple apps that you’re running — which makes your smartphone experience that much smoother.
When you turn on your phone the first time, it will ask you a series of ten questions and preferences to configure it. Frankly, they are trying to make this book unnecessary and put me out of business. The nerve!
The good folks at Samsung are well-intentioned, but not every customer who owns a Samsung Galaxy S20 knows, from day one, whether he or she wants a Samsung account, what’s a good name for the phone, or what the purpose of a cloud service, such as Dropbox, is and how it would be used.
You can relax. I help you answer these questions — or, when appropriate, refer you to the chapter in this book that helps you come up with your answer.
On the other hand, if your phone is already set up, you probably took a guess or skipped some questions. Maybe now you’re rethinking some of your choices. No problem. You can go back and change any answer you gave and get your phone to behave the way you want.
The following are the kinds of questions you may be asked. These questions may come in this order, but they may not. They typically include the following:
Wi-Fi: Your phone automatically starts scanning for a Wi-Fi connection. You can always use the cellular connection when you are in cellular coverage, but if there is a Wi-Fi connection available, your phone will try to use this first. It is probably cheaper and may be faster than the cellular.
At the same time, you may not want your phone to connect to the Wi-Fi access point with the best signal. It could be that the strongest signal is a fee-based service, whereas the next best signal is free. In any case, this page scans the available options and presents them to you.
Sign up for a Samsung Account: Go ahead and sign up for an account. The Samsung account offers you some nice things to help you get your phone back should you lose it. All you need is an account name, such as an email account, and a password.
When you buy a Galaxy S20 smartphone, you are now a customer of multiple companies! These include Samsung for the phone hardware, Google for the phone operating system (Android), and the wireless carrier that provides the cellular service. Plus, if you bought the phone through a phone retailer, such as Best Buy, it is in the mix as well. All of them want to make you happy, which is a good thing for the most part. The only downside is that they want to know who you are so that they can provide you with more services. Don’t worry. You control how much they offer you.
@gmail.com
. If you already have an account on Gmail, enter your user ID and password on your phone. If you don’t have a Gmail account, I suggest waiting until you read Chapter 5. The good news is that you can use your existing email account. I highly recommend that you create a Google account, but it can wait until you read Chapter 5.Location Options: Your phone knowing your location and providing it to an application can be sensitive issue.
If you’re really worried about privacy and security, tap the green check marks on the screen and then tap the button that says Next. Selecting these options prevents applications from knowing where you are. (This choice also prevents you from getting directions and a large number of cool capabilities that are built into applications.) The only folks who’ll know your location will be the 911 dispatchers if you dial them.
If you’re worried about your security but want to take advantage of some of the cool capabilities built into your phone, tap the right arrow key to move forward. Remember, you can choose on a case-by-case basis whether to share your location. (I cover this issue in Chapter 17.)
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