Wired headsets

At the bottom of your Galaxy S6 phone is a headset jack. If you try to use your regular headphone jack in this jack, you’ll hear the audio, but the person on the other end of the call may not hear you because the headphones don’t come with a microphone. In such a case, your phone tries to use the built-in mic as a speakerphone. Depending upon the ambient noise conditions, it may work fine or sound awful. Of course, you can always ask the person you’re talking to whether he or she can hear you.

To address that problem, your phone might come with a wired headset. In that case, just plug it in to use the device. The Galaxy S6 uses ear buds, like those shown in Figure 12-1.

Some people dislike ear buds. You can obtain other styles at a number of retail franchises that offer the following options, including:

• Around-the-ear headphones that place the speakers on the ear and are held in place with a clip.
• A behind-the-neck band that holds around-the-ear headphones in place.
• An over-the-head band that places the headphones on the ear.

The laws in some regions prohibit the use of headphones while driving. Correcting the officer and explaining that these are really “headsets” and not “headphones” won’t help your case if you’re pulled over. Even if not explicitly illegal in an area, it’s still a bad idea to play music in both ears at a volume that inhibits your ability to hear warnings while driving.

Ear buds can have a greater chance of causing ear damage if the volume is too loud than other options. The close proximity to your ear drum is the culprit. There are probably warnings on the ear bud instructions, but I wanted to amplify this information (<har har>).

In any case, give yourself some time to get used to any new headset. There is often an adjustment period while you get used to having a foreign object in or around your ear.

Stereo Bluetooth headsets

The other option is to use a stereo Bluetooth headset. Figure 12-2 shows a typical model.

A stereo Bluetooth headset is paired the same way as any other Bluetooth headset. (Read how to do this in Chapter 3.) When your Galaxy S6 phone and the headset connect, the phone recognizes that the headset operates in stereo when you’re listening to music or videos.

There are also several variations on how to place the headphone part of the headset near your ear with a Bluetooth headset. Be aware that some products on the market are strictly Bluetooth headphones and not headsets; they don’t have microphones. In this case, you might want to remove your headphones when a call comes in, or move the phone near your mouth. Of course, this effort defeats some of the convenience of having a Bluetooth connection.

Listening up on licensing

Here are the three primary licensing options available for music files and podcasts:

• By the track: Pay for each song individually. Buying a typical song costs about 79 to 99 cents. Podcasts, which are frequently used for speeches or lectures, can vary dramatically in price.
• By the album: Buying an album isn’t a holdover from the days before digital music. Music artists and producers create albums with an organization of songs that offer a consistent feeling or mood. Although many music-playing applications allow you to assemble your own playlist, an album is created by professionals. In addition, buying a full album is often less expensive than on a per-song basis. You can get multiple songs for $8 to $12.

• With a monthly pass: The last option for buying audio files is the monthly pass. For about $15 per month, you can download as much music as you want from the library of the service provider.

  If you let your subscription to your monthly pass provider lapse, you won’t be able to listen to the music from this library.

  In addition to full access to the music library, some music library providers offer special services to introduce you to music that’s similar to what you’ve been playing. These services are a very convenient way to learn about new music. If you have even a small interest in expanding your music repertoire, these services are an easy way to do it.

Whether buying or renting is most economical depends on your listening/viewing habits. If you don’t plan to buy much, or you know specifically what you want, you may save some money by paying for all your files individually. If you’re not really sure what you want, or you like a huge variety of music, paying for monthly access might make better sense for you.

Licensing for videos

The two primary licensing options available for videos are:

• Rental: This option is similar to renting a video from a store. You can view the video as many times as you like within 24 hours from the start of the first play. In addition, the first play must begin within a defined period, such as a week, of your downloading it. Most movies are in the $3 to $5 range.
• Purchase: You have a license to view the file as frequently as you want, for as long as you want. The purchase cost can be as low as $12, but is more typically in the $15 range.

At the moment, there are no sources for mainstream Hollywood films that allow you to buy a monthly subscription and give you unlimited access to a film library. This can change at any time, so watch for announcements.

Buying from an online music store

The most straightforward method of getting music on your phone is from an online music store. You can download a wide variety of music from dozens of mainstream online music stores. The Play Store is an option. In addition to apps, it has music and video. Other well-known sites include Rhapsody, Amazon MP3, VEVO, and last.fm.

In addition, many more specialty or “boutique” stores provide more differentiated offerings than you can get from the mass-market stores. For example, MAQAM offers Middle Eastern music (www.maqammp3.com ).

The details for acquiring music among the online stores vary from store to store. Ultimately, there are more similarities than differences. As an example of when you know what you want, what you really, really want, here’s how to find and download the song “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. I’m using Amazon MP3. If you don’t have Amazon MP3 in your Application list, you would start by loading that app on your phone, as I describe how to do in Chapter 8. When you open it, you see the screen shown in Figure 12-6.

From here, you can search for music by album, song, or music genre. Amazon MP3 offers a different free music track and an album at a deep discount every day.

Now to search for the song you want:

1. Enter the relevant search information in the Amazon MP3 Search field.

   In this case, I’m searching for “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. The result of the search for songs looks like Figure 12-7.

   The search results come up with all kinds of options, including albums, individual tracks, similar songs, other songs from the same artist. Be ready for these options.

2. To purchase the track, tap twice on the price.

   The left screen in Figure 12-8 shows the price. When you tap once on the price, you get a confirmation message to make sure that you want to buy the download; the price is replaced with a Buy icon, as shown on the right in Figure 12-8. To buy, tap Buy.

3. Sign in with your account information, as shown in Figure 12-9.

   Unless you’re going to subsist on the free MP3 files you can get from this site, you need to pay. To pay for files at an online music store, you need an account and a credit card. This process is similar, if not identical, to signing up for the Play Store (see Chapter 8). You need your e-mail account, a password, and in some cases, an account name. In the case of Amazon MP3, you already have an account if you have an account with Amazon. If not, you’ll be asked to create an account.

   After you enter this information, the file will automatically begin downloading to your phone, and a progress screen (as shown in Figure 12-10) lets you know when you’re finished.

   The song is now loaded on your phone. When you open the music player, it’s ready for you to play.

Receiving music as an attachment

As long as you comply with your license agreement, you can e-mail or text a music file as an attachment. Simply send yourself an e-mail from your PC with the desired music file. You then open the e-mail or text on your phone and save the file in the library of your Music app.

Your phone can play music files that come in any of the following formats: FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MID, AC3, and XMF.

Recording sounds on your phone

No one else might think your kids’ rendition of “Happy Birthday” is anything special, but you probably treasure it. In fact, there is a recording app that comes with your phone. The icon for the Voice Recorder is shown in Figure 12-11.

In general, there is a simple record button that creates a sound file when you stop recording. The sound quality might not be the best, but what you record can be just as important or entertaining as what you buy commercially. Your phone treats all audio files the same and all are playable on your Music Player.

Adding songs as ringtones and alarms

Here’s how to add a song as a ringtone or alarm. The first step is to open a contact. A generic contact in Edit mode is seen in Figure 12-14. Refer to Chapter 6 if you have any questions about contacts.

Follow these steps:

1. Tap the Default Ringtone link.

   This will bring up a list of ringtones (shown in Figure 12-15).

   A quick scan finds that Ode to Joy is not among the options that come with your phone. To use a music file as a ringtone, find the Add button on the bottom.

2. Tap Add.

   This brings up a screen of music files on your phone, as shown in Figure 12-16.

3. Highlight the song you want and tap OK.

   From now on, when you hear this song, you know it will be your friend Ludwig.