Marsha Collier - Android Smartphones For Seniors For Dummies

Because the iPhone lives in a walled garden, Apple makes the decisions and takes the profits on the phone, accessories, services, and apps. Apple products and software work in sync; you have few choices to make.

Conversely, no matter the brand, all Android phones have similar genetics and are the same at their core. But you find a variety of options for accessories, phone brands, services, apps, and (most of all) prices.

The competition for dollars in the Android marketplace begets innovation, and I believe that opting to spend your dollars in that marketplace is a good choice. In this chapter, I offer foundational information to help make the Android experience even better.

Android is the operating system on the majority of the world’s smartphones. It’s an open source operating system led by Google (according to https://source.android.com ):

As an open source project, Android’s goal is to avoid any central point of failure in which one industry player can restrict or control the innovations of any other player.

Translation: If you come up with a device, you too can use the Android operating system to power it for free. (I’m not that smart.)

I believe that much of the magic of Android lies with Google Mobile Services (GMS) — the collection of apps and functionalities that make the Android ecosystem a useful environment .

As an Android user, you may wonder why you feel more comfortable using the operating system. The answer is a surprise to many: the Android mobile operating system is based on Linux (another open source operating system) and many Microsoft patents. The influence of these two giants in the software world accounts for the familiarity, and thus the comfort, you may feel when using an Android device. The nearby sidebar “The scope of Microsoft involvement” gives a quick look at the Android–Microsoft connection.

Note that many Android phones come with Microsoft Office preinstalled. Also, did you know that you can send text messages on your phone from your Windows desktop PC? Android phone owners can just go to messages.google.com/web to connect the devices.

It is rumored that Microsoft makes as much as $24 per Android device sold, as payment for its patents used in the Android operating system. Even smartphone manufacturers cross-license Microsoft intellectual property (IP). Based on these patents, in 2013 Samsung paid Microsoft over a billion dollars in royalty payments. In 2014, it was estimated that Microsoft made $2 billion.

Microsoft has never revealed the depth of its patent licensing, but in 2014 the Chinese Ministry of Commerce completed an antitrust investigation. The regulators published their results on the Internet, stating that Microsoft owned 310 Android-implementing patents.

Note: The numbers in this sidebar may not be independently verified but have shown up in court documents over the years.

Throughout this book, I offer stories about the beginnings of, and evolution of, the Android platform. For now, you should know that the version of Android I’m using for this book is Android 11. Chapter 17talks about Android 12, which is scheduled to release around the time this book publishes. I got hold of a beta (not-ready-for-prime-time) version so that I can see the similarities and differences in the new upgrade.

The Android mascot (Bugdroid) is a small, green robot, shown on the left in Figure 1-1. Bugdroid, who gets dressed up with each new version of Android, was designed in 2008 to be an internationally understood symbol — like airport signs — because Android was designed for everyone. Since the platform’s inception, Bugdroid appears in advertising and has undergone minor changes over the years. Today, the mascot’s green color is updated, and just the top of the head shows (on the right in Figure 1-1).

“The Android robot is reproduced from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.” https://source.android.com/setup/start/brands#robot-android

FIGURE 1-1

The initial versions of Android, except for A and B, had nicknames based on sweet treats. The nicknames gave a friendly, homey feeling to each update and personalized it to its users. Android 1.5 (Android C) was Cupcake, which was apparently when the naming system began. From there on, the charming version nicknames followed the alphabet, and even though Google publicly discontinued the cute code nicknames, Android 11 (Android R) is Red Velvet Cake, and (rumor has it), Android 12 (Android S) is Snow Cone.

Not all smartphones are iPhones.

The most excellent aspect of Android is that it’s customizable. If you don’t like one way of doing things, you can switch to another mode. Android is as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

Also, because Android is a free, open source platform, you can buy Android phones at many price points. You can even buy a brand-new phone inexpensively. Samsung has an A series ( A for a ffordable, perhaps?) and other manufacturers make basic phones that won’t put a dent in your budget. The more bells and whistles a manufacturer adds, the more it ratchets up the price point. A flagship (top of the line) Android phone can be as expensive as any other. (Find more advice about picking out your phone in Chapter 2.)

Here are several features I love about owning an Android smartphone:

Keyboards and default apps: I love having the option to try out different keyboards and browsers. You can download many new apps for free from the Google Play Store and try them out. If you come to realize that an app isn’t your cup of tea, just uninstall it.

Sharing: Whenever you want to share a photo, a web page, an email — you name it — tapping the Share icon brings up a simple sheet with app icons. Just tap the one you want to share to, and you’re on the way.

Navigating screens: As many times as I’ve used iOS devices (iPhone, iPad), my productivity always freezes when it comes to going back a page or a screen. On Android, you can use hand gestures or the bottom-of-screen Back arrow to navigate simply.

Notifications: They’re easy to control. You can control how you see them organized on the Home screen, app by app.

These are just a few features, but the truth is, Android is about choice. You’re not forced to use any specific brand, and your phone can link to many different devices in your home (such as the thermostat, electric outlets, or lights).

If you’ve ever purchased an Apple product (iPhone, iPod, or iPad), you know that you had to sign up for an Apple ID. Apple asked me to input my credit card information, even though I had no desire to purchase anything in the App Store. I couldn’t register the phone without it.

To use the Google apps, you also need an ID, which is officially your account. But you don’t have to supply any credit card information until you reach the point where you actually want to purchase something.