Switching from iPhone 4 to Moto G 2015 - Have some questions!

[ck6]

I just bought this phone yesterday, and so far I have no complaints. I love it. However, I am especially new to android, having had an iPhone 4 before this one. I wanted to try and iPhone out, and deciding I didn't like it, I switched as soon as I paid it off! I do have a couple questions, and was hoping to get some help here.

1) I know there is a way to set a specific phone call ringtone to each person in your contacts. Is there a way to do that with text notification sounds, or is it the same one all around? And if there is a way to do this, how?

2) What are some useful apps and widgets for a new android user? Best gaming apps?

2b) Specifically as well, are there any places to get good backgrounds that won't look blurry?

3) Anyone have any little tips and tricks for new android users? I know the shaking tricks for camera/flashlight.

4) Battery saving tricks would be helpful as well!

I am getting cases and screen protectors from Amazon, and take good care of my phones regardless. I got two years out of my iPhone and never cracked my screen, just got a few scratches on the side. XD Thank you for any help~!

Also if you're curious, I love watching TV and movies on my phone, check social medias, favorite games are things like Tetris/Pokemon Shuffle/Sims/RPGs, some stuff to go on for suggestions too. Thanks again!

 

[acejavelin]

Eh... most of these questions can be easily Googled, but since your coming over from the Dark Side, I'll cut you some slack.

1) Yes, and no... You cannot set a specific text notification for a specific contact in the stock messaging app, but you can with some alternative messaging apps like Textra, Hangouts, or most other full featured messaging apps. If you like the stock app, you can use a third party tool like SMS Popup or Contact Alert.

2) Tough one to answer because it's based on a personal preference, here is a general list of stuff:
Nova Launcher - for me, an absolute must! the Pro version with Tesla Unread Counts plugin, and throw in an icon pack of your choice (consider Action Launcher, Next Launcher, APUS Launcher, or Apex as alternates)
Evernote - eh, everyone uses it, except me, I prefer Google Keep.
SwiftKey (my personal fav) or Swype keyboard
ES File Explorer
Accuweather (nice widget too)
Starbucks/Caribou or your local area coffee shop loyalty app
Google Drive
Google Keep
Textra or Chomp
Soundhound or Shazam
Amazon/eBay or other shopping app you use
Zedge
Zip Code Tools
Airdroid
Spotify/Pandora
NoLED (since our phones do not have a working LED notification)
Feedly (RSS feed reader)
Mint Personal Finance
Twitter/Facebook or other social media app
Pushbullet

2B) Zedge, or check any of the Wallpaper communities on Google+ or Facebook, or just google up some images of at least 1280x720 in size

3) The best "tips" I can give you for a new user are to get to know the basics first, compared to an iPhone using Android is like going from a McDonalds to Fudruckers... What I mean is Apple kind of locks you in to certain things (we make it like this), but Android is very customization friendly (build it your way) and you can do about anything, there are dozens to hundreds of apps that can do the same thing, each has it's own pluses and minuses, SMS/Messaging apps, Weather apps, keyboards, media players, etc. Explore and try lots of stuff. A few tips I didn't know at first: Press POWER+VOL DN for a screen shot, swipe up to quickly access Google Search/Now and double slide down from top (swipe once, then again) for the Quick Toggle menu and easy access to settings. Add-ons like Nova Launcher can give you more gesture oriented stuff like swiping/tapping the home screen in various ways to perform certain actions. Also, keep everything on Google and maintain your Google account, use Photos, Drive, Keep, Google Contacts, Calendar, etc. You can basically keep most of your personal info, pics, videos, contacts, etc, in sync with Google in real-time for those bad days where something happens and you lose your phone, it breaks, etc. and you can access everything from a PC

4) Battery life and feature richness are the balance you have to play... Save battery by disabling Google Now, Precise Location services, turning off "Scanning always available" for WiFi, turn off or lengthen account syncs, turn down screen brightness, disable Moto Display... All of these will save battery, at the cost of features. TBH, the battery on the Moto G is pretty decent, if it doesn't make it the day for you maybe it isn't the right phone for you, another $50 could get you a Huawei Ascend Mate 2 which has 2-3 times the battery life.

As far as cases go, it's no different than iPhone... More expensive isn't necessarily better... Get a decent tempered glass screen protector for under $10 and decent cases run $8-$15, you can spend more or less, and they may work fine... YMMV... if you use Amazon you likely know how to sort by Avg User Reviews, it's the where I usually start.

BTW, I am forced to use an iPhone for work, I have no choice in the matter, I carry an Android phone and an iPhone everyday and use them both a lot, so I kind of have some incite into this... personally I would NEVER own an iPhone as a personal phone, I would go with a $99 Android bargain basement before using an iPhone as a my personal phone. Luckily I own a Moto G 2015 instead.

 

[ck6]

Thank you~ :3 I know these could easily be googled, and I have researched the phone, but I guess I wasn't looking in the right places for some of them.

1) Thanks, I downloaded Contact Alert because I rather do like the stock messaging app. Might look into the others too though.

2) I actually had most of these already installed, aside from Nova Launcher/NoLED. I used the AccuteWeather app too, it actually knows my area, which is a rare thing for these weather apps! xD

2b) I have Zedge on my tablet, I'll download it here too. I'll try to remember that size.

3) Thanks for the tips!

4) The battery life is way better than I expected, I was just wondering if there were any ways to lengthen its lifespan during certain times (i.e. travelling where I'd use it a lot more). Thanks!

Yeah I use Amazon more than eBay so I know how to get the right cases, they should be here soon Have screen protectors ready and waiting to get on (my hands are too shaky to do that sort of thing on my own XD)

I will be definitely using an Android phone from now on because I love all of the customization stuff compared to sticking to changing the lock screen/home screen. Thank you for all of your answers~!

 

[ujjawal gupta2]

Does your heating while charging??

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[acejavelin]

Does your heating while charging??

Posted via the Android Central App

Not significantly, heating to some extent is normal well charging... I charged in my vehicle today from 36% to 100%, using periodically for short periods, battery temp never exceeded 87F/31C over about a 2 hour period, never experienced any significant battery heating in the phone under any conditions, I think I have seen about 100F/38C at max well charging from a low percentage and playing Riptide in bright light conditions.

 

[ck6]

Sorry for the late reply, but I haven't really noticed. It does heat up a bit on the back when I watch videos, but I think that's normal?