I'm a '40 something' with my 1st android & I could do with some recommendations please :)

[Tara1000]

Hello!

My daughter bought me a Moto G (on contract) for my Xmas present and I really like it. I had an iPhone 4 before this, and I'm finding learning bits and bobs tricky to learn and remember, but I'm getting there slowly (I'm in my 40's and not very clued up with techie things!)

Here's a couple of things I like to get clued up with please.....


* I've just heard online about 'KitKat' and don't know what it's about - could you kind folks help enlighten me please? (I'm in the UK if it makes a difference to such things!)

* Also, I miss my iPhone smilies / emoticons - can you recommend any similar ones please? (the ones I looked at in Play Store are a bit rubbish and I don't like the green monster ones installed on the phone

* Is there a simple way for me to remove the company branding from the top left of my home page and bottom of other pages?

* Is there a way to have bigger more noticeable text / calls/ e-mail notifications on my home page, instead of the little teeny icons at the top of the page?


Many thanks
Tara

 

[mrsmumbles]

KitKat is the newest version of Android operating system. You have in on your G.

The emoji should be in your keyboard but you can download another keyboard. The Google keyboard has a ton of them but I don't know if you'd like the graphics.

Others can answer the rest better than I can. Welcome to AC.

Sent from my LG870 via Tapatalk 2

 

[MrMoto1992]

Hi Tara, first of all welcome to android! You are about to learn that your phone can do so much more than what you thought.

These are a bit out of order but here we go.

1. There is a widget called NiLs that can show notifications on your lock screen or home screens. Its detailed and you can customize it to be as big as you want!

Link https://forums.androidcentral.com/...am.android.notificationswidget&token=DJ_NCOCC

2. For the iPhone style emoticons there are a few options. The easiest is to use a custom text messaging app that includes the iPhone emoticons. Textra is my favorite.

Link https://forums.androidcentral.com/...ore/apps/details?id=com.textra&token=vGcJWPM3

You will also need to install the emoji plugin
Link https://forums.androidcentral.com/...ps/details?id=com.textra.emoji&token=dQyZNIyq

Make sure you set Textra as your default messaging app! You can do this in settings under Wireless and Networks -> More -> Messaging

3. KitKat introduces the fully colored android emojis. Here is a picture of what they look like. If you like these than you can disregard step 2. They will show up as this kind when someone with an iPhone sends emojis.

Other than that KitKat introduces smoother performance and camera improvements.

4. Without rooting (jail breaking) your moto g, you might not be able to get rid of the company branding. If you want more info on that I'm happy to help!

Happy new year!

Sent from my super awesome moto g.

 

[Sizzers]

I think Mrs M missed the bit that you're in the UK so at the moment your phone is running the last incarnation of Jelly Bean.

KitKat supposedly should be available in the UK sometime in January.

 

[Tara1000]

Thank you everyone!

Mr Fluffball I have downloaded Textra (wonderful thank you, and as you say, it has the same great smilies as found on my old iPhone) and downloaded the emoji plugin, but I can't get them up and running, as I can't enable them.
I went to Settings / Wireless and Networks then More, but 'Messaging' isn't stated there.

Any ideas where else I can try?

Thanks again
Tara

 

[MrMoto1992]

Thank you everyone!

Mr Fluffball I have downloaded Textra (wonderful thank you, and as you say, it has the same great smilies as found on my old iPhone) and downloaded the emoji plugin, but I can't get them up and running, as I can't enable them.
I went to Settings / Wireless and Networks then More, but 'Messaging' isn't stated there.

Any ideas where else I can try?

Thanks again
Tara

Okay not a problem. After you install the emoji plugin, when you go into textra to compose a message, there should be a big plus sign + just above your keyboard. Click that and then click the smiley face. Your emojis are there.

As for setting the default messenger, textra should ask you to make it the default when you open it. If not, you can go settings -> apps -> and find the stock messaging app, and clear defaults. Now the next time you go to send a text it will ask you which app to use.

Sent from my super awesome moto g.

 

[Tara1000]

Okay not a problem. After you install the emoji plugin, when you go into textra to compose a message, there should be a big plus sign + just above your keyboard. Click that and then click the smiley face. Your emojis are there.

As for setting the default messenger, textra should ask you to make it the default when you open it. If not, you can go settings -> apps -> and find the stock messaging app, and clear defaults. Now the next time you go to send a text it will ask you which app to use.

Sent from my super awesome moto g.

Ah, I feel silly now, as I wasn't going to Textra to send a message, but was going thru the normal way and expecting the new emoticons to be there

Thank you again Mr F
Happy New Year to you from the UK

 

[MrMoto1992]

Cheers!

Sent from my super awesome moto g.

 

[someguy01234]

You can set widgets to be displayed in your lockscreen, with KitKat you need to enable this function first.

To enable it, Go into Settings -> Security -> check "Enable widgets".

Then while on the lockscreen, usually the widget is not displayed fully, swipe downward from the widget to display it in full view. While the widget is displayed in full view, tap and hold on the widget itself and it will let you remove it. (It won't let you remove it while not full view).You can add a different widget, such as the one mentioned above to display notifications.

I think the Moto G also have notification LED (I don't have a Moto G, I'm just trolling here). You can install the LightFlow app to control it, for example you can set the LED to flash a certain color if you received a text message. https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ng.android.lightflowlite&hl=en&token=LzSxvPhT

Also if you didn't know, you can use Android Device Manager to remotely change passcode, track and factory reset your phone: https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager?hl=en&u=0. To toggle these functions, on the phone go into "Google Settings" -> Android Device Manager.

My suggestion is to be careful with what app you download, make sure it have good reviews and a good amount of downloads. It will display what permissions the app have before you allow it to install. This article will explain what each permission does: Android 101: What some of those scary application permissions mean | Android Central

It's hard to get a virus on Android, but you may end up with adwares and possibly spyware from peculiar apps. "Google Settings -> Verify apps" is the feature to scan for virus each time apps are installed.

sent via tapatalk

 

[alfick3]

...I think the Moto G also have notification LED (I don't have a Moto G, I'm just trolling here). You can install the LightFlow app to control it, for example you can set the LED to flash a certain color if you received a text message.
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ng.android.lightflowlite&hl=en&token=klJqYPF-...

I don't have the phone yet, but have been doing a lot of reading. The notification LED is a white only; there is no color.

Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk

 

[Tara100]

Thank you for the info Someguy

I don't have a lot of apps installed, but I have been careful
I have also installed a free full security suite from Kaspersky (it comes free for pcs and phones with my banking provider) I fully trust it as in the past via alerts, it has prevented spyware / viruses from getting into my laptop. KIS may slow down the phone slightly (though I've not seen that yet) but the peace of mind makes it worth using in the background and for full scans if I ever want them.

 

[Matt Casey]

Hi Tara,

Great choice with the Moto G. I'm waiting for availability here in Australia. On my Nexus 7, I have File Manager HD by Rhythm Software installed. Excellent to see and open files - for example I copy PDFs to tablet and use Ezpdf to read.

Also, I've copied and pasted my Itunes .m4a files into the Android music folder with the tablet connected to Windows usb port using Windows Explorer. Android Music Player has no problem.

Another app I really recommend is Pocket. Very handy to keep and share copies of web articles and it auto syncs with Pocket installed on PC.

Also if you want a blast of full-on Android intensity watch Marques Brownlee's YouTube video 'Top 5 Android 4.4 KitKat Features':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7TD3Z03l2I

Happy Android New Year!

 

[Tara100]

Thank you Matt - I'll take a look at all of that very handy stuff later tonight

 

[Comerman]

Hi folks, sorry to jump in here but I updated to kitkat a few weeks ago (in Ireland) and my sms emoji stopped working and Motorola said the problem was being dealt with. So reading here on this excellent forum I installed textra + plugin which I love "so far". The problem now is that although I have a huge choice of emoji none are visible on the other end i.e. send my son a text with smilie face and he just gets the text but no smilie any ideas??

 

[Caz42]

Hi folks, sorry to jump in here but I updated to kitkat a few weeks ago (in Ireland) and my sms emoji stopped working and Motorola said the problem was being dealt with. So reading here on this excellent forum I installed textra + plugin which I love "so far". The problem now is that although I have a huge choice of emoji none are visible on the other end i.e. send my son a text with smilie face and he just gets the text but no smilie any ideas??

I'm using Handcent and my smilies send fine, you could try that maybe?

 

[Comerman]

Thanks Caz42 I'll have a look at it, motorola know of the problem but seem slow to repair it for some reason.