New Nexus and android owner

[sheppy1]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd make a post to introduce myself to the forum users and ask for a little help with my new purchase

Basically I've been an iPhone user for over 5 years now but have become bored and decided to switch to android to see what it's all about. I've had an android phone before but that was back when I had the G1 and that wasn't a great experience for me lol. But after seeing the new jelly bean OS I thought I'd give it a go again so I've bought a nexus phone which will be coming tomorrow and basically I just wanted to know like what things I should do first, setup wise and which apps I really should be downloading.

Thanks guys

 

[Lanhoj]

Welcome to world of Nexus!

You'll likely have an update or 2 waiting for you when the device arrives. I got 4.1.2 this morning on my GNex.

 

[anon(847090)]

About apps: you can pretty much get all apps you used on your iphone.

Hope you know about the widgets.
If you are a chrome desktop user download chrome for Android https://forums.androidcentral.com/e.../details?id=com.android.chrome&token=VoiIxVvl They work together very well like bookmark syncing across chrome, tab syncing and send webpages to chrome for Android device.

Airdroid is a very good app for browsing your phone content and files wireless using your browser https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...s/details?id=com.sand.airdroid&token=KJLx0a_J

 

[Biggnaa20]

What apps did you use on your iPhone? If we know what you really liked, we might be able to better suggest apps for you.

I tend to always keep the following on every Android I've owned:

Audio Manager
Handcent
Google's suite of products (Maps, Youtube, Talk, etc...)
Flipboard, Tweekdeck and Pocket (Read it later)
Endomondo
SMS back up and restore (if you aren't rooted)
Titanium Back up (If you are rooted)
PowerAmp music player
various games for when I'm bored.

Hope this is a start.

Welcome!

 

[davidmichaelmalloy]

Welcome to Android! As a former iPhone user (and Blackberry and Windows OS...) here are a few things that I like to share with those who jump ship:

- Launchers: They allow you to truly customize your Android phone to be yours and yours alone. Imagine, if you will, if you could change your iPhone's layout from 4x4 to 5x5 or change the way screens transition when you swipe left and right - that's what your Launcher allows you to do. I use Nova Launcher to do some pretty cool things like creating groups in my App Drawer so that I can quickly see all Apps, Games, Google Apps, Tools, etc... It's like using Folders but way cleaner. I also use Nova Launcher's Gestures to hide/unhide my Notification bar. this increases screen real estate and makes the phone look slick.

- Widgets: These are fun and super helpful, but if you go too crazy, they can drain your battery. For the first few months, try out everything, change your layouts and widgets often. With all this new found freedom, you'll eventually land upon something that is not only useful, but practical. Once you find a layout that you love, make sure you back it up using your favorite Launcher. When you update your software or (if you get advanced) if you start flashing new ROMs, you can restore your layout in a jiffy!

- Unread Count: As an iPhone user, you've become accustomed to seeing badges on your apps where an unread message or notification exists. That doesn't really exist in Android (not exactly, at least), but with certain Launchers and Apps, you can get some of that back. I use Tesla Unread to help out as I'm using Nova Launcher.

- Free Apps vs Paid Apps: There are a lot of free apps on Android, and a lot of sales! Check back in with the Google Play store and Amazon App store to make sure you don't miss out on the latest sales. Lots of Paid Apps have a free version which is either ad supported or has limited functionality. Either way, they can act as a great control for testing out new apps before you commit to buying them. As a side note, if you want to enable the installation of apps from Third Party Markets, you need to change that in Settings > Security > Unknown Sources. This is a level of freedom you won't see on iPhone unless you're Jailbroken. Amazon is a trustworthy source of apps, but be vigilant when downloading and make sure that you know what you're downloading and who you're downloading from.

- Accounts: You'll notice that your Settings screen contains an area to add Accounts for installed Apps. This is a great feature and will allow you to use stored credentials when you integrate apps with each other.

- To Root or Not To Root: Here's the real beauty of Android. Rooting is a term we use when we (essentially) gain Administrator access to our phones (or Root access). This allows us to install (read: flash) new ROMs (read: operating system variants) and features which require access to the Root file system of the phone. This access is a lot like your company giving you access to install software on your work computer without IT having to come down and do it for you. If you choose to Root your phone, you'll be able to take advantage of many apps which require "Root Access." These apps are readily available in the Google Play store.

- Ringtones: It may sound silly to even bring this up, but for us former iPhone users, creating or adding custom ringtones was a pain in the ass. With Android, you can use any MP3 as a ringtone or notification. I use Zedge because it's easy, and the downloaded files show up in the default menus within each app when choosing which notification I want.

I'll stop ranting now and let others chime in. Have fun!

 

[Lanhoj]

I recommend:

-ChompSMS
-WidgetLocker
-LightFlow
-PhoneLocator Pro
-Nova Launcher Prime
-MissedIt!
-StatusBar+
-Swiftkey
-Extreme Call Blocker
-Swipe Pad
-MyProfiles+
-SwitchPro Widget
-TuneIn Radio
-Volume Control+
-HDR Camera+
-Flick Widgets
-Minimalist Text
-Simple Text
-MX Video Player
-Unified Remote
-Headset Button Controller
-SyncSMS (if you have a tablet)

Most are paid Apps (some have "Lite" versions) but about 50$ should cover it & you'll be set for pretty much every area.

 

[sheppy1]

@lanhoj?
Thanks, I'll be sure to check for the updates then as soon as I get it its apparently already on jelly bean anyway

@still1
Yes I use chrome and have been using it on my iPad and my iPhone too so I'll definitely be getting that app as I like having all my tabs and bookmarks synced would have though that would be the stock browser installed on it already though..

@biggnaa20
Oooooooo thanks for those!! I'll check out the ones you mentioned . And tbh the only apps I really use are like eBay, amazon, PayPal, banking apps such as natwest and also flipboard (glad to see there's an android version of this) whatsapp and a few others but not really any that I'm bothered about, think I'll be able to find most apps that I need

@david
Thank you very much for that post! It's going to be really helpful when my phone comes and I will certainly do as you suggested great post

 

[sheppy1]

Another quick question here..Is there software such as iTunes for iPhone and Zune for Windows Phone that I can use to backup my phone and settings and all those things? Just I remember that being an issues with android when I had it last, not being able to backup any of my contacts and messages etc. Also is there any way for me to copy my contacts and message from my iPhone to my Nexus?

 

[lewisjp2]

Yes use kies for your back up or Google music

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[con5150]

Great thread ,not much to add, welcome back to Android, you will love this phone. Here's and excellent app for widgets


https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd&token=W2l1bFdj

 

[sheppy1]

Thanks I've just checked out kies and it seems like what I'm after shouldn't need Google Music as I don't really have music on my phone anyway

 

[Lanhoj]

...
- Unread Count: As an iPhone user, you've become accustomed to seeing badges on your apps where an unread message or notification exists. That doesn't really exist in Android (not exactly, at least), but with certain Launchers and Apps, you can get some of that back. I use Tesla Unread to help out as I'm using Nova Launcher.
...

Global Badge Notifications is achievable the same as on iDevices for all Apps (not just SMS / GMail / Missed Calls) using an App called "MissedIt" (including Tesla Unread Count & Nova Launcher Prime).
Here's how--> http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=199709

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(847090)]

Another quick question here..Is there software such as iTunes for iPhone and Zune for Windows Phone that I can use to backup my phone and settings and all those things? Just I remember that being an issues with android when I had it last, not being able to backup any of my contacts and messages etc. Also is there any way for me to copy my contacts and message from my iPhone to my Nexus?

if you are rooted you can pretty much backup everything from app data to system settings, messages, call history etc using an app called titanium backup.

by default there is an option in android to backup all contact to gmail. it will appear in gmail contacts in web.

system wide settings can be backup to google servers. there is an option for that.

but for individual app data you need root. i dont think kies will work for Gnex like someone mentioned above since kies is a tool for samsung branded phones.
Gnex is made by samsung but it is google branded.

 

[sheppy1]

Thanks for the great replies guys!! the only thing I think I'm going to have issues with now is the copying of my SMS messages and contacts from my iPhone to my new Nexus, not really sure of how to go about this..I tried using iTunes to sync my contacts to my GMail account but all it seemed to want to do is remove the contacts from my phone and not add them to my GMail :-/

 

[sheppy1]

Also are there any really good note taking/shopping list apps. Basically I use an app called "clear" on my iphone, it lets me add a category e.g. shopping and then within that I can add items I want to go shopping for to remind myself when I go out, is there any app like this on android?

 

[sting7k]

I just did the same a few months ago and I would advise to go slow. Just install the apps you used most on your iPhone and start there. You will find they are likely all there and probably look and function exactly the same. Then explore the play store. Check out the widgets. Different keyboards; I'll plug SwiftKey 3 right here it's an amazing keyboard. Mess with settings.

You can spend nearly forever messing with these phones. That's really what they have over the iPhone. To me Android does all the same stuff. But the difference is you tweak every little thing really to how you want if you don't like how it is stock.

Sadly, a good replacement for Clear is what I'm also still longing for. I haven't found any very simple list apps that I really like yet. I would buy it again too on Android if the developer would bring it over.

 

[GiantJay]

Another quick question here..Is there software such as iTunes for iPhone and Zune for Windows Phone that I can use to backup my phone and settings and all those things? Just I remember that being an issues with android when I had it last, not being able to backup any of my contacts and messages etc. Also is there any way for me to copy my contacts and message from my iPhone to my Nexus?

You can sync most things to your Google account such as contacts and music through your google account and gmail. If you ever reset the phone or get a new one as soon as you log into to your Google account everything is right on your phone your screen brightness, passwords and everything else gets restored. And there is a backup and restore feature under settings also. You can upload any music through play music on a computer and using music manager too. Its really easy once you get your contacts and everything synced.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[GiantJay]

Pretty much just type something like android tips into Google or help with Android and start reading a bit to explore all the possibilities you have with android. Or try Jelly bean features to see what your always up to date Nexus can do. Make sure you do all the updates first though.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[davidmichaelmalloy]

If you elect to use the Google Services for your Photos, Contacts, Music, etc..., they'll be automatically backed up by the fact that they're stored centrally and not locally. This is to say that if you upload your music and photos to Picasa (or Google+) and Google Play Music, that you can access these files from your phone, pc, mac, tablet, or whatever and they won't require a formal backup as you're used to with the iPhone.

As far as a way to get your iPhone contacts onto your Android phone, the best suggestion I have is to go to your carrier and have them do it. Often times, they can do it for free, other times it may come with a small fee. If you'd rather do it yourself, I would suggest you first copy your contacts from your iPhone to Gmail Contacts. If you do it this way, your contacts will always be maintained and backed up within Gmail and you don't have to fear losing this valuable info.

Here is a link to a helpful article which will walk you through the process of backing up your iPhone contacts to Gmail.

 

[tallmike00]

"Also are there any really good note taking/shopping list apps?"

I don't know about shopping lists but for notes, I use Evernote. My brother uses it with his iphone and the app is available for Androids. He suggested it to me, I downloaded it, and started using it immediately.