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The new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) User Interface was designed by Matias Duarte, the person the NYTimes said, "was webOS." ICS reflects Duarte's vision for the next generation of gestures, synergy, cloud computing, and multitasking.
The webOS Homebrew community has developed hundreds of patches to add features to "rooted" Palm Phones. Few were used by Palm, keeping webOS easy to set up. Google added hundreds of these features but that means that there are more options to set up initially. This guide will help you compare the differences and find key features.
Here are some basic features, apps, and settings to consider in a move from Palm to Android.
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See the Phone Comparison for specs on many of the top new phones. Over two years you might spend $2,000 or more for cell service so get the one you want. Androids are evolving so quickly that no phone stays on top long. Let's start with some basic features.
Fast dual core processors and 1GB of RAM are important but also make sure you get 4G (or LTE). Monthly rates are often just as much for slow phones as fast ones. You may have this phone a long time. Don't get one that is already slow. To turn 4G on:
? Tap Home > Menu > Settings > Wireless > 4G.
? To add a 4G icon to a home screen: Long-press an empty spot on a home screen then tap Shortcuts > Settings > 4G.
What is the Right Size Phone? Only you can answer that question. Android phone comes in sizes from 2.5" to 5.3". A survey of 5,000 phone owners found that Only 9% Want a Screen Under 4". See what feels right for you. Don't let anyone tell you the one size phone you are to buy. See the Sizing Chart: What is the Right Size Phone?
The Notification LED is for incoming or missed calls, emails, texts, Facebook or calendar events, etc. The Flashlight Alerts app can also turn the camera LED into a notification LED (tutorial). To see your notifications, swipe down on the notification bar at the top:
↨ Swipe up or down to look through your notifications.
? Tap one to open it.
↔ Swipe left or right to clear (close) without responding (Android 4.0+).
Flagship Android phones typically have 1 or 2MP front cameras for HD video chat. That coupled with 4G gives you an amazing opportunity for Video Calls. Android Qik, Skype and ooVoo give you free unlimited video calls over WiFi, 3G and 4G.
You can watch HD movies or make presentations right from your Android. DLNA allows you to see whatever is on your phone on your compatible TV, Blu-ray player, PS3, or Xbox. HDMI uses a cable to connect to your HDTV.
Most Androids automatically update with Facebook friends' photos, status, messages, phones, events, birthdays, emails, and notifications. Incoming calls pop-up with updated Facebook profile photos. The free Friendcaster app does even more.
Much of the web including this site rely on Adobe Flash. Unfortunately the HTML5 standard intended to replace Flash is still not finalized. Android does have Flash and HTML5 support.
Palm Touch to Share was to allow two Palm devices owned by the same user to share a URL, etc. Near Field Communication (NFC) is designed to work works between any NFC devices and more. NFC is also for instant payments, keycard, and ID, etc. Android NFC can share a contact, photo, song, application, and video or pair Bluetooth or WiFi devices. See the Google NFC Demo.
Good Vibrations
Set your Android to Vibrate (Haptic Feedback) if your phone must be quiet. To set your Android to vibrate, tap Home > Menu > Settings > Sound > Silent Mode ON and Vibrate ON. Apps like Executive Assistant lets you customize repeating LED, sounds, and vibration reminders for missed call, emails, texts, calendar, tasks, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Note: The iPhone lacks haptic feedback.
Physical or On-screen Keyboards
On-screen ("virtual") keyboards on phones under 4" can be a challenge especially if you do not have small hands. Many Androids have physical keyboards but a good predictive on-screen keyboard on a larger display may be a good option. Try out as many physical and on-screen keyboards as you can to see what works for you. Especially try their landscape modes (sideways). Also note that with voice recognition apps like Voice Actions and Vlingo, you can often speak instead of type.
A microSD card is about $50 for 32GB. less. Get a "Class 10" microSD for fast 10 MB/s speeds. The Galaxy S II and Droid Bionic. The App 2 SD app frees up space on your phone by moving apps to your SD card.
Setup Your Phone
Multitasking
Android Multitasking is automatic. Say you are writing an email and want to paste in a text. Before Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), you long-press
↨ Swipe up or down to look through the cards (apps).
? Tap an app to open it.
↔ Swipe left or right to clear (close) it without responding.
Gmail is at the heart of Android's Cloud Sync so you need a Gmail account (http://mail.google.com/). You will get notifications when Gmail is pushed to your phone, full Priority Inbox capabilities, and can push multiple email accounts to Gmail for automatic email notifications. See the Gmail Tips. Exchange users: check out Exchange Touchdown Trial (Full $20, RoadSync Trial (Full $10).
webOS 2.0 Just Type is similar to Android Search and iPhone Spotlight. Phones are designed to prevent "butt-dialling", that is typing without first unlocking the phone. Androids with slide-out keyboards (Like a Pre) can be set unlock by sliding out the keyboard and Just Type as ususal. If it does not have a slide-out keyboard, first unlock the screen. Then you can Tap Google Search
? Just Type "ma" and Mail, Maps, and every Mark or Mary will pop up.
? Just Type "oliv" and Oliva pops up along with local Olive Gardens.
? Press the
? Make sure you have the latest Google Search and Voice Search apps from the Market.
To set up what is included in a Search, tap
Music Player
One of the best apps for webOS is Music Player (Remix) by DanPLC. Dan has an Android now and has said this: "I'm using PowerAMP...PowerAMP still has a lot of faults/shortcomings, but it does a decent job." Here are links to some favorite Music Players: PowerAMP (Trial) (Full:$5) ? Google Music (free) ? Winamp (free) ? Meridian (free) (Full:$4) ? TuneWiki (free)
You already sync you Palm webOS contacts and calendar to Gmail. When you go to your new Android device, they will already be there. Here is more on how to Transfer webOS Contacts to Android.
Android syncs to the cloud to back up your contacts and calendars. On your phone tap Menu > Settings > Accounts & Sync > Add account > Google > Contacts, Gmail, Calendar, etc. Then add Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other account syncs as well. Most Androids can sync to all of these accounts automatically. When someone changes a phone number on Facebook, your phone will be updated as well.
1. Backup all the music, videos, and photos you can from your BlackBerry to your PC.
2. Copy photos and videos from your PC to your Android:
- - Connect your Android to your PC with the USB cable.
- - On your computer, create folders on your phone called Pictures and Videos if it is not already there.
- - Sill using your computer, drag the photos and videos to your phone's folder then disconnect your phone.
3. Reboot the phone: Press Power for 10 seconds > Power Off > Wait 20 seconds > Press Power for 10 seconds.
If you are using iTunes, the file names are encoded making them hard to find. The good news is that you no longer have to use iTunes! (You still can if you like.) Use the steps above to backup your music to your PC and set up a Music folder on your Android if you don't already have one and drag your music files and folders (copies) from your computer to your phone. Here are some of our favorite Music Players: PowerAMP (Full:$5), Google, Winamp, Meridian (Full:$4), and TuneWiki. Google Music and Amazon Music are not DRM copy protected so they can be moved to a new phone without issue.
Android phones are fire-breathing dragons with a big displays, powerful 4G, and a half-dozen other radios. If you know the Power Management Tricks, you can get good battery life too.
Toggles are simple widgets that lets you change settings without going through menus (and a key reason to Jailbreak an iPhone). But you don't have to break anything with an Android. This Stay Awake Widget can keep your display on whenever your phone is charging. To put your Power Control Widgets on a homescreen, long-press an empty spot, then tap Widgets > Power Settings. Popular free Toggles include the Curvefish Brightness Level, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS widgets but there are many others.
Widgets show live information on-screen without opening the app such as weather, email, calendars, and almost anything else. Here are some favorites:
? Tajm - The amazing clock widget in words instead of numbers.
Battery Left Widget - Estimates battery time left.
Today Widget - Day and date in a 1x1 widget. ($1 Pro with color options)
The Android Market has nearly 500,000 apps but that is just the beginning. Google allows you to access competing markets plus MyAppSharer lets you "share" your actual app files with a friend. Battery Status puts the real battery percentage in the Notification Bar. The Weather Channel has the temperature.
Here is another app you will never see on a BlackBerry. The Getjar has a constantly changing assortment of normally paid apps for free including mature content.
Executive Assistant offers so much more control over repeating notifications, ringtones, vibrations, etc. Take a look. See the Notification Tips for more.
Swipe the Notifications down and they stay on screen until you tap one or swipe the Notifications up to close them. The Executive Assistant app lets you set different repeating sounds and vibrations for missed calls, emails, and texts. See Notifications for more.
The point of a document is to share it. Dropbox (referral link for 2.25GB for free) lets you backup files for instant use on almost any smartphone or computer. But more importantly, you can share your documents with others.
Google Docs let anyone you chose edit files on almost any PC or smartphones including Androids, BlackBerry's, iPad's, and Macs.
The Android Market gives you 15 minutes to try out an app on your phone to see if the options and features are right for you. If not, uninstall it for a full refund.
Theming is easy with apps like ADWLauncher. Here is a simple way to change icons and wallpaper. No root required.
Android folders make organizing all those apps easy. The free Android Folder Organizer app takes folders to a whole new level. You can have more than 12 apps in a folder and sort the apps as you like. You can change folder icons and customize shortcut icons and names. The screenshot at the top shows Settings, Newsstand, and Game Center folders. See: Folder Organizer Tutorial.
Voice Search and Voice Actions add many great options to Android. Vlingo can turn on and operate totally from your voice. How to use Vlingo is below.
Most flagship Android phones come with Visual Voicemail that lets you see the caller's photo when you play their message (Oh, that's who that is!). In addition, many Androids will show you their updated Facebook photo and Status when you look at their voicemail. See Visual Voicemail for details. Tap here to see a sample.
You can buy music from Google or any number of competitors. Amazon MP3 for instance offers almost every song available. The best part is that Amazon Music is not DRM copy protected so songs can be moved to a new phone without issue!
MP3 Music Download has nearly every song as well...for free.
You take for granted that your phone will also be a great GPS. With Android Google Maps, turn-by-turn navigation is included for free. Maps will also show you real time traffic conditions and suggest alternate routes as needed.
Live Wallpaper is animated. The Earth rotates, thunder storms, fish swim, snow swirls, raindrops slide down your screen, and robots fly. It's fun to see how the Live Wallpaper responds to your touch or movements. See the Live Wallpaper Tips.
With Android, you can have a Newsstand folder for all of your media content. With so many free media apps in Android, you may not see a reason to pay for subscriptions. (How to create folders)
That icon is for the Swype keyboard holder of multiple World Texting Speed Records. See the Keyboard Tips.
With your computer, you take for granted that you can see your files. Apps like ASTRO File Manager and AndExplorer let you cut, copy, and paste files as you need.
Almost ever major game is available on Android. With Android you can have a Games folder for all of your games from Android Market, Amazon, Getjar, etc.
You can have a real predictive keyboard now. Keyboards like SwiftKey can be even faster for many users than Swype. SwiftKey users can easily break the world record because SwiftKey learns what you have typed once and then predicts your words.
Open Source
Android is mostly Open Source. If a developer doesn't like a stock Android keyboard or other app, they can change it and re-release it back into the Android Market. Google uses licensing to reduce fragmentation so Android is not fully Open Source.
← See that mouse pointer? The Galaxy S II lets you to connect a Bluetooth wireless mouse or keyboard. This along with HDMI mirroring allows easy control while on an monitor or HDTV. See this video showing USB Host, Bluetooth, and HDMI out from xda-developers.
USB Host lets you plug in a memory thumb drive, PS3 Game Controller, mouse, or keyboard into a micro USB Host adapter as shown in these videos at xda-developers. Play a game on your phone with a real controller
See Internet Tips and Tricks for details.
Youd can double-tap on an Android brownser screen or pinch out to zoom.Android "re-flows" and "word-wraps" to fill the space so text is not cut off. Android uses the full screen. THere are dozen of popular Browsers to consider such as Dolphin or Opera
Click here for this example: Official webOS 1.4.5 Discussion.
Android also allows you to have multiple Browser cards open at a time: Tap Menu > Windows > + or long-press a link to open another window.
More Icons
The webOS 4x4 Icons patch allows 16 apps per screen. The Android Folder Organizer (free) app lets you have 4x6, 5x6, or 5x7 icons per screen, 20+ apps per folder, and change icons and labels without rooting.
Try Out Some Apps
Here are a few more of the many Applications you may want to try. Here are links to more tips and some key apps.
Google Search and Google Voice Search must be installed for searches to work properly.
? Flashlight: Turn your camera LED into a flashlight with an app like Tiny Flashlight.
? Brightness Level lets you tap a preset brightness or set any brightness you like.
? Email Tips + K-9 Mail add many features. Corporate users: check out Touchdown (Full $20) or RoadSync (Full $10).
? Messaging Tips + Consider HandCent SMS or ? ChompSMS to replace the messaging app
? Browser Tips + Consider great options like Dolphin or ? Opera
? Lock screen: No Lock - Disables lock screen, phone opens fast. ? Widget Locker ($2) lets you customize it.
? Simple Theming + ADW.Launcher (Tutorial, $3 full), LauncherPro ($3 full), GO Launcher EX ($0): change Icons, layout, and theme without rooting.
? Facebook: Friendcaster (free, $5: no ads) expands options for Facebook notifications, events, contact & profile sync, photos, etc.
? Backup Tips: MyBackup Pro ($5) - Automatically backup messages, contacts, bookmarks, home screens, alarms, dictionary, etc. Trial.
? Folder Tips: Folder Organizer (free) - Sets up folders, change icons, and increase from 4x4 icons to 4x6 or even 5x6. See: Folders
? Go Contacts lets you dial a middle part of a name or number. For 202-456-1414, you can dial "456" or "1414".
? TouchPal Dialer lets you dial their initals for instance dial 2 for B, 6 for O for Barack Obama.
? Go Contacts & TouchPal Dialer can seach contacts for "Pen" for contacts on Pennsylvania Ave or "Wash" for Washington.
? ASTRO File Manager : Install, run edit, & backup apps, etc. much like webOS Internalz
? SwiftKey - Learns how you think and predicts your words saving keystrokes. $4. Free 30-day Trial.
? Evernote syncs notes, photos, to-do's, etc. from your phone, PC, laptop, tablet, etc. ColorNote is a simple alternative.
Touchstone
The Touchstone, Powermat, Enerergizer Wireless Charger, and Duracell myGrid are accessories that allow wireless inductive charging (based on Nikola Tesla's induction patents).
Resources
? BlackBerry - Palm webOS & Apple User's Guide to Android
? Phone Comparison
? Sprint Epic 4G Touch Support Group For Palm webOS Users
? Photon Support Group For Palm webOS Users
? EVO 3D Support Group For Palm webOS Users
? Note that phones such as the Nexus S line do not come with all of the features listed here.
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