Step one: ditch iPhone. Step two: no clue...

[ryanzx2]

Hi, my name is Ryan, and I'm an ex iPhoner.

Like, recently ex. Like, this is the first 21 hours I've been without an iPhone in 5 years. Existential point: I have no idea what I'm doing, but I know I'm doing the right thing.

How do I proceed with this whole ice cream sandwich and its devilishly unherded possibilities?

I'm excited about this damn phone, I just don't know what to do with it. Any help will be held close to heart and hopefully passed to the next sorry sap writing this exact post down the line.

Totally sorry for one more new dude to the party asking the same questions about where the bathroom is.

 

[Windfrenzy]

Customize. Look at all the settings and change what you want. If you can't change something, Google it our look for an app in the play store that will do what you want. Load up a launcher like Nova and customize some more!


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[rexxman]

Welcome friend.

1. Open phone dialer. Press menu key then options. Check out the settings.

2. Go to Google Play and get Swiftkey.

3. Put an SD card or SDXC card in. Open camera and set media to store on that external card. Play with Camera App.

4. Hook it up to you WiFi and Blue tooth.

You have already taken your first two important steps; getting the S3 and hooking up to these forums.

(more later)

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[rexxman]

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=2022032

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[rexxman]

Tools tools tools



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[geekymcfly]

This would be helpful in your case

It's the user guide
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...ails?id=kr.co.samsung.galaxys3&token=UyopgoLr

"all animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others" animal bylaws- animal farm

 

[tsells]

Swiftkey 3 is better than the stock keyboard (highly recommended).
Quickpic is better than the stock photo gallery (highly recommended).
Launchers give the phone a different look than the stock TouchWiz. I've tried a bunch of launchers and I like Nova launcher better than some others.
Astro File Manager is an excellent app to manage files, ringtones, notifications, downloads, etc.
Google Gesture Search is a great app to "search" for things on your phone (apps, contacts, etc).
I didn't like the stock calendar app as I found it hard to read, especially on busy days/weeks. Calengoo (also in the Play Store) is superior to the stock calendar.
The stock browser is fine. You should also try Chrome and/or Dolphin browser.
Download a Visual Voice Mail app (AT&T has one and there's also Phone Fusion Visual Voicemail. They are both in the Google Play Store.)

Give yourself a week or more to figure the phone out. It's a lot more customizable than the IPhone.

 

[KreepyKen]

1. Change your keyboard. I use Swype, but SwiftKey is fantastic, too.

2. Check out the popular launchers: Nova, Apex, Go, ADW (I use Nova and love it).

3. Get yourself a good file explorer. The stock "My Files" is okay, but I'm crazy about Solid Explorer. It's one of the best apps ever.

4. Connecting to a computer (especially a Mac) can be a challenge. Do yourself a favor and get a wifi transfer app to move pictures and other files back and forth. A lot of people like Airdroid, but I prefer WiFi File Explorer. They have a free version, but the one that costs $1 lets you transfer in bulk.

5. If you listen to music, load up Google Play Music for putting your tunes in the cloud and I suggest PowerAmp for playing local files. When the screen locks, it provides a ton of controls on the lockscreen so you don't have to unlock your phone to play/pause or change tracks.

6. Get a good podcatcher app. I use Pocket Casts, but there are a lot of other good ones out there (Doggcatcher and BeyondPod are both very popular).

7. Camera apps. Effects apps. Photo Sharing apps. Get some. Check out Vignette, Little Photo, Pixlr-o-Matic, StreamZoo, and Perfectly Clear.

8. If you like Twitter, there are a million apps for it. My personal favorite is Plume. It remembers where you left off (unlike TweetCaster) and has a fantastic widget.

9. WIDGETS...one of the absolutely best features you won't find on the iPhone. Many apps have their own widgets, and some widgets are stand-alone. I love mClock for my clock, Business Calendar for the agenda widget, and HD Widgets for my weather widget (tapping the widget brings up more detailed information...and I haven't found another weather widget that provides better info).

10. Get some good games. A few of my favorites are Grave Defense, Osmos, CrossMe and CrossMe Color, and Where's My Water.

11. Have fun and do lots of exploring. If you have a significant other and you go on vacation or someplace where you'll be taking lots of pictures, turn on WiFi Direct and connect to each other, set your cameras to Share Shot and snap away...you'll both receive each other's pictures. It works great!

 

[rexxman]

Yes, games. Ditto that recommendation on Grave Defense. And Cogs and Hill Climb Racing. For entertainment, DroidTV.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[hunterx82]

I'm in the same situation. I am getting the phone shipped hopefully today. I'm being a nerd and making a checklist of things I want to accomplish when I first get it out and charge it up. A lot of these suggestions are very helpful. Thanks!

 

[rteichman]

I made the switch from an iPhone 10 days ago. While all the above suggestions are good, I think you should plan on spending the first few days setting up the phone and figuring out how to use it like you did your iPhone. Specifically:
1) If you have not already done so, get a gmail account and move your contacts to google (it will be much easier this way).
2) Go into settings and set the default ring tone, even if you keep it the same, learn it LOL. Next set the ring tones for other people who have special ringtones on your iPhone. They will be different so you need to learn them. The alternative is to find those ringtones from your iPhone in MP3 format (they are in m4r format on the iphone which is not useable) and load them onto the phone. Google android ring tones for information on how to do this.
2) Setup notification for text messages. Personally I liked the default sound and method, but it took a while to realize that new sound was a message on MY phone.
3) Setup you e-mails. Then set up alerts! Again, you need to get used to the new notifications because otherwise you won't realize it's your phone.
4) Setup your social network connections (download apps if needed) and then set up alerts!
5) Setup visual voice mail (you need to download the app).
6) Rearrange things on the home screens to get your most used apps clustered together (like you did on your iPhone)
7) Spend some time using the base functionality (calls, messages, texts, e-mail). There is a learning curve, and in the beginning you will NOT be happy. iOS does do some things nicer, not necessarily better, but definitely smoother. For example you can't get into voice mail from the phone app. After a while you will get used to the Android way, but you will have doubts/issues at first.

NOW you are ready to play! Follow all the advice of previous posters to start really having fun!

CAVEAT!!! The current version of Skype does not work on the S3! From what I have read it has not worked in months. You will need to find a work around. Also, the battery life without tweaking is shorter than what you are used to with the iPhone. This is especially true when you first get it and have it running all the time as you play with it. Expect to have to charge it one or more times a day until you get things going. If you are going on a long trip without access to power, bring along something, like a laptop, that can charge it. I personally bought an external rechargeable battery with a USB to micro USB cable (one way charges the external battery the other way charges your device). It's good for any portable device (even iPads) so keeping this one thing around is your emergency backup for any device you have.

 

[hunterx82]

Great post, thanks! Shocked to hear a popular app like Skype doesn't work. What is the app you installed for visual voicemail? I dont plan on rooting my phone until I figure out it's bare basics. Heck I didn't jailbreak my iPhone until like 2 years of using one!

 

[OhAlfie]

AT&T has a visual VM that works fine for me.

 

[evq.003]

I made the switch from an iPhone 10 days ago. While all the above suggestions are good, I think you should plan on spending the first few days setting up the phone and figuring out how to use it like you did your iPhone. Specifically:
1) If you have not already done so, get a gmail account and move your contacts to google (it will be much easier this way).
2) Go into settings and set the default ring tone, even if you keep it the same, learn it LOL. Next set the ring tones for other people who have special ringtones on your iPhone. They will be different so you need to learn them. The alternative is to find those ringtones from your iPhone in MP3 format (they are in m4r format on the iphone which is not useable) and load them onto the phone. Google android ring tones for information on how to do this.
2) Setup notification for text messages. Personally I liked the default sound and method, but it took a while to realize that new sound was a message on MY phone.
3) Setup you e-mails. Then set up alerts! Again, you need to get used to the new notifications because otherwise you won't realize it's your phone.
4) Setup your social network connections (download apps if needed) and then set up alerts!
5) Setup visual voice mail (you need to download the app).
6) Rearrange things on the home screens to get your most used apps clustered together (like you did on your iPhone)
7) Spend some time using the base functionality (calls, messages, texts, e-mail). There is a learning curve, and in the beginning you will NOT be happy. iOS does do some things nicer, not necessarily better, but definitely smoother. For example you can't get into voice mail from the phone app. After a while you will get used to the Android way, but you will have doubts/issues at first.

NOW you are ready to play! Follow all the advice of previous posters to start really having fun!

CAVEAT!!! The current version of Skype does not work on the S3! From what I have read it has not worked in months. You will need to find a work around. Also, the battery life without tweaking is shorter than what you are used to with the iPhone. This is especially true when you first get it and have it running all the time as you play with it. Expect to have to charge it one or more times a day until you get things going. If you are going on a long trip without access to power, bring along something, like a laptop, that can charge it. I personally bought an external rechargeable battery with a USB to micro USB cable (one way charges the external battery the other way charges your device). It's good for any portable device (even iPads) so keeping this one thing around is your emergency backup for any device you have.

All great tips but would like to comment on tip number 6. May I suggest that rather than "Rearrange things on the home screens to get your most used apps clustered together (like you did on your iPhone)" but instead first check to see if there is a widget for your most used/favorite app and put that widget on one of the many home screens you have and keep all your apps in your app drawer.

Widgets: One of the many benefits of Android.

By the way, congratulations on the switch to Android!

 

[rteichman]

Yeah I was shocked too. You will also be shocked about some other things (mainly look and feel of e-mail, browser, alarm clock, etc.), usually more functional but less polished or user friendly than iOS. Just chill a bit and you will probably find it does not really matter.

I just used the AT&T visual voice mail app. It's not as pretty as iOS but works the same way.

 

[Snake Griffin]

If you need a video calling app that works get Tango (instead of Skype) , been using it without a problem for a while now.

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