Help Help with references

[Daniel Seymour]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum and to Android. The only smartphone I've ever used extensively is an iPhone 5 and I do have iPod 5g and iPad 2. I am very used to iOS but am very tired of iOS. In anticipation of change, I've purchased a Galaxy S4. (I couldn't afford an S5.) Being the only Android device I've owned, I am a bit confused with the navigation of the device. Are there any good reference material that I can use, along with experimentation, to become more proficient?

smwoodcrafts

 

[Crashdamage]

You probably learned iOS mostly by just playing with it, messing around with the menus, etc. You can learn Android the same way. It's really pretty easy once you get the basics.

Actually, your S4 user manual is a good place to start, especially since Samsung devices have their Touchwiz UI overlay, which makes some stuff Samsung-specific. Learn all you can from the manual then you can post back here with specific questions. Google search is a good resource also.

 

[Hadron]

A couple of specifics if you are coming from iOS:

1) "long-pressing" (press and hold) often brings up a menu of options - it's like right-clicking on a mouse. So if for example you want to rearrange icons or resize widgets on your desktop, a long press on the icon you want to change/edit/remove will give you the option. But you'll find it works in other user interface elements as well.

2) there is no centralised "Settings" app in Android. The system settings have options for the phone itself, but the settings for particular apps are found within the app itself (look for a button composed of 3 dots in many apps). This sometimes confuses iOS switchers because it's unfamiliar, but actually it's quicker (because you don't have to switch to a different app to change the settings for the app you are using).

 

[codesplice]

To add to the suggestions already mentioned, Samsung does have a nice run-down of some of the features specific to the S4: http://techlife.samsung.com/tips-tricks-galaxy-s-4-1355.html

Google also has some documents that may be useful to a new user:
- http://www.android.com/switch/
- http://www.android.com/phones/index.html#switch

 

[Mr. Lucky]

There are also PDF downloads of the user manuals for many, if not all, of the S4 variants, direct from Samsung: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads

 

[Daniel Seymour]

Thank you all for your help. Took a look at the user's manual and it was very informative. I think I'm going to like Android.