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I got my Evo! Now what?!

Customizing your phone
Ah, the fun part – making the phone experience yours and not what some manufacturer tells you it should be. There are four main components to customization: Scenes, Wallpapers, Widgets and Apps (oh my!).

HTC allows you to create different visual profiles on your phones which they call “Scenes”. By default, the phone will come with a scene that has the carbon fiber background and all of Sprint's proprietary apps and widgets on the screen. All of this can easily be changed by pressing menu and selecting “Scenes”. Within three taps you can load up a separate scene for the office, or traveling, or out with your friends. You could have a completely different phone experience every day of the week. You could let your significant other create a scene and title it “jealousy” because they don't have an Evo of their own (applies to me). It's all completely customizable and easy to configure.

evomenu.jpg

Now, you may be saying that Wallpapers are nothing new or exciting (especially if you're familiar with an iPhone – zing!) but Android has a special take on this with “live wallpapers”. In addition to your typical static images, these live wallpapers are animated, and usually have some sort of user interaction by actually touching the background. Some of them are really cool, from interactive coy ponds to games of pong to slowly shifting orbs of light.

To change your wallpaper, again click the “Menu” button and there is an option for “Wallpaper”. You will notice then you get the options for adding a static wallpaper from HTC, your Photos, or Live Wallpapers. When selecting the live wallpaper of your choice, you're generally given a ton of options to configure it how you want. Play around! Find whatever suits you.

evowallpaper.jpg

Note 1: Live Wallpapers will eat up your battery! You need to decide if its worth it or not.
Note 2: For some examples of more Live Wallpapers from the Marketplace, watch below Android Live Wallpapers.
(thanks to evoman2be913!)​

The next component is perhaps the biggest feature of Android device, the Widgets. For those who are unfamiliar with them, think of them as mini applications that sit on your homescreens and enable you to get data at a glance without going into a full blown app, or adjust settings on the fly. They are truly what powers Android and makes it so appealing to many.

In most cases, when you tap on a widget it will launch the corresponding full program. So for example, the big giant clock that is the default on the middle homscreen, did you know if you click on the clock it opens a full “Clock” app? If you click on the weather in that widget, it launches the weather app, too. That's what I mean by offering data at a glance...you no longer need to load up a dedicated Twitter application to see what your friends are tweeting, it can all be loaded right onto your homescreen.

Adding and removing widgets is a breeze, and there are lots the come preloaded on the device. To add a widget, simply long press on an empty place on the screen (or “tap and hold” if you prefer) and you're greeted with the following menu. Note that you also do the same thing to add a folder, application, or shortcut. When you select “Widget”, you are greeted with a menu similar to the Live Wallpapers, and also similar is that most widgets have lots of options for you to play with. To remove a widget, simply long press on it and it will turn red, then drag to the bottom of the screen.

widget.jpg

The final thing to talk about are the Android applications. This has been the Achilles's heel of Android, but as most things it takes time to progress, and has made big strides, boasting over 50,000 apps. To access Android's version of an “App Store”, launch the application called “Marketplace” There is nothing ground breaking here and is pretty self-explanatory. However the one thing I want to highlight is that Google let's you buy an app and within 24 hours (I think) you can return it for a full refund if you aren't happy with it. Really cool feature that let's users buy with confidence.

There are several app management tools, like Astro Manager (which I'm not familiar enoguh to comment on). One thing I'd like to highlight is the website called AppBrain. This let's you browse the Marketplace on the internet, and you can even create “lists” of apps you want ahead of buying the phone. AppBrain has an app (that's a mouthful) that you can grab off the Marketplace that will automatically transfer the list you saved on the web onto your phone. To see an example, here is my list I made called “Wanted”. On launch day, I can simply grab the AppBrain app and it will do the dirty work and get the applications I've saved. Pretty slick. Also, remember there is an entire forum dedicated to applications and one for games too - use them!


Finally, if you want the visual version of this guide, watch the following video. It is by far the best video I've seen that showcases the Sense UI, and is the inspiration for this guide. Yes, it's for the HTC Desire, but the Evo will have the exact same interface.

YouTube - HTC Desire Sense Interface Walkthrough
 
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WOOHOO I appreciate the shot out SF! LOL You didn't leave me hanging! HAHA

I posted this in the "how to make these forums more usable" thread but I would love to work on this project with you if it gets approved SprintFun. I will repost here so you can check it out in case you haven't seen it yet.

Here you go:

Bek, SprintFun, & Twospirits I appreciate your hard work and thought process behind making this forum a more pleasurable, and insightful place for noobs like me lol

I have one suggestion and although it may be a long shot, I figured what the hell. I am not sure if this has been discussed previously, but if so, mods please delete...

Kevin from crackberry.com has a blackberry 101 lecture series that I used to follow religiously and it really made my experience as a bb user a very smooth transition from symbian. I was wondering if you guys could somehow put together the same type of learning series but for android of course.

I know many members would follow it and I for one found it extremely helpful and exciting as a bb user, to know that every week I would learn something new. It was very intuitive and definitely made the challenge of learning a new OS a great one.

Although I am a noob, I for one would love to assist you in any way, shape, or form if this idea is even possible. I have provided you a link from crackberry.com in case you weren't familiar with it:

BlackBerry 101 How-To Lecture Series | CrackBerry.com

Look forward to being a part of this project if possible!

Please let me know what you think SF...

Brian
 
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@evoman: Truthfully I am not an experienced Android user to the point where I could know all of the intricacies, more so than what I already posted here. I've never even used Android, so my knowledge is limited to things I've picked up by watching videos and reading. I would be willing to help where needed, but I'm no where knowledgeable enough to lead the charge so to speak.
 
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@evoman: Truthfully I am not an experienced Android user to the point where I could know all of the intricacies, more so than what I already posted here. I've never even used Android, so my knowledge is limited to things I've picked up by watching videos and reading. I would be willing to help where needed, but I'm no where knowledgeable enough to lead the charge so to speak.

I'm with you SF! I'm a noob myself but as you mentioned the best part of being new to android OS is finding out all the intricacies and challenges we face ourselves and overcoming them by research and practice. Let's do it! lol

Who can we appoint to lead the project? :D
 
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Coming from Blackberry, here's something that took me a bit to learn about Android:

Programs: Are programs you install on your phone and run. You can run several programs at the same time. You can add icons to programs on your homescreens through the "programs" menu on the Add to Homescreen screen. These icons are static (i.e., they do not change or display data). All installed programs appear in the all-programs list.

Widgets: Are utilities that you add to your homescreen and usually display interactive information. You do not run widgets. You add widgets on your homescreens through the "widgets" menu on the Add to Homescreen screen. Some widgets come in multiple sizes. Sizes can range from single-icon size all the way to full screen. You may be given setup options at the time you add the widget to your homescreen; some widgets can only be configured at the time you add it to the homescreen (so if you want to change the setup, delete the widget and re-add it). Widgets may or may not appear in the all-programs list, and often do not. Therefore, sometimes the only way to confirm that a widget was successfully installed is to try adding it to a homescreen. Some widgets will launch programs when you tap them (i.e, they will work like shortcuts).

Programs with Widgets: Some programs also have widgets built in to them. Installing the program also installs the widget. For example, installing the Weatherbug program also installs the Weatherbug widget. The program will appear in the all-applications list; the widget will not.

Shortcuts: Are icons that launch programs with specified data pre-populated. For example, a browser shortcut will launch the web browser and automatically open a specified URL. A phone shortcut will launch the phone application and automatically dial a specified phone number. A map shortcut will open the maps application and automatically display a specified address. You must specify the pre-populated data at the time you create the shortcut, and you cannot change it once it is created.

Folders: can hold program icons and shortcuts only. They cannot hold widgets.
 
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Another correction...

You can close an app... using the back button.. will close most applications. Using the home button will leave the program running in the background.

Tid - bit..
You can turn off Sense and run stock android.
Just delete the data cache from Sense in the... mange applications in the main menu / then hit the home button. You will then be given a choice to choose which you want....or just download an app called 'home switcher'

Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
 
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Does it have to start face up to work? If the phone is face down and you turn it face up does it silence it? Does it just silence it or does it send it directly to VM?


if it is already upside down... it will still ring (so you dont miss a call), but it does reduce the volume.
flipping it over again (face down).. will silent it.

silencing it will only turn off ringer.. it will ring till voicemail picks up.
 
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