Can I put a smartphone into a scanner?

I would not mind ... but you'd try it with an old phone first before you try it with the S4

Harry

 

Why? Just take a screenshot

 

Don't think the "scanner rays" are going to damage the phone and sensors, it's only momentary light from a fluorescent lamp or LEDs. Direct sunlight is much stronger.

If you're trying to capture what's on the phone's screen with a flat-bed scanner, I don't think it's going to work. The scanner's own bright light will drown out the S4's AMOLED screen. You'll have a nice scan of the phone itself, but will probably be it.

You can use a regular digital camera or another cameraphone, NO flash, that'll probably work. Or even better take the screen-shots with the phone itself, by holding down the power and home buttons at the same time for a few seconds, I think that's the sequence for Samsungs with Jellybean....it is on mine.

 

The apps that came with the phone cannot be deleted unless you root, and that sounds like something you're not up to at the moment. The icons wont be deleted as well, they go with whatever theme and launcher you use at a given moment. Also, if you are using Samsung's default launcher, there is a tab in the app drawer which says 'downloads', which will show you only the apps you have downloaded. Alternatively, if you go to the application manager in settings, the downloads tab there lists only the apps you have downloaded.

 

Also, if you do go the screenshot route, it's very easy to share the photo with Gmail or Google Docs for holding onto.

 

As mentioned, you can't remove system apps.

Rather than a picture, keeping current backups is the way to go.

Check out "Helium - App Sync and Backup"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup

If you install icon packs, you can change all the app icons.

Check out "Helium - App Sync and Backup"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup

Note in their description they describe saving app icons.

If you decide to root your phone (same thing as getting admin access on your pc), you'll get more backup options and flexibility. See the All Things Root subforum for your phone to learn more.

Hope this helps!