new to smart phones, show me the way

[wadec24]

I've been a long time pc geek and finally decided to jump into smart phones. Since I haven't had one before I just picked up a slightly used Droid 1 to see if they are for me. I've very intrigued by all the capabilities.

Anyway... I'm obviously being exposed now to a plethora of terms that I have no idea what they mean. Things like Rooted, Android 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, Cricket, Gingerbread, tethering and so on have my head spinning.

Where is a good place to get caught up to speed on all this? I'm with Verizon if that matters....

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mopetar]

I'd honestly go to a Verizon store and play around with some of the different handsets. Find one that you like in terms of features, size, etc. You'll get plenty of advice here, but it's mostly going to be what phones people like themselves or what they feel is best, not necessarily what's best for you.

Once you've narrowed it down to a few phones that you really like, then you can start doing some homework on things like battery life, etc. that might not be as obvious.

 

[Pliablemoose]

You're going to stay with your Droid1 for now? Do you have it activated?

 

[wadec24]

You're going to stay with your Droid1 for now? Do you have it activated?

I haven't activated it yet. I was able to nab one for 100.00 with a ton of accessories so I thought it would be a good starting point. My new verizon discount is in October, so I figured I could trade up to something better then. This is just my launching point. I wanted something that still had a hard kp.

 

[wadec24]

I'd honestly go to a Verizon store and play around with some of the different handsets. Find one that you like in terms of features, size, etc. You'll get plenty of advice here, but it's mostly going to be what phones people like themselves or what they feel is best, not necessarily what's best for you.

Once you've narrowed it down to a few phones that you really like, then you can start doing some homework on things like battery life, etc. that might not be as obvious.

I wasn't asking what phone to get, I already got one. I was looking for good guides/forums to reference for info on rooting, good apps, must haves, etc...

 

[JD50]

I wasn't asking what phone to get, I already got one. I was looking for good guides/forums to reference for info on rooting, good apps, must haves, etc...

Then you should change the title of your thread to reflect that. Your thread title is too vague. Something like "new Droid 1, show me the way" or however you want to phrase it.

 

[Mopetar]

I wasn't asking what phone to get, I already got one. I was looking for good guides/forums to reference for info on rooting, good apps, must haves, etc...

Serves me right for reading forum posts before putting on the coffee.

 

[RockinZ28]

Welcome to the fold, soon you'll probably wonder how the hell you survived this long without one. Also you may find the hard kp to be worthless compared to the on-screen kp once you start using it.

Go to XDA forums, tons of info there.

 

[s44]

Rooting is getting administrator access. Tethering is using the phone's data connection as a hotspot or cell modem for your pc. Cricket is another carrier that you can use Verizon phones on after flashing them.

XDA is probably the most hardcore forum, despite the last six months' n00b influx. There are a bunch of alternatives: Droidforums, Android Central, androidforums, etc. Each should have a FAQ.

We've discussed some must haves here. Check old threads.

 

[shortylickens]

iPhones are the best.
Just get one of those and never worry about anything again.

 

[Oyeve]

iPhones are the best.
Just get one of those and never worry about anything again.

Oh, slap slap slap slap slap.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Root your phone and start out by installing cyanogen's rom.

There are several excellent roms for the Droid 1

 

[Soccerman06]

2.2 means you can save apps to the phones microsd card and flash (among other things).

 

[makken]

Rooted / Rooting an (android) phone refers to gaining root user access. Think of it like admin privileges on a windows box. Jailbreak is another term, though that refers to the iPhone specifically.

Different versions of the Android OS have different codenames:

Android 1.5: Cupcake
Android 1.6: Donut
Android 2.0 / 2.1: Eclair
Android 2.2: Froyo
Android 2.3: Gingerbread (latest version for phones)

Android 3.0: Honeycomb (tablet only version)

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history

'Tethering' refers to patching your phone's internet connection through to another device. the most common form is WiFi tethering (also called WiFi hotspot), where you phone acts essentially as a WiFi router. This allows you to connect say a laptop to your phone to access the internet via your phone's mobile internet connection.