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Some helpful Smartphone terms

Swipe

This is the term used when you drag your finger across the Smartphone screen in any direction to steer your way around the information and applications that are on your phone. Swipe to the right, left, up or down, to move from screen to screen.

Tap

To select an application, simply tap on the icon once with your finger and the application will launch.

Icon

An icon is one of those little pictures, or logos, that represent an application or program on the Smartphone screen.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is an easy way to connect your phone to the Internet using a localized wireless network. Free Wi-Fi is available in many places such as libraries, schools, bus stations and restaurants. You might even have access to a WI-FI connection at home and not know it.

App

App is short for “application.” An app performs specific tasks like allowing you to access Gmail, view YouTube, or play games. There are over 260,000 Android apps including games, music and video players, email, news sources, and more. Some apps come pre-loaded on your phone, but you can download thousands more by visiting the Android Market, which you can reach through, you guessed it, your Android Smartphone.

Widget

A widget is a small app that you can have on your phone’s home screen. A widget is always running, in order to provide you with up-to-date info. For example, the clock and weather apps are widgets that are pre- loaded on your phone.

Public Mobile Download Store

The Download Store is a website that allows you to purchase games, ringtones, and graphics. It also provides links to the most to up to date information on news, weather, traffic, public transit, sports, and entertainment. You will need to have money in your Public Mobile wallet to pay for your purchases from the Download Store.

Getting started

Screen lock

If your phone has not been used or touched for a while, the screen will darken to conserve battery power. To wake up your phone, press the power button. If the screen is locked, slide the lock icon to the right to unlock the screen. If you have created a password, you’ll need to enter the unlock password you created.

Navigating home screen menus

Android phones have up to five home screens which allows you to customize your screens and easily access the applications you use most often. At the bottom of your home screen, you will see a series of small dots. These dots indicate how many home screens you have; you can have a total of five. The bold dot indicates which home screen you are currently viewing.

TRY IT

Swipe left or right to switch between your different home screens.

TIP

If you are using all five home screens, the Easy Zoom feature is a simple way to navigate through the home screens and land on the screen you need right away.

  1. Select the dots at the bottom of the screen.
  2. A mini thumbnail of each home screen will appear.
  3. Select the home screen you wish to access.

Returning to the home screen

Push the centre button at the bottom of your phone to return to the main screen at any time. This button has a small picture of a house and will quickly get you back to the home screen if you run into any difficulty while navigating the phone.

Using the keyboard

To type a message, or enter a field, use the on-screen touch keyboard. Some applications will open the keyboard automatically. In others, you’ll need to tap a field where you want to type.

TRY IT

Swipe and tap through several screens. Then go back to home screen.

TIP

To make it easier to type, you can make the keyboard larger by rotating or tilting the phone on its side, horizontally.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a way to connect to the internet. Free Wi-Fi is available in many places such as libraries, schools, bus stations and restaurants.

Why use a Wi-Fi network?

  1. Faster data speeds.
  2. Widely available all over the world. You can use data on Wi-Fi when you are out of the Public Mobile network coverage area.
  3. Use data features while on a voice call, so you can chat to a friend while you browse the web.

Public Mobile Android Smartphones are pre-loaded with Easy Wi-Fi. When you activate your Android phone, open the Easy Wi-Fi application and accept the terms of service.

Easy Wi-Fi works in the background, so your phone will automatically connect to free local Wi-Fi networks. Easy Wi-Fi works inside Public Mobile’s coverage area, as well as around the world.

Email

If you have a Gmail account, you can access it using the Gmail widget pre-loaded on your phone. Or you can add another type of email account or even a Microsoft Exchange personal or work account.

If you want to add an email account to your phone:

  1. From the Applications Menu, select the email application.
  2. Type in your email address and password. Check the box only if you want this to be your default email account.
  3. Tap ‘Next’, unless you are setting up a Microsoft Exchange email account.
  4. If you are setting up a Microsoft Exchange account, tap ‘Manual Setup’ and ‘Exchange’.
  5. Enter your Exchange Server information and tap ‘Next.’ Please don’t select ‘Accept all SSL certificates’ unless your IT administrator tells you to.
  6. Your phone will then check the incoming server settings.
  7. If everything is correct the Account Options screen will appear, allowing you to customize your account settings.

Finally, you will be asked to name this account and enter the name that will be displayed on outgoing messages. Tap ‘Done’ when you’re, well, done.

Social networking

Facebook:

Facebook is a social networking website that allows you to share messages, photos, links, videos and other content with friends and family of your choosing.

To log into your Facebook account:

  1. Go to your Apps page and tap the ‘Facebook’ icon.
  2. Enter your full email and password in the appropriate fields and tap ‘Login’.
  3. Choose one of the three options for augmenting your phone contact list with content from your friends’ Facebook profiles and then tap ‘Finish.’

TRY IT

‘Like’ Public Mobile on Facebook.

Twitter:

Twitter is a social networking service that encourages its members to instantly share whatever they’re doing or thinking at that exact moment. You can follow the Twitter feeds or ‘Tweets’ of the people you’re interested in.

To sign into your Twitter account:

  1. Go to your Apps page and tap the ‘Twitter’ icon.
  2. Select the ‘Sign In’ button at the upper right corner of your screen.
  3. Type in your Twitter username (or email address) and your password and then tap ‘Sign In.’

TRY IT

Follow Public Mobile on Twitter.

Browsing the web

To open the web browser:

  • Tap the ‘Internet Browser’ icon.

To open a specific webpage or search the web:

  1. Select the box at the top of the Browser screen where the Internet address is located.
  2. Enter the address (or ‘URL’) of the webpage you want to visit in the box at the top of the page.
  3. Or, if you want to search for something on the Internet, tap the ‘Google Search’ icon, enter a few keywords or terms, tap ‘Enter’ and review the results.
  4. Select a suggestion or enter an address and tap the arrow icon.

To find information within a webpage:

  • Drag your finger over the screen to move up and down or left to right until you’ve found the information you’re looking for.

To zoom in or zoom out on a webpage:

  1. Move your finger along the bottom of the phone’s screen to reveal the Zoom control.
  2. Touch the plus or minus side of the Zoom control to zoom in or out, or double-tap the section of the webpage you want to view in more detail.

TIP

In some apps, like Browser and Maps, you can adjust the zoom by placing two fingers on the screen at once and pulling them together to zoom out or pushing them apart to zoom in.

To navigate among webpages you have opened:

  1. Tap or press the menu button.
  2. To go back to previous webpages you have viewed, tap the ‘Back’ button.
  3. To go forward to the next webpage you just viewed, tap ‘Menu’ then tap the ‘Forward’ button.

To close a webpage:

  • Press the ‘Back’ key to exit out of the website. This will take you back to the main menu.

Widgets and apps

The Android market is the fastest growing application market in the world with hundreds of thousands of applications; many of which are free to download.

Downloading an app:

  1. Tap the ‘Android Marketplace’ icon.
  2. Select any option – Applications, Games, Search or My Downloads. You’ll then get a list of apps or games to choose from.
  3. You can also search for a particular app using the search field. You’ll get a list of apps with their descriptions and customer ratings.
  4. Tap the icon of the app you want to get more details about.
  5. To install the app, just tap the ‘Install’ button at the bottom of the screen.
  6. On the next screen, you will find more details about the app, including the different functions and features it will need to access. Click ‘OK’ to finish installing the app.

Note

If an app is not free, you’ll need to pay for it using your credit card.

Removing an app:

  1. Tap the ‘Android Marketplace’ icon. Select ‘Menu’.
  2. Go to the ‘Settings’ icon and select ‘Applications’.
  3. Tap ‘Manage’ and you will see a list of apps you’ve installed.
  4. Select the app you want to remove and tap the ‘Uninstall’ button.

Forcing an app to close:

  1. From the Home screen select ‘Menu.’
  2. Select ‘Settings.’
  3. Choose ‘Applications.’
  4. Tap ‘Running Services’, which will list all the applications your phone is currently running.
  5. To close an application, select the desired app and choose ‘Force Stop.’

Adding an app to your home screen:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the ‘menu’ icon. This will display all applications on the phone.
  2. Select and hold the application you would like to have on your home screen. The view will change to show your home screen.
  3. Release the application by removing your finger from the screen.

Adding a widget to your home screen:

  1. Open the home screen to which you want to add the widget.
  2. Select ‘Menu’ and tap ‘Add’, or press and hold an empty location on the home screen.
  3. From the menu, select the widgets that you would like to add.

Note

If there are no empty spaces on the home screen, ‘Add’ will be dimmed. You will need to delete or move another app before you can add a new one. Or you will need to switch to another Home screen that has space available.

Downloading content from the Public Mobile Download Store:

  1. Tap the ‘Public Mobile’ icon to open the Public Mobile Download Store.
  2. Tap the ‘Store’ tab and browse the content.
  3. Once you have selected the content you wish to download, tap ‘Purchase.’
  4. You’ll need to make sure you have enough money in your Public Mobile wallet to cover the cost of your mobile store purchases.

TRY IT

Go to the Public Mobile Download Store and download wallpaper.

Getting the most out of your Smartphone

If you are ever having trouble, or can’t figure something out, please call *611 or visit your local Public Mobile store. You may also find what you’re looking for at PublicMobile.ca.

If you need help with your password, or logging onto Facebook, Twitter or Gmail, please call *611 or visit one of our stores.

The number of apps in Android Marketplace is almost limitless. These apps are designed by many different software developers so we are unable to offer specific technical support or information for many Android applications. You may find the help or information you need at the app’s website, or by typing its name into google.ca.

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