The Ultimate Guide to Android Tablets

116 Pages·2014·21.55 MB·English

by  Bray J.(Ed.)

ATHENULTIMDATE GRUIDEOTO ID
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Enjoylifewithstreaming FromAdobePhotoshop Wereviewallthetop
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ANDROID FOR TABLETS
WELCOME
abletshaveonlybeenaroundfor satnav,andevenasamobilegaming,
afewyears,butthey’reallanyone music andmovie -watchingmachine.
talksaboutintechnologytoday. Oneofthebiggestproblemsisthe
Andthemostdynamicand sheernumberofappstochoosefrom,
fast-movingareaofthetablet soeachchapterincludesourroundup
markettodayisAndroidtablets. ofthekeyapps,whetherofficesoftware
That’swhatthisguideisall orgames.Theseincludefreeoptions,so
about:we’vepackeditwithtips, youmaynotneedtospendapenny.
in-depthguidesandreviewstohelp
youdiscovertheworldofAndroid HARDWAREGUIDE JonathanBrayis
tablets.Naturally,allthebasicsare Ifyouhaven’tboughtyourtabletyet, PCPro’sreviews
covered,butthere’smuchmoretoget wehavekeychoicecovered.Our editorand
yourteethintobesidesbrowsingthe reviewsgathertogether13models, residentAndroid
webandsettingupemail. fromthemostcost-effectivetothe tabletexpert.
Androidtabletsarehugelyflexible, lightest,fastest,sexiesthardware
expandableviaapps–wereviewmore around.Whetheryourbudgetis£99
than60–andevenextrahardware. or £400,we’llmakesureyoumake
Sowe’vemadesurethisguideincludes the rightchoice.
alltheinformationyouneed,illustrated Ourreviewsdon’tpullanypunches.
withclearscreenshotsandstep-by-step Eachtablethasbeenthoroughly
walkthroughstohelpyougetthemost assessedusingasuiteofchallenging
outofyourtablet. lab-basedteststhatrevealhowfastitis,
howlongitsbatterylastsinreal-world
FIRSTSTEPS useandthequalityofeachscreen.
Westartattheverybeginning,showing Inshort,whetheryou’rethinkingof
youhoweasyitistosetupanAndroid buying,havealreadyboughtanAndroid
tabletfromscratch,andintroduceall tabletoraresimplycurioustoknow
thekeyfeatures,focusingonGoogle’s more,thisistheguideforyou.
latesttabletsoftware:Android4.3,
alsoknownasJellyBean.
EveryAndroidtabletcomeswitha
setofcoreapplications,fromtheweb
browsertothegalleryandcameraapps.
Werevealhowtheywork,andhowto
makebestuseofthem.
Jonathan Bray
INDEPTH
Therearealsoawealthofappsthatlet
youputyourtablettoworkasanoffice Editor
workhorse,useyourtabletasagiant [email protected]

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ANDROID FOR TABLETS
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
THE BASICS 6

Tobeginwerevealexactlywhatmakesan
Androidtablettick.You’llfindouthowtoset
oneupfromscratch,howtodownloadandbuy
yourveryfirstAndroidapp,andwhyAndroidfor
tabletsissogood.
CHAPTER 2
ENTERTAINMENT
& GAMING 32
Atabletisn’tjustforbrowsingtheweb!Youcan
watchmovies,streammusicfromyourPC,and
evenuseittoreadbooksandmagazineswhen
you’retravelling–andit’salsoabrilliantwayto
playgames.Weexplainhow.
CHAPTER 3
STAYING
CONNECTED 48
Email,instantmessaging,socialnetworking,
internettelephony,browsingtheweb–you
nameit,youcandoitonatablet.Inthischapter
werevealjusthowpowerfulacommunications
toolyourAndroidtabletcanbe.

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THEULTIMATEGUIDETOANDROIDTABLETS WWW.MAGBOOKS.COM
CHAPTER 4
BEYOND
THE BASICS 64
Weuncoversomeofthemoreunusualtasks
yourAndroidtabletiscapableof.Discoverhow
toturnyourtabletintoaproductivitytoolto
rivalalaptop,anebookreaderandevena
giantsatnav.

CHAPTER 5
HARDWARE
REVIEWS 86
Ifyouhaven’tboughtatabletalready,you’llfind
everythingyouneedtomakeyourchoiceinthis
chapter.We’vereviewed13tabletsthatcover
thefullrangeofprices,frombargainbasement
topremiumiPadrivals.
AcerIconiaA1.................................................................................88
AmazonKindleFireHD8.9...........................................................89
AmazonKindleFireHD7.............................................................90
Archos80Titanium....................................................................92
ArchosFamilyPad2....................................................................93
Archos101XS...........................................................................94
AsusFonepad...........................................................................96
AsusMemoPadFHD10...............................................................98
Tabletcases.............................................................................99
Accessories...........................................................................100
GoogleNexus7.......................................................................102
HPSlate7............................................................................. 104
LenovoIdeaTabS6000...............................................................105
SamsungGalaxyNote8.0.......................................................108
SonyXperiaTabletZ................................................................110

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1
THE BASICS
CHAPTER
In this chapter
8 ANATOMYOFATABLET
WhatmakesupatypicalAndroid
tablet,andhowdoyouchooseone?Alltheanswersarehere.
10 WHATISANDROID?
AnoverviewofGoogle’soperatingsystem:
what’sinthedifferentversions,andhowisitdifferentfromApple’siPad.

12 TABLETS VS E-READERS
Tabletsareincreasinglytreadingon
thetoesoftraditionalEInkebookreaders.Wecomparethetwoformats.
14 FIRSTSTEPS
GettingstartedwithyourAndroid4tablet,from
settingupyourWi-FiandGoogleaccounttoaddingmultipleusers.
18 THEANDROID4 DESKTOP
Findoutwhythedesktopplays
suchacrucialroleinAndroid4andhowtopersonaliseit.
20 THEKEYBOARD&SETTINGS
IntroducingAndroid4’slatest
swipe-inputonscreenkeyboard,andyourtablet’sSettingsmenu.
23 PORTABLE AUDIO
Tabletspeakerswilldoajob,butifyouwantto
fillaroomyou’llneedsomethingportable.Here’sourpickofthebest.
24 USING GOOGLE NOW
Weshowyouhowtogetthebestfrom
Google’s“intelligentpersonalassistant”.
26 DIFFERENT ANDROID FLAVOURS
Notallversionsof
Androidareequal,andmanymanufacturersgiveittheirownuniquespin.
28 HOW TO INSTALL APPS & FIRST APPS
Wetakeatour
oftheGooglePlaystoreandpresentthebestappstogetyoustarted.
ANDROID FOR TABLETS
THE BASICS

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THEULTIMATEGUIDETOANDROIDTABLETS WWW.MAGBOOKS.COM
If you’ve bought this guide then you’re either about to buy a tablet or have
just bought one. So what next? Over the next few pages, we reveal exactly
what makes an Android tablet tick. You’ll find out how to set one up from
scratch, how to download and install your very first Android app, and why
Android for tablets is so good and so different from the Apple iPad.

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1
THE BASICS
CHAPTER
ANATOMY OF A TABLET
Theymay alllookthesame,but
notalltabletsaremadeequal.Whatseparatesonefromanother?Andhowdoyougoabout
choosingthebestoneforyou?Werevealall
S
owhatexactlyisatablet,and andgaming.Webpagesbecomeeasier resultinginascreenthatsticksunder
whatdifferentiatesonefrom tonavigateandread,moviesmore yourfinger.Screenswithoutcoatings
another?Itis,fundamentally,an compelling,andflickingthroughyour arealsomoredifficulttoclean.
LCDpanelwithacomputercrammed photocollectiononthesofabecomesa
behindit–atouchscreenlaptop realpleasure. THEEXTRAS
withoutakeyboard,ifyouwill.Sothat Thetypeoftouchscreenyou’llfindon Mosttabletsalsohaveacamera,butdo
displayisthefirstthingyou’llneedto atabletvaries,too.Thev astmajorit yof checkwhattypebeforeyoubuy.Tosave
considerbeforedecidingtobuy. moderntabletshaveasuper-sensitive money,someonlyhavealow-quality
Sizeiscritical.Ifyou’reabookworm capacitivescreen,whichallowsyouto front-facingcamera,intendedmainly
andwantadevicemainlytoreadon, taplightly,sweepgently,andscroll, forvideocallsovertheweb.Othersmay
youshouldoptforatabletwitha7in pinchanddragwithlittleeffort. nothaveaflash.
or8inscreen.Most10intabletsare NotallAndroidtabletsaremade You’llneedtochecktheamount
Afront-facing
relativelyheavyanduncomfortableto equal,though.Mostmanufacturersuse ofstoragespace,too.Mostlarger
cameraisuseful
holdinonehandforlongperiods.A7in specialcoatingsonthesurfaceofa tabletscomewithatleast16GBof
forcarryingout
tabletis easiertojustslinginabag. touchscreentoensureyourfingerslides storagebuiltin,whichisbigenough
videocallsto
A10inscreenreallycomesintoits andslipsacrossitssurface;some, forasizeablecollectionofapps,music,
familyoverseas.
ownforwebbrowsing,entertainment however,skimponthiscoating, videoandgames.Somelow-cost
Thescreen
isthemost
importantpart
ofanyAndroid
tablet.

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THEULTIMATEGUIDETOANDROIDTABLETS WWW.MAGBOOKS.COM
models,however,keepcostsdownby NFCisbecomingan
specifying4GBorless. increasinglycommon
Thefinalbigdifferentiatingfactor sightonmodernmobile
betweenonetabletandthenextis devices,andAndroid
connectivity;thatis,howmanyports tabletsareno
andsocketsithas.Themostcommon exception.NFCallows
isaUSBconnector–youusethisto youtotransfersmall
connectyourtablettoaPCorMacfor filesandcontacts
generalfiletransfer–butthereare easilybetweentwo
otheroptions.ManycomewithHDMI devices,andcanbeused
outputssoyoucanconnectyourtablet tomakeBluetooth
directlytoyourHDTV.Somealsoallow pairingasimplematter
youtoconnectUSBmemorysticks, oftouchingtwodevices
whileothers–suchastheAsus together.
Transformers–comewithakeyboard
docktoconverttabletintolaptop.
Manycomewithanexpansionslot,
allowingyoutoincreasestorage.This
usuallytakestheformofamicroSDslot,
thesametypeofslotasyou’llfindina
smartphone.Occasionally,you’llfind
atabletwithafull-sizedSDcardslot,
Youdon’tgetmanybuttonsaroundtheedgesofmostAndroidtabletsbecause
whichallowsyoutousethetypeof
mostcontrolsarecarriedoutusingthetouchscreen.OntheNexus7,theseare
memorycardmostcamerasuse.
onthetop-rightedgeofthetablet:apowerbuttonandvolumecontrol.
Thequalityofcamerasontherearoftabletsisimprovingall
thetime.However,don’texpectthemtomatchthecamerasin
top-endsmartphones.
Watchoutfortablets
thatdon’thaveany
formofmemory WithsmallerAndroid
expansion,whichcomes devicessuchasthe
intheshapeof.a Nexus7,youusually
microSDslot.Tablets chargeandtransfer
suchastheNexus7- datausingthetablet’s
picturedhere-are USBconnection,
fantasticdevices,but connectedtoalaptop
ifyourunoutof orPC.Largertablets,
storagespacetheonly however,oftenrequire
waytoremedythe morepower,andneed
situationistodelete pluggingintothemains.
filesoruninstallapps.

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1
THE BASICS
CHAPTER
WHAT IS ANDROID?
You’veprobablyheardalotaboutit,but
what’sallthefussabout?WhyshouldyoubuyanAndroidtabletinsteadofone fromApple?
You’llfindtheanswertothisquestion,andmore,righthere
Y
ou’llprobablybequitefamiliar
withourfriendlygreenman:the
GoogleAnd:oidlogoislibe:ally
scatte:edac:ossthewindowsofeve:y
majo:mobilephoneempo:iuminthe
count:y.ButwhatexactlyisAnd:oid?
Andwhatmakesitsodiffe:entto
Apple’soffe:ing?
Inessence,GoogleAnd:oidisan
ope:atingsystemjustlikeMic:osoft
Windowso:MacOS.Andaswithany
laptopo:desktopPC,anAnd:oidtablet
willcomewithave:sionoftheAnd:oid
OSp:einstalled.
Anope:atingsystemislikea
fancycont:olpanel:itdealswith
thecomplicatedstuff,talkingto
thecompute:’sco:e
ha:dwa:einalanguage
itunde:stands,while
allowingyoutopush
buttonsandflickswitchesto
getthingsdone.WithoutanOS,
you’dhavetotypecomplicated
linesofcodetogetittodoeventhe
simplestofthings.
Androidtabletscomeinalldifferentshapesandsizes.TheAsusTransformer
Thediffe:encebetweenastanda:d
Pad,forinstance,lookslikeanystandardlaptop,butitrunsAndroidandcan
compute:OSandAnd:oidisthat,
beconvertedfromlaptoptotabletsimplybyunhookingthescreenfromthe
whe:eWindowsandMacOSwe:e
keyboardbase.
designedtobecont:olledviaa
keyboa:dandmouse,And:oidhas
TIP beendesignedtobeope:atedusing putAnd:oidonlaptopsandPCs.And THEANDROIDDIFFERENCE
atouchsc:een.Fo:instance,ituses mostofthebignamesintheconsume: Aswellasva:ietyofchoice,And:oid
Wonderingwhich finge:-sizedbuttonsandcont:ols.It elect:onicsindust:yhavebuilt tabletsholdothe:advantagesove:the
Androidtablet alsosuppo:ts“gestu:es”,suchasflick ente:tainmentdevicesonAnd:oid: AppleiPadandothe:manufactu:e:s’
tobuy?Wereview
tosc:ollandthefamouspinch-to-zoom Samsung,Moto:ola,Ace:andAsusto tablets,too.Oneoftheseisconnectivity.
allthebestmodels
gestu:efi:stimplementedbyApplein namebutafew. OnanAppledevice,the:e’snowayof
laterinthisguide.
Seechapter5. theo:iginaliPhone. Thismeansthe:e’sahugeva:ietyof expandingthememo:y,fo:instance,
tabletswithAnd:oidonboa:d.Flickto butonmostAnd:oidtabletsyoucan
THESPICEOFLIFE Chapte:5andyou’llfind:eviewsof usuallyslotinaca:dtoboostthe
AswithWindows,And:oidcomes powe:ful10intabletsliketheAsus amountofsto:agespace.Rathe:than
p:einstalledonallmanne:ofdevices, MemoPadFHD10,smalle:compact beingstuckwithwhateve:youcan
f:omawide:angeofmanufactu:e:s. tabletssuchasAmazon’sKindleFi:e affo:dwhenyoubuy,withmostAnd:oid
You’llfindAnd:oidonsma:tphones, HD7andGoogle’sve:yownAnd:oid tabletsyoucanaddsto:agebyupto
compacttabletswith7insc:eens device,theNexus7.The:e’shealthy 32GBwhentheneeda:ises.
andla:ge:tabletsat10ino:above. competitionamongmanufactu:e:sof Anothe:advantageofAnd:oidtablets
Somemanufactu:e:shaveeven And:oidtablets,leadingtog:eate: isyoucand:agandd:opwhateve:files
attempted,withlimitedsuccess,to choicefo:you. youlikeinandoutofthetablet’s

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