Android Tablets for Seniors in easy steps, 3rd Edition

Nick Vandome

• Publisher: In Easy Steps Limited
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781840787740
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Hardware
• Index: Computer Science

Get up and running quickly with your new Android Tablet. Covers Android 7.0 Nougat, and presented in larger type for easier reading.

Android Tablets for Seniors in easy steps, 3rd edition Looks at the range of devices available and their specifications and functionality:

• Explains the Android operating system and how to use it on your tablet in terms of navigating around, performing all your favorite tasks, getting online and turning your tablet into a mobile library and entertainment center.
• Focuses on the latest version of Android, 7.0 Nougat, and shows the enhancements that have been made over previous versions, such as multi-view windows for viewing two apps at the same time, Quick Switch between apps, high-performance 3D graphics, a Doze feature for saving battery power, a new range of settings for customizing Android, replying to notifications without having to open a different app and enhanced safety and security features.

Android Tablets for Seniors in easy steps, 3rd edition will show you how to:

• Get up and running with the interactive, touchscreen experience so that you can quickly find your way around with Android.
• Use the Android settings to ensure that your tablet looks and works in exactly the way that you want.
• Find your way around apps: the programs that give Android tablets their functionality – from using the preinstalled apps, to downloading and using the huge selection available from the Google Play Store, which is linked directly to Android tablets. It also shows how to get the best apps for popular activities such as travel, health and wellbeing, family history and online shopping.
• Connect to the web via Wi-Fi, using email, making phone and video calls to family and friends with Skype and diving into the world of social networking.
• Keep your tablet safe – security on tablets is just as important as on any other computer and this is covered in terms of preventing access to your tablet and staying safe online and when using your apps.

Android Tablets for Seniors in easy steps, 3rd edition gives you the confidence to enter the world of the tablet and get the most out of your device, using Android 7.0 Nougat. The book features the Google Nexus but is applicable to all tablets running the Android operating system.

1

Introducing Android Tablets

Tablet computers and the Android operating system are an ideal match for anyone who wants their computing as mobile and as flexible as possible. This chapter introduces the basics of Android tablets and setting them up.

About Tablets

About Android

Tablet Terms Explained

Using a Touchscreen

Using Apps

Makes and Models

Android and Google

Creating a Google Account

Turning On and Controls

Setting Up Your Tablet

Adding Accessories

About Tablets

Tablet computers are the result of the desire for our computing devices to become smaller and more portable (from desktops, to laptops, to tablets), and the evolution of mobile operating systems, initially introduced for smartphones. The combination of the two has resulted in the birth and increasing popularity of tablets; they are small, portable for almost any situation, and customizable. They are also powerful enough to perform most everyday computing functions, such as email, using the web, word processing and communicating with social networking sites.

Android is now owned by Google.

The New icon pictured above indicates a new or enhanced feature introduced with the latest version of Android 7.0 Nougat for tablets.

Tablets are essentially small computers that run on a mobile operating system, rather than those used on desktop and laptop computers, such as Windows and macOS. They can be used as an addition to your suite of computing products or they could even be considered as a replacement for items such as desktop computers or laptops, depending on your computing needs. But for most types of mobile computing tasks, tablets are definitely the established choice on the digital block.

Android operating system

All computers need an operating system to make them work and perform all of the required tasks for the user. For tablets, the two main operating systems are iOS for Apple tablets (the iPad, iPad Pro and iPad Mini) and Android. The latter has been developed through its use on smartphones and is now a significant player in the tablet market. The fact that it is issued on both types of device means that if you have an Android smartphone then an Android tablet is a perfect match.

Android is an open source operating system, which means that developers and manufacturers can work with the source code to tailor it to their own needs and devices (as long as they meet certain requirements and standards). Android tablets are made by a number of different manufacturers and although the hardware differs between devices, the Android operating system is common between them (although the versions of Android differs between devices; see here). Android tablets generally come in 7-inch to 10-inch models.

Microsoft Windows can also be used on tablets, and Microsoft has its own tablet, Surface, which uses Windows.

It is now “apps” instead of “programs”

The functionality of tablets can be expanded almost endlessly through the inclusion of apps: computer programs that either come pre-installed or can be downloaded from a linked service. For Android tablets, this service is provided by the Google Play Store, which is accessed via an app on the tablet or via the Google Play website on a computer. You will need a Google Account to buy or get items from the Google Play Store (see here for details about creating an account). Some models of tablet also have their own proprietary online store for buying apps, but they will also have the Play Store, which generally will have a larger range of apps available.

Apps are denoted by the thumbnail icons that appear on the tablet’s Home screen (and also in the All Apps area).

For more information about specific makes and models of Android tablets see here.

Touchscreen

Tablets are touchscreen devices, which means that their functionality and controls are accessed by tapping, swiping or pressing on the screen. This includes the keyboard, which appears automatically on the screen if data input is required, e.g. for writing an email, entering a website address or filling in an online form. For people who have always used a physical keyboard, the virtual one can take a bit of getting used to, particularly if you are doing a lot of typing, but the more you use it, the more familiar it will become.

Getting connected to the internet

One of the essential functions of tablets is internet connectivity, for accessing the web and also the range of Android services that are connected to Google apps and online services...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyrights
• Contents
• 1 Introducing Android Tablets
• 2 Getting Started with Your Tablet
• 3 At Your Fingertips
• 4 Working with Apps
• 5 Useful Apps
• 6 Tablet Entertainment
• 7 Keeping in Touch
• 8 Browsing the Web
• 9 On Your Travels
• 10 Sharing with the Family
• 11 Accessibility and Security
• Back Cover