Android App Beginner's Guide

Installing Apps

Apps are installed using the Android Market app that comes pre-loaded on your phone. The app icon is located either on your Android home screen or in the app drawer. When you launch the Market app, you are presented with a list of popular and featured apps. You can also search Market by pressing the 'Search' button on your phone. Select an app to view a description of the app and tap the 'Install' button to download it to your phone. If the app costs money, tap 'Buy' instead and configure your payment type. Newly installed apps are automatically stored in the Android app drawer. Move apps from the drawer to the home screen by tapping and holding the icon and dragging it to your preferred location.

Managing Apps

Installed apps can be easily uninstalled or the cached data associated with an app can be purged from the Android settings interface. From the Android home screen, press the 'Menu' button and tap 'Settings.' Select the 'Applications' option to view a list of all of your installed apps. Selecting an app from the list will allow you to delete stored data and cache or uninstall the app. To update apps, open the 'Market' app, tap 'My Apps' and then tap the 'Update All' button at the bottom of the screen.

Finding New Apps

Now that you understand how to install and manage apps, the next problem is figuring out how to find the good apps. Market displays user comments and ratings for all apps, providing some guidance but there are numerous highly rated apps in every category. Websites like Lifehacker, Androinica, These are the Droids, Android Central and Android Community regularly review Android apps and are quite easy to navigate. Additionally, almost every popular website, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress and more, has a dedicated Android app, allowing you to easily connect to your Web-based accounts from your phone.

Popular Apps

The most popular Android apps connect your phone to various Google services including Gmail, Google Voice, Google Reader, Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube. These apps feature deep integration with Android and allow you to manage every facet of your Google account from your phone. As mentioned before, most websites that you use on your computer maintain Android apps that allow you to quickly connect your phone to your online account. For business users, a variety of productivity apps are available and among the most popular DocumentsToGo and QuickOffice for viewing and editing Microsoft Office files and LogMeIn for remotely accessing your computer. The Android Market also features thousands of games including the immensely popular Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.