Setting Up Windows Live on Android

1. Touch the 'Applications' launcher icon, located on your home screen, to open the full menu.

2. Scroll to and touch the 'Mail' or 'Email' icon, depending on your device. If you have not set up any accounts on your device, the 'Add Account' screen appears. Otherwise, touch the 'Menu' key, then touch 'Add Account' to view the Add Account screen.

3. Touch the 'Exchange Active Sync' option on the Add Account screen. Touch 'Next' to display a setup screen.

4. Type your entire Windows Live email address into the Email field. Touch the 'Password' field and enter your Windows Live email password. Touch 'Next.' A new page displays, prompting you to enter more account details.

5. Enter your email address and password again into the required fields. Enter 'outlook.com' into the Server Address field. Enter your full email address in the Username field, but leave the Domain field blank. Check the box next to the SSL Connection option and touch 'Next.'

6. Touch the check boxes next to the items you wish to synchronize with your Android phone. You can choose 'Mail,' 'Contacts' and 'Calendar.' Touch 'Finish Setup' to complete the setup of your Windows Live account.

How to Back Up an Android Phone to Google

1. Press 'Menu,' 'Settings' and 'Privacy.'

2. Check the boxes next to 'Back up My Settings' and 'Automatic Restore,' if they are unchecked. Press 'Home' to exit the menu.

3. Press 'Menu,' 'Settings' and 'Accounts and Sync.'

4. Tap 'Gmail.' You will see a list of all of the Google services you use that are associated with your Gmail, like Gtalk, Buzz and Picasa. Check the boxes next to all of the services to back them up with Google.

How to Install ODIN Android for the Samsung Epic 4G

1. Plug your Epic 4G into your computer using a micro-USB cable. Ensure that the drivers are installed. If the drivers are working correctly, you should be able to drag down the notification area on your Epic and mount your memory card over USB. If you're having trouble, try using a USB cable that didn't come with your phone.; the Samsung cables are not well shielded and may lose connection.

2. Browse to xda-developers.com. Click on the 'Wiki' link at the top of the page, then select 'Samsung Galaxy S' from the list of devices on the right. Select 'SPH-D700 Epic 4G Sprint' from the list of phones. Scroll down until you see the heading 'Odin' then click on the link 'Odin' under that heading. Click the link next to 'Odin (1.85),' then click on any of the options to download the Odin ZIP file to your computer.

3. Disconnect your phone from the computer. If you mounted the SD card over USB, unmount it using the phone before unplugging the USB cable. Power off your phone and wait for all the lights to go out.

4. Double-click on ODIN file with the '.exe' extension in the folder you extracted. This will launch the ODIN software on your computer.

5. Slide open the keyboard on your phone and hold down the '1' key and the power button at the same time. Release the keys when the yellow triangle appears on the screen. Your phone is now in Download Mode. Connect the phone to the computer with the USB cable. After a moment, ODIN will show that a Com port is connected in the first box on the top-left. This indicates that your phone is connected and ready to download files.

6. Click on the PIT button to select a PIT file on your computer to load to the Epic. Click on the PDA section to select an operating system to load. Click 'Start' and wait for the loading to complete. You will see a green box and a success message above where the Com connection for your Epic shows. Your phone will automatically reboot.

How to Uninstall Programs With Astro File Manager

1. Launch Astro File Manager on your Android device.

2. Select the 'Installed Apps' tab and click on the program you wish to uninstall. You first have to back it up, so press the 'Backup' button and wait for the copy dialog box to close.

3. Select the program from the 'Installed Apps' tab again and hold down on it to launch the application detail screen. Click the 'Uninstall' button.

4. Highlight multiple programs from the 'Installed Apps' tab to uninstall more than one program at a time. Once the programs you want to remove are highlighted, select 'Menu' and 'Uninstall' to remove them all.

How to Permanently Uninstall the Android Footprints Widget

1. Swipe over to the Android home screen that contains the Footprints widget.

2. Tap and hold your finger on the Footprints widget icon. While holding the icon, the App Drawer icon will change into a trashcan icon. Drag the widget to the new trashcan icon at the bottom of the screen.

3. Press the 'Menu' soft key and tap the 'Settings' option.

4. Tap the 'Applications' option. Tap 'Manage Applications.'

5. Tap the 'Footprints' option in the list of installed applications. Tap the 'Uninstall' option and confirm the application's removal to permanently uninstall Footprints from your Android device.

Is Gmail on Android Push or Pull?

Push Email

A push email service sends new emails to the client as they arrive on the mail server. The client takes a essentially passive role in the transaction, only connecting with the email service when the server notifies it that it should do so. The server 'pushes' the email messages from the server to the client -- the Gmail app on the Android, in this case. The user can then open the email from within the client.

Pull Email

An email client that uses a pull email system, on the other hand, actively 'asks' the mail server for new messages at a specified interval. The server waits for a connection from the client; if there are any new email messages on the server when the client connects, it transfers them to the client. Most desktop computer email clients use the Post Office Protocol, or POP3, to pull emails from the mail server.

Advantages of Push Email

Push email has several distinct advantages, especially on a mobile device like the Android. The Gmail app on the Android only connects to the server when the user receives new email messages; this helps to preserve the mobile device's battery power, as the Gmail app doesn't connect to the server when the inbox is empty. For the same reason, using a push email system prevents the device from unnecessarily using mobile network bandwidth to check an empty mail server inbox.

Forcing Push

Due to network connectivity or other issues, the Gmail server may occasionally fail to instantaneously push a new message to your Android mobile device. If this occurs, you can force the server to push the new message to your phone from within the Gmail app. Launch the Gmail app and press the 'Menu' button on your Android to open the app's settings. Tap the 'Refresh' icon to force the server to push any new emails to your Android.

Easiest Ways to Root an Android

Reasons

Many reasons exist for wanting to root an Android phone. In addition to full control over the operating system, you can install applications that require root access, perform system tweaks to make your phone operate more efficiently, put applications on your SD card instead of your phone's internal memory and update your operating system to the latest version without waiting for your wireless carrier to make an update available.

SuperOneClick

SuperOneClick, as the name implies, is an Android application that only requires one click to root your phone. You do need a small amount of preparation on the phone before you can run SuperOneClick. The phone's debugging mode needs to be turned on and the Android software development kit has to be installed. After these requirements are met, SuperOneClick only needs a click of the Root button to open up your smartphone. If you change your mind about rooting your phone, SuperOneClick provides an unrooting button that returns your Android phone to its original configuration.

Universal Androot

Universal Androot offers an even easier method for rooting your phone, as you do not need to install the software development kit for it to work. Instead you install the Androot APK file on your system from the SD card to add the application to your phone. You do need an Android phone that is capable of installing applications outside of the marketplace before rooting, however. Once Universal Androot is installed and launched, you follow the application's commands to root your phone.

Considerations

If you do not have experience with the Android operating system, you may run into problems with a rooted Android. You may end up installing infected applications that put a virus on your phone, altering a system setting that causes performance issues or voiding your warranty. If you want to revert your Android phone back to factory settings, you need to find the stock ROM for your specific phone model and flash it back to the original settings. Not all Android phones are compatible with popular rooting applications. You may need to try several applications before finding one that works properly with your specific smartphone model.