Noddy guide for Android smart phone, AWFUL BLOODY THING

[AndyP]

Have just been given a cheap smartphone with Android OS. It is awful, cluttered and overly complicated. I know, I know, But I can't yet run to iPhones for 3 kids.
No manual with the phone as it was 2nd hand and free and their web page just tells you how to load the sim card and battery.

Can anyone recommend a good noddy guide for Android to get me through the basics of setting it up?

it is a Wiko Cink Slim by the way. Not available in the UK.

 

[AndyP]

I can't even work out how to change the sort order for incoming text messages. Only seems to be able to list in "conversations" with oldest one at the top.
I just want it to list each message as it arrives newest at the top.

And I wonder why I never had a Smartphone before.

Worked out I have Android 4.04 - what's with the stupid names. Ice Cream Sandwich !!!

Grrrrr :evil:

 

[Phil]

Ok, boy, calm down, take a deep breath, open a bottle of chilled dry white wine, sit down and relax.

Now find the 14 year old whizz kid in the village, offer him EUR5 and he will sort it all out for you. :lol:

Cheers
Phil

 

[AndyP]

Now find the 14 year old whizz kid in the village, offer him EUR5 and he will sort it all out for you. :lol:
Cheers
Phil

I have a resident one of those who can't understand why her old fart of a father would not want to have text messages in conversation order.

 

[Robert]

Having had an iphone and now using android I wouldn't want an iphone again. All down to what you prefer. I'm running a custom ROM on mine so not quite stock android. I kept finding things that I couldn't do with an iphone but (admittedly with occasional research for how to do it) everything has been possible with android.

I manage my contacts on the PC as they are all as they appear in gmail - change things there and they change on the phone.

 

[RogerS]

I agree with Robert. Surprisingly as a dedicated Mac-ophile I vastly prefer Android to its.

 

[AndyP]

Robert and Roger as Android experts can you tell me how I can set the text messaging app to list messages newest first without grouping into conversations by caller which is of no use to me whatsoever?

 

[Robert]

To be honest - no idea. It wouldn't occur to me to have text messages displayed any other way than grouped into conversations with the sender...

If I get notifications of say 3 texts from 3 people the notifications are a list in order and each one is a link that takes you to the relevant conversation.

 

[RogerS]

I have to agree with Robert ...why?

 

[AndyP]

I guess I want to use the feature in the way it was not intended as as it seems I might be swimming against the tide I'll go and hide behind by Nokia un-smart phone.

But as I am in rant mode. I do not want emails in conversation mode so I have them in regular list view newest at the top. There is not even an option in the SMS app. They are not "conversations" anyway just grouped by contact and why but the newest one at the bottom, illogical.
Seems odd to me that there is no choice.
It is my wife's phone so I guess we shall see if she gets used to it. But she aint a happy bunny at the moment.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Hmmmm, some confusion here. I agree with you Andy, you want the newest at the top but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be grouped by conversation too. iOS does exactly that, I get a new text and it comes in at the top of the list and when you open it it gives you the message history from/to that contact.

Roger/Robert are you saying Android doesn't do that? Or am I misunderstanding?

Cheers
Matk

 

[Robert]

It kind of does exactly that.

You get a notification list of new events - text message, email, facebook whatsapp etc. tap the notification line and you get taken to the app and the message.

after that the 'event' is gone from the notifications list. You can go to the conversation/app and view it again but there is no timeline index of past notifications.

 

[Commander]

So to me it makes perfect sense, in the list the newest message is on top, but in the conversation view the newest is at the bottom. Since we read from top to bottom the start of the conversation should be at the top, and as you progress you read further down. That being said, the view open on the bottom/last read message. All this makes perfect sense to me.

I had a quick look and I don't see a setting where you can change the way the messages is displayed. P.S I'm on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) :mrgreen:

 

[justaskin]

Hi AndyP
As most androids are google orientated the apps and as such the workings are top secret to anyone over their teens. And no doubt you un-wittingly signed the secrets act thus de-barring the info.

The offspring will soon work out how they work or their chums will educate them quicker than you ever will. Just remember you are only paying for them.

Richard

 

[RogerS]

Andy, there are some other apps for message handling. Might be worth having a look at them to see if any do what you want to achieve?

 

[AndyP]

Thanks Guys but the wife and I are fast beginning to ask "Smartphones, What's the point?".

We don't need to have access to emails 24 hours a day, nor find the nearest sushi bar at a moments notice. We certainly are not about to post photos of our daily life every five minutes nor tweet or follow tweeters.
So paying for a tariff that would allow this functionality seems nonsensical.
She has access to the web at work and I at home.
Our current tariff is €2 per month, unlimited texts and calls on the same network and 50mb data - never been used.
Contact with the family is about all I use a mobile phone for, txts and calls.

When away from home wifi hot spots seem to be increasingly available even in the most modest BnBs so a tablet seems far more usefull. Big enough to hold, type and read webpages, maps etc.

Will probably keep the smart phone (it was free after all) and try to get used to daft SMS apps but will certainly not upgrade to anything newer or smarter.

My father has got very attached to his iPad Air and having used it on our visits back to the UK I think the missus may be getting when for a forthcoming anniversary

 

[RogerS]

You got me asking myself what did I use my smartphone for.

Emails - mostly...bit of an email junkie, if truth be told.

Tapatalk for the forums

Web - but rarely as the screen is very small. Having said that some sites recognise I am on Android and configure themselves accordingly.

Flightradar24 - to see who's that up there in the sky

ISS - for telling me when it is flying over so I can wave.

NightSky - stars etc..just point at the sky and it does the rest

Camera

"What's that music?" type app.

And most important of all, a realtime update of the train SWMBO is returning on from London and do I have time for another pint before I need to get to the station.

 

[AndyP]

All interesting stuff I am sure but are emails that urgent they cannot be read when you get home?

Out of interest how much is your tariff and what would the tariff be if you had minimal data?

 

[RogerS]

I think you are possibly missing the point that a smartphone is not just something to connect to the Internet. I have lots of small apps such as Handyman Calculator. I never use anywhere near my data limit. The data cost contribution is minimal. As far as emails go I am often away from the house and have a bit of time spare and so doing emails then saves me wasting time later.

 

[AndyP]

Fair point Roger and that is why I have an iPod Touch.

 

[Rod]

I have a 64GB 6plus and use it all the time but very rarely for making voice calls.
Messages, texts, emails, camera, Tapatalk for accessing forums, Shopping ( Amazon, EBay etc etc), Sat Nav, News and Sport, Weather forecasts including live radar, Research - Google etc, Conversion Apps, Calculator, Bird &Flower Recognition, Restaurant Reviews and bookings - likewise Hotels, nearest WC App, traffic information, watching live TV, watching films on Netflix etc, Repeat Prescriptions and Doctors appointments, Geocaching, Kindle Books, iBooks for reading PDF's of manuals - the list is endless!
Oh and numerous games to keep the Grandkids quite in restaurants. [emoji3]
I have over a hundred Apps

If you buy your phone Sim only £10/month - I very rarely get anywhere near my data limit as I can generally access wifi.

Rod

 

[Commander]

I have to add that I could never envision a use for a smart phone and was fairly resistant to getting one (as I was with a cell phone when they came out), but as time went on I started to realise that it was a really useful tool and the fact that you can customise the apps to your liking means that you can use it exactly the way you wan't to use it. I use the camera often from snapping serial numbers and details I will need later to taking photos in spaces I can't get my head in to look (like under the bonnet of my car etc.) I also find it very handy to always have a camera at hand at the drop of a hat. Apps like Whatsapp is in constant use with me as I have a whole team of people that I have to constantly communicate with. As for email I refuse to setup my work email on my phones (phones, yes I have 2 ) as then I would never stop working.

So in summary I would say since you have a smart phone now embrace it and see if it works for you, you may just end up being surprised with the possibilities it opens to you!

 

[Robert]

Out of interest how much is your tariff and what would the tariff be if you had minimal data?

Some interesting replies on phone use. I do most of the things already listed but I'd add controlling the music/radio/tv from the phone as a most common use.

RedLaser app when tempted in shops to see if a special offer is special or its cheaper by far on the web somewhere. Actually talking to people on phone calls is way down the list.

I have a virgin sim only contract £8 per month with 1 month notice to cancel. 1000minutes unlimited texts and 500MB data. Doesn't sound a lot of data but I don't commute so its never a problem.

 

[RogerS]

One thing I've been pondering is getting a Chromebook instead of a tablet. Simply because like the idea of using a real keyboard and their pricing seems pretty good.

 

[AndyP]

I am beginning to think that I am sounding like a boring old techno-phobe which is not the case, honest. We will continue with the cheap smartphone and see where it takes us. But I am more of the opinion that a cheap normal phone on a cheap as chips tarfif in conjunction with the iPod or iPad used with free wifi when required is my preferred solution.

Just ordered an iPad Air for the missus as a wedding anniversary present with a suitable inscription on the back

 

[RogerS]

....

Just ordered an iPad Air for the missus as a wedding anniversary present with a suitable inscription on the back

Wot? "Made in China" ? :lol:

 

[AndyP]

....

Just ordered an iPad Air for the missus as a wedding anniversary present with a suitable inscription on the back

Wot? "Made in China" ? :lol:

I guess so, is there a communication device that is made these days elsewhere?

 

[RogerS]

....

Just ordered an iPad Air for the missus as a wedding anniversary present with a suitable inscription on the back

Wot? "Made in China" ? :lol:

I guess so, is there a communication device that is made these days elsewhere?

Yes, but not very hi-tech !