Many people have not yet been able to try Sense 7, but today it can be installed as a launcher on almost all Android devices, and it is completely ported to the HTC One M8. In addition, you can buy the M9 today in Russia. However, let's get down to business. Sense 7 is a new version of the most stable user interface that took root back in 2009 with the announcement of HTC Tattoo. It immediately gained popularity thanks to its intuitive, user-friendly interface, which also looked very attractive.
A total of 14 versions of Sense were released, including the most recent Sense 7. Today, after years of updates, we are seeing a completely different take on the display of information - this is not the Sense that fans of the company loved - in which, although possible, it is very difficult to catch glimpses old versions.
In addition to new themes, slightly improved applications and a changed appearance, Sense 7 also received an interesting widget on the desktop. The principle of its operation is to display frequently used applications in one place or another. The widget itself understands whether you are at home or at work, then analyzes the use of the device and dynamically sorts the list of applications. This, of course, raises some questions: “How often will the smartphone analyze the situation?” After all, this probably requires considerable resources, which will strain the already problematic Snapdragon 810.
However, again, this is a separate topic for discussion. Today we are only interested in convenience. Want to always have a specific app's icon pinned to your Work tab? No problem. You just need to press and hold your finger on the icon. At this moment, the application will be pinned, and in the future it will always be in this tab. Please note that after this procedure, the icon will be pinned only in a certain tab, not in all.
Sense 7 will be a good experience for many users. And while iPhone fans are gnashing their teeth at the development of Android, Sense 7 users will simply “use” the convenient shell.
According to colleagues from androidauthority, very soon (in May) the new version will be available for HTC One M8, Desire EYE and other top devices of the company. The fate of the One M7 is unknown. There was talk about a possible update to , but it is unclear whether this will be a simple update, or a fresh look in the face of Sense 7. In any case, the “romodels” are not sleeping...
What should a person do who has purchased a smartphone on the Android OS for the first time in his life and does not know how to use it? There are a large number of instructional articles on how to use and configure the device. But there are few places where you can find out how to download applications on Android. The process of downloading, installing and uninstalling applications on any Android smartphone will be discussed and described.
Some facts
It's no longer a secret that the best applications for Android became free a long time ago. Of course, there are their share of developers who require the user to pay, but most often such programs have free analogues. No, this is not a call to use just such applications, but just an explanation of the current situation on the Play Market. Also, Russian applications for Android are becoming very popular these days, which are sometimes no worse than their foreign counterparts.
The main classification of applications available for download on the Play Market consists of the sections “Games”, “Best”, “Editor’s Choice” and “Family”. There is also sorting by sections, which will be discussed in more detail later.
Set of standard applications
So, in your hands lies a treasured smartphone based on the Android OS. It's already turned on, activated and ready to go. It is worth considering all the applications that are provided “bundled” with the operating system. It should be mentioned right away that, depending on the manufacturer, device and version of Android, the set of pre-installed applications may change, but the main ones are most often the same.
Among the main applications it is worth highlighting “Phone”, “Messages” and “Contacts”. The “Music” application for Android will give you the opportunity to listen to your favorite tracks, the “Camera” application will allow you to take pictures of the best moments (if available), and the “Gallery” application, in turn, will show an archive of photos and videos, not only taken on a smartphone, but also downloaded via a USB cable or the Internet. Standard applications also include Clock, Mail, Calendar, Notes and Explorer, which allows you to delete, move and copy various files located on any storage media.
But sometimes this set is not enough. For example, the standard Music application for Android does not suit everyone, so you can always download third-party software. All you need to do is go to the pre-installed Play Market application and download. Below are instructions on how to do this.
Internet connection
The first step is to make sure you have an Internet connection. There are two options here: connecting via mobile data (Internet directly via cellular connection) or via Wi-Fi. While everything is clear with the first choice (you must take into account that the provider may charge a separate fee for using the mobile Internet), the Wi-Fi option requires clarification.
For those who don't know, to connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi you need to have an access point. It can be a router located in the user’s apartment, through which a PC, laptop or TV is connected, or any free access point in public places. As a result, to connect to the Internet, you should go to the “Settings” menu and then select the required item: “SIM card management” - set the “Data transfer” checkbox to the “Enabled” mode, or use the “Wi-Fi” submenu and make a connection to the access point. The first step is completed.
Creating a Google Account
So, after successfully connecting to the Internet, you need to make sure that an account for managing web services, such as Play Market, Gmail and others, is configured on the device. To do this, in the “Settings” menu, you need to select “Accounts and synchronization” (in rare cases, the location of this submenu may change, so you may have to search). All you need to do is click on the “Add” button and select the account type (in this case, Google). After this, following simple and intuitive steps, you should create an account, indicating the desired email address, its password and personal information (full name, date of birth). After completing all the steps, an account will be automatically created and you can start working.
First visit to Play Market
In order to understand how to download applications on Android, you must fulfill the two previous conditions. After that, you can launch the Play Market and plunge headlong into the “sea” of applications with the limitless imagination of developers and unique content.
When you first launch, you should read the privacy policy and terms of use - this will be prompted by the application itself. You also need to decide whether you want to receive Google Play newsletters. The application itself is divided into two parts: “Games and applications” and “Entertainment”, which correspond to tabs at the top of the screen. This article only covers the first tab.
The first thing that appears is the search bar with the words “Google Play”. If you need to download a specific application or know an incomplete name, you can use the search, and the Play Market will automatically present the most suitable applications for the search query.
Below is a block of primary navigation buttons. The best applications for Android, respectively, are located on the “Best” link. In the “Games” section you can find applications of the appropriate direction for every taste and color. Under the “Categories” link there is a list of games and programs that are sorted according to their topics. “For the whole family” - here you can find both games and applications that will interest both children and their parents. The last link is called “Editor's Choice” and is a general list of applications selected directly by Google Play employees for everyday comfortable use.
Installing applications and games
To directly download an application or game, you need to click on the “Install” button and accept the installation conditions. After this, the download process will begin. Its speed depends on the size of the software, the speed of the Internet connection and the performance of the smartphone. The language of the Android application will be selected automatically in accordance with the selected OS interface language. When the installation process is complete, you can click on the “Open” button. The application will launch.
other methods
How to download applications on Android from the Play Market is, in principle, clear. But there is another way - installing games and programs manually. All that is required is to download it to your smartphone via transfer from a PC or from an external flash drive. After this, you need to find the corresponding file using Explorer and click on it to install.
It should be noted that this action will require special permission to install applications from unknown sources. To do this, in the “Settings” menu, you need to select the “Privacy” sub-item and check the “Unknown sources” checkbox.
The first and main advice: you should not install applications that you are not sure about, or they were obtained from unknown resources. After all, among them there may be malicious programs that can disable the operating system and prevent you from using your smartphone. When installing such applications, it should be mentioned that everything is done at the user’s own risk, and no one except himself bears responsibility for this.
It is also necessary to understand that in different versions of Android, the names of certain pre-installed applications and menu items may differ, but the process itself is the same. And I would like to add that figuring out how to download applications on Android is not so difficult. The main thing is to have a little patience, and everything will definitely work out.
It often happens when you need to pin a particular window with an application on top of all others. The most common example is watching videos, but it is far from the only one. For these purposes, there are both specialized programs, for example, and more universal ones.
How to pin on top of all windows
Using the free eXtra Buttons application, new buttons will be added to your application windows, one of which will allow you to fix the window on top of all others in one click. Watch a video, keep important documents in front of your eyes or a video conversation on Skype, and at the same time calmly perform any other actions on your computer.
All you need to do is download and install a small application. EXtra Buttons, in addition to fixing windows in the foreground, also offers to minimize them to the tray (the area next to the system clock) and even create bookmarks, which can later be opened even while in other applications.
Once you no longer need a window to appear on top of others, you can either simply close it or click the dock button again to undock the app.
If you have programs installed on your computer that you use very often, then they should be placed in the taskbar. This will speed up access to them and also reduce the time spent searching for a shortcut to a particular program.
Once the installation of most programs is complete, you will be prompted to “ Create a shortcut on the desktop», « Create a shortcut in the Start menu" And " Create a shortcut in the Quick Access Toolbar" That's it " Quick Access Toolbar” and there is a taskbar, or rather an area in it. It's located next to the Start menu.
As you can see in the image above, in this case there are 3 shortcuts: Yandex browser, Explorer, Microsoft Word text editor. Let's try adding another program to the taskbar. For example, let it be the Paint.NET graphic editor. To do this you must:
1. Right-click on the program shortcut on the Desktop or in the Start menu.
2. Context menus will open in which you need to find the option “ Pin to taskbar».
After this, the program shortcut will be added to the taskbar and you will be able to quickly access it. This operation can only be performed with shortcuts to programs or games, but not with photographs or documents, and this is usually not necessary.
Google has added a lot of new features to the Android 5.0 operating system. And not all of them are obvious. You can guess about the appearance of some only after wandering through the settings of your mobile device. This also applies to locking an application on the screen.
This feature in Lollipop is called "App Lock". As you can see, the title is not translated into Russian in the best way. Therefore, almost no one pays attention to this item in the settings. And in vain, since this function is very useful. It allows you to pin an application to the screen. As a result, you will not be able to exit it to another program or to the desktop. The function can be activated by a parent who gives the child a tablet to watch a cartoon. The child will definitely not guess what exactly needs to be done to unlock and exit the player.
By default, this feature is disabled in Android 5.0 Lollipop. To enable it, you need to go to “Settings”. Next, go to the "Security" section. Here, scroll down the screen until you see the "App Lock" option. Turn the switch to the "ON" position.
After this, you can attach any application to the screen. The fastening process is very simple and straightforward. He is available at any time. However, you can only pin the last app you were in. That is, first you need to launch this application. It is impossible to immediately attach another while in one program by automatically moving to it.
To pin the application, you must first click the "Browse" button (it is now shown as a square). Next, drag the window's title bar to the middle of the screen. You will immediately see that a round button with an image of a pushpin has appeared in the lower right corner of the application window. Click on it.
Next, you need to agree to pin the application on the screen. This confirmation is required each time you use the function. When you click "Yes" the program will be attached. No matter what you press, you will not be able to exit the application. However, you will be able to safely navigate within the program or game itself.
To unlock, press the "Back" and "Browse" buttons simultaneously. After a couple of seconds you will be taken to the desktop. Please note that this is still not the best way to provide your child with your mobile device. It’s better to create a separate profile for this, which your child will use. We talked about creating accounts in a separate article.
