h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

After so many years of saying I'm not going to have one, I got a smartphone. It's largely because of all that brouhaha with the mp3 player getting broken a few weeks ago (see here F50359?thread=8314020 ).

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but the former Mrs Gosho, who gave me the player for my birthday last year, looked around for a replacement and found some on Amazon that look exactly like an iPod, but that's where the similarity ends because they only cost about $20. The reviews for those weren't too good but I found another one, not like an iPod, that was $30 and had spectacular reviews, so she said she'd order it with her Prime account and it should be there next day (Thursday).

I get home from work on Thursday: nothing in the mailbox or the office, although according to the tracking it's been delivered. Same thing on Friday - nowt. On Saturday I call the office from work to see if somehow it got dropped off there but the note pinned to my door had fallen or blown away. Nope.

So Mrs Gosho gets a refund.

By now I've started to think that I may as well just cave in and get a smartphone anyway because I can use it as an mp3 player and also listen to the radio on the bus to and from work, which is mostly what I use it for anyway - hardly ever listen to mp3s on it except for cricket commentary I've downloaded.

So now Mrs Gosho suggests that I get on her friends and family plan too. It's going to work out about the same monthly cost as what I've been paying for the past six or seven years for unlimited text and 500 minutes of calls a month (which I never use... I mean *never*: I only ever call the ISP or the leccy to let them know there's a problem or I've moved).

So here I am with a brand new (free) Android phone (a Galaxy S5, since you ask). I seem to have gone from 0 to 160 in no time flat . I'm still as wary of smartphones as I was beforehand and have no intention of using it as ubiquitously as most people do, but it's going to come in handy for a few things, such as checking out how long before the next bus is due at a particular stop if I'm already on another bus.

And the mp3 player? Well, it showed up the following Tuesday And it's a mighty fine radio And it's so cheap it has a display that reminds me of nothing more or less than a Space Invaders machine But it works, it does the job, and there's no bloatware. Which is more than I can say for the phone But at least I can uninstall iTunes from my PC now

I have an S5. It's a good phone.

I highly recommend getting Lookout mobile security.

A couple of other free apps I think you'll like are Google Sky Map and Google Goggles. Sky Map is handy when you see a planet and are curious about which one it is. Goggles is just real handy for a lot of things. It will do image searches on a lot of types of things from products to paintings. If you capture a UPC it will show you prices at competing stores and online. You can also use it to translate printed text.

A good weather app is also handy especially for radar.


If you find that your battery life is too short, you might consider getting a portable backup battery. I have one from Anker that works well. I wish mobile makers would figure out that we would prefer a slightly thicker phone if they didn't need recharged after 10-16 hours.

I'll look into those. I'm severely limiting what I add to it, both for battery and privacy reasons. Only Firefox so far. I also have to get a case for it, not only for protection but to make it easier to hold, and also to desensitise the screen. I've already made a handful of phone calls (one or two without even knowing it) I didn't intend to. There's probably a setting for it but I haven't found it yet.

Nor have I found a way of adding custom sounds and images for when different people send a message or call. I'm sure that's just the sort of gee-gaw that would appeal to the kids. And me

Use screen lock to keep from making "butt dials". Settings/Lock Screen/Screen Lock. I use a swipe pattern, but you have several options. This also makes your phone secure from "friends" "hacking" your phone to post embarrassing jokes on Boofcake and Twitter. Not that you'll use Boofcake.

I found an excellent screen protector, ArmorSuit Military Shield. I accidentally ordered two so if you want my extra one, just contact me directly with your address and I'll send it to you.

For a case, I went with the Spigen Slim Armor case after reading a lot of reviews.

I also bought an inductive charger and a "Slim PWR Card 0.5mm Ultra Thin QI Receiver Card Module" that fits under the stock rear cover without sacrificing water resistance (hopefully). I did this to minimize the trouble of opening that slot cover and inserting that USB cable. But this lead to another issue. Once the phone reaches full charge the charger and the phone beep and the screen lights up. This was highly annoying as I leave my phone at my bedside. So then I had to crack open the charger base and yank out the speaker and I had to get into the phone's sound files and replace the offending file with a nearly silent one. I couldn't find a good way to stop the screen from lighting up every two minutes so I just lay two playing cards over it.


One serious issue I've had with it regards its overly sensitive screen. I haven't made any butt dials, but often I have trouble answering the phone for calls. When a call comes in I accidentally hang up/ignore the call just trying to get the phone out of my pocket. I hoped the screen protector would help, and maybe it has a little, but not completely. This shouldn't be an issue as it's supposed to require a swipe to ignore the call, but just the lightest touch suffices and it's sensitive enough to consider my skin THROUGH my shirt as a "swipe". I haven't found a good way to fix this yet.

You could just lay the phone upside down, you know...

I got an S4 Mini last year, solely so I could be the backup credit card taker in the fireworks booth (Tom was at the fireworks tent 25 miles away). I've since been on a bit more than I should... (Which I knew would happen, which is why I so resistant for so long--but hey, I need it to help the ministry)

I can't lay it upside down while using an inductive charger.

Well, I guess I could, but I'd have to lay the charger on top of the phone and I wouldn't be able to see the indicator light to see if it's actually charging or not and it's rather persnickety about positioning as it is.

I've been putting it in the breast pocket of my shirt, so it's a call rather than a bum call

Same here.

As far as I can make out the screen lock setting is only for unlocking the screen, not locking it, unless I'm either missing or misunderstanding something. Is there a way to manually lock the screen? The only way I can see to do it at the moment is to limit the time before the screen switches off to a couple of seconds (it's the default 30 right now). I've set fingerprint recognition to unlock it.

I'll let you know about the screen protector (thanks for the offer, it's much appreciated). I was looking at an Otterbox case. Either way I've got to do something soon - it's far too slim to hold and use comfortably.

Does yours still tell you to check the back cover every time you turn it on? And is there a way to turn that off?

Never mind, then...

I lock the screen/turn it black with a short push at the power button. Helps to prevent accidental interactions.
And yes, each time it's rebooted, it reminds me to check the back casing. I don't reboot very often though. Once or twice a week.
I have a Galaxy S5 mini.

I don't have a phone that modern still an S3, but same as Milla just tap the power button to lock.

There is some way to turn off that reminder...


But I don't remember how I did it. Next time you see it look carefully, there might be an option from that screen.....


I just did a bit of research and it might depend on who's your carrier. If you're on AT&T or T-Mobile, you may need to root your phone. Otherwise you might get the option to no longer show those messages after some amount of time.


I've rooted my phone. It's not too difficult but it can be daunting as often the instructions to do so assume some familiarity with this sort of thing.


Here's a good forum for the Galaxy S5.
http://androidforums.com/forums/samsung-galaxy-s5.2582/

Thanks for that link - I've had a quick skim though it. I'll look into it in more detail later today. I'll hold off on rooting the phone. It sounds like the sort of thing I'm familiar with on PCs, but that knowledge won't necessarily translate, especially since I'm not at all familiar with Linux.

When you decide to root it, read through the pertinent root guide on Android Forums. http://androidforums.com/threads/all-things-root-stickies.914833/


You might also search Google and YouTube for some video walk-throughs until you feel comfortable.

If you have T-Mobile or AT&T you'll need to D/L an app from Google Play called Xposed G-TouchWiz Mod that will give you the option of disabling those annoying reminders.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/08/06/how-to-disable-water-damage-popups-on-the-galaxy-s5/


Once you have your phone rooted you'll probably find other things you can do that you wouldn't other wise, like delete a bunch of bloatware and shovelware that your carrier loaded that you have no use for or don't trust.


Oh, speaking of which, even the simplest apps may be tracking you or accessing things it doesn't need to. For example, why would a simple flashlight app need internet, tracking, and photo access? I highly recommend one called TeslaLED. It has the minimum of permissions and doesn't collect any information.

It's like stopping programs from phoning home on your PC with a firewall. I mean, why does Notepad or the calculator need internet access?

I would love to get rid of that bloatware

How the bloody hell do I sign out of Gmail? There's no link Leastways, not that I can find. At least in Hotel California they gave you the option of checking out, even if you couldn't leave.

I had to look around too! At the top right is your avatar (perhaps a photo, or an anonymous image). Click that, and the sign out option should be visible.

If by "sign out" you just mean to temporarily stop receiving messages because you don't want to be bothered by it, I'm not sure you can. *(But you can turn off notifications. You can also turn off Synching.)

Otherwise "signing out" will delete the account altogether. If that's what you want to do, there are vids online that will walk you through it. I think you have to go to the phones main settings menu to get to it.