Received A Droid For Christmas And Now What To Do With It

Did you get lucky and get a Android Based Phone for the Holidays? For those who did congratulations and welcome to the future.

When you first open your phone and turn it on for the first time it can be a little overwhelming. The Android based phones have so many capabilities that it will take time to take full advantage of everything available.

Before going crazy and downloading every app you find there are a couple things to do. First see what version of Android you are running. The first batches shipped with early versions. Eris are shipped with 1.6 and Droids are shipped with 2.0.0. Both these phones have updates available. Once the phone is turned on navigate to settings>about phone. At the bottom you look for "Firmwire". If you don't see the latest version you need to update. Check Android 2.0.1 Eclair Update Post.

Next task that is important is to conserve battery life. We have had the Droid A855 running multiple apps while browsing and listening to music all at the same time. Though the device does perform for hours like that we don't suggest it being done constantly. Remember batteries can only perform so much and have a life span.

Take steps to conserve battery life by turning down the brightness to start with. Next grab a task killer from the Android Market. Also if you are not using the GPS and are in WiFi range shut off the GPS Location and connect via WiFi.

Once you have your phone ready start thinking about what you need to do and search the Android Market place from your Droid. PC and Mac users get a limited view of the app store. You will be surprised what you will find. You will find a app for just about anything.

We have a couple posts that will help with getting started. Here's 10 Free Droid Apps and a list of Twitter Android Apps to get you going.

Not only do you have one of the most powerful smartphones ever built you belong to a community. We highly recommend visiting the Android Developers site. You will find the news feed in the footer of our site. Also try grabbing the RSS Feed for updates from us.

We recommend that you only purchase accessories for The Droid from Verizon Wireless. This device is new and only a few OEM products are available for now. We have heard some bad things about none OEM accessories. Example would be Docking Stations. Some reportedly don't charge the phone. Be safe and buy direct from Verizon or Motorola.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

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3. New Verizon Droid Commercials Keep On Coming | Droid Apps