How do you get Facebook Home, for Android?

I've never been that excited about launchers, but there's a new one coming that's rather different. This one, you see, has a purpose. Facebook Home, which can be installed only on Android, is a film through which your phone is viewed. Facebook becomes central to your smartphone experience, starting with the homescreen and lockscreen, which are replaced with "Cover Feed"... streaming of posts and pictures, which you can actually like, comment on, etc, natively; no need to open the Facebook app. Chat Heads is the second big feature; this combines Facebook messages with texts, and allows multitasking so you can work in another app and then come back to the chat, without interruption. Lastly, Facebook Home includes an App Launcher. It... ehm... launches apps. I'm not so very excited about this particular aspect of Facebook Home.

In summary, Facebook Home makes Facebook more than just easily-accessible... rather, it's already active, no matter what else is open on your phone. View the official website, for more information. The first phone to include Facebook Home natively is the HTC First, already available for pre-order here. You don't have to buy the HTC First, though... the family of apps will be available for download from the Google Play Store on April 12. Currently, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the HTC One series are supported, but I'm confident Facebook Home will be available across-the-board, quickly. If you have an Android, that is. If you have an iPhone, well, to quote Doug Gross, CNN contributor, "Your wait might be quite a bit longer. Or, you know, forever." Can anyone tell me why that might be? It's because Android is an open source operating system, permitting such overhauls as Facebook Home. That is why we love it.

That's also why Android is winning the smartphone war. In the first quarter of 2013, Android accounted for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales, compared with Apple's 43.5 percent, according to The Economic Times. It is interesting to note that new smartphone subscribers in that same time period leaned drastically toward Apple, over Android. When you view that in light of the total picture, in which Android dominates, the conclusion is that the novice buys an iPhone... later realizing iPhone doesn't cut it and switching to Android, for the complete smartphone experience.

How do you play Pandora internet radio, on an Android?

I don't often listen to local radio; not because I don't enjoy it, but because those with whom I travel think it ludicrous to plow through a dozen songs I don't want to hear, then finally hear a song I love... and could have played in the first place. While this is a valid point, I have two objections: one, songs I own are more exciting when I hear them on the radio; and two, how will I discover my new favorite song if I never venture outside my library? I think we all know the solution: 

Such potential...

Pandora works by starting with a track or artist you select, and playing similar offerings. I once created a station around the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss album Raising Sand, and was horrified by the results; usually, though, I'm impressed with how smoothly diverse songs are correlated. The first song my Josh Garrels station played, for example, was The Train Song, by Feist + Ben Gibbard -- I would not have thought to associate those artists, but when Pandora introduced that song to me (several months before I'd heard Josh Garrels), I liked its sound so much I bought it. Well done, Pandora. Well done.

But Pandora has been an Android app since 2009; why bring it up now?  Well, because it's an integral part of how you Android, and because a charming excuse to talk about Pandora came along, in the form of a pretty significant update to the app. In the new version, the biggest change is lockscreen controls, for the newest versions of Android. Faster start-up and a song progress indicator wrap up the most noticeable changes.

Would you rather hear a commercial for hair conditioner (played several million decibels louder than your station), or a 30-second pause in you music? Install Pandora Ad Blocker from the Play Store, and follow the simple instructions to activate it, if you prefer the pause. And, of course, download or update Pandora Internet Radio from the Play Store.

I leave you with this thought: I have heard from some that multitasking while playing Pandora is either limited or unavailable, on an iPhone. Is it so or is it not -- I can't get a straight answer. I do know, though, that multitasking on an Android is so smooth that you forget it's happening.

How do you get pictures to look right as wallpapers, on an Android?

There's something about spring, don't you think? Everyone has their particular perception of the season, but spring makes me think sun and bright, long skirts and daisies. Of course that means it's time to update my Android's wallpaper, from the Dr. Seuss quotes page (Dr. Seuss' birthday was March 2nd) to fresh and beautiful daisies.

A few Androids allow you to set your wallpaper as locked, so that the image is repeated as you swipe between your homescreens; but most spread the image across all the screens, so you see just a portion on each, as demonstrated by my lovely daisies (Is there a more cheerful flower? I think daises are widely undervalued.). That means that the size of the photo you set as your wallpaper is important. You don't have to be precise, but you'll want the shape of your picture to be approximately right, because when you set it as the wallpaper it has to fit a fixed shape. You can determine the correct resolution yourself, by taking the display size of your screen (which can be found in any specs list), and doubling the second number. For example, the Nexus 4 screen size is 768 x 1280, so the wallpaper size is 1536 x 1280; the Samsung Galaxy S III screen size is 720 x 1280, making the wallpaper size 1440 x 1280. Googling "Nexus 4 wallpaper size" is also a viable option. While optimal images will be exactly that size, the issue is really just shape, so keep the ratio approximately right and your images should fit nicely.

If you are setting a picture already on your phone as the wallpaper, crop it to the approximately-correct shape, then either touch and hold or hit menu to bring up the Set picture as option. Choose Wallpaper, and then adjust the crop to your preference. Depending on the phone, you will see options like setting the picture as your lockscreen also, and scrolling or keeping the picture static. Hit OK and enjoy.

If you need to first get the picture from your computer to your phone, start by plugging your phone into your computer via micro USB. In the AutoPlay that comes up on your computer, click "Open device to view files." Right-click the folder DCIM, and create a new folder called Wallpapers. Next, locate the picture in your computer's Pictures folder (if it's not there yet, well then you'd best put it there), and then drag and drop it from its original location to the Wallpapers folder on your phone. Now proceed to set the picture as your wallpaper, from your phone.

If you found a picture in your phone's browser, or if perhaps the picture was sent to you in an email that you are viewing on your phone, you need to save it to your phone first. This will be done by either touching and holding, then hitting Save or Download, or else by opening the menu and hitting Save attachments. Now the picture will be in a Downloads folder, in your gallery, from which you can again set it as your wallpaper.

How do you customize your lockscreen on an Android phone?

Why do we prefer Android over iOS? Because Android is customizable, we often say; widgets are another of our favorite features to tout. Your lockscreen is a pretty sweet forum for combining these features into one very awesome customization that will make your iPhone-toating friends drool. Here are three actual lockscreen customizations that users have created, from limitless options.

 

There are a couple things you need, but customizing your lockscreen is actually easy -- you'll look like an advanced Android user, disproportionate to the amount of time and effort actually spent. First, you need an app like WidgetLocker Lockscreen, SmartShift Lockscreen, Apex Launcher, or Nova Launcher (may have an easier time with Nova Launcher Prime). They all work in slightly different ways, so really it's a matter of trying yourself, to see what you like best. Customizing a step further will require an app like Ultimate custom widget (UCCW). From here, it's quite self-explanatory. Specify what exactly you want to show on your lockscreen, in the customization sections of the lockscreen or launcher apps. They will allow you to place widgets, icons, photos, etc. Then, when you have fiddled with that for a while and are ready to step it up a level, design your own widgets, in UCCW, and get to the point of making your lockscreen precisely what you find convenient and cool.

I may post some of my creations at some point soon, and would love to add yours to my gallery. Let me know, in a comment or email, if you have a customized lockscreen you'd like displayed.