How do you feel about purple?

Does one color really deserve an entire article? Good grief, no. A company releasing a phone in yellow, for example... or red, even; that I would not write about. I don't even write about every new phone release (I am neglecting the HTC One because I don't like their decision to go shabby with the camera, and because it's too much HTC Sense, not enough Android.) Why, then, are you hearing from How Do You Android about this new option for Sprint's Samsung Galaxy S III? Because it's not a color -- it's an identity.

Yes, Sprint is offering the S3 in Amethyst Purple. I don't like contracts, and I'm not such a fan of the S3, but purple -- I advise you all to cancel your current phone plans (paying any fees this may incur), flush your phones, and skip (most likely floating a little, between skips) to your nearest Sprint store, as soon as you get off work today.

I've observed a funny thing about those who have an affinity for the color purple. Purple isn't their favorite color; they're purple-lovers. I haven't seen that with any other color. I know people who choose blue, when the choice comes along. I know people who definitely prefer green. Now, I understand that I tend toward strong opinions (as a 6-year-old told me today, "You love everything." This isn't true: I think tomatoes vile. She qualified her statement to everything I do like, I love. I may be guilty of that.). But I can think of four friends who are purple-lovers, and it's not just me. Purple-lover is a personality trait.  That, in addition to the transition of purple into a solidly gender-neutral color (not like some think guys can wear pink; rather, like red is acceptable for guys and girls), is why I like this decision Sprint has made to carry the S3 in purple.
Get the phone from Sprint, here.

In other news, this morning Dish made Sprint a merger offer of $25.5 billion. Since Softbank's $21.1 billion offer was previously proceeding nicely, a $4.4 billion wrench in the works was not anticipated. A plot twist.

In conclusion, happy Tax Day!

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 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 discover the world around you, using your Android?

According to the revised edition of Bethy Mac's Rules of the Universe, use of a smartphone while hiking is only permissible if 1) the user is looking up information which will then be read aloud to the group, or 2) the user is experiencing an emergency. With that in mind, it is interesting to note that cell phone service is available through a surprising amount of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Google Maps' Android app can display Wikipedia articles about points of interest in your locale. To activate this feature, open Google Maps, touch Menu > Layers, then check Wikipedia. W icons point to Wikipedia articles pertaining to points on the currently-displayed screen. Touching an icon displays the name of the article, linking to a short version of the article within the Google Maps app, with the option to open the full article in your browser.

To avoid confusion, we will review acceptable as well as unacceptable incorporation of Androids into group activities.

The Mount LeConte trailhead, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where seven inquisitive hikers are reading information signs and debating the pursuance of this trail. 
Acceptable
HIKER 1: Weren't they talking about this one at the visitors' center?
HIKER 2: Yeah, I heard it's popular. Must be pretty easy, if lots of people like this one.
HIKER 3: Let's check, just to be sure we know what we're getting ourselves into.
HIKER 2: I guess if you want to kill the mystery of it all.
HIKER 3: I do.
(HIKER 3 opens Google Maps, which shows their current location. The Wikipedia article "Mount Le Conte" is located immediately, and HIKER 3 begins to read.)
HIKER 3: "Third highest peak in the national park, behind Clingmans Dome and Mount Guyot... from its immediate base to its highest peak, Mount Le Conte is the tallest mount in Tennessee, rising 5,301 feet..." 
HIKER 4: Well, that sounds like an all-day hike, and I plan to be hungry within a few hours.
HIKER 1: Let's go to Clingmans Dome, where that thing is.
HIKERS 2-7: Sounds good!
Unacceptable
HIKER 1: Weren't they talking about this one at the visitors' center?
HIKER 2: Yeah, I heard it's popular. Must be pretty easy, if lots of people like this one.
HIKER 3: I'll look it up.
HIKER 2: I guess if you want to kill the mystery of it all.
(HIKER 3 is already in Phoneland, opening Google Maps, which shows their current location. The Wikipedia article "Mount Le Conte" is located immediately, and HIKER 3 stares at phone in silence.)
HIKER 3: Looks intense.
HIKER 4: Ok, let's save that for another day. What else should we try?
(HIKER 3, staring at phone, snorts.)
HIKER 5: Did you find something?
HIKER 3: (Sniggering) I just followed some links to other articles, and it turns out some people actually think pigs can fly!
(HIKERS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, & 7 wish HIKER 3 would stay on-topic.)

Wrapping up our life-application session, keep in mind Google Maps' Wikipedia feature for use as you tour new areas. For example, if you were vacationing by bouncing around the Big Apple, you might pass the Radio City Music Hall, where the Samsung Galaxy S IV was unveiled last evening (as speculated, it is too similar to the Samsung Galaxy S III to be exciting). Perusal of the Google Maps' Wikipedia information reveals that Showplace of the Nation is this famous landmark's nickname. Obviously information like this will enhance the excitement of your vacation incalculably.

How do you convert a standard SIM card to a micro SIM card?

It's very easy; so easy it might be a little silly to devote a whole article to the task. In a word: cut.

Unnecessary tools:

• A nail file
• Sandpaper
• A ruler
• A pattern
• A brain

Since there is quite a risk of damaging the SIM card in this process, step 1 is to call or visit a location for your carrier, like an AT&T store; they often have the tool to convert a standard SIM to a micro SIM and will do it for you, free of charge. 

If you are conducting the surgery yourself, come to terms with the reality that your SIM card might not survive the encounter -- but I think it will. The only thing that's difficult about the process is determining exactly where to cut your card. There are a lot of diagrams and patterns that you can print out, but I find them more confusing than beneficial. Find a picture, like the one above, that shows a SIM card with the same design as yours. A standard and micro of the same SIM, to show before and after, would be the most helpful, but I did just fine with only the after, micro part. 

The material of SIM cards is a lot easier to cut than you might expect. I read dire warnings that if your scissors aren't sharp enough to slice through a 1-inch stack of index cards, simply by placing the stack within 4 inches of the scissors, you have no chance of success. I found this misleading; my scissors fall under the category "eh." I decided to try it with my inadequate tools because I knew it was cut the SIM or buy a new one -- not a lot of risk.

Open up your phone and locate the slot into which you tried to mash your SIM card, before you realized it was micro. Study the slot. Be the slot. This will help guide your hand as you cut... maybe. Compare your standard SIM to the micro SIM example you located, and cut so that it will match ex posto facto (you might want to keep in mind the size of that slot). Cut much, much, MUCH less than you think you should. One tiny sliver at a time. It will probably fit bigger than you were expecting. Don't forget it goes in the tray upside down... put the angled corner on the same corner as when it was standard; don't mix that up. By the way, you do not need to sand or shave or in any way de-roughen or slenderize. Even if your particular phone takes the kind of SIM that is shorter than standard, it should fit without shrinking. All that matters is the metal part... the conductors.

Now at some point just stick it in... wiggle it around a little... it'll probably work. 

How do you overcome a Samsung Galaxy S III obsession?

I've done it: I'm over the S3. This gem has been the standard to which I hold all other phones since spring of 2012; but now, close to a year later, I have a new standard... and I've arrived at a place where I can acknowledge the features of the S3 that I'm not that excited about. (There aren't many.)

Flaw #1:
The Samsung Galaxy S III receives upgrades to Android too slowly. This is the most-purchased phone out there (Apple doesn't release too many numbers, but near as I can figure the 2nd place phone (the iPhone 5) sold 5,000,000 units its first week, while the S3 sold 9,000,000 that first week. And don't forget Android sales are divided up among many phone choices, while Apple fans have only one current option.), so you would think getting the second phase of Jelly Bean, version 4.2, wouldn't be taking this long. I'm bored with old Jelly Bean -- it's so three weeks ago.

Flaw #2:
It is irritating that the Samsung Galaxy S III takes a Micro SIM. This, however, is a very minor fault. First, because it would seem devices are heading in the direction of Micro SIMs, based on the fact that my new favorite (to be revealed below, after a bit more nail-biting suspense) also takes a Micro SIM; second, because it is easy to convert a Standard SIM to a Micro SIM, as well as to use an adapter to switch it back.

Flaw #3:
This is my most serious complaint with the Samsung Galaxy S III: the physical home button. I dislike this immensely. We switched to touch for a reason. It seems minor, and until I had actually used an S3 I just though Huh... interesting (though even at that early hour I was harassed by my second reason to dislike the physical home button). After using it, I realized it really makes a difference -- you have to hold a phone differently, brace it differently, if pressure (not just touch) is required to get a response. My second complaint with the physical home button is that it is a feature of iPhones -- Android doesn't need it; Android doesn't want it. Android has given Apple incentive to point and laugh: Ha! They're trying to make their phones just like ours! Not good.

I still think fondly of the S3 (it is a gorgeous phone: sharp and slim), but it is no longer my favorite. The Google Nexus 4 now holds that position. The specs are top of the line; the design is sleek; as Google's phone it receives updates lightning-fast; and (my favorite feature of all) the Android operating system is not seen through the film of Samsung, HTC, or Motorola -- it's pure Android.