Setting up your Android smartphone

Introduction

OK, it's a sequel and these don't always work as planned. But we had fun the first time and got a great response. It sure looked like you enjoyed it too.

At the turn of last year, we had a go at how we'd set up a brand new Android device. We looked at some of the must-have apps and tools available in the Google Play Store to help newbies (but not only) get the best of their smartphone.

With the number of apps nearing a million and Google Play downloads in the range of tens of billions, with at least three different software versions in circulation, getting the best for you isn't the easiest job in the world. You'll need to sift through a vast collection and cherry-pick the relevant bits.

The good news is, if you care about personalizing your smartphone experience, Android is the right OS. Sure, you can upgrade any smartphone with add-ons from the respective app store, but Google is by far the most hands-off platform owner in terms of what users are allowed to do to customize their devices.

Android smartphones are increasingly better equipped right out of the box but there're always more than enough ways to make your device more efficient. In the pages to come, we'll look at some of our favorite ways to customize the user experience and then move on to apps that really put all the available processing power to good use and make you more productive on the go.

We'll even fill one of the missing pieces in the previous article, video player apps. What we'll not cover - again - is games. Sorry, but the vast majority of available titles out there and the subjective nature of the gamin topic in general means we can't really do all of them justice. We're sure our picks in the other categories are not necessarily everyone's favorites, but those will hopefully serve to teach you something new you can do with your phone and then you can chose the actual tool to help you on your own.

Anyway, Episode 2 of our Setting Up Your Android series will again look at ways to make an enjoyable and versatile Android smartphone even more enjoyable and versatile. And these would be but a fraction of the options to choose from.

So, sit back, have your droid close at hand and prepare for a ride down Google Play avenue. Just hold on with the master reset. There's only a few pages to go.