NEW to the DROID WORLD PLEASE HELP

[jessja]

Hello everyone! I bought my HTC EVO about 6 days ago from Radio Shack. I previously owned a Blackberry Curve 8330. I had been waiting for a good, reliable phone to arrive to the Sprint network for about 6 months. (contract ended in December hadn't renewed until now) I have been eagerly anticipating this GREAT PHONE and now that I have it I feel a bit overwhelmed. The first day I spent over 6 hours playing on it and trying to figure it out. Can any of you give me suggestions on how to get the best out of my droid experience? Anything from cool application to settings would help me. I am finding it a challenge to do even the simplest things. (like cropping a picture for my wallpaper) I am also trying to get used to texting with the touch screen and I hope I get used to it quickly. I feel like it does too much at times haha. Please help!

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[rich_c]

Take it slow. Learn one thing at a time. For the wallpaper, search the Market for an app called "Wallpaper Set and Save". That will allow you to set your wallpaper without having to crop it.

For texting, using the phone in landscape mode should help. If you find yourself continually hitting the wrong keys, check out

Menu -> Settings -> Language and Keyboard -> Touch Input -> Text Input -> Calibration Tool

That allows you to set the input to match your typing style. There is also a "Reset Calibration" setting in case you want to put it back to factory settings and start over.

The keyboard is capacitive sensing, which means it's very sensitive. You can often hit keys and buttons without actually touching them. Getting a screen protector helps this somewhat. Make it a habit to pick up your fingers and not slide them from key to key.

Good luck and enjoy your new phone.

[sagedil]

Agreed. Just takes time. It will all seem a bit less overwhelming in a few days.

And welcome to the fun. ;-)

[sunset74]

Jessja, I feel your pain. I had the same phone and had been waiting for the EVO ever since they announced it. But I switched from the BB Curve 8330 and so I was right there with you. I have gotten much better at texting, but still have times when it is difficult. The Landscape mode does help a LOT. I generally use that all the time when texting.

I am still learning sooooo much. Apps are completely foriegn to me, I have downloaded a few but as to what is useful I have not tried. I do plan to get the wallpaper one though because I am really tired of cropping. Good luck.

[GaryJinks]

Two Apps I like are Google Goggles which lets you take a picture and search the web. For example take a picture of a painting and google will find a match and tell you all about it. Graphic web search vs typing a search. The other is Shazam which started on the iPhone and lets you identify a song as you listen. Also lets you go out and buy it if you want. For fun the Tricorder is geek cool and has some functionality as well.

[ThatTmoGuy]

If the keyboard drives you nuts try ShapeWriter I use out for entering all text and also try app brain it recommends apps from the market place based on what you already have