Android newbie

[Jonthrow]

first time on the android phone.

When I press the menu button and add, I can add to home screen shortcuts and widgets.

what is the difference between shortcuts and widgets?

what do you call the area where all the apps are found? Apps screen?

I have a portion of that area appearing in the home screen. How do I remove it to show the entire home screen?

Is it advisable to paste a screen protector on a capacitive screen?

 

[Zezozose]

A shortcut is just that, a shortcut that will launch an app. A widget is an app, or part of an app, that you can interact with from your actual home screen.

An example is the facebook app. You can set a shortcut, and it will launch the app. You can also add a widget, which will display feed items in a box on your home screen. You can scroll through feeds with this widget, and click it to launch the full-blown app.

Different widgets will do different things, but in general they are interactive, or at least dynamic; you may not be able to interact with a battery widget, but it will change to reflect the battery level.


The area that holds the apps is called the app drawer.


The "handle" of the app drawer can't be removed as far as I know - well, i imagine it is possible for someone to make it transparent, but it will still be there. You can get home replacements like LauncherPro or ADW launcher that have more attractive handles. There are threads on these launchers, read them and try them both out. Helix Launcher is good too, and there are other choices as well.


I have a screen protector - I got a pack of three from amazon for a couple of bucks. I prefer my phone with it on - it is just as sensitive, and has a bit more grip. I guess there are some that will yellow with time, so keep that in mind.