Getting down to basics, most of us seniors just want
to “keep connected” as our physical worlds narrow down a bit. Here, Willow Valley brings everything closer
to us. A simplified handheld computer
device might help with that.
What we need is to be able to get to the doctor or
drugstore our family or bank or entertainment without moving much from where we
are. Same thing if traveling.
We need a simple device to help with that: small, very heap
and easy to use. In its simplest configuration,
it would have a menu:
Contact family
Contact doctor
Contact Bank
Order prescriptions
Listen to the radio
Read the paper
Read a book
Let the device read an eBook to us
Get information
Make a phone call
Get the weather
Listen to music
Get help
It would be the size of a book and we could use it to
and from anywhere. We
would reach for it and get connected immediately.
Well, they don't come that way. They come with too much to set up and
learn.
Wait a minute, maybe we could do it right here, with
a smart Kindle Fire or its lookalike
powerhouse, the stunning new Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.
Tap or click to browse about the Kindle Fire.
Tap or click to browse about the Kindle Fire.
Now we, or a friend, need to get out our new device
and bring up what we are reading here, and start with the Links. Click
on them where they appear below. We can also go
through the motions here if without a
device at hand yet. Snrtech is set up for either way.
The Fire actually has some of these these choices
already on its homepage: Newsstand-Books Music-Video-Docs-Apps-and Web. Just click on one of them.
It has others pre-installed:
Then, hiding in “Apps” are: email and weather and others, and we can add
in a few we need, easily.
Hiding in “Web” is our browser, which can go and get
everything else.
SO, the Apps and Web will then get the rest done for
us!
What we will do is go to the link below and search,
click, and “install” what we need:
From Apps, then:
Phone (Samsung only) http://www.amazon.com/Skype-Software-S-a-r-l/dp/B005R32L66/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1337279046&sr=1-1
Wait, to install these do we need an account sign up here for Fire. (Does not mean you need to buy anything, but
the store needs to know who uses what apps, if only to update or delete.)
(If you bought your Kindle from Amazon, it may already be set up. Here is the store for the Samsung ab 2 7 https://play.google.com/store/search?q=voice
From the web:, search and bookmark:
Make bookmarks!!
When you get there, click for a bookmark.
Maybe we would like voice (speech) recognition. I don't like to type so much any more. There are such apps from both online
stores. The Fire internal
mic does work with an apple mic-headset or equivalent. Then, search in “Apps” for the “voice” apps.
That does it for the menu items. We need to sign in for some items with our
EMail, or register right then and there. And there we are. We’d need WiFi, which Willow Valley has close
by everywhere and provides it in our
apartments for $25 a month.
The Samsung has similar pre-installed apps, actually
mostly the same. Just click on the
Google Play Store icon and go.
The two devices do almost all the same things. Amazon provides apps from its (limited)
store, Samsung from Google's main store.
Same for Books and Music.
(Where Amazon
may not have an app you want, there are usually ways to get it anyway, by
sideloading. That is not necessary for the Samsung.)
I sideloaded this way:
http://www.tested.com/news/feature/3179-how-to-sideload-android-apps-on-the-amazon-kindle-fire-in-3-steps/
However, I then simplified the process. I did it via DropBox, whereby the same file
is accessible on both computer and tablet---no hookup needed.) Just Install it on
both device and larger computer.
Another Samsung advantage for PC and Mac users is
that it runs the super Google Chrome browser which integrates all data together
with any other of your computers.
However, both devices do much of that automatically anyway, even
bookmarks with Xmarks. App.
Recently printing from both these devices got much
easier:
Also, both devices support external wireless
keyboards, so that very little is left that they cannot do. They cannot work with a large display, however.
That will come next. And then, who needs any other computer?
What? You want Microsoft Windows, TOO?? The Samsung can install the CloudOn app for Windows Word, Excel, etc. You thought Microsoft would be left out?
What? You want Microsoft Windows, TOO?? The Samsung can install the CloudOn app for Windows Word, Excel, etc. You thought Microsoft would be left out?
Use these useful books just as reference or right now before having the device.
You don’t need to absorb it all, but it is good to have a friendly book
there to help if you ever do get into all the other things to do.
