Android Beginner's Guide

So you’ve picked up your new Android phone and you’re ready to dive right in! But like with any new gadget, you have unanswered questions about the features of Android and that powerful new device you’ve just booted up. And of course there are always unknown tips, tricks, and tutorials that you wish you’d known about beforehand. Luckily, we’ve got all the info that will put you on the fast track to becoming an Android expert!

First, some Frequently Asked Questions:

What should I know about the Android Market?

• First off, the Android Market offers a 15 minute full refund window for paid apps. If you don’t like it, get your money back!
• Certain apps may only be available to specific version of Android, e.g. Android 2.1+. This means if you’re still running Android 1.6, these apps won’t be available to you and won’t show up in searches.

What are those black/white box-shaped images?

• They are called QR codes, and are similar to normal barcodes. They can be scanned by specific apps (see question below) and are a way for transferring all sorts of information, especially URLs. They are most often used as direct links to apps in the Android Market.

Doodle Jump Android Game, Bounce You Higher!

The Doodle Jump Android game is an instant classic where you must bounce your way skyward from one platform to the next without falling or hitting various enemies/obstacles.

• Version: 1.6.6
• Size: 1.71MB (apps2SD enabled)
• Category: Games
• Price: $0.99

Doodle Jump appropriately comes with a formidable warning of “insanely addictive!” thanks to its continuous gameplay requiring little to no learning curve. The mission is to “jump, jump, jump to the top, top, top” bouncing from one platform the next using a variety of boosters like springs, jet packs, and propeller hats which you can pick up along the way.

To navigate Doodler left/right on his ascent, utilize your Android device’s accelerometer and tilt your Android device slightly to the left or right. Much like in the classic game Pac-Man, exiting the screen on the right side reenters you on the left, giving you more options for each of your jumps. By tapping the screen you can also shoot Doodler’s “nose balls” which will blast “baddies” out of your way. Hitting them as you fly upward or getting sucked into the black holes will immediately end your run.

Hei, you can connect your blogger to google+

Connect to Google+

Back in October we made it possible for Blogger in Draft users to use their Google+ profile on their blog. This option is now available to all Blogger users, and as a result, we're starting to roll out the first of many Google+ features.

Starting today, if you have linked your blog to your Google+ account you will be presented with a prefilled Google+ share box immediately after publishing a post. The share box will contain a +snippet of your post that you can share with your circles on Google+.

Of course, you can disable this sharing prompt at any time on the "Settings - Posts and Comments" page. And you can always share individual posts on Google+ by selecting "share" underneath the entry in your post list.

You can start using the new Share to Google+ immediately if you’ve already chosen to use your Google+ profile on your blog. If you haven’t yet made the switch, click here to get started.

If you don’t have a Google+ account you can create one here, and then log in to Blogger and follow the above instructions.

To learn more, check out our FAQs or visit our Help Forum.

Want to chat about sharing to Google+ and other Blogger features with someone from the team? Join me on the Blogger +page for a live video Hangout at 3PM PST.

Happy blogging!