Author: Dan Gookin
Publisher: Wiley Publishing – 348 pages
Book Review by Nano Khilnani
The well-known author of this book Droid 3 for Dummies Dan Gookin has written more than a whopping 120 books on computers, software, and electronic gadgets and gizmos over the last two decades, starting with his classic Dos for Dummies in 1991 when computers were just beginning to be used on a mass scale.
Well organized and illustrated with numerous photos of the many parts and useful features of the Droid 3 handheld device, this large book of almost 350 pages covers everything you need to know about it.
To start with, this guide has four helpful icons used throughout the book: Remember, Technical Stuff, Tips, and Warning. The Remember icon is a friendly reminder to do something; the Technical Stuff points out to technical discussions on the topic if you’d like to know about, but it is optional; the Tips icon points you out to helpful tips and shortcuts to save effort and time; and the Warning icon alerts you to not do something.
There are six basic parts in this book. After browsing through the Contents at a Glance, you can search through the detailed Table of Contents to read about the topics you’re looking for. Before the start of Part 1, Dan puts you, in his Introduction, in the right frame of mind (don’t be intimated, he says), and writes how you should use this book and how it is organized so you can gain the most from it. He cautions you not to read it from cover to cover but rather use it as a reference.
Be sure to also read “Foolish Assumptions.” before starting to use this book. Among them are that you have the Droid 3 phone and Internet device by Motorola, with service provided by Verizon and that you have a computer (a PC Windows, a Mac or a Linux) and a Google account. He also suggests you get a high-capacity memory storage card with 16 gigabytes at least, but preferably, 32 gigabytes, which is not provided with the device at purchase.
For easy access to any bit of information on the Droid 3, Dan invites you to go to this website www.wambooli.com.
Part 1 introduces you to the Droid 3 and its features. He instructs you how to set up and configure it, and orients and familiarizes you with the device. You will also discover new things about it that you probably did not know.
Part 2 reminds you that what you have is basically a phone from which to make and receive calls and record voice mails, and how to organize and store names and phone numbers of people, to save you time looking them up. But with the Droid 3 you can also do speed dialing and make multiple calls simultaneously.
Part 3 is about nonverbal communications such as texting, checking email, sending and receiving images and messages, browsing the Internet and doing your social networking.
Part 4 is about many things that Droid 3 can do that a regular cell phone cannot. This device is an assistant (verbal and visual) that gives you driving directions, an atlas or map, a still camera, a video camera, an alarm clock, a music player and a video game player and more all rolled into one. It’s an amazing piece of technology that demonstrates the convergence of print, audio and video media that has been buzzed about for decades.
Part 5 entitled “Nuts and Bolts” shows you things like connecting the Droid 3 to your computer, using Bluetooth and Wifi networking, making international calls and calling home and other countries from overseas, customizing your device to your preferences, and maintenance and troubleshooting.
Part 6 features ten topics in each chapter which includes shortcuts, tips, things to remember, tricks and some favorite Droid 3 apps.
Droid 2 for Dummies is an absolutely essential tool for anyone who wants to learn the basics of this phone-handheld device as well as its many advanced features. Packed with so much information and being a rich reference source, this book is a must-have.
Dan Gookin has done a marvelous job putting all the information together, organizing it with numerous helpful graphics and writing it in such clear and simple-to-understand language that it is a delight to use the book. He gets an A+ from me. Get the book.
