Xoom Companion

Chapter One

How Do I Get Started with the Motorola Xoom?

In this chapter:

Setting Up Your Xoom

Using External Controls

Browsing the Home Screen

Navigating Menus and Tabs

Connecting to a Personal or Business Wi-Fi Network

Understanding Network Icons

Connecting a Bluetooth Device

Protecting the Xoom from Unauthorized Access

To start with your new Motorola Xoom, you will want to activate it. Then you’ll likely want to familiarize yourself with the physical parts of the device (such as the Power/Lock button), join a Wi-Fi network, learn how to navigate the screens, menus, and various tabs, and learn a little about how to use the keyboard. After you’re acquainted with your device and can move around successfully in it, you may want to connect a Bluetooth device. You may also want to protect the Xoom from unauthorized access using the security options your Xoom provides.

Setting Up Your Xoom

When you first turn on your new Xoom, you need to work through a few setup processes. You’ve probably already done that, but if not, they include:

Charging the device (if it isn’t already charged)

Choosing a language

Activating your device using either Verizon’s cellular towers or your wireless network.

If you opted to buy the Xoom outright from a Verizon store or online, and you did not sign up for any data plan when you purchased it, you can’t activate the device on the Verizon network. You need to activate it using a Wi-Fi network. Additionally, if you decide later to sign up for a cellular data plan with Verizon, you need to call Verizon and either create a new account or add a new line to an existing account. You can’t simply activate the network service from your Xoom.

To activate your Xoom:

1. Turn on the Xoom. It will try to activate itself on the Verizon cellular network.

2. If you do not have a Verizon plan for cellular service, you will be prompted to select Skip or Set Up Using Wi-Fi.

3. If you choose the Wi-Fi option, you’ll receive a list of Wi-Fi networks within range. Tap the desired network.

4. Input any passwords or passcodes as prompted.

5. You’ll see a screen that details Google’s location service. You can choose to opt out of providing anonymous location data and allow the service to use your location to improve search results and provide location services.

6. When prompted, sign in with your existing Google account or create one, or skip this task until later. I opted to input my Google account during the setup process and encourage you to do so as well. If you’ve already passed through this and did not set up your Google account, later in the chapter are instructions on how to do this.

7. Finally tap Done on the Xoom’s screen to complete the process.

WHAT ARE LOCATION SERVICES? Location services can determine where you are currently positioned by using location data from Verizon’s cellular towers, Wi-Fi hotspots, or plain old GPS. Actually, these can tell you where your Xoom is located. With your location information pinpointed, apps such as Maps can offer directions from your current location to another, inform you of transportation options in your area, and help you locate restaurants, coffee shops, bars, hotels, gas stations, and other places of interest. Additional apps you acquire may use your location to help you locate nearby restaurants, airports, or even friends, or to share where you are with others. You’ll be prompted by apps when you obtain them to let them have access to your location, and you can generally opt to allow or disallow the first time you open the app.

Figure 1-1 shows what you see when setup is complete and the names of the Home screen features.

Notice the icons on the screen in Figure 1-1. In the middle of the screen are shortcuts to apps you’ll use often, including the Clock (which includes an alarm), Browser, Gmail, Talk, Music, Books, and Market. You’ll learn more about these as you go along, although you probably already have a good idea of what to expect from each. Additionally, note the callouts for other items on the screen. You learn more about these later as well, but familiarize yourself with their names.

Finally, if you purchased peripherals when you purchased your Xoom, you can install those now. You might have purchased the protective Portfolio Case, the Speaker HD Dock, or the Standard Dock, for instance. Each of these devices comes with a set of instructions for using them. Follow those instructions as required; however, I included a section on installing Bluetooth devices at the end of this chapter if you’d like to wait on those. If you’re interested in seeing what else is available in the way of peripherals, visit www.motorola.com, and browse the site for Xoom accessories.

Figure 1-1: After you’re set up, you have access to the Xoom Home screen.

Unlocking the Xoom

The first time your Xoom reaches the default timeout threshold of inactivity, which is 2 minutes, the screen darkens and the Xoom goes to sleep. It won’t be powered off though. When you’re ready to use the Xoom again, you need to press the Power/Lock key on the back of the device to wake it up. Here’s the rub though. When you press the Power/Lock key on the back, the screen you’ll be greeted with will have a clock and a padlock icon (among other things); it won’t be the Home screen shown in Figure 1-1. If you tap that Padlock icon one time, the lock appears to the right-hand side of the circle’s edge indicating you need to drag the icon outside of the circle. Alternately, you can tap the unlock icon that appears outside of the circle. Both will unlock the Xoom. This is to keep the device from accidentally being turned on when you don’t need it, but can be quite confusing to a newcomer.

If you decided that the Padlock icon is a feature you want to disable, at least while you work through this chapter and get to know your Xoom, it’s easy to do and makes a great first lesson:

Figure 1-2: The Open Apps icon is located in the top-right corner of each Home screen.

1. From the Home screen, tap the Open Apps icon. See Figure 1-2.

2. Tap Settings.

3. Tap Location & Security.

4. Tap Configure Lock Screen. See Figure 1-3.

5. Tap Off.

6. To return to the Home screen, tap the Home icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Figure 1-3: You can disable the Lock Screen while you learn about Xoom and lock it later when security is required.

Connecting to Your Computer

It’s best to connect your Xoom to your computer now, even though it’s not technically necessary. This ensures the Xoom’s driver is installed on the computer and that it is available when you’re ready to try your hand at syncing or performing related tasks. It can also give you a chance to see what your options are after your Xoom is connected and installed.

On a PC, you’ll likely see an AutoPlay dialog box once the Xoom is recognized by the computer, shown in Figure 1-4. (Macs won’t recognize the Xoom as an external drive without third-party software.) What you see depends on the operating system you use and the applications installed on it. Unfortunately, there’s no built-in support for syncing and it’s likely many of the options you see won’t work as you’d expect. You can view files on your Xoom from a PC at least, which is a start.

Figure 1-4: When you connect the Xoom to a PC, you can configure what you’d like to happen, although there’s no built-in support for syncing files.

Be careful not to select Always Do This for This Device, and click Open Device to View Files.

WHAT IF THE DRIVER DOESN’T INSTALL PROPERLY? If the installation of the drivers fails, or if you see only a generic device (not Xoom) listed in your Devices window, from your computer, navigate to www.motorola.com, click Support ⇒Tablets ⇒Xoom. Click Drivers and download the latest drivers available. At this time, that’s Motorola 4.9.0 Driver with MotoHelper.

I’VE ALREADY SET UP MY XOOM BUT I WANT TO START OVER If you set up your Xoom without knowing exactly what you were doing and now want to go back to reconfigure a few things, you can. Follow these steps:

1. From the Xoom’s Home screen, tap the Apps icon.

2. Tap Settings.

3. Tap Privacy.

4. Tap Factory Data Reset.

5. Tap Reset Tablet.

Interestingly, while you will lose personal data, third-party email accounts that you’ve input, pictures and other media you’ve manually copied to your Xoom from your computer, and photos you’ve taken with your Xoom (but not uploaded to Picasa or another online service), you won’t lose everything when you reset your Xoom. For example, you won’t lose the phone number assigned to your Xoom if you signed up for cellular data service with Verizon, settings you’ve configured for debugging, and similar information. You also won’t lose information that is attached to your Google account, such as the apps you purchased or downloaded, and email you saved, calendar information you synced, and other data you opted to store in the cloud on Google’s servers (such as pictures or videos). After you reenter your Google account on your Xoom, that data will be synced back to it.

Creating a Google Account

During the setup process, you were prompted to input or create a Google account. If you don’t already have an account and want to get one from your desktop computer or laptop, visit http://mail.google.com/mail/signup. If you’d like to set up an account from the Xoom, keep reading.

Signing Up for a Google Account from the Xoom

There are many ways to create a new Google account from your Xoom. You can use the Browser to navigate to the signup page noted in the previous section, or you can simply open any app that requires a Google account to function properly. This means you can open Gmail, (Google) Talk, Market, and others and be prompted to create an account or sign in with one. You can also create a new account in the Settings app from the Privacy tab. In this example, you use the Gmail app:

1. From the Home screen, tap Gmail.

2. Tap Create Account.

3. Fill in the required information, and click I Accept. Create My Account.

4. Choose your desired verification option: Text Message or Voice Call.

5. Complete the desired information.

6. Follow any addition directions to verify your new account.

7. From the Home screen, tap Gmail again.

8. Enter your new Google account and password.

9. Tap Sign In.

10. Tap Done.

You’ll receive a welcome email in Gmail when your Inbox finishes the syncing process, and your new Google account will be synced with other Xoom apps, including Talk, Market, and others.

Exploring Google Apps and Services

With a Google account configured, you can now explore the Google apps and services available on your Xoom. You may be prompted to sign in to these apps the first time you use them, and you’ll sign in with your Google account. Following are a few of the apps you can find on your new Xoom that are controlled and offered by Google:

Gmail—A free web-based email service. You can get email on your Xoom through the Gmail app, or you can access your mail from any Internet-enabled device from https://mail.google.com. The Gmail app is available on the Home screen and is explained in detail in Chapter 5, How Do I Get the Most from the Web and Email?

(Google) Talk—A free communication tool that enables you to send and receive instant messages and hold video and voice chats with others. The Talk app is available on the Home screen. Instructions for holding video chats are introduced Chapter 9, How Do I Best Take, Share, Manage, and Play Video?

(Google) Books—An app that you can use as both an e-book reader and a portal for accessing the Market to make e-book purchases. The Books app is available on the Home screen and is detailed in Chapter 2, How Do I Use the Apps and Features Included with the Motorola Xoom?

(Google) Calendar—A free calendar you can use to create events and reminders. Calendar enables you to create and manage multiple calendars as well. The Calendar app is available under the Apps icon on the Home screen and is detailed in Chapters 2 and 10, How Do I Use the Motorola Xoom to Communicate and Work More Efficiently?

(Google) Maps—A free mapping service that can easily determine where you are and offer information and routes to get to other places. You can share the information you obtain from Maps with others, too. The Maps app is available by flicking left one screen and is detailed in Chapter 2. Figure 1-5 shows where to find the Maps app.

Figure 1-5: The Maps app is available one screen to the right of the Home screen.

YouTube—A free video-sharing site. You can upload your own video, rate others’ videos, and more, right from your Xoom. Your Google account is your YouTube account.

THERE ARE MANY MORE GOOGLE APPS! Many more Google apps are available than what has been listed here such as Google Docs, Google Sites, and Google Earth. To see what’s available, visit the Market.

Using External Controls

The Xoom is composed of physical hardware. The CPU, graphics card, and built-in accelerometer, barometer, and gyroscope, among other things, are housed inside the device. Your Xoom has hardware available to you on the outside of the device, too.

They are all called out in the documentation that came with your Xoom, and you should take a look at that documentation now. However, you absolutely must be familiar with a few pieces of hardware, so if you can’t get your hands on the original documentation at the present time, you can use the list here to locate controls you need immediately.

These hardware features are described here as they appear when the Xoom is in landscape mode:

Volume—The up and down volume keys are located on the top-left corner of the Xoom, on the outside. Press the top button to increase volume and the bottom one to lower it. A Volume icon appears on the screen when you do this.

Speakers—The Xoom’s speakers are located on the back of the device, toward the top.

Headphone jack—The headphone jack is located at the top of the device. You’ll likely have to push harder than you’d like to attach headphones.

Power/Lock—This button is round and is located on the back of the Xoom, toward the top. It is close to the volume keys. Press briefly to lock the Xoom; press and hold for a second or two to have the option to power off the Xoom; and when the Xoom is asleep but powered on, press the button to awaken it.

Camera lenses—There are two camera lenses, one on the front and one on the back. You often use the front-facing camera lens to hold video conversations, and you use the back-facing lens to take pictures and record video.

Charger port—The charger port is located on the bottom of the Xoom. Use it to connect your Xoom to a power outlet to charge it.

MicroSD card slot/SIM tray—The MicroSD card slot/SIM tray is located at the top of the device. The dummy card can be removed by pulling up on it, and a new card can be inserted. At the time this book was written, though, these features had not yet been activated.

Mini USB port—This port is located at the bottom of the device near the charger port. You use it as you’d expect; you connect a USB device using its USB cable. You can use this port to connect compatible devices.

HDMI Port—The HDMI port is located at the bottom of the Xoom, near the charger port. Use this to connect your Xoom to a compatible HDMI device, such as a television or projector.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SIM CARD? SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. A SIM card identifies your device to a cellular data provider and includes information about your user name, phone number, and other data as applicable. In the United States, on Verizon’s network, you don’t have to get a SIM card for the Xoom unless you plan to travel overseas.

Browsing the Home Screen

The Home screen is the screen that appears when you turn on your Xoom, and Figure 1-1 outlined the names of the (virtual or soft) icons you can find there. You can use these to navigate whatever Xoom screen you’re on, or whatever app you’re using. The soft buttons you’ll use most follow:

Back—Use this to return to the previous screen in an app, web page, or book (for instance), or to return to the last Xoom screen viewed if there’s nothing in the app to go back to.

Home—Use this to return to the main Home screen from inside any app, web page, widget, or other Xoom screen. (A widget is a live or interactive app; the Bookmarks widget was shown earlier in Figure 1-5. You can flick through a widget’s offerings and tap any item in it to view it.)

Recent Apps—Use this to view recently accessed apps. Figure 1-6 shows what Recent Apps offers when tapped.

Figure 1-6: The Recent Apps soft button offers access to apps you recently used.

You’ll also access the Open Apps menu quite often. This icon, located on the top-right corner of every Xoom screen, offers access to apps currently hidden away and out of sight. If you can’t see it, you’re in an app. Tap the Home button to return to the Home screen, where it is accessible. Tap the Open Apps menu, and you access the screen shown in Figure 1-7.

Figure 1-7: Tap the Apps icon (often referred to as the Open Apps icon) to access the apps stowed away and out of sight.

In the top-left corner of the screen are two options for searching with Google. Tap the Google magnifying glass to type search keywords, or tap the microphone to speak your query. When typing keywords, you have access to two sets of results: what’s on the Internet and what’s on your Xoom. Tap any result to view it.

If you opt to use the microphone to speak your keywords, what