Chapter 1

A Galactic Orientation

In This Chapter

Unboxing your Galaxy tablet

Charging the battery

Locating important things

Adding or removing a microSD card

Getting optional accessories

Storing the tablet

I thoroughly enjoy getting a new gizmo and opening its box. Expectations build. Joy is released. Then despair descends like a grand piano pushed out a third-story window. That's because any new electronic device, especially something as sophisticated as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, can be frustrating and confusing. You have a lot of ground to cover, so to make your journey easier, I offer this gentle introduction.

Set Up Your Galaxy Tablet

Most Galaxy tablets patiently wait in their box for your attention. The exception is the cellular, or LTE, tablet. Because it uses the mobile data signal, the kind people at the Phone Store might have worked through a setup and configuration process with you. This step is necessary to get the mobile data signal up and running. For non-cellular, or Wi-Fi only tablets, the initial configuration is left up to you.

Don't be frightened!

• Chapter 2 covers how the setup process works. Also discussed are the basic on-off operations for your tablet.
• An LTE tablet is one that uses the mobile data network to access the Internet. It can also use the Wi-Fi network. Yes, you pay monthly for that service.
• A Wi-Fi-only tablet uses only a Wi-Fi network for Internet access.

• The initial setup of an LTE tablet identifies the device with the cellular network, giving it a network ID and associating the ID with your cellular bill.

• Although a Wi-Fi tablet doesn't require setup with a cellular provider, it does require a Wi-Fi signal to access the Internet. Accessing that signal is a necessary step. See Chapter 16 for information on configuring your tablet for use with a Wi-Fi network.

Opening the box

Liberate your Galaxy Tab from its box by locating and lifting the cardboard tab. Gleefully remove any plastic sheeting that clings to the device. Check the sides, edges, front, and back. Also check the rear camera lens to ensure that it's not covered with plastic.

In the box's bottom compartment, you may find

• A USB cable: You can use it to connect the tablet to a computer or a wall charger.
• A wall charger: You'll find a USB connector (hole) on the charger, as well as metal prongs for plugging the thing into a wall socket.
• Pamphlets with warnings and warranty information: I find it amazing that the Getting Started pamphlet is about 2 percent of the size of the warnings and warranty information. I blame the discrepancy on lawyers, who are obviously better than technology writers at getting work.
• Cover or pouch: You may find a half cover for your Tab S inside the box. See the later section, "Attaching the cover." The Tab 4 might come with a special pouch into which you can tuck the tablet.
• The 4G SIM card holder: For the LTE/cellular tablet, you'll need a 4G SIM card. The Phone Store people may have tossed its holder into the box as well. You can throw it out.
• Jimmy Hoffa: The former labor leader disappeared in 1975, and no one has been able to find him. Look in the bottom of the box to see whether Hoffa's body is there. You never know.

Go ahead and free the USB cable and power charger from their clear plastic cocoons. That's because the next step is to charge the tablet's battery, covered in the following section.

Keep the box for as long as you own your tablet. If you ever need to return the device or ship it somewhere, the original box is the ideal container. You can shove the useless pamphlets and papers back into the box as well.

Charging the battery

The first thing that I recommend you do with your Galaxy Tab is to give it a full charge. Obey these steps:

1. Plug one end of the USB cable into the wall adapter.

2. Attach the other end of the USB cable to the tablet.

   The cable attaches to the tablet's edge: the right edge for horizontal tablets and the bottom edge for vertical tablets. The USB connector (hole) cannot be mistaken and the cable plugs in only one way.

3. Plug the wall adapter into the wall.

Upon success, you may see a Battery icon on the tablet's touchscreen. The icon gives you an idea of the current battery-power level and lets you know that the tablet is functioning properly. Don't be alarmed if the Battery icon fails to appear.

If the Welcome screen appears when you charge the tablet, you can proceed with the initial configuration, which is covered in Chapter 2. Or you can wait and finish reading this chapter first. Or have a cookie. It's always fun to ignore responsibility and have a cookie.

• Most tablets come partially charged from the factory. That's no excuse! I recommend giving your tablet a good initial charge. It also helps you become familiar with the process.
• The USB cable can also be used to connect the Galaxy Tab to a computer. See Chapter 17 for details.

• The tablet's battery also charges when the tablet is plugged into a computer's USB port, although it's not as effective as charging by using a wall socket.

• The Galaxy Tab does not have a removable, and therefore replaceable, battery.

Attaching the cover

If your Galaxy Tab S came with a half-cover, you can attach it to the device. If your Tab S didn't come with a cover, Samsung has suddenly gotten cheap and there's no excuse for such an omission.

The key to attaching the cover is to look for the two "buttons" on the back of the tablet. Originally, pressing those buttons caused the tablet to explode in an orange fireball of death. Then Samsung changed its mind, and now the buttons are designed to receive the snaps on the half-cover, to firmly attach the cover to the device.

Position the snaps on the shorter side of the half cover over the two buttons on the back of the Tab S. Press firmly. Snap. Snap. You're done.

Know Your Way around the Galaxy

"Second star to the right and straight on till morning" may get Peter Pan to Neverland, but you need more specific directions for navigating your way around your Galaxy Tab.

Finding things on the tablet

Many interesting and useful items festoon the front, back, and perimeter of your Galaxy Tab. Before going into detail, I must address the issue of which way is up on your tablet.

Generally speaking, the tablet's bottom edge features the Home button, illustrated in Figure 1-1. When I write about the tablet's top and bottom edges or its left and right edges, the orientation is set by the Home button's location. When you rotate the tablet, changing between horizontal and vertical orientations, the Home button is still "on the bottom."

Figure 1-1: Galaxy tablet navigation buttons.

Now that I've clarified which way is up, take a moment to peruse the following list and locate the items mentioned on your tablet.

Touchscreen display: The biggest part of the tablet is its touchscreen display, which occupies almost all the territory on the front of the device. The touchscreen display is a see-touch thing: You look at it and also touch it with your fingers to control the tablet. See Chapter 3 for details on touchscreen manipulation.

Navigation buttons: Found at the bottom center of the tablet, these buttons serve many key functions in the Android operating system. They are, as illustrated in Figure 1-1, Recent, Home, and Back. The Home button is a physical button. Recent and Back are touch-sensitive buttons. The functions of these buttons are covered in Chapter 3.

Front camera: The tablet's front-facing camera is centered above the touchscreen. The camera is used for taking self-portraits as well as for video chats. See Chapter 11 for information on using your Galaxy Tab as a camera; Chapter 7 covers video chat.

Light sensor: Just next to the front camera is a teensy light sensor. It's used to help adjust the brightness level of the touchscreen. It is not a second camera.

Power/USB connector: The Power/USB jack is located on the tablet's edge. For horizontal tablets, the connector is found on the right edge. For vertical tablets, the connector is found on the bottom. This location is where you attach the USB cable to the tablet.

Power Lock button: The Power Lock button is the smaller of two thin buttons on the edge of the device. Press Power Lock to turn on the tablet, to lock it (put it to sleep), to wake it up, and to turn it off. Directions for performing these tasks are found in Chapter 2.

Volume button: The tablet's volume button is the longer of the two buttons found on the device's edge. Press one side of the button to set the volume higher, and press the other side to set the volume lower. This button is found next to the Power Lock button.

Headphone jack: The tablet's largest hole accommodates a standard headphone plug. This is where you...