book is a reference – you don’t have to read it from beginning to end to get all you need out of it. The information is clearly organized and easy to access. You don’t need thick glasses to understand this book. This book helps you figure out what you want to do – and then tells you how to do it in plain English.
I don’t use many conventions in this book, but here are a few you should know about:
❯❯ Whenever I introduce a new term, I put it in italics and define it shortly thereafter.
❯❯ I use bold for the action parts of numbered steps, so you can easily see what you’re supposed to do.
❯❯ I use monofont for web addresses and email addresses, so they stand out from the surrounding text. If you’re reading this as an e-book, these links are live and clickable. Note: When this book was printed, some web addresses may have needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that we haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So, when using one of these web addresses, just type exactly what you see in this book, pretending that the line break doesn’t exist.
What You’re Not to Read
I think you’ll find every last word of this book scintillating, but I may be a little biased. The truth is, you don’t have to read
❯❯ Sidebars: Sidebars are those gray boxes throughout the book. They’re interesting, but not essential to the topic at hand, so if you’re short on time (or you want only the information you absolutely need), you can skip them.
❯❯ Text marked with the Technical Stuff icon: For more on this icon, see the “Icons Used in This Book” section, later in this Introduction.
Foolish Assumptions
You know what they say about assuming, so I don’t do much of it in this book. But I do make a few assumptions about you:
❯❯ You have a Galaxy S7 phone. You may be thinking about buying a Galaxy S7 phone, but my money’s on your already owning one. After all, getting your hands on the phone is the best part!
❯❯ You’re not totally new to mobile phones. You know that your Galaxy S7 phone is capable of doing more than the average phone, and you’re eager to find out what your phone can do.
❯❯ You’ve used a computer. You don’t have to be a computer expert, but you at least know how to check your email and surf the web.
How This Book Is Organized
The 18 chapters in this book are divided into six parts. Here’s what you can find in each part.
Part 1: Getting Started with the Samsung Galaxy S7
The first part of this book gets you familiar with the basic capabilities of your Galaxy S7 phone. Chapters 1 and 2 are an introduction to everything from turning it on and off to managing battery life.
Part 2: Communications
In this part, I walk you through the basic capabilities of the Galaxy S7 for communicating with voice, texts, and email. Chapter 3 is about making calls. Chapter 4 covers what you need to know about texting. Chapter 5 covers emailing, and Chapter 6 explores how the phone works with your Contacts database.
Part 3: Live on the Internet: Going Mobile
This part is all about the Internet – how to access it from your Galaxy S7 phone. I also introduce you to the Play Store, where you can trick out your phone with more apps.
Part 4: Entertainment Applications
An important use for many smartphone owners involves entertainment. Chapter 9 covers the impressive picture-taking capabilities of your phone, but really covers only some of the capabilities. Chapter 10 looks at the impressive gaming capabilities; Chapter 11 explores navigating to all the fun places you can go in the real world; and Chapter 12 walks you through playing music and video on your phone.
Part 5: Productivity Applications
In this part, I cover the capabilities of the Galaxy S7 smartphone that make you more productive at home and work.
Part 6: The Part of Tens
This wouldn’t be a For Dummies book without a Part of Tens. In this book, the Part of Tens covers ten ways to customize the phone to make it truly your own, how to keep your information safe, and ten capabilities to look for in future releases.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout this book, I used icons (little pictures in the margin) to draw your attention to various types of information. Here’s a key to what those icons mean:
Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet. To get to this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Samsung Galaxy S7 Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
You don’t have to read this book from cover to cover. You can skip around as you like. For example, if you need the basics on calling, texting, and emailing, turn to Part 2. To discover more about photos, games, and apps, go to Part 4. To find out about the phone’s calendar functions or about using the Microsoft Office, turn
