Samsung Galaxy Tab® S2 NOOK® For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956628
ISBN 978-1-119-17111-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-17112-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-17108-9 (ebk)
In the beginning was the book, and it was good. There were books carved into stone and books inscribed on papyrus and eventually books made on printing presses in sizes small, medium, and large.
We skip forward to modern times and the invention of the computer, which began in sizes extra large (the first models were the size of houses, with snapping switches and whirring reels of tape). Eventually computers got smaller and more personal.
Then we entered the time of the tablet and the age of the smartphone, each of which are handheld computers. The first tablets were pretty good as a way to display electronic books, and some basic computer tasks including email and Internet access. The first smartphones connected to cellphone systems for telephony and had tiny screens that could be used to connect to the Internet and display fragments of pages of books.
And now … almost everything has converged.
Smartphones have gotten larger and smarter; the biggest of them are nicknamed a bit awkwardly as phablets: phone tablets. You can make and receive calls, read eBooks and newspapers, and watch TV and movies on the go.
At the same time, tablets have gotten smarter and quicker and thinner and lighter. And using a wireless connection, you can even make phone calls from a tablet.
Today’s buyers, then, have a choice between a relatively large phone or a relatively small tablet.
The full name of the device we’re gathered to explore is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK. It’s very much a member of the Samsung Galaxy Tab family, but please don’t ask me to explain Samsung’s very strange naming conventions. We simply don’t have the time. Suffice it to say, the Galaxy Tab 4 was followed by the Galaxy Tab S, which begat the Galaxy Tab S2. (For what it’s worth, Henry Ford’s Model T was followed by the Ford Model A. Go figure.)
The final word in the nomenclature is NOOK, and here’s what that means: The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK comes predisposed to install the full suite of NOOK apps. They aren’t there when you first turn on the device, but you’re offered the chance to set up an account with Barnes & Noble and receive all the digital reading tools that come with that free membership.
For the record, you don’t have to install the NOOK apps on your new tablet, in which case you’ll be the puzzled owner of a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK without NOOK features. There’s nothing illegal or immoral about that configuration, but if that’s your goal, you might as well purchase (at the same price) the tablet directly from Samsung or from an electronics dealer. Going the other way, though, if you happen to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, you can always add the NOOK apps, which are freely available by going on the Internet to the Barnes & Noble, NOOK, or Google Play website and installing them on your tablet.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK is one of the most advanced models on the market with a truly spectacular full-color screen, an advanced set of radios, an improved camera and video recorder (one each on the front and back), a built-in GPS system for maps and direction finding, and full permission for users to add specialized programs (apps) that are available from Barnes & Noble, Samsung, Google, and even (perish the thought) from Amazon.
The price, alas, has risen from bargain-basement levels, but buyers will be getting a no-excuses tablet. Depending on the way you want to look at it, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK is either one of the most advanced electronic readers yet made, or Barnes & Noble has added its NOOK software to perhaps the most advanced tablet on the market.
I’ve been writing books about computers and tablets all the way back to the birth of the industry. And as good as the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK tablet is, they have continued a long tradition in computer manufacturing: The skimpy little instruction booklet that comes with it (all of 14 pages of minimal detail) is best used as a coaster beneath your cup of coffee (placed at a safe distance from the tablet, please). The online manual isn’t much better.
That’s just the way it is. Myself, I’m not complaining: I’ve made a nice living for a long time filling in the gaping blanks between. Herewith, then, the keys to the Galaxy.
You can read this book from front to back, if you wish. Or you can jump to a section that deals with whatever questions you have. Each of the parts deals with a particular task or function, and each chapter covers a specific topic.
My goal, as always, is to present news you can use and skip over as much unnecessary bafflegab as possible. When I feel it necessary to go a bit into technological detail, you’ll find those sections nicely fenced off; enter if you want, or keep the barn door latched. We’re in this together, and I’ve done my best to make the book easy to read and understand (and even entertaining in places).
I call the tablet by its first name when it seems appropriate, and in other places I call it the Tab S2 NOOK. And in places where the hardware isn’t the issue, I might even just call it the NOOK or the tablet.
Like other books in the constantly expanding For Dummies universe, you’ll be directed to do things by numbered steps. Sometimes you’ll be advised to choose a menu item, and then to tap a command. It’s all quite touchy-feely, I promise.
The first and most important assumption I make for all of my books of this sort is this: You, dear reader, are an intelligent, capable, and curious person who wants to know how to use what seems at first glance to be a very complex technical device.
Put another way, you’re not looking to build a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK from spare parts recovered from your kitchen junk drawer, and you have no interest whatsoever in writing your own software to make the hardware sing and dance.
And the second assumption is this: You already own, or are seriously considering buying, a Tab S2 NOOK.
And because we’re nearly a decade into the Time of the Tablet, I suspect that you have seen a tablet and probably made at least a few swipes at one. Because of this, I skip the “Isn’t it amazing?” part and get right to the point: They keep getting better and better.
Although it isn’t essential, I also assume that you have your own desktop or laptop computer or have access to one. It doesn’t matter whether it be a Windows or Macintosh design. And I also assume that you have a Wi-Fi wireless computer network you can use at home or at work or in a public library or other place you can use.
The Tab S2 NOOK needs a Wi-Fi connection for you to register and configure it, and then reach the Internet for all purposes, including stocking the tablet with books and music and video and games.
Another assumption is that you’re aware of the relatively new world of apps. It’s short for application, which is another word for a software program. On a desktop or laptop computer, software has become larger and more complex year by year. But in the reduced world of the tablet, there’s a different concept: small and specialized.
This icon is there to tell you when danger — or at least serious problems — lie ahead. If you don’t heed this information, you might damage your tablet or yourself or you might lose really important information.
This icon is there to remind you of something. This information tells you how to do something you’ll often need.
This icon tells you of useful tips and suggestions to get the most from your new tablet. This information might save you time or money. Or better — both.
You probably don’t need to know this stuff, but aren’t you a little bit curious? Go ahead, try a few. There are no pop quizzes in this book.
I’ve written a lot of extra content that you won’t find in this book. Links to the articles are on the parts pages. Go online to find the following:
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
www.dummies.com/extras/samsunggalaxytabS2nook
You go from here to the first part and the sections that lie behind. You could start by reading the copyright and trademark page, or read the names of all the fine people at Wiley who helped transform my keyboard taps into the book you’re holding. But perhaps you’d like to save that for an epilogue. Go forth and explore Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK and the device itself; they’re meant for each other.
Part I
Visit www.dummies.com for more great Dummies content online.
In this part …
Explore the Tab S2 NOOK parts.
Turn it on and set it up it for first use.
Read about how to use the touchscreen.
Tap and talk to the keyboard.
Chapter 1
In This Chapter
Turning it on, turning it off
Flying off into Airplane Mode
Locking and unlocking the door to your tablet
Adding more memory on a microSD card
A rose is a rose is a rose,” wrote Gertrude Stein. I take her point: A tablet is a tablet is a tablet.
A small thin box frames a flat plastic screen that sits above some tiny processor and memory chips and a battery and we call it — in its dozens of brands — a tablet. That little box today can hold and display nearly all the world’s books, magazines, and newspapers. It can sing, show videos, take pictures, make movies, determine its location from an orbiting satellite, connect to the Internet, and send and receive emails and messages.
So I said a tablet is a tablet, but you could also say the same about cars. Yet you know there’s a vast difference between a Ferrari LaFerrari and a Nissan Versa.
With this version of the NOOK, Barnes and Noble has leap-frogged from a very basic model to one with nearly all the bells and whistles you could ever want. This tablet is more of a tablet than a basic tablet. Got that, Rose?
Just about the only thing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK lacks is a decent instruction manual. And that’s why I wrote this book.
To download books or email or to browse the web with a Tab S2 NOOK, you need access to the Internet. You’ll probably use the tablet’s built-in Wi-Fi to connect to a system plugged into the Internet. See Figure 1-1.
Photo courtesy of Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Figure 1-1: Wi-Fi signal strength, battery level, and time are in the upper right. The icon in the lower right displays apps.
When you purchase your Tab S2 NOOK, it comes in an unpretentious cardboard box about the size of a thick paperback book. (Remember those?) The box is there mostly to protect the tablet on its long and complicated journey from the factory to a warehouse and from there to a store and into your hands. Within the box: the Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK and a few little necessities:
Figure 1-2: The AC adapter plugs into a wall socket; the larger end of the USB cable attaches to the charger.
Keep the box, along with the warranty information and your receipt. If you ever need to return the tablet to the seller, send it in for service, or ship it to someone else, the original box is ready.
Sooner or later, you should remove the protective plastic sheet that sits atop the LCD screen. It works well to protect the device in transit, but it will interfere with using the touchscreen and collect dirt. Put it back in the box as a treasured memento.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK comes with a built-in (and non-removable) rechargeable battery. Your battery probably still has some power in it from testing at the factory. (Mine arrived about half full.)
Although you can use the tablet without a full charge, or use it while it’s in the process of charging, don’t use it immediately after you get it.
Why would you want to fully charge the battery before first use?
Bringing the battery to full charge may help it last longer. That is, if you properly condition it with a full charge before using it first. See Figure 1-3.
After the battery’s fully charged for the first time, you can use your tablet. But don’t be in a rush to top off the battery: Let it drain down to nearly empty, then recharge it fully. Do this for the first three or four cycles.
Recharge the battery when it’s at 15 or 20 percent of capacity; it’s generally not a good idea to let it go all the way to 0. In fact, the NOOK is smart enough to turn itself off before it reaches completely empty.
When you first turn on the tablet, you have to register the device at lots of places. You have to sign in to a Wi-Fi system and sign in with Samsung, Google, and a few apps makers. And if you want to use the NOOK facilities, you need to sign in and create a Barnes & Noble account or register using an existing account you may already have.
Be sure to install any software updates.
Don’t start the registration and update process with an insufficient battery charge. If the tablet were to turn off, you might have to reset all the operating system elements and apps when you begin again.
Figure 1-3: The tablet beeps and warns you when the battery level drops to only a few minutes of usable power, and the screen gets dim.
And so, here’s how to give your tablet its first full charge:
Attach the larger end of the USB cable to the charger.
The cable only fits one way. Pay attention to the white positioning bar inside the charger and its corresponding bar inside the cable. Don’t force the two positioning bars against each other.
Attach the USB cable to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK.
The smaller connector on the cable connects to the port on the bottom of your tablet. The side of the cable that has the three-forked USB symbol will be facing you as you’re looking at the front of the tablet. Again, don’t force the plug in the wrong way. See Figure 1-4.
Plug the charger into a wall outlet.
Go for a walk, mow the lawn, read a book printed on dead trees, bake a cake. A nearly empty battery can take as long as four hours to recharge.
For the first three or four times you use your tablet, I recommend draining the battery to nearly empty and then fully recharging it.
Figure 1-4: The smaller end of the USB cable plugs into the bottom of the tablet, slightly off-center to the right of the Home button.
You can check on charging by pressing the Home key on the tablet. Unplug the charger when it reaches 100%.
You can also recharge your Tab S2 NOOK by connecting the USB cable to a USB port on a PC or laptop, although this is a relatively slow process that can take six or more hours for a full refill. I consider the USB charging option as an emergency backup only.