It sounds like just another way to bug your friends—email them about this page you found. Yeah, sure, you can do that—but "Share" means a lot more on an Android phone.
Share Menu
On my phone, for example, my Share menu in the browser, and other places, has a few interesting options. I can "share" pages and files through a Bluetooth connection to a computer or other device. In practice, that means I can wirelessly transfer the odd file or two to my laptop when I don't have a transfer cord handy.Evernoteis a nifty kind of web- based memory system where you can upload links, pictures, audio notes, and text snippets, and then tag them all so they're easy to pull up later (it's how I gather gift ideas). You can guess how Gmail, Facebook, and Messaging work. "Open in LastPass" is a result of signing up for and installing an app fromLastPass, a nifty password service that's very secure and accessible from anywhere. "Read Later" is a great, free application that does one clever thing—installs this "Read Later" option in the browser's Share menu, so that articles are sent to theInstapaperweb service. Instapaper then strips down the page to just the text and primary pictures, and keeps them all stashed online for whenever I want to read them (hence "Read Later.")
Browser Settings Menu
There are many, many setings you can fiddle with to change how your browser displays things, saves data, and operates. Here's the run-down, as of Android 2.2:
• Text size: Pick any of the six options between "Tiny" and "Huge." "Normal" should be fine for most people. Not the same as the page zoom, mind you. • Default zoom: When you double-tap on a picture, this is how close Android
zooms in by default. "Medium" should be fine, but those who like to get big text when they tap should move up to "Close."
• Open pages in overview: If you'd prefer Android to remember just how far you usually zoom in on pages, un-check this. Your pages will open up zoomed in a bit, so they're easier to read.
• Load images: Do you have a very bad data connection at most times, or just don't see the point in loading images on mobile pages? Jump back in time by un-checking this option.
• Auto-fit pages: When you zoom in or out, Android will tweak the layout in little ways, changing box and border sizes and re-distributing certain elements. Some forums and other specialty web pages don't look right with this tinkering, so turn this off if you're experiencing similarly bad-looking pages.
• Landscape-only display: The browser automatically rotates between portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) orientation by default. If you'd like to keep your browser in landscape mode for more horizontal room, check this option. • Enable JavaScript: Turn it off if you really, desperately want to see only speedy
pages of mostly text, but know that most modern web pages are going to have some issues with your choice.
• Enable plug-ins: Android 2.2 and later supports content plug-ins, like Adobe's Flash. There is "Always on" and "Off," but the smartest setting is "On demand," so you can choose when Flash should run on the browser, clicking the little green downward-facing arrows to load Flash on certain pages, but keeping it off to avoid pop-out animated ads and the like.
• Open in background: If you tend to open a bunch of links from a page, then check this. You can click all the links you like on a page, then check them out individually by hitting Menu and opening the Windows dialog.
• Set home page: The default Android home page is a customized Google search box. You can enter the URL of another page to start on here, but it's easier to head to that page first, then head to this setting, where a "Use current page" button will save you a good deal of typing.
• Clear cache: All the data your browser is storing to make heading to the same pages repeatedly a bit faster. Clear this when certain pages are having trouble loading something like a search result or new content, when you know they should look different.
• Clear history: Just like it sounds. Helpful if you keep getting an annoying result you don't want while typing into the address bar—or if you don't want others to see items you've browsed in your history. Remember that you can clear individual items from your history list by heading to the Bookmarks menu, then the History tab.
• Accept cookies: Most cookies, or bits of information about your visit and your individual site preferences, are harmless. If you don't trust the web as much as the masses, or just need to avoid certain cookies from certain sites, un-check this.
• Clear all cookie data: Wipes out the cookies you've already collected. May be helpful in logging out of every site at once, if you have to hand over your phone to a friend.
• Remember form data: The browser can remember your input into boxes that call for ZIP codes, search terms, or other information. The next time you visit them and click inside to type, the browser will drop down some of your recent entries to pick from, if you have this enabled.
access, so that they'll have to ask again for permission to locate you. • Remember passwords: Enable this, and the browser will usually ask you to
remember your passwords when you type into what looks like username/ password fields. You'll get "Remember," "Not now," and "Never" options on each site.
• Clear passwords: Wipes out every password your phone has saved from the web. Note that this option doesn't wipe out the main Google Account password that lets you access your Gmail and other Google services.
• Show security warnings: If a site has a security or encryption certificate that remains unsigned, doesn't match up with its vendor, or otherwise seems to have something amiss, the browser will let you know and ask if you want to continue. Some of us have to deal with sites we need to use that just aren't on their security game—your author included—so un-check this if that's the case, but keep it checked at most times.
• Web site settings: Generally, these individual sites are Google-related, and the settings relate to their access to your location. Click if you want to deny access to one site location but keep the others' settings together.
• Reset to default: Something's started going wrong since the last time you tweaked your settings? Unsure what you've changed and want it changed back? Hit this button and confirm the switch, and you'll get your browser back to exactly how you got it when you first turned on your phone.
Phew. That's the long and short of browsing on an Android device. The browser is one of the core elements of an Android phone, as you'll see as we move on. Note, too, that this is an overview of the main browser on an Android phone, but there are many others you can use that work in a similar way with different features—or completely different, in some cases. To see a few recommended options, head to the chapter on App Alternatives.