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CHAPTER 3: Sync Your DROID With Your Google Account
101
Table 3–1. Drilling Down on Google Account Services.
Gmail: Gmail is a free web-based email service, but it’s good
enough to replace those email accounts your Internet
service provider gives you. We’ll talk about email in
greater detail later. Make sure you register for an
account. Some Android phones will not let you activate
them without one.
Google
V
oice:
Google Voice is a VoIP (Voice over IP) service that allows
you to use a single phone number to forward your calls,
create a visual voicemail message with text transcription,
and make low cost international long-distance calls.
Google Voice isn’t a pure VoIP service at this time. You
still need a phone in order to use it, although you can
initiate calls from your computer using Gmail.
Google
Calendar:
Google Calendar works a bit differently from the
calendar in Microsoft Outlook. It includes standard
features like events and invitations, but Google
Calendar is meant to be even more collaborative. You
manage Google Calendar by adding multiple calendars
and sharing them with others. For instance, you can have
a calendar you allow colleagues to see but not edit, a
calendar team members can all edit, and another
calendar of fully public events.
Google
Maps:
You’re probably already familiar with this map
application. Google Maps is the engine behind most of
your phone’s geographically sensitive apps. Google
Maps does more than provide you driving directions; it
can also give you walking and public transport
directions. This is invaluable when you’re on the road.
Google
Checkout:
Google Checkout is a tool for buyers and merchants to
complete credit card transactions without revealing the
credit card info to the merchant. It’s a competitor to
PayPal. You’ll need to set up an account with this service
that contains your credit card information if you want to
purchase apps from the Android Market.
Picasa: The web-based albums in Picasa Web Albums are
Google’s answer to Flickr. If you want to upload pictures
from your phone to the Web, this is the default location
for sharing such pictures on the DROID. You may want
to set up your account with albums and public or private
sharing permissions if you need to share photos as part
of your job. It’s more efficient to upload photos to Picasa
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