As part of my job, I spend a lot of time with smart phones, and I occasionally look at phones that belong to other humans, mainly to see if the applications my company makes are functioning correctly. Many of these people are on iPhones, but more and more of them use Androids. One of the things I’ve noticed about the Android users is that there are very few folders on these Android devices. Now, maybe it’s just me and my desire to keep stuff organized, but I despise having a phone cluttered with icons, particularly if they’re not, well, you know, put in categories and aligned, and if it looks like no thought at all was given to their placement on a page, then I get all angry inside and stuff. I slam my fist on my desk (when no one’s around to see) and I might even swear out loud (not that this matters since I’m swearing at everyone mentally all the time anyway). What a mess!
Androids have a lot of pages compared to other phone operating systems, and if you download a custom launcher (of which there are many) you can have pretty much as many pages as you like. This is the advantage of Droid. In that realm, customization is king – or at least prince… okay, maybe a duke. At least an Earl! Yeah… an Earl. BlackBerry is more like a Squire. And iPhones, well, you’re a peon. Is there anything less than a peon? Maybe a corpse. Don’t bother customizing iPhones. Apple has your balls.
I’m using the paid version of the Nova launcher right now, and I like it a lot. If you’re interested, here’s a video of Nova:
Pretty cool, right? This works great on my Nexus 7 and my Galaxy SII. You can get a copy from Google Play here. But I’m getting off topic. I want to tell you how to make a folder. Why make a folder? Because you have a lot of icons sitting around, or you don’t want to put them on your screens because then your screens will be full of icons. So, instead of that, how about a folder for Games, Utilities, Mail, Drawing, Music, Voice, Comics, News, Photos, Education, Ebooks, whatever you have floating around on your system.
To make a folder on Android
- Press and hold an icon.
- Move the icon over another icon until the icon beneath is highlighted.
- Release the icon.
That’s it. You now have a folder containing both icons. If you press that icon, it will open and show you its contents.
If you press the bottom label, you can name the folder. Give it a name that makes sense. Both of the applications still reside in your Apps folder. Icons are simply shortcuts to open an app, and you can have folders that include the same icon in multiple locations if you wish. Organizing your apps in you folders gives you more screen real estate and ensures you can find what you’re looking for without having to browse your apps folder or perform a search. The trick is simply placing one app icon on top of the other.
Filed under: Android, Technical Tagged: | Android Folders, Droid Folders, How to Create Android Folders, Nova Launcher, Organize Your Android
Clever and useful too.
You changed your gravitar! Nice.
Thank you for the compliment. I kind of enjoy writing things like this, although I’ve never exactly determined why I enjoy it, (and it is something I ponder). It must be a desire to empower other people – or… at least as what I perceive as empowerment, which might be different from what they themselves perceive.
Go forth, humans, increase efficiency and kick some butt! Yeah… I like that idea. It’s good for humans to do well. Mainly because I’m on their side. You know… because I’m one of us. You. Whatever. Yeah.
Funny you should write this article I am currently trying to decide whether to upgrade my iPhone to 5 or kick it to the friggin curb and get a GalaxySIII. Thoughts? Which has better quality images? Which will give me less grief and make me stop thinking bad thoughts about hunting down the designers and pinging them off one by one?
Dude, the Galaxy SIII is awesome. I wish I had one personally. I’m stuck with the SII. But the SIII is a fantastic machine. The iPhone 5 is also nice, but it’s an iPhone. That means it limits you to what Apple allows. If you’re happy to live within those limits, you’re good to go.
The Samsung Galaxy SIV is due out this summer. It will have a lot more power than the SIII. If that’s what you’re looking at, I advise you to wait a few months and get the best and greatest. If you like customizing your interface, the SIV will make you a lot happier.
All of them have issues. That’s life. If you want simple, stick with the iPhone. If you want the ability to customize, stick with Droid. Personally, I can’t stand Apple’s business model. Everything they do is designed to make them money. Droid is open source. Google doesn’t make any money off Droid. That’s why Android has the global market, and will continue to dominate.
Windows phones and BlackBerry 10 will continue their growth. They are both good phones too, far more robust than their predecessors. Worth looking at. But I want a Samsung Galaxy SIV.
Me too now. Thanks Writerdood, I shall wait.
This is interesting, but you need to do a post on how to keep a fully overnight charged Android phone battery from burning out by noon that same day. I have an Android and have to keep a charger on me at ALL TIMES!
Sounds like you need a new battery. You can probably find one easily on Amazon.com. I purchased an extended batter from them at one point, as the apps I run keep an internet socket open all the time, and can really run down the battery. After a day of operation, I usually have about 1/4 batter power left. If I don’t run that app, I can go for days. It really depends on the battery you want. And, of course, with Androids, there are many makes and models. You’ll need a battery for your specific phone.
Useful tip. Thanks. I’m still am amateur with my phone and it’s a mess. I’ve sort of organized my icons by pages and priorities, with a lot of space still available. When I realized what a chaotic mass of icons I was dealing with, I pretty much stopped downloading new apps.
Hmm, doesn’t seem to work for me. But my cheapo prepaid Android runs on Gingerbread and is not upgradeable. So I’m locked into Android’s Dark Ages.
Try long pressing the screen and see if you get an option to create a folder. (It should appear at the bottom of the screen). I’ll have a look at a Gingerbread phone and see what I can figure out. I think there’s one laying around somewhere.
Here’s a nice list of tutorials you might like: http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/31622-getting-started-android-tips-tricks.html#post321739
And here’s some info on folder apps for Gingerbread: http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-htc-rezound/153737-folder-options-gingerbread.html
Try long-pressing on the screen and then clicking Add Folder from the options. You should be able to name the folder and then drag whatever you want into it.
I’m not techy; I can phone people on my iPhone and send messages and play games. I’m simple.
Nothing wrong with that. If you don’t care about gadgetry, iOS is perfect. It’s easy to use, it looks the same on all devices, and it works well. I often recommend them to my relatives. That way I don’t have to be tech support for them.
A cluttered phone is almost as bad as a computer with files and folders strewn all over the desktop …
Yep. It makes it hard to find what you want, and spending a bit of time organizing your phone really pays off when you go to use it.