Help Me! Guide to Android for Seniors: Introduction to Android Phones and Tablets for Beginners

I plan to order a dozen copies to use in a class we are offering at our Church on the use of Tablets for seniors.

I know I have very good intelligence and a lifetime of success, but I also know I have something akin to dyslexia when it comes to mastering computer skills. It is of almost zero help for me to have a guru sit down at my computer, give me a quick explanation, and the let his/her fingers fly over the keys and, Voila! See--I have been taught! Not so. I require someone who is an expert, who also has fabulous verbal skill, has a great deal of patience, and allows me to stumble and make mistakes until my brain and body connect and I have developed a new skill. Sadly, very few talented people can discipline themselves to teach this way. If I can find an excellent book of explanations, especially if there are many clear screen shots in color so I can absorb what happens with each keystroke, I CAN learn. Dummy books often supply this kind of teaching/learning. However, I didn't get much help from several Dummy books, but did have success with this book. I have a very specific way in which I can learn computer technology and books like this are helping me to master a smart phone, in this case, an Android. I don't specifically require large print, but with books in a large print format, the information on a single page is often just enough for me to absorb as a comfortable step in mastering this skill. I am definitely not dyslexic, but very shortly after I tried to learn how to use my first computer, I adopted the screen name "Computer Dyslexic." If the shoe fits...... I wish I could give books like this ten stars.Nancy, 71 and still learning.

This book was a great help when my elderly father was forced into a smart phone in 2023 and had never used one or internet since the 90s.He was so lost and i was unable to go show him. He read it and figured out the basic functions to get by with. Also helpful it has larger print and easy steps for beginers. Great book.

Help Me! Guide to Android for Seniors by Charles Hughes, March 2015, can be a useful help to Seniors learning to use for the fist timean Android cell phone.Positive aspects : it is for beginners and starts from scratch, only 54 pages in large print easy on the eyes, goes right to the procedure required without spending time on philosophy, text is not crowded and leaves plenty of space on the page.Here are the main subdivisions : 1. Introduction to Android pages 5-11 2.Making calls pages 12-16 3. Managing contacts pages 17-214. Text Messaging pages 22-29 5.Managing Pictures and Videos pages 30-33 6.Using the web browser pages 34-37 7. Managing Emails pages 38-41 8.Managing Applications pages 42-47 9. Tips and tricks pages 48-53 10. Troubleshooting pages 54-58Unwelcome aspects : completely in black and white text, even for the icons; icons are small and tend to be blurred like a bad photocopy, very generic as it covers all cell phones using the Android system.No special sections for the various brands like LG,Samsung, and others.

It did say "for beginners", "introduction" and "for seniors", however I've come across much more detailed and informative books for beginners. This book did an adequate job of giving a description, but, be aware or advised, the most telling part is the first line of the title: "HELP ME!" If you, or the person that you're buying it for is in desperation mode (i.e. "computers scare me" or similar, this book is probably not for you. Again, very very very basic. For seniors aspect: it's only 50 pages long, with huge spacing and giant font. If it wasn't so inexpensive, I'd return it.

I was glad to buy this for a senior relative and not have to write out a bunch of instructions. Not sure if there's enough guidance to explain "swiping", but I'll soon see.

Basic understanding of Android phone .

It seemed to work for the few times I've tried it. Moving an icon to the home screen, easy in an older version of Android, didn't work on this newer one - on a newer tablet. Few of these guides for seniors, dummies, or idiots get beyond the barren instructions in a typical owners' manual.

My wife and I purchased our first smartphones and got some so-called 'basic' books on Android phones from the library. All assumed prior knowledge and there is no point in writing about grinks blodges and spurges that can be plerted from a drawer to a folder when all these words have no meaning to complete newbies such as us.Yes we are seniors but we are not stupid. I quickly figured out how to make a call (without a book) but didn't know how to receive one.This 'Help Me' book is an absolute first step - how to turn the thing on and off and then sensible progression through the basics so that other books and online tutorials do become understandable.

Very disappointed. I bought this for my 83 year old dad who has had a stroke. My initial reaction removing it from the packaging was this thin, flimsy book can't be it! Not for what it cost! What I was expecting was an easy to follow guide with clearly laid out instructions and illustrations. This doesn't tick any of those boxes unfortunately.

This book was bought for a friend of an age which made him hostile to technology, he found the instructions so plain to follow that his previously unused 'phone and tablet are now his new toys. Good value with just the right amount of information for someone who needs to know enough to use an Android device and it is also easy to look up a single item.

I awarded just 3 stars because, although written with "seniors" in mind, we are not all "doolally" (yet!). The constant repartition of phrases, even on the same page, really annoyed me (although, from the authors viewpoint, I can understand the reasoning). That gripe aside, I found most of the book informative, with some aspects new to me, while others points were more in the way of revision. For instance, adding a photo or video to a text is something I do regularly on the laptop, but this would have initially stumped me to do the same on my phone.I think this book is a worthwhile addition to my "library", to be used as a "point of reference", when the "age thing" kicks in, and you need a reminder on how to do something.

This guide shows me just how to find how to use my new mobile phone that I have found complicated.Very helpful and I am pleased to have it.