Android Dictionary-N

N

• Nexus: A line of smartphones created in conjunction with Google. Also known as "Pure Google" devices. Generally are the first to launch with major updates to Android, as well as the first to receive updates. See also Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus.
• Nexus One: The "Google phone." Initially sold only at google.com/phone. Was the first Android phone with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and Android 2.1.
• Nexus S: The second "Pure Google" phone, this time developed by Samsung. It's basically a Galaxy S phone, with a 4-inch screen, near-field communication (NFC), and the first phone to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
• Nook: Barnes & Noble's Android-based e-reader. Features a black-and-white e-ink display.
• Nook Color: A full-color, full-touchscreen Android-based e-reader from Barnes and Noble. Can be hacked to basically serve as a full-fledged Android tablet.
• NFC: Near-field communication. Short-range communication between your phone and something else -- another phone, a cash register, etc. Used by some credit cards as a method of quick payment.

Android Dictionary-R

R

• Reset (hard, soft): The rebooting of the phone. A soft reset is turning your phone off and on, or pulling the battery. A hard reset also is referred to as a factory reset, and wipes your personal information from the device.
• Revolution: A 4.3-inch Android 2.2 device from LG, featuring LTE data. It's the Verizon version of the dual-core Tegra 2 Optimus 2X.
• ROM: Literally, "Read Only Memory." In Android, it's what you load for a major software update. "Custom ROMs" are just that -- developed outside control of a manufacturer or carrier.
• Recovery Mode: A small separate operating mode you can boot your device into, used for device administration. Two popular custom recovery modes are Amon Ra and Clockwork.
• Revue: Logitech's Google TV set-top box. It features a full-sized keyboard, plus wireless capability. One of the first Google TV devices.
• Root: A method of unlocking the Android operating system to allow deeper programs deeper access than is allowed out of the box.
• Root (SD card): The base folder (or top level) of the card. Often referred to as /sdcard in a file structure.
• RTFM: Read the f*king manual

Android Dictionary-T

T

• T-Mobile: One of the four major U.S. carriers. Had the very first Android phone, the G1.
• Tegra 2: NVIDIA's "System on a chip" that features dual-core processors, a powerful graphics processor and other acts of awesomeness.
• Tegra 3: NVIDIA's quad-core system on a chip.
• Tethering: The act of using your smartphone's data to provide Internet access to another device, such as a laptop. Can be done wirelessly, or via a USB cable.
• Thunderbolt: The first LTE phone from HTC. Has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 8MP camera on the back and a front-facing camera for video chat.
• TouchWiz: Samsung's custom user interface. Born from Windows Mobile and made much better with the Galaxy S line.
• Tripit: An excellent itinerary manager for Android.

Android Dictionary-S

S

• Samsung: A Korean electronics company. Manufacturer of the Galaxy S series of Android phones, among others.
• SD card (or microSD card): A small plastic "card" that expands the available storage memory on your phone. Used by applications to store data, and you can store ringtones, pictures, etc., on it.
• Sense: A custom user interface (or skin) on top of Android. Exclusive to HTC smartphones.
• Services: Portions of code that run in the background to provide content and services to applications.
• Sideload: The act of installing an app outside of the Android Market.
• Sideload Wonder Machine: A simple open-source program that lets you sideload apps via computer, bypassing any restrictions a carrier might have put in place.
• SIM card: The little card used in GSM phones (AT&T, T-Mobile, Rogers, etc.) that connects the phone to the network.
• Soft reset: The act of rebooting your phone, whether intentionally or otherwise. Same effect as when you remove and replace the battery. (Also see hard reset.)
• Sony Ericsson: A joint wireless venture from Sony and Ericsson. Dissolved in 2012, and the mobile arm will be marketed under the Sony name.
• Spectrum: LG's follow-up to the Revolution on Verizon. Has a 4.5-inch 720p display. Launching with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. 
• Spice: A 3-inch vertical slider from Motorola with Android 2.1.
• Spice: An Indian Mobile maufacturer
• Sprint: One of the four major U.S. carriers.
• Streak: Dell's 5-inch tablet/MID device. Also known as the Dell Mini 5. Launched with Android 1.6, later updated to Android 2.2.
• Super AMOLED: A generation ahead of AMOLED displays. Lighter, more power-efficient and less reflective than AMOLED. (See AMOLED)
• Super AMOLED Plus: Take an AMOLED screen. Instead of eight subpixels per pixel, there are 12. Pretty awesome, actually.

Android Dictionary-U

U

• USB: Stands for Universal Serial Bus. Is a method of connecting devices to a computer. Most smartphones now use microUSB cables to charge and sync.

Android Dictionary-V

V

• Vanilla: A term used to describe stock Android.
• Verizon: One of the four major U.S. carriers. Launched the "Droid" line of phones.
• Vibrant: T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy S.
• ViewPad 4: A quad-band GSM Android phone from Viewsonic.
• Viewsonic: A longtime electronics maker that also includes some Android devices.
• Viper: A mid-level Gingerbread phone from LG on Sprint. Announced at CES 2012. 
• Vizio: A longtime television maker that's expanding into the Android-based Google TV.
• Vortex: A low-end Android 2.2 device from LG on Verizon.

Android Dictionary-W

W

• Widget: A slice or certain view of an application that can be placed on one of your homescreens, for quick and easy access
• Wildfire: A low-end 3.2-inch HTC smartphone.
• Wildfire S: An updated version of the Wildfire from HTC with a 3.2 inch HVGA display and a 5 MP camera.
• Wipe: To completely erase a device.
• World phone: A phone that works on CDMA networks as well as GSM networks outside of the home country.

Android Dictionary-M

M

• Magic: See myTouch 3G.
• Manufacturer: A company that physically builds cell phones.
• Merge: An HTC phone that was slated for Verizon but has yet to be released. Features a horizontal keyboard and (approx.) 3.7-inch touchscreen. Also featured Bing instead of Google services.
• Mobile World Congress (MWC): A European wireless industry trade show, held in Barcelona, Spain, the past few years.
• Moment: A mid-range Samsung phone that has data lock-up and is forgotten about by everyone
• Motorola: Manufacturer of smartphones and other hand-held wireless devices.
• Motoblur: Motorola's custom Android interface. Heavy on widgets and social networking, low on sophistication.
• Motoluxe: A 4-inch Motorola smartphone with Android 2.3, destined for outside the United States.
• myTouch 3G: The U.S. version of the HTC Magic. Specifically, the T-Mobile branded version. Also came in a limited edition branded by the Fender guitar company.
• myTouch 3G Slide: A followup to the myTouch 3G, featuring a horizontal sliding keyboard and an updated version of the HTC Sense user interface.
• myTouch 4G: An HTC device and one of the first T-Mobile phones to have HSPA+ data. Also has a front-facing camera and a modified version of the Sense user interface.

Android Dictionary-Y

Y

• YouTube: Google's web-based streaming video service. Accessible from an Android phone.

Android Dictionary-X

X 

• Xoom: Motorola's 10.1-inch dual-core Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet. Announced in January 2011 at CES. Launching with 3G, will be "hardware upgradable" to LTE in the second quarter of 2011.
• Xperia: A line of phones by Sony Ericsson, including the X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro and X8.
• Xperia Ion: Sony's 4.6-inch, 720p Android 2.3 smartphone with a 12MP camera. Will be on AT&T in the U.S.
• Xperia Neo: A 3.7 inch Android phone from Sony Ericsson.  The phone runs Gingerbread and was announced at Mobile World Congress 2011.
• Xperia Play: The long-awaited Playstation phone.  It has a 4 inch FWVGA display and will run games at 60 fps.
• Xperia Pro: A 3.7 inch Android phone with a horizontal sliding keyboard, running Gingerbread.
• Xperia S: A 4.3-inch, 720p Gingerbread device from Sony with a slick see-through panel near the buttons.

Android Dictionary-Z

Z

• z4root: An app that allows easy rooting of a number of Android phones.

Android Dictionary-L

L

• Launcher: Collectively, the part of the Android user interface on home screens that lets you launch apps, make phone calls, etc. Is built in to Android, or can be purchased in the Android Market.
• Legacy: Code name for "old."
• Legend: HTC's aluminum unibody phone with Android 2.1 and Sense.
• LG: A Korean electronics and smartphone manufacturer.
• LG Marquee: Launched on Sprint in October 2011, the Marquee has a 1 Ghz single-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and Gingerbread; the 4-inch NOVA display is a standout. 
• LG Optimus 3D: An LG Android phone with 3D video capture.  It has a dual-core processor and dual channel memory, making it the fastest Android phone to date.
• LG Optimus L3: ​LG's entry-level device for the style-conscious consumer.
• ​LG Optimus L5: LG's 2012 mid-level Optimus handset for the style-conscious consumer.
• LG Optimus L7: LG's high-end 2012 fashion device.
• LG Optimus Pad: An 8.9 inch Android tablet from LG.  It ships with Honeycomb, and has dual cameras for 3D video capture.
• Linux: An open source variant of Unix that is used as the underlying system on Android devices.
• Live wallpapers: Animated wallpapers introduced in Android 2.1.
• LTE: Stands for "Long-Term Evolution." Is considered to be one of the "true" methods of 4G data (even if it technically isn't). First rolled out by Verizon in late 2010, and then by AT&T in late 2011, and Sprint will begin using it in mid-2012.

Android Dictionary-P

P

• Pantech: A South Korean smartphone manufacturer.
• PenTile: A subpixel layout scheme, patented by Samsung, that allows greater luminance at a lower power draw. RGBG Pentile uses alternating green pixels and has more definition than RGBW, which adds a white subpixel.  The Galaxy Nexus and Nexus One use an RGBG style PenTile matrix, and the Motorola Atrix 4G and RAZR use the RGBW matrix.  There's a lot of contreversy surrounding PenTile displays, and our advice is to look at each screen type and decide for yourself which is acceptable.
• PIN: Stands for Personal Identification Number. Often four digits.
• PRL: The Preferred Roaming List, basically a way of telling your phone which towers to connect to first.

Android Dictionary-O

O

• OEM: Stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. Usually a company that produces a component or entire device for another company. (Example: HTC was the OEM for the Google Nexus One.)
• (HTC) One S: The middle sibling of the HTC One line. Its shining feature is that it's just 7.8mm thin. Has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display and dual-core Qualcomm processor. Available with an aluminum micro arc oxidation coating
• (HTC) One V: The little brother of the HTC One line. Revives the old HTC Legend design with a 3.7-inch Super LCD 2 display, single-core processor and a 5MP camera.
• (HTC) One X/One XL: The top of the three phones comprising the HTC One line. The One X sports a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display and 8MP camera. There actually are two versions of this phone. The GSM One X has the Tegra 3 system on a chip. The One XL has a dual-core Qualcomm S4 and an LTE radio for data. (Complicating matters, AT&T's LTE version is simply called the One X.)  
• Onstar: The navigation/information/safety service that helps you keep your hands on the wheel while driving. Provides turn-by-turn navigation, live help from operators, and crash detection. Has a companion Android application.
• Open GL: An open source 3D graphics library used in many devices, including Android devices
• Open Source: Software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code.
• Optimus: A line of smartphones from LG. In the U.S., they've mostly been mid-range.
• Optimus 2X: The first dual-core Tegra 2 Android smartphone. LG announced it in late 2010. Launching with Android 2.2, but will be upgraded to Gingerbread.
• Optimus Mach: A high-end 3.8-inch device from LG in South Korea.
• Optimus One: A mid-level, 3.2-inch Android 2.2 device from LG. This is the European version.
• Optimus S/T/U/M: The U.S. versions of the LG Optimus One mid-range Android device. The letters point to which carrier they're on -- Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, MetroPCS.
• Optimus Z: A high-end Korean smartphone from LG with a 3.5-inch touchscreen and TV antenna.
• OTA: Stands for Over the Air. The act of moving data to your phone -- downloading, really -- without having to plug it in. Most Android system updates are OTA, as are application downloads.

Android Dictionary-Q

Q

• QR code: A black-and-white barcode that, when scanned by your phone, can open a web link, point to an application in the Market, etc.

Android Dictionary-K

K

• K800: From Lenovo, it's the first Android smartphone to be released with Intel's Atom processor. Is a China-only device.
• Kernel: The basic Linux building block of Android. It's what lets your phone do its thing.
• Keyboard: Either "physical" or "on-screen," depending on the phone.
• Kyocera Echo: The first dual screen Android device, debuting on Sprint in Spring 2011.  Magicians and goldfish are not included.

Android Dictionary-I

I

• i1: A mid-range Motorola smartphone with Android 1.6 and the push-to-talk system.
• Ice Cream Sandwich: Android 4.0. The follow up to the tablet-centric Android 3.0/3.1 that brought Honeycomb-like features back to Android smartphones. First appeared on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
• IMEI: Stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. Basically a unique identification number assigned to every phone.
• Incredible: See Droid Incredible.
• Incredible S: A 4 inch HTC phone with a Super LDC display and a front facing camera.
• Infuse: A monster 4.5-inch phone with a Super AMOLED display and 1.2GHz processor on AT&T.
• Inspire: A 4.3-inch HTC device with Android 2.2 and 1GHz Snapdragon processor on AT&T.
• Intel: The longtime processor manufacturer. Entered the Android arena in 2012 with its "Medfield" Atom processor. At CES 2012, announced a deal with Motorola.
• IPS: Stands for "in-plane switching." Gives better viewing angles and better color reproduction. First gained popularity in Apple displays, then made its way to mobile devices.

Android Dictionary-J

J

• JIT: The Just-in-Time Compiler. Released with Android 2.2, it's a method of greatly speeding up apps in Android on the software side.

Android Dictionary-H

H

• Hack (Hacking): Modifying the Android system to add customization, features, or bypass carrier and manufacturer restrictions
• Hard reset: The act of resetting your phone to its "factory" state. Erases all user data, logins and passwords. May or may not erase what's on the internal storage or microSD card, too. (Also see soft reset.)
• Hero: An HTC phone released as the Droid Eris on Verizon. Also known as the G2 in Europe. Is different than the Sprint Hero.
• Honeycomb: Android 3.0. The first version of Android designed with tablets specifically in mind. Allows apps to "fragment" or split over a single screen. Is the first Android version to fully support dual-core processors. The first tablet with Honeycomb was the Motorola Xoom.
• HTC: A Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. And a darn good one.
• HTC ChaCha: A full portrait QWERTY keyboard and 2.6 inch display on an Android phone from HTC.  It runs Gingerbread and has a dedicated Facebook button.
• HTC Flyer: A 7 inch Android tablet from HTC with a solid aluminum body and a completely revamped HTC Sense specifically designed for tablets.
• HTC Jetstream: HTC's first 10.1 inch tablet endeavor, the Jetstream runs Honeycomb with a Sense overlay. It's one of AT&T's first LTE devices, but at $800 on contract, its far from the most popular tablet on the market. 
• HTC One: A series of three phones form the Taiwanese manufacturer. Comprised of the One X, One S and One V, they're the first for HTC to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the Sense 4 customizations.
• HTC Salsa: A 3.4 inch HTC phone that runs Gingerbread and has a dedicated Facebook button.

Android Dictionary-E

E

• Early Termination Fee: Also known as an ETF, it's what a carrier chargers you to break out of your contract. Usually are prorated.
• Eclair: Android 2.0-2.1
• Element: Pantech's waterproof 8-inch Android tablet. Is a 4G LTE device on AT&T.
• EOL: Stands for "End of Life." Means a carrier or manufacturer is phasing out a particular product. It does not necessarily mean that phone or tablet is bad, nor will anyone come and take your EOL'd device away from you.
• Epic 4G: Sprint's version of the Samsung Galaxy S. Has 4G data and a horizontal sliding keyboard.
• Epic 4G Touch: Sprint's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II. Is a 4.5-inch, 3G/Wimax smartphone.
• ETF: Stands for Early Termination Fee. What you have to pay to get out of your contract with a carrier.
• EVO 3D: Sprint's follow-up to the massively popular Evo 4G; this time around, Evo's got a 3D display, one of the first of its kind.
• EVO 4G: Sprint's 4.3-inch Android phone manufactured by HTC with the Sense interface and 4G capability.
• EVO 4G LTE: Essentially Sprint's version of the HTC One X. Has a bigger battery and removable microSD card, and was one of Sprint's first LTE devices.
• EVO Shift 4G: A unannounced horizontal slider on Sprint. Essentially the carrier's version of the G2, though with 4G data.
• Excite X10: Toshiba's dual-core Android tablet that's just 7.7mm thick.