Where to Get Apps

The Droid 2 offers you not just one, not just two, but three different ways to download and install apps:

• Market. Here’s the primary way that most people download and find apps. It’s right on your Home screen. Tap the Market button and it launches. From here you can search for apps, find information about apps, and pay for them.

  

• The Web. You can download and install apps from websites. Visit the site on your Droid 2 browser, and download from there.

  Note

  In a few cases, you can download an app to your PC or Mac, and it will then be installed on your Droid 2 when you connect your computer. Generally, this happens if you’ve downloaded an app that works with your PC or Mac, as well as with Android.

• Using a bar code scanner. Of all the amazing tricks the Droid 2 can do, this one may just be the coolest. A free app gives the Droid 2 the ability to scan bar codes and QR codes. (QR codes are a special kind of bar code used by smartphones, cameras, and other devices.) After you’ve installed this app, you can use your Droid 2 to scan a QR code to download other apps. When you’re browsing the Web with your PC or Mac, and you come across a bar code for downloading, just point your Droid 2 at it, click a button, and the magic begins. The phone grabs and installs the software from the website. For more on bar code scanning, see Downloading and Using a Bar Code Scanner.

  

Note

QR stands for quick response. QR codes were designed to be scanned at high speeds. They were initially created by a subsidiary of Toyota as a way to track the auto manufacturing process, but are now used for many other purposes, especially in Japan.