The Android, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and BlackBerry mobile operating systems have app stores online where you can look for, download, and install apps. Some online retailers also offer app stores. You’ll have to use an app store that works with your device’s operating system. May 26, 2019 Google Fit. Google Fit is among the best free running apps on mobile. It keeps track of a variety of things, including exercise, calories burned, and more. It also supports most wearable exercise trackers. Some of the big names are Android Wear, Nike+, Runkeeper, Strava, MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, and even Sleep As Android for sleep tracking. Nov 23, 2019 Get the official YouTube app for Android phones and tablets. See what the world is watching - from the hottest music videos to what’s trending in gaming, entertainment, news, and more. Subscribe to channels you love, share with friends, and watch on any device. With a new design, you can have fun exploring videos you love more easily and quickly than before.
Most people are familiar with the file layout on Windows and are happy navigating the Windows file System.
Windows uses a drive letter for each physical drive or partition.e.g. C: drive
Note: A Physical drive will have at least 1 partition but can have more than one. This is true for both Windows and Android.
[outline style=”yellow”]What is a Disk Partition? – Disks can be subdivided into smaller disks called partitions. Partitions appear and can be used as if they were separate physical disks. [/outline]
If you insert a USB drive into your windows machine in shows up as a disk with an assigned drive letter.
Although windows shows a disk icon the disks could be partitions of a single physical disk.
Each disk partition has a root directory which contains files and folders (directories).
The root of the C drive is C: and of the F drive is F: etc
What Is The Main Location For Downloading Apps On Android Phones
Android File System Structure
Android uses the Linux file system structure which has a single root.
The diagram below shows the structure
The system partitions and directories are protected and unless your device is rooted you don’t normally have access to these although some file managers will display them.
Physical disks and partitions appear under the root as a directories , and do not have a drive letter as in Windows.
Android doesn’t normally come with a default file manager, and so you will need to install a file manager App like Astro file manager, to locate and manage files and folders.
The sdcard and ext-sdcard Partitions
The sdcard partition is the main storage area for user data and files. It also contains App settings and data.
The sdcard partition exists even though you may not have an external sd card.
It is the internal partition.
If you open the sdcard directory you will see something like this:
Note: partial listing only
These files and directories contain your pictures,films,downloads etc as well as App data and settings.
You can view these files from your PC by connecting your device to a PC using a USB cable.
You can also transfer files between your device and a PC using this method.
The ext-sdcard partition will only be visible if your device supports external storage, usually using a microSD slot.
External sd cards use either the FAT,FAT32 or exFAT file system formats.
Most devices support FAT and FAT32, but support for exFAT is limited.
The choice of file system is governed by the partition size as follows:
Card Type | Card Type File System | Max Capacity |
| SD | FAT | 2GB |
| SDHC | FAT32 | 32GB see Note |
| SDXC | exFAT | 2TB |
Note: Windows format size limit of 32GB. Can be larger but need to format using external tools. Windows XP could fomat FAT32 Volumes upto 128 GB
Android File Associations
Just as with other operating systems like Windows, Android will use an App to open a particular file type,denoted by the extension.
For example if you try to open a pdf file it will normally use Adobe reader (if installed) to open the file.
To open a file you will normally need to located the file using a file manager.
Just press the file to open it.
If the file type doesn’t already have an App associated with it you should be prompted to choose between the available Apps.
The option to always use that App sets it as the default App for that file type.
If you set it as the default App you will not be prompted again unless you remove the association.
To remove an association you need to remove it from the App itself.
So if the pdf files open with adobe reader and you want to change that:
- Go to Settings>Apps>Select Adobe reader,
- Then go to the Launch by default section
- and Clear defaults
The next time you try to open a pdf file you will be promoted to choose an App.
Android File Managers
If you search the Google play store you will find many file managers.
Which App is the most suitable depends on what you want to do. You should bear in mind that more features/functionality isn’t always better.
File managers like ESF have lots of functionality including:
- Built in FTP client
- Task Manager
- Cloud storage client
- etc
However for many this is a bit of an overkill, and so you might consider installing one of the simpler file managers like file manager and Astro file manager.
See my tutorial using the Astro file manager.
File Downloads
When you download a file using Google chrome or another browser App the file it is stored in the download directory.
You can access the directory contents through a shortcut in the Apps folder (if provided).
You can also use a file manager to locate it the folder called download. It is under your primary storage (called sdcard)
Summary
Android uses the Linux File and Directory Structure which consists of a single root.
All drives and partitions are displayed as directories in this tree like structure.
What Is The Main Location For Downloading Apps On Android Computer
Useful Links
What Is The Main Location For Downloading Apps On Android Phone
Save