You have a new Windows Phone, so what’s next?

So, you just received a Windows Phone smartphone running the latest Mango operating system as a Christmas present or decided to buy one to replace your old cellular phone.  The question is: “What do I do next?”

I hope to guide you in an organized way to set it up and get you up and running.  Yes, you can just power it up and start calling people and browsing the web.

You can also start playing any built-in games like football or any number of goodies that the wireless operator decided to preinstall on your handset.  I hate reading manuals, too, but there are a few things that will save you trouble.

Backup, SIM & Charge

If your Windows Phone is replacing another phone that is operating, and they are from the same wireless carrier, back up your contacts and anything else you have stored on it.  If it is a different carrier you can connect it to your computer and copy any contacts, pictures and music you need to save.

This next operation is not a critical step, but you might want to quickly browse through the manual and at least find out which button is used to power up the phone and see how to open it up and install the SIM card, if it does have a SIM card.  More importantly, before you power up the handset, find the SIM card, if there is one, and install it.

You will find a piece of plastic like a white credit card that will have the SIM card.  Just break out the SIM card and put it in the phone.

I recommend plugging in the power to charge the handset.  You will need a good battery charge to complete the setup.

Power-up, Windows Live ID, Passwords

Now, power it up and let the unit install and download any updates by itself.  Check it every once in a while to see if it requires you to approve of something or accept the licensing.

While you are waiting for this to happen, go to your computer and set up a Windows Live ID account.  If you already have a Hotmail, MS Messenger or Xbox LIVE account, you use this id as your Windows Live ID.  If you need to create a new Windows Live ID, go to https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?lic=1 and sign up.

While you are at it, install the Zune music player on your computer.  If you have iTunes or another player, just make sure you do not make Zune your default player.

You will need to install Zune software to load and synchronize your music on your Windows Phone.  I have iTunes set up for my iPod and set the default import to create MP3’s.  Zune discovered my 5 GB of music and synched it to my Windows Phone with Mango installed.  (I had 8GB internal memory for storage, so that was just fine.)

Next, gather your Facebook, Twitter, Skype and any other account names and passwords.  You will need these to finish setting up your smartphone if you want to take advantage of the social networking on your new Mango handset.  It is also better to find them now than later.  If you cannot remember your passwords because you have saved them in your browser, go to each app and find your password or have the app allow you to set a new password and be sure to write it down along with the account name.

The Hotmail program will already be pre-installed on your handset.  Start it and enter your account login and password.  If you already have a Hotmail account the program will automatically synch your contacts.

Protection, Accounts, Updates and Apps

Now it’s time to load those apps like Angry Birds, right?  WRONG!!!!!

It is time to install an anti-virus and anti-malware program. Be sure to get a well-known program from a well-known company and stay away from the free versions.

The paid versions usually have more functionality and full protection and cleaning capabilities.  Yes, there are a lot of free open-source products out there that work really well, but if you ever get an infection of some weird spy- or mal-ware, a user’s forum may not give you the help you need, especially when you need to get your phone back on line ASAP.

After you install the protection, set up your social networking such as Facebook. Broadband Expert has posts showing you how to install Facebook and install Twitter on a Windows Phone running Mango.

When you add our Facebook account, it will add your friends to your contacts list automatically.  Don’t bother looking for the Facebook or Twitter icon to launch those apps.  Just go to the People spot (the default location is at the top right block on the main screen), press it and choose your name.  Your Facebook and Twitter will be available there.

Now you can install your other apps and games.  Just go to the Windows Phone Marketplace and download your apps.  I do have a word of caution: be careful to get real apps.  There have been some free apps that made their way to the other apps sellers that had some nasty malware.  Don’t take any chances, so before you install any apps, check to see that the app developer or publisher is the correct one.

Sharing

After a day or two of playing around with your new Windows Phone handset, start networking.  Tell everyone about your new Mango, make the fruit jokes and that will open up the conversation as to what they are using.

Find other Mango users and you may be able to learn some shortcuts and tips.  Find people who own the same model phone that you have and ask them how they are using it and what problems they see and what they like about it.

Find other users that have the same wireless provider and they can give you some tips like “At US 280 and Sandhill Road expect to drop your call in the southbound lanes” or “use this program to tether for free.”

Check Data Plan

Finally, before you start looking at all those movies, check your data plan.  Either stay within your limits or change the plan.  You will not have a Happy New Year if you go over that data cap.  Broadband Expert wrote a pair of articles to help you with this:

• Three ways to help avoid data overage charges on your mobile devices
• Three more ways to help avoid data overage charges on your mobile devices

Enjoy!