Gudivada Somaraju Hemanth: Android 2.3

Update firmware / phone software

It is important to regularly check for firmware updates to your operating system software. This will mean your phone is protected against bugs and security flaws, and may mean you will see extra features.

To manually check for the latest firmware update for your phone, go to Menu - Settings - About phone - Software update.

From here you can press Update to check for updates. Or you can turn on Auto update whereby the phone will tell you when a firmware update is available to download.

Don't use Task Killer

Android handles background applications and memory allocation very well and you shouldn't need to end any tasks. Task Killer can also drain battery life faster than normal, therefore it is recommended you don't use this app

Change the backlight timeout

Go to Menu - Settings - Sounds & display. Then change the Screen Time Out option

Save images in browser, email or text

To save an image in an email or in the browser, long press on the image and a menu will appear allowing you to save it.

For images inside text messages, you might have to press and hold on the message itself, rather than the image.

Once saved, images should be located in the /phone/Download folder.

Display currently running applications

To display the most recently used apps, long press the Home key

Turn off predictive text

To turn off predictive text, go to Settings - Language and Keyboard - Touch Input - Text Input - Prediction.

Then select On or Off

Quickly silence incoming calls

If your phone is ringing and you want to quickly silence the ringer, simply flip the phone face down

Silent / vibrate mode with the volume buttons

You can use the volume buttons to put the phone in silent mode.

Keep pressing the Down volume until it reaches 0%.

If you have 'Vibration in Silent mode' turned on, it will also put the phone into Vibrate mode. To change this, go to your homescreen. Press Menu - Settings - Sound - Vibration.

Install a new keyboard on your phone

If you want a different keyboard from the default one, go to the Android Marketplace and install one you would like to use.

Then open the Applications Launcher. Press Settings - Language and keyboard - Input method. Then select the keyboard you would like to use

Remove applications

Aside from using a third party app, there are two standard ways to remove applications.

1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications, then choose the application you want to close and select Uninstall.

2) Go to Market - Downloads. Choose the application you want to remove and select uninstall

Bookmark a contact on your homescreen

To bookmark a contact on your homescreen, long press on the home screen background and select Shortcuts. Then select Direct dial.

If you call someone regularly this can be useful as you will have a shortcut to them handily placed on your homescreen.

Calibrate your keyboard for improved performance

Calibrating your keyboard will significantly improve the experience using your phone. To calibrate go to Settings - Language and Keyboard - Touch Input - Text Input - Calibration Tool

Calibrate your screen

Go to Menu - Settings - Language & Keyboard - Touch Input - Text Input. Then choose either Calibration Tool or Reset calibration

Remove an icon from the home screen

To remove an icon from the home screen, simply press on it, hold and drag to the Trash at the bottom of the screen

Hide on-screen keyboard

To quickly hide the on-screen keyboard, press the Back button

Speed up your browser

You can speed up the page load speed on your browser by disabling JavaScript.

To do this, open your Browser, then Menu - More - Settings. Scroll down and untick JavaScript

Please note that this may affect the functionality of some sites.

Custom ringtones, alarms, sms notifications

To use custom ringtones for your phone ringtone, your alarm or your text message notification, simply copy an MP3 file to one of the following folders:
/sdcard/media/audio/ringtones
/sdcard/media/audio/alarms
/sdcard/media/audio/notifications

If they don't already exist, then create a new folder.

The file will then show up when you want to change your ringtones.

For Ringtones go to Settings - Sound - Phone ringtone
For Text Messages go to - Settings - Sound - Notification ringtone
For Alarm, set the sound when you add a new alarm

Double tap for a full stop (period)

While typing emails or notes, you can simply tap the space key twice and the phone will insert a full stop / period

Remove large applications

If you are running low on phone memory, you can look for your largest applications to uninstall. Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications and press Menu. This will then filter your apps by memory use

Bookmark a web page on your homescreen

To bookmark a website on your homescreen, go into your browser and find the bookmark of the page you want to create a shortcut for.

Then long press on the bookmark and select Add Shortcut to Home.

If you regularly visit certain websites, this can be handy as you will have a shortcut to the site on your homescreen.

Increase security with a custom unlock pattern

Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your phone, you can set a custom unlock pattern which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.

From your homescreen, go to Menu - Settings - Location and security - Change screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.

It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.

If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.

Quickly unlock your phone

While you can slide the unlock bar to bring your phone out of standby, another quicker way is to double press the Home button.

This may be disabled on some networks. Also, this will only work if you do not have a PIN or Pattern enabled to unlock your screen.

Use the Android Power Strip

To install this useful widget, long press on the home screen and find the widget. You will then be able to disable battery consuming features like WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS

Soft reset

To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the phone will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

If that doesn't work, then remove the battery. Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the phone on.

Change Google Navigation voice

To change the Google Navigation voice, start at the homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Voice input and output - Text-to-speech settings.

Then under the Default settings section, press Default engine.

To change the language, go through the same process, but instead of Default engine, select Language.

If you prefer a different voice when listening to the Google Maps voice navigation, you can also select another language or accent.

Change keyboards

If you have additional keyboards installed, you can switch between them by long pressing the 123 button while in keyboard mode

Accents and special characters

If you want to type non-English letters (eg those with an accent), long-press on the relevant letter. A list of options will appear for you to select

View CPU and battery information

To view information about your battery and CPU go to your phone dialer and type in the following code: *#*#4636#*#*

Make your phone ring louder while in your pocket

To enable this feature, go to Menu - Settings - Sound. Then ensure Pocket mode is selected.
Now, when your phone is in your pocket, it will gradually increase the ring volume

Copy photos to your PC

To copy photos to your computer, plug the phone in via a USB cable. (you might have to install your phone software or drivers first).

Then locate the new drive on your PC. Go to the /DCIM/Camera/ folder Your photos will be stored there.

This may vary slightly between phones, however once you have opened the phone's drive, you can do a quick search for .jpg files which will show you where your photos are located.

Remove Custom scenes that you have saved

Go to Menu - Settings - Personalize - Scenes. Then select the scene you want to remove and press Delete. Then Menu - Delete

Change the vibrate / haptic feedback when you type

To enable / disable vibrate (haptic feedback) when you type, then try these two methods, depending on which version of Android you are running:

Menu - Settings - Language & keyboard - Touch Input - Text input. Then change the Vibrate when typing option

Menu - Settings - Sound - Haptic feedback

You can also change turn on haptic feedback when you unlock your phone by going to Menu - Settings - Location & security - Use tactile feedback.

Auto focus the camera

To auto focus the camera when taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on.

The phone will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video.

Remove a whole text message conversation

If you want to remove an entire text message thread, go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select Delete thread

Open web pages in a new tab

To open a web page in a new tab, find a link on a web page. Then press on it and then choose to open the site in a new tab.

Access the scientific calculator

To access the scientific calculator, rotate the phone to landscape mode.

The calculator will change to a scientific one.

Stop Photos or Music files being indexed

To stop the Photo app or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder

Show browser history

To show the Browser History, press the Star in the top right corner of the browser. Then press History.

This will only work in the standard Android browser.

Manually close an application

Android manages your applications so if the phone is running low on memory, it will close the oldest running App.

If you do need to manually close an application go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications - Running. Choose the application you want to stop and select Force Stop.

Swipe right to dial contact

From the Contact list or the Messaging list, swipe from Left to Right to call a Contact.

Faster scrolling with 3 fingers

On some applications you can use 3 fingers to scroll faster. You won't get the accuracy of 2 fingers however

Lock screen while watching videos

To lock your screen while you are watching videos, simply press the power button.

This will disable the touchscreen buttons while the video is playing, but it won't turn the screen off like the lock key normally does.

Note, this will only work on video files that you are playing that are stored on your phone. It won't work for videos played within websites, such as Youtube videos.

Swipe left to text contact

While viewing your list of Contacts you can swipe from Right to Left to send a text message to the selected contact.

Quickly search for a contact

To quickly search for a contact, open the Contacts App and start typing the name of the contact you want to dial.

This will quickly filter the correct contact.

Avoid task killers

It is best to avoid task killers such as Advanced Task Killer. Android is designed to automatically pre-load certain applications, even if you don't load them yourself. If it starts to run low on memory, it will smartly unload the oldest running apps automatically.

Manually killing tasks will only mean they get loaded in memory again. Task killers can make the phone slow, laggy, or drain battery life more quickly.

Disable Samsung Kies

To disable Samsung Kies when you plug your phone in via USB, go to Settings - Applications - Development. Then tick USB Debugging

Add email or phone number from text

To add an email or phone number to your contacts from a text message, you can long-press on the email / phone number. Then select Add to contacts.

Quick brightness control

Ensure auto-brightness is disabled, then press and hold on the notification bar at the top of the screen.

After a second, start sliding your finger to the left or right. This will adjust the screen brightness up and down.

Set MP3 as ringtone

To set an MP3 as a ringtone, try one of the following. It may depend which version of Android you are using however:

Using the default Music player App, find a song you would like to set as the ringtone. Then while the song is playing, press and hold on the track and select Use as phone ringtone.

Or, find a specific Contact. press Menu - Edit. Scroll down to Additional Info. Press the triangle. Then scroll to Call Handling and set a ringtone from there.

Android easter egg

There is an easter egg hidden in the Android operating system. To see it, go to your Homescreen, then press Menu - Settings - About phone.

Then tap on the Android version option 5 times and you will get a surprise.

Sometimes it doesn't work, so try a couple of times. By the way don't expect to see an actual Easter Egg. That is just the name given to things hidden inside software or operating systems.

Adding pauses when dialing

When dialing a number, or storing a number in your contacts, inserting a comma ( , ) will pause the dialing for about 2 seconds

Quickly adjust brightness

Ensure auto-brightness is disabled in Settings - Display - Brightness.

Then press and hold on the notification bar. After a second or two, begin to slide your finger left and right across the notification bar area. The brightness will increase and decrease accordingly.

Change the backlight screen timeout

To change the backlight screen timeout, go to Menu - Settings - Display - Screen Time Out.

Then chose the screen time out duration.

Kill current task

Either
Go to Menu - Settings - Running Services, or
Menu - Settings - Manage Applications

Create Homescreen shortcuts to your Gmail folders / labels

To create homescreen shortcuts to your Gmail folders, long press on a blank part of your homescreen.

Then select Shortcuts - Gmail Label - Then choose the label you want. This will create a shortcut straight to that Gmail folder/label.

Change the screen brightness

To change the screen brightness, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness.

Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you

If you have auto-brightness enabled, you can also press and hold the notification bar at the top. Then move your finger left and right to adjust the screen brightness..

Open the notification bar

Simple press and hold on the bar at the top and drag it downward

Look at individual call log entries

When looking at the call log multiple calls to or from the same number are grouped together. If you press on one of these numbers it will list all the calls made or received

Check phone status and battery usage

To find out information about Signal Strength, Network Information, Remaining Battery Time and Battery Usage (by Application), go to your Homescreen - Menu - Settings - About Phone.

Watch Youtube videos in High Quality

Chose the video you want to watch. When it starts playing, press Settings and then select 'watch in high quality'

Prevent ring tones from showing up in your music list

To prevent ringtones from showing up in your list of music, then create a folder called 'ringtones" so it is in this location: /sdcard/media/ringtones.

Your music player won't index music files in this folder

Allow swear words in voice recognition

To allow swear words in voice recognition, go to Settings - Voice input & output - Voice recognition settings. Then untick Block offensive words.

By default, the phone will actually recognise swear words, but will insert x's instead of the word.

Film at night time

If you want to capture the things that go bump in the night, then you can turn on the Flashlight app. Then leave the film on film record. If you're lucky you might spot a hedgehog

Quickly see date

Simply press the top-left corner of the screen

Turn off App update notifications

If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Android Market - Menu - My Apps. Then Menu again. Then Settings. Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.

Add a custom wallpaper

There are two ways to do this:
1) Press and hold on a blank spot on your home screen. Select Add to Home screen. Then choose the Wallpapers option. Then choose from one of the options, depending on where the wallpapers are

2) Open the Applications launcher. Select Settings - Personalize - Home wallpaper. Then continue choose from the options provided

Hard (factory) reset

Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone. There are two ways to do this:
1) On the Main Home screen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy - Factory data reset - Reset phone. It may ask for a password. Then press Erase everything

2) If you phone has completely frozen and you want to hard reset it, turn the Power off or pull the battery out and put it back in. Then hold down the Volume Down key. Then press and hold the Power key. The phone will turn itself on. When you are presented with a menu, choose Clear Storage by pressing the Volume Down key. Press and release the Power button. To confirm, press Volume Up for Yes or Volume Down for No

Enable / disable WiFi or Bluetooth

The quickest way is to pull down your Notifications bar at the top. Bluetooth and WiFi should be available there.

Alternatively, from your homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Wireless & networks. Then press WiFi settings or Bluetooth settings to enable or disable these

Enable auto App updates

Android has a feature allowing you to update Applications automatically. This is turned off by default, but you can turn it on.

Open the Android market, then Menu - My Apps.

Then you need to open up each installed App and tick Allow Automatic Updating at the bottom. Unfortunately you do need to do this for each App.

Make phone run faster

By turning off the animations, your phone will run faster and smoother. Press Menu -> Settings -> Sounds & Display -> Animation. Turn this to Off. The Off option works best for quickest performance

Customise your home screen

To add items to your home screen, simply find a black space, press down and hold. Then select a Scene, Wallpaper, Widget etc

Install ringtones on your phone

To install ringtones on your phone you will need to copy some MP3s on to your phone.

To do this, connect your Phone to a computer with the USB cable. It should mount automatically and appear as a drive letter on your computer. If it doesn't, then drag the notification bar (the bar at the top) down and press USB Connected and select Mount.

Once that is done, go to the Phone's drive letter on your computer. Create a folder called "ringtones". Then copy your MP3's from into this folder.

Once that is done, go to the Phone's home screen, press Menu - Settings - Sound - Phone ringtone. Scroll down until you find the ringtone you want

Divert certain contacts to voicemail

Open your Contact list. Find the contact you want to divert. Press to open the contact. Towards the bottom of the page, you will see 'Send to voicemail'. Press this and choose OK to enable the feature.

Adding pauses when dialling

To add pauses when dialing numbers, or storing numbers in your contacts, then insert a comma ( , ) when entering the number.

This will pause the dialling for about 2 seconds.

Change contact list order

To change the contact list order, go to your Contacts and press Menu .

Then press More - Display options - Display contacts by.

Then select either First name first or Surname first.

Remove numbers from the call log

To remove numbers from the call log that you don't want anyone seeing, then open your Call Log.

This will normally be found on your Apps list or you can also go to your Dialer and find Logs or Call Logs.

Then press and hold on the contact you want to remove. When the Menu appears, press Delete.

Display notifications / URL bar while browsing

When browsing the notifications bar will be hidden. Press Menu and the Browser menu and Notifications menu will appear

Clear browser cache and cookies

To clear your browser cache and cookies, open your browser and press Menu - More - Settings.

Then select Clear Cache / Clear all cookie data / Clear history / Clear form data.

Search music on Youtube from Music Player

While in the standard Music Player, press on the song title of the music and a menu will appear.

From here you search Youtube by the Title (song), Biography (artist) or Discography (album).

Zoom when using the camera

While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Silence the phone when ringing

There are two methods to silence the phone when ringing:

Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.

Delete all contacts

To delete all contacts, there a number of methods you might need to try. Note that the first two of these may be disabled on some networks/carriers, or Android versions.

1) Go to Settings - Applications - Manage Applications. Then chose All at the top. Then scroll down to Contacts Storage - B21Clear Data.

2) Go to Contacts. Then press Menu - Delete. Then press Select all (at the top) and then Delete again.

3) Go to Settings - Accounts and sync. Then untick Background data and Auto-sync. Then go to Gmail (or an account that your phone syncs with) and delete all of your Contacts from there. Then re-sync your phone.

4) Download an App called 'Delete All Contacts' and use that as a last resort.

These methods above will delete contacts from the Phone only, not the SIM card.

Rejecting a call with a message

If you receive a call you cannot take (eg if you're in a meeting) you can send a text reply rather than just reject the call. When you receive the call, scroll up from the bottom and select a reject message

Disable the screen lock

To disable the screen lock, go into Settings - Location and security.

Then under Screen unlock settings press Change screen lock. Then chose None.

Save a word to the dictionary

Type a word that is not in the dictionary. The word will show up in the suggestion box to the left. Long press on the word and it will save to the dictionary.

Use Swype for quick text entry

Most Android devices come with an alternative way of entering text called Swype. Many prefer this method and believe it is quicker.
When any text entry box appears, press and hold the box. Then select Input method: SWYPE. Once enabled, you simply drag your finger around the keyboard moving over the letters in the correct order to spell a word.

Disable 'mobile view' for websites

To disable mobile view for websites, open your Browser and go to Menu - More - Settings - Untick 'Mobile View'.

This option may be disabled on some phones or carriers.

If so, then download the Dolphin browser from the Android Marketplace.

Then open Dolphin - Menu - More - Settings - User Agent. Then select Desktop.

A similar option should be available with the Firefox, Opera or other third-party browsers.

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen

To create a shortcut to websites on your homescreen, you need to open your browser and open your list of bookmarks.

Then long press on a bookmark and select Add shortcut to Home.

View CPU and battery information

To view information about your battery and CPU go to your phone dialler and type in the following code: *#*#4636#*#*

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type

To disable / enable vibrate, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Sound.

Then under Feedback you can adjust certain features like Audible touch tones, Haptic feedback and so on.

Start phone in recovery mode

To load the phone in recovery mode, turn off the phone. Then press and hold the Volume Up + Home + Power buttons. When you see the Samsung logo, release the keys for half a second and then press and hold them again. The phone will then boot in recovery mode

View all camera settings

While in the Camera app you can view all current settings by pressing and holding the little Gear icon in the top right corner of the app.

How to rotate the homescreen to landscape

On most Android phones, when you rotate the phone when on Homescreen mode, the Homescreen stays in Portrait mode. One way around this is to install a third-party Launcher Application which allows you to customise your phone in many ways.

One popular launcher is called GoLauncher. Or alternatively, open the Android Market and search for the word Launcher.

Improve the keyboard accuracy

While the stock standard keyboard is fine, there are much better keyboards available. First, you need to go to the Play Store and download one. Try searching for the word 'keyboard' and you will see a number of options.

One of the best keyboards is a keyboard called Swiftkey, which is a top-rate App.

Download your chosen keyboard and go through any install steps that you are presented with.

If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.

How to import Contacts from your old phone

If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy your contacts from your old phone. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your phone first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your phone, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your phone.

How to add more Homescreens

Most Android phones only come with a fixed amount of homescreens. There is a way around this however.

Go to Android Market and search for 'launcher'. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens.

A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Quickly switch between Month and Year view in the Calendar App

In the Calendar App there is no Year view along the top of the App. You can however use pinch to zoom gestures to zoom in and out of Month and Year view however.

This is useful if you want to quickly jump backwards or forwards through a few months at a time.

Help, I have forgotten my unlock pattern

If you have forgotten your custom unlock pattern, then don't panic.

After 5 unsuccessful tries a button should appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password.

The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you might have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.

Copying iTunes songs to Android

If you have decided to ditch your iPhone in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.

Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there.

Then, when that is done, turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).

Once your phone is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.

Soft reset

To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the phone will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

Alternatively, if your phone has frozen completely, press the Volume Down and Power buttons together for 10 seconds. The phone should then turn off. Press the Power/Lock button again to restart.

How to hard reset / factory reset

Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone (but not the MicroSD card).

To perform a hard reset, or factory reset, then there are a number of methods to try:

1) From the home screen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy - Factory data reset - Reset phone. It may ask for a password. Then select Erase everything

If the phone is totally unresponsive, even after a reboot, then try the following methods.

2) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together. Then, while holding these, press and release the Power button (keep holding the volume buttons). The phone should turn on and a menu will appear. Press the Volume down button to navigate to the Recovery option. Press the Volume Up to select (if that doesn't work, use the Power button to select). A yellow triangle and an Android logo will appear. Press the Volume Down and Volume Up button together and a recovery menu should appear. Use the Volume buttons to move to the Wipe data/Factory reset option and then press Power to select. Again, use the Volume Down key to choose Yes and press the Power button again to select.

3) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Down button. Then, while holding, press and release the Power button. A menu should appear. Use the Volume down key to go to Clear Storage. Use the Power button to select the option. Then when asked to confirm, press Volume Up for Yes.

4) While the phone is off, press and hold down Volume Up + Home + Power buttons at the same time. Then release the buttons when you see the Logo. Use the Volume Down button to go down and the Home or Power key to select. Choose the Wipe data/Factory reset option. Then Select Yes to delete all user data. Then choose to reboot the phone.

5) A final method is to enter the code into your phone's dialer: *2767*3855# This method will not give you an option to reverse the process, so be careful! This method will only work if you can boot into your phone.

How to hard reset / factory reset

How to factory reset / hard reset

Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone (but not the MicroSD card).

To perform a hard reset, or factory reset, then try the following methods:

1) From the home screen, press Menu - Settings - Privacy - Factory data reset - Reset phone. It may ask for a password. Then select Erase everything

2) While the power is off, hold down the Left and Right buttons underneath the display. Then, while holding those, press and release the Power button. Then follow the on-screen instructions to reset the phone.

Copying iTunes songs to Android

If you have decided to ditch your iPhone in favour of Android, then there is a simple way to take your iTunes music, playlists and album art with you.

Simply go the Android Marketplace and download a Free App called Easy Phone Tunes. You will also need the computer version of the software, so go to http://easyphonetunes.com and download it from there.

Then, when that is done turn your phone into a USB storage device (this will vary from device to device, but instructions are on the website).

Once your phone is connected to your computer, open the computer version of the software and select your device from the Easy Phone Tunes list. Then follow the instructions to Sync your media.

S Pen Gestures

Here are some simple gestures for the Note:

Press the Pen’s Button + Double Tap - brings up the S memo feature
Press the Pen’s Button + Stroke up - brings up the menu button
Press the Pen’s Button + Swiping left - cancel your last task

Take a screenshot

To take a screenshot of the current screen you are viewing, get your S Pen and press the button whole holding down the pen on the screen.

This will capture the screen and puts the phone in Edit mode allowing you to do many things with the image.

Add comments / notes to pictures

The Note has a feature built into where you can write comments on top of a photo, then share the photo using various services.

First, choose the photo you want to comment on. Then press and hold on the photo. Then with your Stylus, write your message on top of the photo. Then press Share via and select Facebook, Twitter, Gmail or other service.

Search music on Youtube from Music Player

While in the standard Music Player, press on the song title of the music and a menu will appear.

From here you search Youtube by the Title (song), Biography (artist) or Discography (album).

Quick add entries in S Planner

If you want to quicky add an appointment like 'Meeting with Roger tomorrow at 4pm', then simply go to your S Planner and press the + symbol in the top left corner. Then press Quick add.

Then you can simply type in 'Meeting with Roger tomorrow at 4pm' and the S Planner App will automatically create a time and date for the meeting in your Calendar.

Alternatively, you can open the S Memo App and write the meeting (as above) in your own handwriting. Then press the Menu key, then More, then Link to S Planner and select New event. And finally, press Save. This will automatically create the calendar entry via S Memo.

Tether your laptop or computer to your phone

You can tether your computer or laptop to your phone so that the PC uses the phone's 3G or 4G connection.

To do this, connect the phone to your PC via USB cable. If a screen appears saying Choose a connection type, then select USB tethering and you should be able to start surfing straight away. If it doesn't then press the Home key to go into normal mode. Then go to Menu - Settings - Wireless and network - Tethering and portable hotspots. Then tick USB tethering. Your computer should then install the relevant drivers. To test, simply open your browser and start surfing.

Another alternative if the above doesn't work is to use an App called PdaNet. Before you install this App, you will need to go to Menu - Settings - Applications - Development. Then tick the option which says USB Debugging. Then download both the App and the software for your computer. Once they are both installed run PdaNet on your laptop and then on your phone. Follow any other instructions to complete the process.

Warning: Some carriers will tell you that tethering is not allowed in their contract. You should still be able to use the above techniques, but be aware that your carrier may not be happy. Also, if you are not on an unlimited data plan, be sure you do not use too much data through your laptop or computer as you may incur extra charges.

Reformat a column while browsing

If you are browsing and have zoomed in to a column on a web page but you want it reformatted, you can pinch to zoom in. Then double tap on the column. The column will then be reformatted to fit the screen width.
Tip filed under: HTC Sensation Tip and Tricks

Soft reset

To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power and Down button together for 10 seconds and the phone should restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power button again to restart.

How to find your MAC address

If you want to find your phone's WiFi MAC address (for improved WiFi security), then from the Home screen, go to Menu - Settings - About Phone. Then scroll down until you see WiFi MAC Address. The address should be a series of Hex numbers and letters.

End a phone call by pressing the Power button

Rather than having to locate the hang up icon on the screen after each call, you can quickly end a call by pressing the Power button. It will not turn off the screen though.

To enable this, go to Settings - Accessibility - Power button ends call.

Note: Depending on which firmware you are running, you may need to update your firmware to see this feature.

Increase your font size

There are two options to increase the font size on your phone:

The first is to simply install a new font that is larger than the default font. Font Changer and Type Fresh are two Apps that allow you to change Fonts on your phone (they do require Root access though).

The second option is to use dedicate Apps to change the font size, although they will normally only work for SMS and some Google Apps.

To enlarge the SMS font, go to the Android Market and download an App called ChompSMS. Among other things, the App allows you to increase the font size of your SMS messages.

For enlarge SMS and the standard Google Apps fonts, then download an App called SMS/Talk Text Enlarger.

Make volume / music louder

WARNING: Making your volume or music louder can damage your hearing.

Most phones have their volumes limited by local laws to protect our hearing. There is a way to boost your volume however. Go to the Android Market and download an App called Volume+ (Sound Boost). There is also a free version called Volume+ Free.

You will need to root your phone for this App to work.

Change your default font

To change your default font, you need to download a third-party app because Android does not have a built-in way of changing fonts

There are two good Apps that allow you to change fonts:

Font Changer - There is a free version and a paid version. The paid version allows you to change the screen density and allows you to preview the font. You can also change a few other options.

Type Fresh - With this App you can load any TrueType font and also backup your default fonts to your SDCard. Be aware that you might need to reboot your phone after installing Type Fresh.

Also, if you use GoLauncher, then try downloading GoLauncher Fonts.

Note: most, if not all, font changing Apps require you to Root your device.

Make your phone run faster

Here are the top 5 tips to make your phone run faster:

1) Use only essential widgets on your homescreen - each widget consumes memory and processing power which can slow your down your phone.

2) Uninstall apps that you don't use - after awhile your phone can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you rarely use an App, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource

3) Install Apps to your phone memory - if you have an SDCard, always install Apps to the phone memory, which can be accessed faster. If you have Apps on the SDCard, then move them back to the phone memory with an App called Move2SD available from the Android Market.

4) Use Static rather than Live wallpapers - Live wallpapers consume processing power and memory. Unless you really must have them, uninstall them

5) Kill tasks occasionally - Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won't cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

One last thing: Don't use Task Killers. Android manages tasks very well and Task Killers just make your phone unstable and can slow it down further.

Use your phone as a torch

If you want to use your phone as a torch, then there are a couple of great Apps that use either your phone's camera flash or the phone's screen to illuminate your life.

The first is called Tiny Flashlight and it's a brilliant App. The App comes with many different Torch types and can use both the screen or your camera flash. It is also super simply to use.

The second is called Brightest Flashlight. This App turns on every available piece of phone hardware that can be illuminate and puts them on maximum illumination.

Both of these Apps are available from the Android Market.

How to fix "Reconnect the device in Samsung Kies (PC Studio) mode" error

If you have plugged your phone via USB and you're getting the error: "Reconnect the device in Samsung Kies (PC Studio) mode. Current connection Mode not supported by Kies", then follow these steps:

Disconnect the phone from your computer
Go to Settings - Applications - Development - USB Debugging. Untick this box.
Hold down the Home key and press Task Manager. Then go through and press Exit for all tasks that are running.
Reconnect your device to your computer via USB

If that still doesn't work, then follow the Kies connection troubleshooter which will reinstall your device drivers. Once that's done, go through the steps above.

Universal search

To do a universal search, press and hold on the menu key (the right-most key at the bottom of the phone). This will bring up a keyboard which allows you to search your phone for Apps, Widgets or content on the internet

Quickly mute from standby screen

To mute your phone from the standby menu, drag the screen unlock bar from the right to the left (instead of left to right to unlock). This will mute the phone. Do it again to unmute

Take a Screenshot - No App Required

Quickly take a screenshot by holding down the Home button, then pressing the Power button...

Then access it in the Gallery...

(Holding down a button doesn't really sound right with touch-sensitive buttons like these... :-s lol)

Make volume / music louder

Delete all contacts

Quickly search for a contact

To quickly search for a contact, open the Contacts App and start typing the name of the contact you want to dial.

This will quickly filter the correct contact.

Disable 'mobile view' for websites

Adding pauses when dialling

To add pauses when dialing numbers, or storing numbers in your contacts, then insert a comma ( , ) when entering the number.

This will pause the dialling for about 2 seconds.

Open the notification bar

To open the notification bar, simply press and hold on the bar at the top and drag it downward.

Swipe left to text contact

While viewing your list of Contacts you can swipe from Right to Left to send a text message to the selected contact.

This might not work on all models.

Swipe right to dial contact

From the Contact list or the Messaging list, swipe from Left to Right to call a Contact.

This might not work on all models.

Remove applications

Auto focus the camera

To auto focus the camera when taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on.

The phone will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video.

Change the backlight screen timeout

To change the backlight screen timeout, go to Menu - Settings - Display - Screen Time Out.

Then chose the screen time out duration.

Clear browser cache and cookies

To clear your browser cache and cookies, open your browser and press Menu - More - Settings.

Then select Clear Cache / Clear all cookie data / Clear history / Clear form data.

Android easter egg

Help, I have forgotten my unlock pattern

Remove numbers from the call log

Access the scientific calculator

To access the scientific calculator, rotate the phone to landscape mode.

The calculator will change to a scientific one.

Change contact list order

To change the contact list order, go to your Contacts and press Menu .

Then press More - Display options - Display contacts by.

Then select either First name first or Surname first.

How to hard reset / factory reset

Enable / disable WiFi or Bluetooth

To enable / disable WiFi or Bluetooth, the quickest way is to pull down your Notifications bar at the top. Bluetooth and WiFi should be available there.

Alternatively, from your homescreen, press Menu - Settings - Wireless & networks. Then press WiFi settings or Bluetooth settings to enable or disable these

Create Homescreen shortcuts to your Gmail folders / labels

Increase security with a custom unlock pattern

Install ringtones on your phone

Disable the screen lock

To disable the screen lock, go into Settings - Location and security.

Then under Screen unlock settings press Change screen lock. Then chose None.

Change the screen brightness

Change your default font

Install a new keyboard on your phone

If you want a install a new keyboard, different from the default one, then go to the Android Marketplace and install one you would like to use.

Then open the Applications Launcher. Press Settings - Language and keyboard - Input method. Then select the keyboard you would like to use

Set MP3 as ringtone

Silence the phone when ringing

There are two methods to silence the phone when ringing:

Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.

Allow swear words in voice recognition

Use your phone as a torch

Prevent ring tones from showing up in your music list

Turn off predictive text

To turn off predictive text, go to Settings - Language and Keyboard - Touch Input - Text Input - Prediction.

Then select On or Off

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen

To create a shortcut to websites on your homescreen, you need to open your browser and open your list of bookmarks.

Then long press on a bookmark and select Add shortcut to Home.

Bookmark a web page on your homescreen

Quickly see date

To quickly see the date, simply press and hold on the notification bar at the top of the screen. The date should appear in the top left corner.

Add email or phone number from text

To add an email or phone number to your contacts from a text message, you can long-press on the email / phone number. Then select Add to contacts

Bookmark a contact on your homescreen

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type

To disable / enable vibrate, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Sound.

Then under Feedback you can adjust certain features like Audible touch tones, Haptic feedback and so on.

How to add more Homescreens

Most Android phones only come with a fixed amount of homescreens. There is a way to add more however.

Go to Android Market and search for 'launcher'. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens.

A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Change Google Navigation voice

How to import Contacts from your old phone

If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may need to import (or copy) your contacts from your old phone. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your phone first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your phone, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your phone.

Quick brightness control

Stop blue led blinking

Although the function of the led lights has its advantages, these functions can also be very annoying sometimes.
On Motorola Motolux, in my case, It was constantly blinking blue led. I think that is not a sign that I have an incoming or missed calls.
I tried to find what it is and here's one answer that for me had success.
I think this blinking comes from third party applications. I turned off all notifications from gmail,gtalk Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, etc. .. all of the notification of third party applications. Finally, another application for SMS HandcentSMS, appSettings-DefaultMessagingapp-ALL (SMS&MMS)

Display Battery Percentage

Go to Settings - Display. Then tick the Display battery percentage checkbox. If your phone doesn't have this option, then go to the Google Play store and download a useful App called Battery Percentage.

There are two different Apps under that name, but they are both good.

Fix blurry images in phone browser / carrier compression

When browsing on your phone you may notice images are quite blurry. This is because your telecom provider is compressing the images before they are downloaded on to your phone.

There is no way to prevent this, but if you have a WiFi connection nearby, then you can turn that on. This will mean that all browser downloads come through the WiFi connection, rather than the carrier, and your images will appear normally.

Stop Youtube videos from being blurry

If you are browsing Youtube videos on your phone and they appear blurry, then this is usually because of your connection speed.

If you are using 3G / 4G and you're in an area of low signal strength, then Youtube will sometimes automatically reduce the quality of the video. Unfortunately this can make the video very pixelated and of poor quality.

If you are using the standard Android browser, then when the video is in full screen, press the back button. Then press HQ and start playing it again.

If you are using another browser, then press the Settings icon on the bottom right of the Youtube video. Then change the quality.

This may improve the quality, but it may also lead to buffering issues.

Another solution is to use a WiFi connection, if one is available.

View HTML source code of web pages

If you are browsing a website and want to see the HTML source code behind the page, then Android doesn't offer you the ability to do this by default.

There is however a handy App called View Web Source which can be installed. Whenever you want to view the HTML of a web page, you just press the Menu - Share - View Web Source.

You can then browse the code or copy the content into the clipboard.

Swipe to clear individual notifications

If you have Android 4.0, then one neat feature is the ability to clear single notifications.

Simply pull down your notifications bar by swiping your finger from the top of your phone downwards. Then when you see each individual notification, swipe your finger left or right to clear each one.

Create home screen shortcut to a file or folder

Normally you don't have the ability to create shortcuts to files or folders on your home screen.

There is a workaround however. Go to the Play Store and download an App called Linda File Manager.

Once installed, browse to a file or folder. Then press and hold on the file and select Create shortcut.

The shortcut will be created on your homescreen where you can hold and drag it elsewhere if you want.

Take a screenshot

To take a screen shot, hold down the Volume Down and Power Buttons together. This will save the current screen to your phone's memory card.

Enable sideload of Apps

If you want to install Apps outside of the Android Market (called sideloading), then go to Settings - Security - Unknown sources.

Note: use at your own risk.

Improve Face Unlock speed and accuracy

Face Unlock allows you to unlock your phone by holding it up to your face. It is highly recommended to use the Improve Face Unlock feature to make the recognition faster and more accurate.

First, ensure you have Face Unlock enabled. Go to Settings - Security - Screen lock. Then choose Face Unlock.

Once that is done go to Settings - Security - Improve face matching. You might have to do this a few times to improve the speed of recognition. It is also a good idea to position the phone at different angles to your head to improve the accuracy.

Note: this may not work on all phones. Check for a software update if it doesn't work on yours.

Reformat a column while browsing

If you are browsing and have zoomed in or out and the column you're reading doesn't fit the screen properly, you can pinch to zoom in. Then double tap on the column. The column will then be reformatted to fit the screen width.

Enable / disable notification light

To enable / disable your notification light, go to Settings - Display.

Then check/uncheck Pulse notification.

Accents and special characters

If you want to type non-English letters (eg those with an accent), long-press on the relevant letter. A list of options will appear for you to select.

Hard reset / factory reset

Warning: This will remove ALL data on the phone (but not the MicroSD card).

To perform a hard reset, or factory reset, then there are a number of methods to try:

1) From the home screen, press Menu - Backup and reset - Factory data reset - Reset phone. It may ask for a password. Then select Erase everything

If the phone is totally unresponsive, even after a reboot, then try the following methods.

2) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together. Then, while holding these, press and release the Power button (keep holding the volume buttons). The phone should turn on and a menu will appear. Press the Volume down button to navigate to the Recovery option. Press the Volume Up to select (if that doesn't work, use the Power button to select). A yellow triangle and an Android logo will appear. Press the Volume Down and Volume Up button together and a recovery menu should appear. Use the Volume buttons to move to the Wipe data/Factory reset option and then press Power to select. Again, use the Volume Down key to choose Yes and press the Power button again to select.

3) While the phone is turned off, press and hold the Volume Down button. Then, while holding, press and release the Power button. A menu should appear. Use the Volume down key to go to Clear Storage. Use the Power button to select the option. Then when asked to confirm, press Volume Up for Yes.

4) While the phone is off, press and hold down Volume Up + Home + Power buttons at the same time. Then release the buttons when you see the Logo. Use the Volume Down button to go down and the Home or Power key to select. Choose the Wipe data/Factory reset option. Then Select Yes to delete all user data. Then choose to reboot the phone.

5) A final method is to enter the code into your phone's dialer: *2767*3855# This method will not give you an option to reverse the process, so be careful! This method will only work if you can boot into your phone.

Send text message to caller

When your phone is ringing you have three options: Press the Answer, Hang up or Send a text message.

To send a text message, press and hold inside the round circle you see on the screen. Then drag your finger to the message icon at the top. You will then be presented with a few default responses that you can send via text message.

Turn off WiFi while the phone is sleeping

If you want to conserve battery life, you can turn off the WiFi while the phone is asleep.

Go to Settings - WiFi - Advanced - Keep WiFi on during sleep.

Customise your favourites tray

At the bottom of each homescreen is your favourites tray, which consists of 5 icons. You can customise it by adding icons to the tray. If it's full however, you will first need to remove some.

To remove an icon, simply press and hold an icon. Then drag it to your desktop.

Then to add a new one, simply drag an icon from your homescreen to the favourites tray.

Share / upload videos to media services like Facebook or Youtube

To share or upload a video to services like Facebook or Youtube, start from your Gallery App and long press on a video.

From here you will be given options to share the video with various services.

Zoom when using the camera

While in the Camera App, there are two ways to zoom in or out.

First, you can use Volume Up and Down keys.

Secondly, you can pinch your fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Turn off App update notifications

If you would prefer not to be told every time an Application has been updated, open the Play Market - Menu - My Apps. Then Menu again. Then Settings. Under General settings, untick the Notifications option.

Separate your notifications from your ringtone

If you want to receive calls during the night, but don't want to be woken up by notifications like text messages, then you can turn notifications to silent.

Go to Settings - Sounds. Then change notifications to silent.

Remove Google Search bar

If you want to remove the Google Search bar, then go to Settings - Apps - All - Google search bar - Disable.

Copy files between your phone and PC using WiFi

To copy files between your phone and PC, go to the Android Play Market and download an app called AirDroid.

This is an extremely useful App that connects your phone to your PC wirelessly, allowing you to move files and many, many other things.

Remove text message conversations

If you want to remove an entire text message conversation (or thread), go into Messages and look for the thread. Then long press on it and select the Trash icon.

You can also select multiple threads. Before you press the Trash, you can highlight the threads you want deleted. Then press Trash.

Quickly show browser history

While in your Browser App, press and hold the Back button.

This will show your browser History and Bookmarks.

Check the firmware version

To check your firmware version, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - About Phone.

This should list your Android version, Build number and Model Number.

Use the EQ in Google Music

Open your music and play a song. Then press Menu - Sound Effects. You will then be presented with an equalizer including presets.

Quickly open settings

Instead of finding your Settings App icon, a quicker way is to drag down your notification bar (from the top) and press the Settings icon. It should be next to the date.

Put your phone into night mode

To put your phone into night mode, go to your Clock application and press the screen once which will dim the screen.

Then press and hold on the screen and the clock will turn blue. This is Night mode.

Store number from email

To store a phone number that you have received in an email, hold down on the number and you will be given the option to call, send an SMS or add the number to your contacts

Quickly close Apps

To quickly close Apps, press the multi-task button (on the bottom right). This will display your currently running Apps. From here you can simply swipe the Apps off the screen by dragging your finger left or right. This is a very quick way to free up some memory.

Use phone as a WiFi hotspot / USB / Bluetooth tethering

To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings - Tethering And Portable Hotspot.

You can then choose from three options:

1) USB - connect your phone via a USB cable. The phone should automatically configure the correct settings.

2) WiFi Hotspot - To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, press Configure WiFi hotspot. You will then be asked to enter a Network SSID (this is your own name for the WiFi hotspot). Then choose Security and lastly, choose a password (this is password for your WiFi hotspot which you will enter on your computer).

3) Bluetooth - With this option, you will need to pair a Bluetooth device with your phone. On the other device, ensure you search for Bluetooth devices and your phone should show up.

Enable / disable vibrate / haptic feedback when you type

To disable / enable vibrate (also called haptic feedback) when you type or press the screen, go to Settings - Language & input - Settings.

Then uncheck Vibrate on keypress.

Silence the phone when ringing

To silence the phone when ringing there are two methods:

Either press the Volume Down (or Up) button or if the phone is on a surface facing up, simply flip it over so it is facing down.

Set voicemail number / password

To set your voicemail number which allows your phone to automatically input your voicemail password, then open your Dialer App.

Then choose the Phone tab and go to Settings - Voicemail settings - Voicemail number and enter it there.

Depending on your carrier you may have to enter the series of steps required to go through the voicemail menu, for example: *86,,yourpassword# (a comma inserts a pause).

Create folders to tidy your Apps

If you find yourself with too many Apps on the homescreen, then you can create folders to organise them.

To start, simply press and hold on an App and drag it over the top of another App. The App should change colour/shape. Then release your finger and the two Apps will be combined into a folder.

You can then drag more Apps into this folder using the same process.

To give your folder a label, simply long press on the folder and you will be able to enter a name.

Change quick response texts

The phone has the ability to send quick response text messages if your phone is ringing but you can't answer it.

To change these, go to your Dialer App - Settings - Quick responses. You can only have 4 of them and you may need to edit existing ones.

Soft reset

To soft reset your phone press and hold the Power/Lock button for a 2-3 seconds and the phone will restart. Wait about 10 seconds and then press and hold the Power/Lock button again to restart.

If that doesn't work, then remove the battery (if it has one). Wait 30 seconds and put the battery back in. Then press the Power/Lock button to turn the phone on.

Disable the screen lock

To disable the screen lock, go into Settings - Security. Then select Screen lock.

You can then choose None to disable your screen lock.

This is handy because you won't have to swipe the lock screen away anymore.

Have more control over your notification light

If you are not happy with your notification light, then you can change and tweak it. Go to the Android Market and download an App called Lightflow.

You might need to enable the notification light before the App works. Go to Settings - Display. Then check Pulse notification.

Speed up your phone

To speed up your phone, you can turn off screen animations. Go to Settings - Developer options.

Then scroll down to Window animation scale and select that. From here you can choose to turn Animations Off. This will make screen transitions faster.

How to add more Homescreens

Most Android phones only come with a fixed amount of homescreens. There is a way to add more however.

Go to Android Play Market and search for 'launcher'. These are third-party user interfaces that allow you to customize your phone in many ways. Most of them allow multiple homescreens.

A very popular launcher which supports multiple homescreens is GoLauncher EX.

Change the backlight screen timeout

To change the backlight screen timeout, go to Settings - Display - Sleep. Then choose the screen time out duration.

You can also tell the phone screen to always stay lit when it is plugged in via USB. Go to Settings - Developer Options. Then check Stay Awake.

Save images in browser, email or text

Search music on Youtube from Music Player

While in the Music Player, long press on the song title of the music and you can search Youtube for more music

Hide folders or files

If you want to hide folders or files from being index or displayed, simple put a . (full top / period) before the file or folder name.

Auto focus the camera

When taking photos or videos, tap the screen where you want to focus on. The phone will automatically adjust the settings to improve the image or video

Enable Owner Info if your phone is lost or stolen

If your phone is lost and you're lucky, the finder will want to return your phone to you. To make this easy for them, you can turn on Owner Info. This will display a scrolling custom message on the lock screen saying who the phone belongs to. You can also enter a phone number to call if your phone is found.

Go to Settings - Security - Owner info. Then enter the custom message there. It will then display the message on your lock screen.

End a phone call by pressing the Power button

Rather than having to locate the hang up icon on the screen after each call, you can quickly end a call by pressing the Power button.

To enable this, go to Settings - Accessibility - Power button ends call.

Quickly display browser bookmarks

There are two ways to bring up Bookmarks while browsing:

1) The quickest way is to simple long press the Back key to bring up your bookmarks

2) Alternatively you can enable the Quick Control panel. Go to Settings - Labs. Then check the option for Full screen. Then when you are browsing slide your finger in from the left or right of the screen. A semi-circular Quick Control panel will appear. Slide your finger to the top icon to see your bookmarks. This also means your browser runs in full screen mode so you maximise your website viewing area.

Browse websites in full-screen mode

If you want to browse in full screen mode, without the URL bar at the top of the browser, then you can enable this..

Open the standard browser and press Menu - Settings - Labs. Then put a check mark under Full Screen .

To get access to the browser options (that are now invisible), there is now a neat hidden menu. Slide your finger in from the left or right of the screen. A circular menu will appear with various options.

Bring up more predicted words

If you have word prediction enabled while you are typing, you can long press the middle word that is suggested. This will bring up a menu allowing you to select various other suggested words.

Make your phone run faster

Here are the top 5 tips to make your phone run faster:

1) Use only essential widgets on your homescreen - each widget consumes memory and processing power which can slow your down your phone.

2) Uninstall apps that you don't use - after awhile your phone can get cluttered as some Apps are designed to always run in the background. If you rarely use an App, then uninstall it to free up memory and CPU resource.

3) Install Apps to your phone memory - if you have an SDCard, always install Apps to the phone memory, which can be accessed faster. If you have Apps on the SDCard, then move them back to the phone memory with an App called Move2SD available from the Play Market.

4) Use Static rather than Live wallpapers - Live wallpapers consume processing power and memory. Unless you really must have them, uninstall them.

5) Kill tasks occasionally - Some Apps will run in the background indefinitely unless you kill them. Most of them won't cause a problem, but it pays to check your running tasks from time to time. Hold down your Home key and check the Task Manager.

One last thing: Don't use Task Killers. Android manages tasks very well and Task Killers just make your phone unstable and can slow it down further.

How to import Contacts from your old phone

If you have just purchased an Android device, then you may want to copy (or import) your contacts from your old phone. The easiest way to do this is to Export your old contacts to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file and save this to your PC. You may need to install the correct software for your phone first in order to do the export.

Then, if you don't have a Gmail account, sign up for one.

Once that's done, open Gmail. Go to Contacts, then press More - Import. Then import the CSV to your Gmail contacts.

Then on your phone, open the Contacts App. Press Menu and then Sync Contacts. This will pull the contacts from Gmail to your phone.

Stop Photos or Music files being indexed

To stop the Photo App or the Music player from indexing your files, place a blank text file called .nomedia in the folder containing your photos or music

Enable Face Unlock

To enable Face Unlock, go into Settings - Security.

Then select Screen lock.

Check available RAM

If you want to check how much RAM you have available, go to Settings - Apps - Running.

Create folders in your Quick Launch bar

If you have used up all of your Quick Launch spaces, then there is a trick.

Once it is full, press and drag an App from the homescreen and move it over the top of an App in the Quick Launch area. Then release your finger. This will create a folder containing the original App plus the new one. This is a great way to have access to regularly used Apps.

Create shortcut to websites on your home screen

To create a shortcut to a website on your homescreen, go to your browser bookmarks.

Then long press on a site and select Add shortcut to Home.

Change the screen brightness

To change the screen brightness, start from the Homescreen and press Menu - Settings - Display - Brightness.

Then choose the desired brightness setting. You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you.

If you have auto-brightness enabled, you can also press, hold and slide the top notification bar left and right. The brightness will increase and decrease accordingly.

Use PIN instead of Face Unlock

If you use the Face Unlock feature but you're in a dark room or wearing a hat and scarf, you can bypass the unlock just once.

Simply press the Lock icon on your screen and you can then enter your PIN instead.

Change keyboards

To change keyboards (if you have additional keyboards installed), you can switch between them by pressing the small keyboard symbol in the top left of your screen. You will need to be in keyboard input mode (i.e. typing something) for this to work.

Note: you need to have more than one keyboard installed for this to work.

Stop Play Market from adding App shortcuts

When you download a new App, the Play Market will add a shortcut to the App on your homescreen. Sometimes this can get annoying.

To disable this, go to Market - Settings. Then uncheck Auto-add Shortcuts.

Add widget to the homescreen

To add a widget, go to the homescreen and press the Apps icon (the circle with 6 dots). Then you will see a list of your Apps with the word Apps and Widgets at the top. Press Widgets, then you will be presented with a list of available widgets.

To add a widget, press and hold on it and then position it where you want.

Increase security with a custom unlock pattern

Instead of the simple swipe gesture to unlock your phone, you can set a custom one which can be extremely difficult for a thief to guess.

From your homescreen, go to Menu - Settings - Security. Then select Screen lock. Then chose Pattern to set one up.

It is also a good idea to untick Use visible pattern. Then if someone is watching over your shoulder while you entering your pattern, it will be harder for them to remember the pattern.

If you have forgotten your unlock pattern, then after 5 unsuccessful tries a button will appear saying 'Forgot pattern'. Press this and you will be asked to enter your Gmail username/password. The phone will then ask for a new unlock pattern. If you don't have a Gmail account, then you will have to either call your carrier or factory reset your phone.

Capture a still shot while recording video

To capture a still shot while recording a video, simply tap the screen while you are recording.

This will save a still image.

Quickly hide keyboard

After entering text a quick way to hide the keyboard is to press the Back key at the bottom of your screen. This saves having to hunt for the hide keyboard icon.

Install new keyboard to improve accuracy

The standard Android keyboard is good, but not great. There are many third party keyboards available which will improve your typing speed and accuracy.

Go to the Android Market and search for 'Keyboard' to see some great alternatives, many of which are more accurate and make typing much easier.
A good one is GoKeyboard.

If you see a warning saying the keyboard will collect all information (including credit cards) just ignore this. This is just a security feature that Android shows for every third-party keyboard that you install.

How to conserve battery

Go to settings/power management and press Extended standby mode.