Its the time of smartphones — different makers, different OS,
different technology — whichever way it is, they changed the way you
used your phone, in the past couple of years or so. From a Nokia age,
where everybody was content with the alphanumeric keypad and
feature-rich multimedia phones which fit every size of the pockets, we
have moved on to the world of smartphones and a more mobile life. Thanks
to Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, Nokia’s Symbian OS, Microsoft’s
Windows Phone OS, we have a wider range and qualities of smartphones to
choose from. I too made the switch last year, to the ever-growing army
of Android. While its still too far for normal users to afford the
iPhones, Android made the life easier, having tied-up with multiple
makers and wider price-ranges. And my choice was the Samsung Galaxy
Pop/Mini S5570. A warm welcome to the new world was what I received from
my new companion. Running on Android Froyo 2.2 (upgradable to
Gingerbread 2.3), we got lot of options at hand to use it to the
fullest. And while using the phone, I came across many small, yet useful
shortcuts which will surely help you to do things faster on your phone.
So, lets see what we can do with our Samsung Galaxy series Android
phones. Here we go with the tricks ! Don’t forget to try it out !!
1) Lets start with the home screen itself.
Simply pinch the screen and you will get a quick preview of all the available home-screens.
Click on the + sign to add the number of home-screens up to a total of 7
screens. Now tap on any home-screen from the list to quickly jump to
that screen.
2) If you want to delete a home-screen, again go the preview mode,
press and hold that screen for a couple of seconds and then drag the
screen down to the delete bin that appears at the bottom of the screen.
To remove an app/widget from a home screen, follow the same steps, here
you need to press and hold the app/widget icon.
3)
The preview mode is available in the menu list as well.
Simply pinch at the app list and you will get a snapshot of all the
menu pages. You can choose and jump to the page you want. Also, there is
another way to jump from one page to another in the menu list. If you
noticed well, there are small bullets at the top showing the page
numbers.
At any menu page, simply tap the page number you want to jump to, and voila! you are there.
3) You can add an app shortcut to the home screen in multiple ways.
Either press and hold somewhere in the empty region of the home screen
and you will get an menu to choose and add app shortcuts, widgets,
folders and wallpapers. Or, go to the menu list to see the apps list,
find the app you want to have as a shortcut, and press-hold it. A
shortcut of the app will appear in the currently active home-screen.
4) To make a call or send a message quickly, open the contacts list, find the contact you want to call or text. Now, simply
swipe to the right across the contact name to make a call (If third-party phone call applications are installed, they will be listed to choose from), and
swipe to the left to open a message window.
The default contact number will be used. This works even at the default
message app. Swipe across the contact to make a call or send a message.
5) If you want to quickly send an e-mail to a contact, you have noticed the image box for each contact, right?
Simply click on the image box of the contact,
and you will get the available options to call, message, go to the
contact details, connect through Skype/Whatsapp, and also to open the
e-mail app.
6) You must be knowing the notification bar that lies hidden at the
top of the screen all the time. Simply drag it down to see the different
notifications from different apps, and also to switch on/off Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, GPS, Silent mode, Auto-rotation mode.
To switch off
the phone, or to quickly switch to the flight mode, or to toggle silent
mode, press and hold the screen-lock button at the right side of the
phone.
7) Searching for a contact from the contact list can be very tedious, even harder if its a long list. Well, there is a way out.
Ever noticed the semi-hidden tiny alphabet list at the right of the screen?
Simply tap a letter from the list and you will jump straight to the
contacts starting with that letter. So that makes it easier to jump from
A to T in one small touch. Try it! One more method — Open the keypad
used to dial numbers. Its packed with Smart Dialing feature. Means,
start typing from anywhere of a phone number which is saved in your
contacts, not necessarily from the start. The dialer will automatically
understand and will suggest you the contact you wanted to reach.
Even if you remember only the contact name and not the number, Smart Dialer comes to the rescue.
Simply start typing the name as if on an alphanumeric keypad, and it
will recognize the contact name you are searching for and will display
the numbers saved for that contact.
8)
Tethering and Mobile AP – The jackpot feature!
Don’t you like to use your mobile internet data plan in your PC/laptop?
Tethering lets you to achieve it with the help of a USB cable.
Connect your phone to the PC with a USB cable and check the option ‘USB Tethering’ from settings–Wireless
and network settings–Tethering and portable hotspot. Also enable the
mobile internet connection from Mobile Networks–Use Packet data. The USB
Tethering will be enabled now. Open a browser and check the internet
connectivity. It should be working.
9)
USB Debugging – To enable this option, goto
Settings–Applications–Development and check the option USB Debugging.
This is required to connect your phone to a PC or another device with
the USB cable.
10)
Screen Lock – Choose from ‘None’, ‘Pattern’,
‘PIN number’, ‘Password’ to set a screen lock. Set this from
Settings-Location and security-Set screen lock.
11)
Swype – Many users have found this feature
irritating and not useful, but there are many others who have benefited
from this typing feature. Personally, I felt this the most useful
feature for a virtual keyboard. I still remember those days where I used
to type endlessly and madly fast even with one hand on the physical
alphanumeric keypad of my Nokia phone. That was the one of the few
things I miss while switching to a full touch screen phone. Swype made
life fairly better. Simply swype through the alphabets of the word you
want to type, and if you are not exact on it, you will get the word
displayed on screen. Swype can understand words in English, and so
typing English words straight away is easy. For eg., run your finger
through the letters of the word ‘Mobile’ and it should be displayed as
such. You don’t need to be exact on the tracking. Even if you are close
to it, you will suggestions of similar words to choose from.The another
big feature of Swype is that
you can teach new words to Swype,
means you can add words that you use in your language and make it a
part of Swype’s dictionary. Its simple to do it. Plainly type each
letter one-by-one of the ‘unknown’ word and press space. Now from now
on, simply drag through the letters of the same word and Swype will
recognize your new word and will display it.
Explore! Experiment! Experience!
There will definitely be more hidden features in your phone. Find
them out and ease the pressure of using your phone. If you find
something really useful, don’t forget to share it with me!
