Tip #1 – Save power by keeping Wi-Fi enabled
It sounds counter-intuitive, but you will save smartphone or tablet power by using Wi-Fi as much as possible. When at home, always enable it and try to when you are in range of a Hotspot when out and about. Wi-Fi drains power far less than a mobile network and once you try it, you will notice that the battery drain reduces quite significantly.
Tip #2 – Improve GPS performance
As smartphones get thinner, some manufacturers are turning to integrated chips for GPS and Wi-Fi. This means that to offer full power to the GPS antenna, it is advisable to turn Wi-Fi on when travelling. It is ironic that on some new smartphones, GPS performance may seem reduced, or inaccurate at times, but switching on Wi-Fi when navigating will make a great deal of difference.
Tip #3 – Avoid the dust
Screen protectors make a lot of sense, even on new smartphones with toughened glass, but installing them is rarely easy. One tip, which may sound strange, is to install them in a bathroom with hot water running in the sink. Don’t overdo the water to the point of creating steam, but with enough moisture in the air the dust struggles to stick and your screen protector installation should proceed much more smoothly.
Tip #4 – Water doesn’t kill
You may presume that dropping your smartphone in water will kill it completely, but that is not always the case. If an accident happens, remove the phone from the water straight away and take out the battery, SIM card and the expansion card if it has one installed. Then place the phone in a bowl of rice for 3 days, yes really, and it may just work again. This trick has been shown to work on numerous occasions.
Tip #5 – Back up everything
If your smartphone or tablet uses an expansion card, make sure you back it up regularly. People are used to backing up phones, but rarely take the time to do the same with expansion cards. They can get corrupted and require as much care and attention as the phone’s memory.
Tip #6 – Most smartphones let you turn off 3G
Which can have less effect on day to day use than you may expect. Emails will arrive as normal, texts and instant messages will still work at the same speed and the only change you will see is when browsing and streaming music or video. Disabling 3G can save more than 50% of your battery!
Tip #7 – Chrome extensions
Can be used with Android phones and there are now many available. Just go to Google Chrome here for a full list. Of particular note is the Google Chrome to Phone Extension which lets you push links and other relevant information directly to the phone with no hassle at all.
Tip #8 – In the contacts app
On an Android phone you can select a contact, press menu and then options and choose to send their calls directly to voicemail. An easy, but polite, way to avoid people…
Tip #9 – The desktop solutions
For most of the main smartphone platforms are lacklustre at best. The Missing Sync provides fully featured solutions for the main platforms and as an example, the BlackBerry software is way ahead of the standard BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
Tip #10 – If you always have a voicemail indicator
But cannot retrieve any messages, don’t presume that it is a fault with your phone. This is almost always a network provider issue and you will need to call your supplier to get the voicemail reset.
Do you have any tips, then send them in
Dave lives in Dundee, Scotland. He has been using computers for a long long time. His first being commodore’s 64 then the C128. He progressed to a PC with a NCR 386 (National Cash Registers) which was taken out of a main frame rack at the factory, he bought it for £5.00 ($7.50). He had a computer shop mainly installing networks for business, Banks, Solicitors etc. and designing web sites using C++. He was MSDN certified, (certified he still is). Now he has retired (well sort-of) he spends his time finding stories to post on Android Does.
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