16 Android tips for beginners

With over 500,000 new Android devices activated each day, there are a lot of people out there who've got plenty to learn about their phones. If you're one of them, then you're in the right place.

Now, it might be that you've joined the Android revolution by accident, and it simply happens to be the mobile operating system on the phone that you just bought, or it might have been a more conscious decision. Either way, Pocket-lint is here to get you started.

We've wracked our brains for as many tips and suggestions as we can think of in terms of getting the most out of your phone, so here are 78 Android tips for beginners, and if you find any useful tricks of your own, then do add them in the comments below.

Press & Hold

Sure you've tapped on some of those Android phone buttons but have you ever held your finger on until something different happens? It's worth a try, you know.

1) On/off button

A nice way to quickly switch Flight Mode on or off or to do the same with Silent Mode is to press and hold the power button on your phone until it brings up a menu with the options, the third of which is to power down your handset altogether. Certainly beats having to drill down into the settings menus each time.

2) Menu button

Keep your finger on the menu button and if, you’re lucky, the soft keyboard will pop up. Now, we say "if you’re lucky" because it’s not quite the case on all phones. On pure Android Nexus devices, it will work. On HTC Sense it will work so long as you’re in an app which uses the keyboard and with Samsung’s TouchWiz it will pop up the keyboard along with the appropriate search facility in whatever app you happen to be in.

Probably the most useful part of this function is actually when it comes to getting rid of the keyboard but that will only work with HTC and Nexus phones. Press and hold and it will disappear again. Very useful when it comes to filling in online forms on your browser without necessarily sending the information you’ve just typed in.

3) Search key

Remember that Android phones are fitted with a pretty powerful voice search function which will take you straight to the relevant Google search results pages of whatever it thinks you’ve just said. Press and hold the Search key to jump straight to Voice Search. With Samsung, it’s a little different. Instead you might find that Voice Search is powered by Vlingo and requires a little set up. The pay off is that it’ll offer more functions once you’re done: SMS and phone call activation for example. Seeing as there’s no Search Key on some Samsung smartphones, try a double tap on the Home Key instead.

4) Home Key

Press and hold on the Home Key and it will bring up a small display of the most recent apps you’ve used and it’s quite surprising how much quicker that makes accessing your usuals than hitting the app menu and then flicking through your screens until you find the one you’re looking for. On Samsung TouchWiz phones it also offers access to the Task Manager at the same time.

5) App grid key

This is a Nexus-only tip but has its equivalent in other UIs with Propeller View (see44). Android has plenty of homescreens within the desktop and a quick way to navigate from one to another without having to swipe your way through all the rest is to press and hold the app grid key at the bottom of the desktop screen. Up pops mini-icons of each of your panels. Tap any you want to jump straight to it.

6) On text (copy & paste)

Arguably the most useful of the lot is pressing and holding on text which kick starts the cut, copy and paste function. We could try explain exactly how it's done but it's largely a matter of knack. Have a play for yourself but it's generally a two part process. First highlight the text and then click what you've selected to cut, copy or paste.

7) On the desktop

Finally for press and hold, put your finger anywhere on an empty space of desktop and you’ll uncover the key to a whole other side of your Android phone. Up pops your customisation menu offering a world of widgets, shortcuts, folders and wallpapers all to help make your desktop your own, and that’s exactly what we’re looking at next.

Customisation

Customisation is one of the key benefits of buying into the Android platform. There's a lot you can do with your phone to make it your own. So, if you're not using your equipment to the maximum of its potential, here are a few tips for getting a little more on that front. Remember, press and hold anywhere on your desktop to get started.

8) Widgets

You’ve got plenty of desktop space. You might as well use it for something. Now widgets do drain battery, CPU usage and data in some cases as well, so the message is to pick and choose carefully. Fortunately, there are oodles of them out there to pour through and you’ll very quickly work out which will be good for you. You can download specific widgets from the Andoid Market, find some that come with your UI as standard and others which are actually part of apps that you’re already downloaded to your device.

9) Shortcuts to the web

Not every website has an app but a good way of making a version of it yourself is by creating a desktop shortcut for a page which you can click directly from your homescreen. For example a few us here at Pocket-lint are keen football fans and there's no football fan without the Newsnow page bookmarked on their browser. There's no Newsnow app for Android or iOS but one click of the shortcut launches the phone's browser and takes you straight through to the news portal. It'll work for any web page you choose.

10) Shortcuts to your apps

Of course, some of your favourite websites and services do have apps and you've probably already downloaded these from the Android Market. Whichever ones you find yourself using most often are worth dragging onto your homescreen which will give you one touch access rather than having to go into the app grid and find them from there. All you need to do to set it up is head into the app launcher, press and hold on the icon of the app you'd like to move and you'll be able to drag and drop it wherever you like.

11) Shortcuts to your contacts

So, we have the web and we've had apps but just as useful are shortcuts to your contacts. Chances are that there is a special someone in your life who you call or text most often, so head into the Shortcuts menu and plonk a direct dial or direct message icon for them on your homepage. That'll probably save you at least five clicks a day.

12) Homescreens

There are a lot of homescreens on your Android desktop. Use them. You don't have to fill every single bit of space until you can't see your wallpaper but it might be worth allocating a different function to each one. You could have one screen for your audio applications with radio, podcast, MP3 player and music recognition items; one for your imaging with shortcuts to your camera, gallery and a photo widget; and perhaps one for all your social networking or whatever else you use your smartphone for. Just an idea.

13) Folders

Six desktops or not, it's easy to get your homescreens clogged up with icons, widgets and shortcuts. That's what folders are for. As with shortcuts, widgets and wallpapers, you can set these up by pressing and holding anywhere on a blank section of your desktop until the customisation tools menu pops up. It might be worth creating folders for your web shortcuts or even your most used apps. You can put anything in them. Just don't forget to label them.

14) Wallpaper

Ok, so live wallpapers can slow your experience down (see 29) but they're certainly not a no-no. Head into the Android Market and you can find all sorts of interesting ones to download which sometimes offer up to the minute interesting bits of information as well as a pretty background for you desktop. Of course, you can always just use a still image including snaps you've taken yourself. Hit the Menu key, head to Wallpapers and have a dig around.

15) Change your dock

Pretty much all Android phones come with a dock of icons which sit at the bottom of your screen whenever you're outside an application. The good thing is that, in some cases, you can switch items in and out of this. There's no play on straight Android Nexus phones or Sense but it is possible on Samsung's TouchWiz interface, and other heavier UIs, by heading into the app grid, pressing the Menu key and then hitting Edit. You'll have to remove an icon from the dock before you add another one of the apps by dragging it down into position.

16) Screen lock

Your phone is a gold mine of information, so look after it, eh? Head to the Settings menu, select Location and Security section and set up your personal screen lock pattern. Not only does it work rather nicely but it looks pretty futuristic as well. Just don’t pick the G pattern. It’s a little obvious.