Getting The Most Out of Your Android Phone

Nowadays, smartphones dominate the market, with the iPhone and the Android as the most popular. But Android is now easily outselling the iPhone most especially when major mobile carriers such as Nokia, Samsung and Motorola have it. Android noobs struggle to get the most out of their Android handset, thus making Android as a center of criticism. If only users knew ways to maximize the use of their Android handsets. Here are some applications, tips, and tricks to help boost the use of Android phones.


The Best Out of the Battery Life


One of the most common criticism Android phones have is very poor battery life which is true whether the handset is newly released or an early model. However, a number of tools have been created to manage the Android’s battery life.


Android features such as Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS, can quickly drain the phone battery if run continuously. So it would be helpful to turn these features off when not in use since these features is not constantly needed. The Android version 1.6 added some tools to make it easier to switch these features off to increase battery life. There is also a widget that can be placed on the phone’s desktop to switch these features on and off with a single touch. Many applications also has the ability to turn on the feature when needed and turn it off when not in use.


Another thing that frustrates users is the fact that the default battery meter displays the color green, yellow, or red to indicate how much battery power is remaining. This makes it really hard to determine if the application or a feature uses much battery power than normal. A free application called Battery Meter Lite includes a battery remaining notification. When the notification is enabled, a battery icon with the percentage of the battery power remaining appears in the notification area which makes it much easier for users to know exactly how much battery power remains. Battery Meter Lite also gives the user an idea the available music / video playback time, the available net surfing time, as well as the idle mode time, all based on the current battery reading.


Managing Tasks


There are times when users want to find out which tasks are running and they want to find a way to stop it. Androids with slow processors make it difficult for users to know that. System Panel Lite is the perfect application for this. If the operating system is Unix based or Linux, System Panel Lite reminds the user of the top application. It also provides a list of active and inactive processes as well as charts of the current CPU and memory usage. It could let the user see the running application’s current CPU and memory usage and gives the user an option to end the process. System Panel Lite also gives a settings option to see the Android system processes which are hidden by default.


The Best Out Of Messaging


Another thing Android users don’t like is the default messaging application. A free application called Handcent SMS features a threaded interface allowing users to see the back and forth conversation via SMS, similar with common chatrooms.  It also allows sending pictures via MMS as well as saving MMS attachments. Handcent SMS can be set as a default messaging app on Android phones. The application also provide customizable new SMS notifications including what LED color should flash when new messages are received. However, don’t forget to turn off the notifications of the default messaging app, or else two message notifications will appear on the phone every time a message is received.


Throw Away That iPod


Carrying both a phone and a music player is simply a hassle. The Android comes with a default music player fortunately, but the interface is simple and quite boring. Luckily the Android market has the Cubed Media Player, also known as ‘3’, that could replace the boring default player.


Based on its name – Cubed – the album artwork on this application appears in a 3 – dimensional cube. Rotating the cube up or down could let the user browse through the album artwork similar with the iPod’s cover flow. Rotating the cube left to right alphabetically flips through the collection. Cubed Media Player really has a unique user interface. The operation buttons (eg. play, pause, fast forward, rewind, shuffle, etc.) are on the top of the application by default but can be moved to the bottom for easy thumb based operation. It could turn the boring Android into a fully featured media player.


One thing the Android users wished since is to have media management software to easily sync everything. If the iPod has the iTunes where users can synchronize and organize the media library easily, the Android market has the Media Monkey application which is available in two versions, free or premium version. It organizes the media library and allows users to edit tags and add an album artwork similar with the iTunes. Media Monkey is capable of locate the album and copy all of the tag information and album art from the web by clicking Auto-Tag. That is one thing iTunes can’t do. Media Monkey can sync media with any Android handsets. Media Monkey plus the Cubed Media Player is equal to an Android phone versus an iPod.


Android can be overwhelming to new users most especially first timers. A few simple applications could help users get the more out of their Android handsets and improve how useful it is. Share with us an application or a setting or tips that allow you to get the best out of your Android phone!