16. Offline speech-to-text
Being able to dictate long and
rambling texts to loved ones is quite an old Android feature, but it's
just got a whole lot better with an offline mode. Go to Google voice
typing settings under Language & input and choose Download offline
speech recognition. Now you'll be able to dictate that great novel
without being distracted by Reddit.
17. Beam it across
Android Beam works with near-field
communication (NFC) to enable fast data exchange between two devices.
You'll need to make sure it's enabled first - you'll find it under
Wireless & networks. You'll also need to know where the NFC area is
on your device. This isn't a problem for phones, but it can be just
about anywhere on the back of a ludicrously large tablet, so do a quick
Google to find out where it is.
18. Simple secure pairing
Simple secure pairing works
alongside NFC to provide a quick and easy way to connect Bluetooth
accessories such as headsets, speakers and keyboards. You don't actually
need to do anything other than activate NFC to use it, but make sure
whatever you're pairing with is Simple secure pairing-compatible.
19. Calendar notifications
Any events you've been invited to
via Google Calendar will show up in the notifications blind. From here
you can expand it and quickly send a pre-defined response (Such as "I'll
be there in 10 minutes") or type your own. Quick responses can be
edited from within the General settings of the Calendar app itself.
Perfect for you social butterflies.
20. Gallery views
Android snappers will love its new gallery
features. Pinch on photos to zoom out into a filmstrip mode, where all
your pics are displayed side-by-side. Swipe left and right to browse all
your snaps quickly, and slide up and down on individual images to
delete them. The gallery then gives you just enough time to realise
you've canned the wrong thing and undo your delete.
21. Wi-Fi savings
It's all too easy to run up costs when
you're on public or mobile WiFi. Tethering a tablet to a phone can suck a
surprising amount of data, and public WiFi, such as that found in
hotels, sometimes have ridiculously strict usage policies. In Jelly
Bean's Data usage settings you'll find the option to designate certain
WiFi networks as Mobile hotspots, which stops background apps accessing
data and could save you lots of cash. If there's another Jelly Bean
device on the same network it'll pick up its Mobile hotspot settings,
too.
22. Try the stock keyboard
The Swiftkey keyboard is enormously popular among Android users, and for good reason: it monitors your typing and grammatical style uses this to predict words. Jelly Bean's keyboard now offers the same functionality, using bigram prediction and correction to complete words and sentences. We've found it to be every bit as good as Swiftkey, and even slightly faster and slicker.
23. Reboot to safe mode
Ah safe mode, the saviour of so many
Windows PCs. Thanks to the sheer amount of dodgy apps on the Play Store
it's on Android now, too. Long-press the power button, then long-press
the Power off option. Choose OK to reboot in safe mode, which completely
disables all third-party apps on your device. Then hunt down and
destroy that nefarious bit of software..
24. Reset app preferences
Android gives you loads of different options for each installed app, and on the whole this is a very good thing. Sometimes it can be a bad thing, though: you may find your phone playing up because a crucial app has been disabled, or you've changed the notifications for something important like emails. In the apps drawer, you'll find Reset app preferences under the settings. This resets all your apps on a global level, returning actions and data settings to their original levels.
25. Add emojis
"Emojis" are the Japanese version of emoticons, and like most things from Japan they're much better and cooler than their western counterparts. You can enable emoji support for the default Jelly Bean keyboard by choosing Language & input in the settings app, then going to the settings for the stock Android keyboard. Here, choose Add-on dictionaries and select Emoji for English words. When you next type certain words (there's a complete list here) you'll see its symbol appear in the predictions bar. It's like Wingdings never died.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Spamming is Not Allowed!