Top Ten Best Nexus S Tips and Tricks for Android 2.3 Gingerbread Review of Reviews

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NexusS.jpgThe Nexus S is a pure Google Android experience with
Android Gingerbread 2.3, including many new features.  One of the advantages of pure Google is that updates will be pushed out without going through the long process of updates like those of the Samsung Galaxy S phones.  In fact, the Nexus S owners are already getting an update to Android 2.3.2.  Reviewers of the Nexus S noted that its fast updates are selling points of the phone.

We reviewed several tips and tricks articles to find these top ten best tips Review of Reviews for the Samsung Galaxy Google Nexus S with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Customize Your Browser
The Android browser gives you many features that you can customize.  Launch the browser, tap menu button, tap more, tap settings.  There are settings to block pop-up windows, change text size, not load images, make pages fit the screen, clear history and clear passwords.  You can tap on the bookmark in the upper corner to see bookmarks and most visited webpages.  You can also set your homepage to pages you frequently view.  The browser can "remember form" data" and reenter that text the next time you use that form.  You can set this feature on or off.

Use Quick-Link Shortcuts to Other Apps from Browser
Another great feature in the browser is that the browser recognizes links, as well as some phone numbers, addresses, and info.  Touch & hold a link to open a menu with shortcuts for opening, bookmarking, saving, and sending the link via email.  For a phone number, touch a phone number to open the phone app with the number already entered.  Touch and hold a street address to open it in Maps.

Tell Your Nexus S What to Do with Voice Actions
You can use key phrases to tell your Nexus S what to do as well as write text and emails.  You can tap the microphone in the text entry area or hold down the magnifying glass to go to voice actions.  You can tell your Android phone to send an email or text a message ("send text to mom,
see you for pizza at 7"), call someone ("call mom"), navigate somewhere
("navigate to pizza"), or listen to music ("listen to Blue Danube").

Google Maps Updated for Walking Directions and 3D
Google
navigation can be voice activated, and you can now get walking
directions.  Previously, Google maps directions could take you a
different route because of one-way streets.  In Google maps, click on
the "walking person" icon in Google maps to get walking directions.

If you like 3D, you can get a 3D vector view allowing you to zoom in and see in three dimensions.

New Copy Paste Functions Throughout
To copy/paste from a webpage, long press some text, drag the handles
around to select the text you want to copy, and press somewhere in the
highlighted region.  To paste, long press (touch and hold) a text entry box and
select paste.  Gmail is a bit different: you need to go to Menu > More
> Select Text.

Back up Data
To back up your data to Google, tap menu button, tap
settings, tap privacy, check "back up my data"  and "automatic
restore."  Your Wi-Fi passwords, browser bookmarks, and app information
will be kept on Google servers.

View Downloads in Your Download Manager
Downloads are now neatly collected in a Downloads manager, which you can find in the apps drawer.  When you download, there is a green bar at the top of the screen.  You tap the green download icon from the screen to see what you have downloaded.

BatteryusageNexusS.JPGCheck Battery Usage Features
The Battery Use screen shows which applications consume the most battery power.  You can also use it to turn off applications that you've downloaded if they are
consuming too much power.  On the Home screen, press Menu and tap Settings>Applications>Battery use.

The Battery Use screen lists the applications that have been using the battery, from greatest to least battery use.  The discharge graph at the top of the screen shows the pace of battery discharge since you last charged the phone (short periods of time when you were connected to a charger are shown as thin green lines at the bottom of the chart), and it also shows how long you've been running on battery power.  Touch the app to see how much power it uses.

Unify Your Voice Mmail - Use Google Voice for Everything and Cheap Int'l Calls

You can use Google Voice for your voicemail service, in place of your carrier's voicemail service.  Google Voice let's you access your messages in the order you want, read transcripts of your messages, and listen to your messages.  You can also use Google Voice to make international calls, in place of your carrier's long-distance service, with cheap Google Voice rate.  If you already have a Google Voice account with a Google phone number, you can configure your phone to place some or all calls via Google Voice.  The people you call will see your Google phone number instead of your cell phone number as your caller ID.  Google Voice allows you to give specific messages to specific callers, and once you label a number a spam, that caller will be given a message that your phone is no longer in service.

You can check your Google Voice Inbox, exchange messages, and perform other tasks
with Google Voice.  You can reply to Google Voice's transcribed voice messages with a text message.  You can configure your phone to place some or all calls with Google Voice.

carhome.JPGUse Car Home
Car Home makes the applications that are the most useful when you're driving to be accessible with the touch of a button.  Car Home is designed to work with a car dock, though you don't have to own a dock to use it.  If you have a car system with Bluetooth, it can be set up to turn on automatically when you are in the car.

Suggested Downloads
For web surfers, you'll want to download
Flash from Android Market to view Flash videos better.  YouTube
has a new user interface, portrait-mode player, and view comments and
drop-down box video information.

The Nexus S has a front-facing camera, so we suggest that you download a video app, such as Qik or Skype.

Many of the Samsung Galaxy S phones were named in Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews Top Ten Best Android an' Droid Phones Now an' Later, as well as the Top Ten Best Smartphones.

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