Tech Tips for Androids Ice Cream Sandwich OS

Android versions have some pretty delicious sounding names. The newest version of the OS, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, has some tasty features that many users are now able to enjoy. These sweet new additions and improvements have definitely made the OS easier to use and more appealing to the multitude of discerning users.

Here are some great tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Ice Cream Sandwich:

• Settings. There’s a quick and easy way to access settings. Simply swipe down from the top of your screen and the Notifications menu will open. Press the blue icon (sliders) beside the date to access your settings.
• Uninstall apps. This used to be one of the more complicated actions of Android, but with 4.0, it’s easy. On the home screen press the Apps icon (white circle with 6 squares) and find the app you would like to uninstall. Press and hold the app, drag it up to Uninstall which will be in the top left of the screen and let go.
• Swipe away. A neat feature of 4.0 is that you can swipe away apps and messages in some locations. If you have lots of notifications, open the Notifications menu and swipe the message to the right to dismiss it. You can also do the same with recent programs (double rectangles in the bottom right of your screen) and browser tabs.
• Disable app icons. When you download and install programs from Google Play, a shortcut will be automatically placed on your home screen. You can turn this off by opening Google Play and selecting the icon with three vertical grey squares followed by Settings. Tap Auto-add widgets and app shortcuts won’t be added to your home screen after they’re installed.
• Send text response when you can’t answer. If you’re in a meeting and can’t answer a call, simply drag the call selector button up to be given a number of text responses you can send to the caller.
• Quick browser control. You can streamline the browser controls in the stock Android browser. Open the browser and select the three grey squares in the top right of the screen and tap Settings. Select Labs followed by Quick Controls. You’ll notice that your URL bar and tabs are gone. To see them, press and hold anywhere on the right side of your screen to bring up a selection wheel.

Ice Cream Sandwich is by far the best version of OS and offers users some great features. If you’d like to learn more about Ice Cream Sandwich, or other Android products please let us know. We’re happy to help.