Mobile phones that run Google's (GOOG) Android operating system come in various shapes, sizes and features, unlike Apple's (AAPL) iPhones. And while iPhone buyers are limited to AT&T and Verizon service, Android phones are also available from Sprint, T-Mobile and Boost Mobile, where a data plan can cost as little as $35 a month.
But despite the variety of Android phones, and of carriers, there are a lot of useful features common to all. Here are some tips on finding them:
The long press: The key to many of these tips is the long press: Instead of tapping a button, word or icon on the screen, press and hold your finger on it for two seconds. Often, this will bring up a menu of options specific to the type of item, like one to bookmark a Web link. You can also long press the hardware keys on the phone, and the background of the home screen, to reveal various options.
In general, long-press functions are intended to save you from tapping through a series of menus to perform a common task. It's the equivalent of right-clicking your mouse on a PC screen.
So, for example, you can long press the home key on your phone's case he one that looks like a little house -- to bring up a menu of your eight most recently used apps. This lets you hop quickly between, say, an email you are composing and your Web browser.
Take photos of yourself: Android cameras without a second camera for self-portraits have a Self Portrait mode in the camera app. Tap it, and the camera will begin searching for faces in its viewfinder using facial-recognition software. The phone will shoot a new photo of you every few seconds, adding the pictures to your camera roll. It's more hit or miss than taking your photo in a mirror, but it's more fun, like mugging in an old-fashioned photo booth.
Faster sentences: Android picked up a trick from old-school BlackBerry phones: When typing a text or email message, you don't need to fumble for the period key at the end of a sentence. Just press the spacebar twice. Android will insert one period and one space much faster than you could type them yourself.
Email shortcuts: If you use Gmail on your Android phone, you can create separate shortcut icons, as described above, to specific accounts, folders and Gmail labels. This lets you have separate icons for work email and personal email, rather than opening whatever you last read when you tap the Gmail icon.
Silencing a call: Most users figure out they can get rid of a phone call by sliding the red arrow that appears onscreen when the phone is ringing. But not everyone realizes you can stop the phone from ringing by pressing the power button on top of the phone or either of the volume buttons on the right.
Find on page: To search for words within a Web page, press the menu key, tap More, and then tap "Find on page." A search box and keyboard will appear to let you type in search terms.
Share a page on Facebook: Another option on the browser's More menu is the Share page. One of the options to share is Facebook. Tapping it will open Facebook in the browser (rather than using Facebook's Android app) and set up the link to be shared, complete with a thumbnail image and a space to type your comments.
See today's date: Android shows the time but not the date on your home screen. If you drag down the notification tray at the top of the screen, today's date appears in the upper left corner.
Foreign language keyboards: Most domestic Android phones come with only English and Spanish keyboards installed for the touch screen. To add, say, a German keyboard, go to Android Market and search for "German keyboard." Expect to pay around $3 for most keyboard apps.
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