Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-i9100) – Shortcuts & Tips

Tips and stuff you won’t find in the manual, collected from the xda-developers forum, personal experimentation and other sources. Please use only tips you understand – if you don’t know what a factory reset means, you do not want to find out :)

Explanation

• “Pinch” means using 2 fingers to zoom in our out (Google this if you don’t know the word :)
• The buttons are depicted here:
  

User interface

• Scrolling:
  - Use two fingers to scroll until fingers are released.
  - Use three fingers to scroll fast until top/bottom.
• Phone wake up: Via home or power.
• Hold menu: Quick access Android search.
• Dobule click home: Quick access voice commands.
• Screenshot: Press home and power simultaneously. Screenshots are saved in/sdcard/ScreenCapture/

Home screen

• Multiple home screens: Touch the dots to switch directly to a screen or hold and drag left/right to scroll very fast.
• Changing shortcuts at the bottom: Click „Applications“ (bottom right), then menu, click „Edit“: Now change the three (left) icons via drag & drop. Afterwards click menu and choose „Save..“.
• Quick brightness change: Hold the notification bar (on the top) and drag left/right to modify brightness (if not set to auto).
• Pinch home screen to view all home screens and add/delete them.
• Pinch application screen to view all application screens and reoder them.
• Set background image for lock screen: When changing your desktop background image, there are two buttons, choose the right one (smaller area) and save. Now you‘ll be asked to use this image for the lockscreen too.

Android Apps

• E-Mail: Pinch in the overview list to fold/unfold by date.
• E-Mail: Click longer on a date (either the sent date or a date in the email text): Create a new calendar event for this date.
• Contacts: Drag left over a contact to send SMS, drag right to call
• Keypad: Use the letters on number keys to type a name, the triangle on the right shows how many matching contacts are found, clicking on it reveals them.
• Camera: Change shortcut buttons by clicking menu, “Edit”, then modify shortcut buttons via drag&drop.
• Camera: Pinch to zoom in/out.
• Browser: Pinch to view all tabs/windows.
• Browser: Go to “about:debug” via address bar. Now you have additional options when pressing the menu (at the bottom)
• Browser: Go to “about:useragent” via address bar. Now you can modify the user agent string.
• Video player: Drag left/right to Fast forward/Rewind
• Video player: Power locks/unlocks the screen
• Calendar: Pinch in month view to get an overview, swipe left/right to change the year.
• Easter egg from Google: Go to preferences, about phone, click some times on “Android Version” (try multiple times)

Forum link: Feature discoveries – xda-developers

Factory reset (Everything is deleted!)

Via these three ways:

• Turn phone off, press and hold: Volume Up + Home + Power. Use volume keys to navigate up/down, home key to execute.
• Via dialer: Enter *2767*3855#
• Menu: Settings > Privacy > Factory data reset.

Codes (enter via Keypad, the ones below work for me)

*#0*# LCD Screen test
*#06# Show IMEI Number
*#2222# HW Version
*#1234# Phone info
*#34971539# Camera Firmware
*#9900# Sysdump (Logfiles etc.)
*#0228# Battery diagnostics
*#7284# Phone utility
*#7353# Function testing
*#9090# Service Mode
*#*#197328640#*#* Service Mode Menu
*2767*3855# Factory Reset (not tested.. :)

2011 Technology Review: Apple iPad 2 (iOS, jailbreak, unlock, tablet, Auckland, davidlim)

Pros 
The Apple iPad 2 features the iOS 4 operating system and the dual-core A5 chip.

Cons 
There is no USB 2.0 port on this tablet.

The Verdict

The thin design, fast processor and long battery life are a few reasons why this tablet is the best on the market.Buying Internationally?
Save On Shipping Your Electronics! Great Rates from the USA, Sign Up.

Diagonal measure of the display screen

Inches (More is better)

Apple iPad 2

9.7

Compare to the Top 3 Tablets

#1 Apple iPad 2

9.7

#2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

10.1

#3 Sony Tablet S

9.4

Category Average

8.34

Inches

 0

 2

 4

 6

 8

 10

 12

2011 Technology Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (google, android, repair, unlock, Auckland, David, Lim)

Pros 
This tablet features the Android 3.1 Honeycomb OS and is thin and light.

Cons 
Though the device offers Adobe Flash, the response can be rather unimpressive with demanding content.

The Verdict

This is the best Android tablet yet and is a serious challenger for the number one ranking.

Diagonal measure of the display screen

Inches (More is better)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

10.1

Compare to the Top 3 Tablets

#1 Apple iPad 2

9.7

#2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

10.1

#3 Sony Tablet S

9.4

Category Average

8.34

Inches

 0

 2

 4

 6

 8

 10

 12

Technology News Update: Sony Tablet S Review (android, google, repair, unlock, Auckland)

Pros 

This is an exceptionally well-built Android tablet with all the expected practical features plus Sony PlayStation certification.

Cons 
The internet is available via Wi-Fi but not mobile broadband.

The Verdict

Despite a lack of mobile broadband access, this is a great tablet for productivity, communication and gaming.

Diagonal measure of the display screen

Inches (More is better)

Sony Tablet S

9.4

Compare to the Top 3 Tablets

#1 Apple iPad 2

9.7

#2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

10.1

#3 Sony Tablet S

9.4

Category Average

8.34

Inches

 0

 2

 4

 6

 8

 10

 12

Phone 4 Tips: 10 Things New Users Should Know

Please do take note that we are not going to discuss what’s new in iOS4 (operating system) as it has been pretty much covered elsewhere. This article is basically- what you can expect with the new iPhone 4.

1. Update All Your Applications

First things first, check for application updates. If you have lot of applications installed in your previous iPhone 3G or 3GS, chances are they will need to be updated again so that they can take advantages of the new iOS4 features and iPhone 4 capabilities. So before you start trying out your existing applications on iPhone 4, take a moment to check if they need to be updated.

2. Where’s Facetime?

This is probably one of the first thing you’d like to explore on new iPhone 4, but where’s the Facetime app?Facetime is actually not an application, in fact, it’s an option available (for now) only when you make a call via WiFi to another iPhone 4 user.

Facetime is turn off by default. To turn it on, go to Settings → Phone and turn Facetime on. Carrier activation might be required. Learn more about Facetime.

3. You’ll Need A New Wallpaper

With retina display, everything on iPhone 4 looks amazingly vibrant and high quality. The screen supports up to 960×640 pixels at 326ppi, approximately 4 times higher than the resolution in a iPhone 3Gs. In another words, it makes your current wallpaper looks weak and you’ll need to look for a higher resolution wallpapers :-)

4. Try IMovie For IPhone 4

iMovie for iPhone4 is a light version of iMovie for Mac and it’s awesome. It allows you to edit and share your recorded videos on the fly. And did we mention all videos recording with iPhone 4 are in high definition (HD)?

iMovie for iPhone 4 cost $4.99.

5. Tap To Focus Object – Video

Even the smartest gadget can use a some human touch. While video recording, you can tap on different objects on the screen to have iPhone focus on them.

6. View Widescreen While Recording

If you swap from camera mode to video mode, you’ll notice that the objects are actually getting closer. That is because video recording is done in wide screen mode. To display in wide screen while recording – double tab the screen.

7. Search Web, Wikipedia On The Fly

By swiping right on the home screen, you’ll activate Spotlight. Type in something and scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll noticed two additional search options have been added, respectively the "Search web" and "Search wikipedia". Both search uses Safari browser.

8. Mirror, Self-Shot

iPhone 4 comes with an additional front camera. By clicking on the camera icon on the top right, the front camera is activated instead of the back. We thought this could be useful for those who want to use their iPhone as a mirror, or perhaps, it makes taking self-shots easier too!

9. The IPhone 4 Reception Problem

This is the question most people are most concerned about. To be fair, yes signal bars do dropped when gripped – they call it the Death Grip.

However, signal drop only happens in areas where receptions are weak, so it very much depends a lot on your service provider. The problem is mild, don’t get too worried about it.

10. Yellow Splotches On The Screen

Some users are reporting that they have been noticing yellow patches on the iPhone 4 screen. According tomacintouch, this is just a small temporarily problem as these yellow splotches are nothing but some bonding agents for the glass that will evaporate as the device is exposed to the air. You can relax now.