How do you turn your phone into a tool?

I picked up a Galaxy S III over the summer, and a few minutes every week making the phone do more work for me.  What are your Android tips?

  • Change application view to alphabetical list or grid
    • Apps – menu – view type – select
  • Make sure you set up a password on your phone.
  • Put contact info on your lock screen
  • Create one touch icons for most common calls. I have one that I hit and it calls my wife’s personal phone. You can find it under widgets.
  • Alternatively, you can use the ‘favorites’ list, and have that as a widget on one of your pages.
  • Change the keyboard: Purchase SwiftKey from Google Play
  • Arrange icons so that most used are on the bottom row that stays with every page.
    • Mine are: phone, contacts, Google search, apps, and a folder containing work mail, Gmail, and texts.
  • Put regularly used apps, or apps you need in a hurry, on the front page.
    • Mine include a lot of reading, but also TripIt, RSA token, maps, remember the milk (lists), camera, etc.
  • Epistle to edit and sync text files with my laptop (uses dropbox)
  • For Web stuff I want to read (news articles etc) on the go, I use instapaper (website) and sync with instafetch (app). So, I always have plenty to read on planes.
  • Find news with Zite or Flipboard apps.
  • Create a calendar widget so you can see the next few days without having to open the app
  • I have 2 Remember The Milk widgets: what I have to get done for the day, and what I am waiting on others to do.

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