Improve your Android tablet

Android on a tablet is just about as good as it gets right now - with every iteration it gets better and more feature-rich, and soon the delightfully-named Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) will be available too.

If you're in the market for such a device then you'll be pleased with just how slick and capable an Android tablet is. There's certainly no need to be ashamed if you choose one instead of an iPad and it'll likely be a cheaper purchase.

Typically though, as the Android platform evolves it also tends to become a little more bloated - something that will ring a familiar bell with Windows users, at least in the case of Windows Vista.

While owners of older Android tablets don't have to worry about this (the increased hardware requirements that Google is demanding for its OS limit how far older tablets can be upgraded), there are still improvements to be made with early versions of the operating system, from 1.6 up to 2.1.

We've come up with a list of improvements to show you what can be done to enhance the way your Android tablet performs and make it work the way you want it to, whether it's an older tablet or one that you've just recently picked up from the shops.

Get 3G

Not everyone is lucky enough to have 3G mobile broadband built into their Android tablet, but that shouldn't stop you from being able to surf the internet wherever you are. Provided you've got a smartphone with 3G onboard - which most now do - and as long as your phone and service provider support it, you can tether it to your Android tablet for instant, and faster, internet access.

There are two ways you can do this - you can either turn your phone into a wireless hotspot using your tablet's Wi-Fi function to connect to the phone, or you can connect to it via Bluetooth.

The second method is easily available if you're running a tablet with Android 3.0 Honeycomb or greater. Activate Bluetooth on your phone, then turn to your tablet and access 'Settings > Wireless and networks > Bluetooth'. Then go into 'Bluetooth Settings' and pair the tablet with your phone. Once this is done tap the spanner icon next to the name of the phone and press 'Tethering'. Provided it works with your phone, you can now freely surf the internet wherever you are.

Optimise Wi-Fi usage

Usually, the obvious way to prolong your tablet's battery charge is to turn off the Wi-Fi altogether when you're not using it, and, of course, you can do this on an Android tablet. However, there's a slightly smarter way that will give you the freedom to surf the internet when you want, without having to turn things on and off manually all the time.

Android tablets come with a little-known battery-saving tip that optimises your use of Wi-Fi so you never actually have to turn it off - it's called Wi-Fi sleep policy and can be found under Settings > Wireless and networks > Wi-Fi settings > Wi-Fi sleep policy. Tap this option and you'll see three further options.

The default status is 'Never', so it will sit there consuming battery power whenever your tablet is turned on. The two options found above this are better for your battery life. Tapping 'Never when plugged in' will only activate Wi-Fi when your device is connected to the mains, while tapping 'When screen is turned off' will shut off Wi-Fi when your Android tablet goes into standby mode, either automatically or when you press the standby button.

Note that tablets using an earlier OS than Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), such as 2.3 (Gingerbread) don't have the same Wi-Fi sleep policies and lack the 'When screen is turned off' policy, which is replaced by a less energy saving 'After 15 mins'.

Save space

Provided you've got a tablet running Android 2.2 or later, there's a little-known secret that will save you a huge amount of space on your tiny drive.

Google Music beta enables you to save all your songs to the cloud for free and then play them back whenever you want. At the time of writing it's only available in the US, and should be coming to UK shores soon.

Of course, you need an internet connection so it's probably better suited to those who spend a lot of their time connected to Wi-Fi or 3G, but even if you don't have an internet connection you can still listen to music with the offline mode.

Google Music beta works a little like Spotify - using the free Music app you select which songs you want to listen to and they are then synced and made available so that when you're online you can still access them.

One of the great things about Google Music beta is that you can simply upload files from a folder on your computer or even select an entire iTunes library to add.

Desktop makeover

For those of you running Android 3.0 or greater, you should know about a great feature that gives your desktop a complete makeover.

Live wallpapers are animated backgrounds which make your Android screen come to life, albeit at the expense of a little slice of your battery. You can find the Live wallpapers in 'Settings > Screen > Screen display > Home screen wallpaper > Live Wallpaper'. Select something from the list and tap 'Set wallpaper'.

If you want more of these stunning wallpapers, you can download hundreds of them for free through the Android Market.

Speed up the screen

Conversely, those who would like to save some much-needed battery life and even speed up their tablet in the process can turn off all the good looking - if occasionally impractical - effects that come in Android 3.0 onwards. For starters, you can get rid of the Live Wallpapers that we talked about above.

Instead of using moving backgrounds, load a standard wallpaper or choose something from the photo gallery to achieve a more personal touch.

You'll also notice an improvement in your tablet's performance if you get rid of the default animations that occur when you open and close windows or menus. Remove them by going to Settings > Animation > No Animations. Now you'll notice that when, for example, you tap the Home button it will switch straight to the home screen without displaying an animation.

Use voice control

Tablet owners of all ages can benefit from using Google Voice to speed up the way they interact with the device. Instead of having to search around the interface for the right option, you can use your voice to command Android to do it instead.

The clear advantage of this is that it'll speed up most of the tasks you regularly carry out in a day. There might be bigger benefits to using this facility on the phone version, but it still works well on a tablet. For example, you can visit a website in no time at all with 'go to' being the command prompt, you can open an application by saying its name, or you can send an email to a specific contact instantly.

In the top of the screen next to the Google icon is a microphone icon that, once pressed, will bring up the Google Voice prompt, and you just say the command. A list of common commands can be found at www.google.com/mobile/voice-actions.

Get directions

You might not be aware of this, but your Android tablet comes with a magnificent - and entirely free - satellite navigation application, which you can use to get from A to B in a car. The beauty of this app is that, combined with a tablet with a large screen, it makes reading the maps an absolute breeze, even if you're sat in the back of a car.

The satellite navigation app can also be used with Android's built-in voice control, so just say where you want to go and it'll take you there. Thankfully, all Android users are catered for because it works with Android 1.6 and upwards. If it's not already present on your device, just go to the Android Market and search for 'Google Maps With Navigation Beta'.

Upgrade your tablet

One of the most useful things you can do with your older Android tablet to give it a new lease of life is to upgrade the operating system to a later version.

If you're starting out with Donut 1.6 then you're out of luck unless your tablet happens to be highly specified in the hardware department. Those with later versions, such as Eclair 2.1 are starting off with a much better base for upgrading to a later version.

You can perform the most minor of updates - going from 2.1 to 2.2, for instance - simply by checking in your Settings area for system updates that come directly from the manufacturer of your tablet. Otherwise, if the update isn't available (your particular carrier might be holding back the update, for example) or if you want to jump up the evolutionary scale a few more notches, you can install a custom updated ROM specifically for your tablet.

We can't tell you which one to go for because it's impossible to tell you which version of a ROM to download to go with your manufacturer - you will need a specific firmware update otherwise it won't work. We published a tutorial on how to install Android on other devices here.

Head on over to androidtablets.net and look for the exact ROM that goes with your chosen device. Be warned though - you'll need to follow the installation instructions of a new ROM right down to the letter because if you don't, there's a chance your tablet could stop working altogether if the software is incorrectly installed on your device.

Root your tablet

Upgrading your tablet OS to a newer one as mentioned above is one example of rooting, whereby you gain full control over what you want your tablet to do and how it should look.

You can find out how to root your Android tablet on dozens of websites, but one of the best places to find guides is the XDA Developers forum.

Again, you'll need to find the guide that applies to your particular tablet. Once you do find it, rooting can be quite a straightforward process and it unlocks a whole range of potential upgrades.

From here on there are pretty much no limits to what you can do with your tablet - you will be able to install apps not normally available to locked tablets, such as overclocking the CPU to its full potential with SetCPU; or optimising your tablet's use of memory with AutoKiller Memory Optimiser.

There are all manner of performance-related improvements, so rooting is something you should consider if you crave a little bit of modification. Remember to follow the instructions carefully though - there's a small chance that something could go wrong if not.

It's also worth bearing in mind that rooting the OS will void your tablet's warranty.

Automatic backup

The latest version of Apple's iOS allows you to automatically back up your iPad over Wi-Fi, and Apple is - rightly so - proud of its new feature, which makes this regular procedure a quick and painless affair. Android also features a similar backup method, although instead of backing up to iTunes it uses Google's cloud backup facility.

By default your tablet should automatically be set to back up all your tablet's settings whenever you're connected, but if not you will need to go to Settings > Privacy and tap the tick box next to 'Back up my data'.

If you want to do a slightly more thorough backup in order to protect the entire contents of your device you can either manually copy everything from your tablet to your computer by simply connecting your tablet via USB cable and dragging and dropping everything to a folder. But that's a bit archaic isn't it?

A better way is to use an app such as MyBackup Pro which allows you to schedule automatic online backups so that your tablet automatically backs up practically everything - photos, apps, contacts, emails and more - to the cloud.

Video chat

So your tablet isn't a phone - so what. That doesn't mean you can't call your friends or family for a nice chat. Provided your tablet has a front-facing camera, you can use a video-chat app, such as Fring, which is completely free to use.

The app enables you to call up to three other people at the same time, so it's good for arranging a global meeting. The quality of the video adjusts to your connection, so if it's 3G then quality will suffer a touch but you should still get streaming without any annoying transmission delays.

Rovio has confirmed that Angry Birds Space will indeed come to Windows Phone handsets, contrary to an earlier statement from the developer.

The Finnish company had initially said remaking the game for Microsoft's momentum-gaining operating system would be too much work and thus it had no plans for offer the new title.

Peter Vesterbacka, head of marketing told Bloomberg that: "We're the No. 1 app in the Windows Phone app store, but it's a big undertaking to support it, and you have to completely rewrite the application."

The announcement will have raised alarm bells with Microsoft and its preferred partner Nokia as the pair seek to establish themselves as a serious alternative on the same level as iOS and Android.

Relief for all concerned

Thankfully for the pair, and Windows Phone adopters, it appears that something may have been lost in translation as a second statement, just hours later on Friday, cleared up the matter.

Rovio Chief Executive Mikael Hed told Reuters: "We are working towards getting Angry Birds Space to WP7," although he didn't offer a release date for the title.

A studio like Rovio dumping Windows Phone at this stage of its development could have had disastrous consequences for Microsoft in its battle to win hearts and minds.

While the company has produced an intelligent and original operating system, it could barely afford a "no" in reply to the question: "Can I play Angry Birds on it?"

Apple may be preparing to bring its stunning Retina Display technology from iOS to OSX devices.

The latest developer version of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion has uncovered some app icons appearing at double the usual resolution.

A developer with access to the latest Beta told Ars Technica says the 2x resolution icons are popping up in 'erroneous' places.

This suggests the high pixel-density screen which has helped propel Apple's iPhone and iPad lines to new levels could soon do the same for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops.

The source said: "I would interpret it to mean that Retina is close; perhaps concurrent with the release of OS X 10.8."

Mountain Lion on the prowl

Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion was unveiled last month promising to, once again, narrow the gap between the mobile iOS software and OS X.

Mountain Lion brings Messages, Notifications, Reminders and a baked-in Twitter client a la iOS 5.

The consumer version of the OS is likely to go on sale this summer, with a new range of MacBooks likely to be in tow. Will they be Retina-ready? The odds are looking good.

This week, we discovered that the new iPad gets quite warm when you charge it - so warm, in fact, that if you were to touch it you'd probably say "hmmm, that's quite warm".

Rather more importantly, we discovered that for Lovefilm streaming video is now doing more business than physical DVDs and Blu-Rays.

With gaming chain GAME finally going into administration, it's tempting to say that discs are dead -- but they aren't. Lovefim's disc rentals are up too. It's just that its rentals of streaming media are, er, up-er.

Lovefilm isn't the only firm that loves to stream. BSkyB does too, and its newly announced Now TV promises a kind of pay-as-you-go service for online TV. Supporting every conceivable connected device from internet TVs and tablets to PCs and tin cans with bits of string, the service will go into direct competition with the likes of Lovefilm and Netflix.

For us, the big TV story this week was iPlayer. As our columnist Gary Marshall put it, with just the tiniest bit of sarcasm, "Hurrah for Microsoft! Just four years after the iPlayer turned up on the Wii and two years after it appeared on the PS3, the iPlayer is finally available to Xbox Live users."

Microsoft appears to have backed down on its "everybody must have an Xbox Live Gold account" policy, which Marshall calls "the Xbox tax", and iPlayer is now free to use.

Was it worth the wait? Kate Solomon says it is. As she points out, "if you've got a Kinect then you can lazily swipe and chat your way around the app – you can literally demand shows from the on-demand service... once you've tried the Kinect integration, you won't want to go back."

The verdict? "iPlayer is an excellent addition to the Live dashboard, not forsaking smooth looks and easy functionality just because it's not costing you extra."

Solomon rightly points out that "iPlayer is the only Xbox Live app that brings you content for free," and that makes Marshall angry.

"You still need to pay for an Xbox Live Gold account if you want to use other free services such as 4oD or YouTube," he says, "and you also need a Gold account if you want to access services you're already paying for, such as Netflix or Sky... We wouldn't accept this on a Windows tablet, or on a Windows PC, and we shouldn't accept it on the Xbox."

There was good news for video makers as well as viewers this week: YouTube's unveiled a bunch of tools to make your clips better. Over to you, Jools Whitehorn: "Like the advice labels that we remember plastered all over our 35mm film photos when they came back from the chemist's, YouTube detects shonky camera work and pops up with a message offering to straighten it out."

More frames, more apps

While YouTube could change home video forever, Jamie Carter reports on technology that could do the same for blockbusters: instead of recording films at the standard 24 frames per second, there's a move to increase that to a whopping 120fps. Why? To get shot of the juddering that sometimes mars flashy camera moves. It's not your kit: it's the film.

It wasn't all TV and video this week, though: sound and photography got a look-in too. Hipsters rejoiced as Hipstamatic and Instagram teamed up to share photos between one another's services, while streaming music service Spotify announced a bunch of new apps including one for the evergreen Now That's What I call Music series.

Then there was the daddy of all imaging apps, Photoshop. For a limited period you can play with Adobe's heavyweight imaging application for free: the forthcoming Photoshop CS6 is in public beta and offers 62% more awesomeness.

There's lots of good stuff in the beta, as our in-depth guide explains: there's a new, darker interface, GPU acceleration and lots of new tools including video editing. Don't get too hooked on it if you're broke, though: when the beta period expires Photoshop CS6 will set you back around £440.

AT&T has furnished the HTC Vivid with Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the first of its fleet to be graced with the latest version of the software.

The carrier says the 4.5-inch, dual-core Vivid is the first of ten smartphones and tablets to be re-equipped with Android 4.0 during 2012.

The update to the Sense 3.6-toting, 4G LTE device is available to download over Wi-Fi or can be side-loaded from your PC.

The rest of the pack

Among the other AT&T devices in-line for the upgrade are five Samsung devices; the Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Captivate Glide.

The Motorola Atrix and its sequel the Atrix 2 will also be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich at some stage, along with the LG Nitro.

The little-known Pantech Burst and Pantech Element devices complete the line-up.

AT&T has not specified dates for the roll-out.

The next version of Apple's mobile operating system iOS 6 could be previewed in mid-June, following reports that the date for this year's WWDC has already been set.

Cult of Mac points out that the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Apple's long-standing venue of choice for launch events, has been booked out for a week from June 11.

The listing notes a "corporate event," but all signs point to Tim Cook taking to the stage for Apple's annual developers' conference.

Last year saw Apple announce iOS 5, which became available alongside the launch of the iPhone 4S in October, so it's likely we'll get a first look at iOS 6.

WWDC 2011 also saw Apple showcase the completed version of Mac OS X 10.7, and with Mountain Lion already announced we should see the full monty unleashed this year.

No iPhone 5 though

Past WWDC events have also seen Apple announce new iPhones.

However, Apple broke away from that tradition in 2011 by making us wait until October for the iPhone 4S.

It's highly unlikely we'll see the iPhone 5 this summer.

Photoshop CS6 Beta: 10 things you need to know

Hot on the heels of Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe has unveiled the beta version of Photoshop CS6, and it's available for anyone to download and try for free, whether you're an existing Photoshop user or not.

While there are no unexpected must-have features, there are lots of tweaks and minor upgrades to the existing Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Elements 10 tools.

When starting up the Adobe Photoshop CS6 beta for the first time, for example, you will notice that it has a new darker interface to help you focus on the image you're editing.

But there's more to the update than a superficial interface makeover. So here we explore 10 of the most important things about the new software.

• Download Photoshop CS6 Beta here

1. Photoshop CS6 Beta introduces GPU-acceleration

Adobe has introduced the Mercury Graphic Engine to enable Photoshop CS6 to make greater use of a computer's graphics processing unit (GPU). Consequently, it makes some adjustments and edits render more quickly.

2. Photoshop CS6 Beta uses on image controls

Adobe is moving to more intuitive 'on image' controls, so the strength of some filters, for example, can be adjusted by moving a control displayed on the image itself rather than on a dialog box on the side.

This enables you to keep your eyes on the picture, not jumping back and forth to dialog boxes or sliders.

3. Photoshop CS6 Beta has a black interface

By default, the Photoshop 6 interface is dark, but if you prefer the old style you can change it back via Preferences>Interface.

4. Photoshop CS6 Beta has a new Crop tool

The Crop tool has been overhauled, and is now similar to the one in Lightroom, so if you're a Lightroom user, you'll have no trouble adapting.

When it's rotated to straighten the image, the image rotates instead of the crop rectangle, and you can use guides such as the rule of thirds. Helpfully, it quickly switches into the straightening mode, enabling you to you drag a line along an element such as the horizon that needs to be level. The guides can be changed by hitting the O key.

There are also shortcuts to a range of customisable aspect ratio options, and there's a handy command that switches the crop rectangle between landscape and portrait orientations. Another useful new setting is Delete Cropped Pixels. Untick it to crop the canvas but leave pixels on the layer, in case you change your mind.

However, if you really don't like the new style, tick 'Use Classic Mode' in the Options Bar's fly-out menu to revert to the old Crop tool you know and love.

5. Photoshop CS6 Beta has a new Filters menu

Adobe has reviewed the filters provided in CS5 and reorganised the menus for CS6. It's also dropped a few of the filters, including the Pixel Bender options.

A new Oil Paint filter is an astonishing way to transform pictures and offers a lot of control over the way a seemingly random pattern of brushstrokes is added to an image.

6. Photoshop CS6 Beta has a new Layers Filter

This is useful with images that have numerous layers, since it enables you to filter the layers in the Layers' panel by type, characteristics or by searching by layer name. It's even possible to see just those layers with a certain colour.

The filter also enables you to quickly toggle between a subset of layers and the entire stack.

7. Photoshop CS6 Beta reveals a Tilt Shift filter

Photoshop CS6's new Tilt Shift filter (found in Filter>Blur>Tilt Shift) enables you to replicate the popular miniaturisation/tilt-shift effects by adding blur from a plane.

This filter uses 'on image' controls so you can drag and adjust the effect on the image, rather than through a dialog box. This is also one of the GPU-accelerated effects.

8. Photoshop CS6 Beta brings Character and Paragraph Styles

Just like in fellow Adobe Creative Suite program InDesign, Photoshop CS6's new Character Style and Paragraph Style Panels enable you to save your favourite font, size, colour, and other type-related settings and edit them via the fly-out menus.

9. Photoshop CS6 Beta enables local white balance in Adobe Camera Raw

Photoshop CS6 enables local white balance adjustment in Adobe Camera Raw using the Adjustment brush and/or the Graduated Filter tool. Another new local adjustment is Moire Reduction, and the other sliders have been updated to match the basic adjustments.

Other changes have been made to Adobe Camera Raw too, including its adjustment sliders and save versions.

10. Photoshop CS6 Beta has a Content-Aware Move tool

Adobe's new Content-Aware Move tool is found in the same Tools Panel button as Spot Healing and Patch. It extends the Content-Aware Fill technology to moving a selection, blending it into its new location, and simultaneously filling in the hole it left.

It needs to be used with care, but when it works well, it's a great time saver.

Spotify's desire to move from a simple streaming service to a full-on 'OS of music' has been bolstered by the latest wave of apps for the company's desktop client.

Thirteen new applications have been unleashed in total, joining add-ons like Moodagent, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork TuneWiki and Songkick, which have been a huge success since arriving in November 2011.

In the UK, there's a bonus extra app in the shape of the Now That's What I Call Music which brings all the majesty of the 80 Now compilations to the app interface.

As well as perusing the hits of your youth, you can also use the app to create your own Now That's What I Call playlists and spin the Now Playlist Wheel to generate yet more hit-based goodness.

Now that's what I call playlisting

Among the new breed are entries from record labels like Warner (with The Warner Sound), DefJam, Domino, Matador and indie company PIAS, all bringing an enriched experience to their vast libraries.

There's also an app called TweetVine, which collates playlists based on the #NowPlaying hashtags posted on Twitter, but not necessarily from those you follow.

Lots of social curation

Digster is another interesting addition. It trawls your listening history and Facebook likes to create new playlists, while Filtr curates track lists based around what your Facebook friends are listening to.

Hot or Not is a game, of sorts, which allows you to judge which tracks are indeed Hot or Not while Classify is a portal for all of your classical music needs.

The Complete Collection brings album booklets while The Legacy Of... brings historical insight into a host of your favourite musicians.

As with the first wave of apps, they're all free to download and are available from within the App Finder section of the desktop client - although you need to check to see if they are available in your country.

There's still no sign of an app store launch for the Spotify Premium mobile apps which serve the company's three million paying customers.

Cable giant DirecTV has removed some of the shackles from its iPad app, by allowing limited content to be streamed outside the home.

The company's mobile application had previously required subscribers to be connected to their home Wi-Fi network in order to access live TV streaming and video on demand.

DirecTV Everywhere, as the update has been coined, will now allow users to access certain video outside the home, but live television is still a no-no.

The app adds the likes of HBO Go, Starz and the Sony Movie Channel into the mix, while also opening up content from the DirecTV Audience Network. More channels may be added shortly.

GetGlued to the second screen

The app is also more social than ever before, bringing the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Miso and GetGlue on-board to help fulfil its remit as a second-screen companion.

It'll also help the company's subscribers discover shows that are popular with other users.

Check out this early hands-on from the Solid Signal Blog.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV5aVOx7DEk

Users of the Hipstamatic iPhone photo-sharing application can now upload snaps directly to rival service Instagram as part of a new partnership between the companies.

The agreement represents the first time Instagram, which has a whopping 27 million users, has allowed a third-party to access its API.

The company hints at this being a first step towards creating an all-encompassing network for mobile photo-sharing, regardless of which camera app is used to snap the picture.

Founder Kevin Systrom said: "It's a step in the direction that we're testing out.

"We've been very careful about making sure that Instagram photos are about what's happening right now in your life, and we want to allow for more of those photos to end up on Instagram regardless of where they're taken."

You filter my photo, I'll share yours

Systrom added, in an interview with Fast Company, that more and more people had been using Hipstamatic to tweak photos before uploading them to Instagram.

The new pact simply makes that process easier.

Hipstamatic, which is a £1.19 download from the App Store, boasts a comparatively low 4m users, but is seen as having a more versatile range of retro-style filters and lens effects.

CEO Lucas Buick says the company has already witnessed a large sway from uploads to Facebook and Twitter and towards Instagram.

"We've never been a social networking company," he said, "but we clearly benefit from social networks. So this will be the first app outside of Instagram that lets you into their network. That's pretty cool for us."

Instagram still plans to launch an Android version of its phenomenally successful app later this year.