I use my phone for lots of things.  I use it mainly to replace my tablet – I can e-mail, take and edit photos, and do almost everything I can do on a laptop with this phone.  And I am sure that there are many of you out there just like me.  I personally have a Galaxy S3, which uses the Android operating system, and I have decided to feature it as the third installment of my Technology Tips and Tricks series.

1) Shortcut to your favorite contacts on home screen

Access your most-called contacts easily from your home screen by holding your finger on any empty spot on the home screen.  A menu will pop up that allows you to choose Shortcuts, and Contact.  You can scroll through your contact list and then just tap on the name of the person you want to be able to dial with a single click.

2) Keep track of your data usage

Yes, we all should keep a close eye on our data usage, because it is very easy to go over our limits and then end up with a giant bill at the end of the month.  Never get surprised when you open that mobile phone envelope again.  Go to Settings, then Data Usage, and you can find a quick rundown of your usage, how much data each app uses, and you can even set alarms to let you know when you are nearing the limits.   Better yet, you can set the phone to stop using data when it reaches a certain limit.

3) Bring back Good Grammar

We often hear proclamations about the downfall of written language, and how texting abbreviations, misspellings, and lack of punctuation are the root of all evil.  Well, we can show all those doomsdayers that all is not lost by bringing punctuation back to texting.  Usually we leave it off when we text because it takes too long to get to the screen with all the punctuation options.  But now you can hold down the period (or “full stop”) button and a list of all the commonly-used punctuation marks will pop right up.

4) Apps, Apps, Apps and Apps

And finally, I cannot end an article about smart phones without including a list of my favorite apps.  Here are a list of my Top 10 Applications on my Android (not counting social media apps).

• Advanced Task Killer – Keeps my phone snappy by closing un-necessary apps
• WhatsApp - my favorite alternate to Text SMS
• Flipboard - my ‘timepass’ moments
• Skype – keeps me close to friends and family
• GoogleMaps - I am never lost because of this one thing
• Amazon Kindle – Books my best friends
• DropBox - My data always safe
• Pluralsight Player – Learning never stops for me
• Samsung Kies Air – Connecting Phone to Computer
• Chrome – Replacing default browser

I have not included any social media applications in the above list, but you can be sure that I am linked to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)