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 youre in the market for such a device then youll be pleased with just how slick and capable an Android tablet is. Theres certainly no need to be ashamed if you choose one instead of an iPad and itll 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 dont 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.
Weve 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 its an older tablet or one that youve 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 shouldnt stop you from being able to surf the internet wherever you are. Provided youve 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 tablets Wi-Fi function to connect to the phone, or you can connect to it via Bluetooth.
The second method is easily available if youre 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 tablets battery charge is to turn off the Wi-Fi altogether when youre not using it, and, of course, you can do this on an Android tablet. However, theres 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 - its 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 youll 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) dont 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 youve got a tablet running Android 2.2 or later, theres 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 its only available in the US, and should be coming to UK shores soon.
Of course, you need an internet connection so its probably better suited to those who spend a lot of their time connected to Wi-Fi or 3G, but even if you dont 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 youre 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.
Youll also notice an improvement in your tablets 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 youll 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 itll 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 youre sat in the back of a car.
The satellite navigation app can also be used with Androids built-in voice control, so just say where you want to go and itll take you there. Thankfully, all Android users are catered for because it works with Android 1.6 and upwards. If its 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 youre starting out with Donut 1.6 then youre 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 isnt 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 cant tell you which one to go for because its 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 wont work.
Head on over to androidtablets.net and look for the exact ROM that goes with your chosen device. Be warned though - youll need to follow the installation instructions of a new ROM right down to the letter because if you dont, theres 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, youll 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 tablets 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 - theres a small chance that something could go wrong if not.
Its also worth bearing in mind that rooting the OS will void your tablets warranty.
Automatic backup
The latest version of Apples 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 Googles cloud backup facility.
By default your tablet should automatically be set to back up all your tablets settings whenever youre 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 thats a bit archaic isnt 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.
