MSP Voice: Windows Phone Tips and Tricks by Alaa Shaabana
I’ve always been a fan of the little tips and tricks in electronics that make our lives a little easier (than it already is!). So I’ve compiled a top-10 list of tips and tricks for you to try out on your new phone!
1. YOUR VOICE IS YOUR PHONE’S COMMAND
To use the windows phone 7 voice controls, simply hold the windows button on your phone and talk to your phone. Try saying something like “Calories in a California roll”.
2. APP PINUPS
You can add more apps to your start screen (or “pin” them). When you are in the long applications list, touch and hold an app you want to pin to the screen. And when the menu appears, click “pin to screen”.
3. GOODBYE, PESKY APP
You’ve tried an app, and you don’t like it. You can certainly uninstall it by heading over to the long apps list, touching and holding an app you want to uninstall, and clicking “uninstall”.
4. MAKEOVERS ARE ALWAYS FUN
You can customize the look of your phone by changing the theme! Swipe on over to the menu list, select settings and choose theme. Here you can choose the color of the background and the accent. Background options are black and white, and you get a whole arrangement of colors for the accent!
5. WHEN IN DOUBT: SWIPE
Windows phone 7 is built with the concept of panoramic tiles that you swipe to reveal more content off screen. So it’s always a good idea to try swiping to the left as there might be more stuff waiting for you to see.
6. PEOPLE ARE APPS TOO
It’s not just about adding apps to the start page, you can also add people! You can find them in your contacts book, click on the “pin” icon (HINT: It looks like a thumbtack). And they’ll be added to your start page! Happy speed dialing!
7. WHY AM I BEING CHARGED LONG DISTANCE?
It’s easy to make mistakes while dialing, and can easily call long distance on accident. Windows Phone 7 can worry about that for you, head over to Settings, swipe over to Applications, and choose Phone. Turn on “International Assist” to automatically correct some common mistakes while dialing internationally or dialing while abroad.
8. MY PICTURES ARE WHERE?
It’s always good to keep a backup of your pictures, and windows phone 7 comes with SkyDrive to let you do just that. If you haven’t already done so when you set up your phone the first time, just head over to Settings, swipe to the left and then scroll down to Pictures & Camera. You’ll find the option to set the Auto Upload feature on.
9. IS IT THERE YET?
Want to know if your text got to its destination? You can turn on SMS delivery confirmation by going to Settings, swipe to Applications, Messaging and flicking the On switch for SMS delivery confirmation.
10. CTRL+F FOR PHONES? REALLY?
Internet Explorer on Windows Phone 7 has a “find” feature that allows you to find a word on a page (Yes, just like Ctrl+F). Simply press the three dots, click on “find on page” and then type in the word you’re looking for. Just press the back button to get back to the page without the search words highlighted.
- Alaa Shaabana