Tips for Your New Android Phone

If you're one of the 43% of Business Hacks readers who said they're considering buying the new T-Mobile G1 phone that uses the Android platform, you're in luck--the phone went on sale yesterday. Once you get your phone, though, there are a few ways to make it work even better. Popular Mechanics collected six of their favorite tips to make the G1 the best that it can be.

Among the recommendations, there are a few in particular that stand out:

Use the Hard Search Key If there's one company that understands the value of search, it's Google. And one of the best parts of the G1's physical keyboard is its hard search key (the one that looks like a little magnifying glass.) Pressing it from the home screen brings up the Google search bar. This is great, but what's more interesting is its use within individual Google-made programs like YouTube and Maps, where pressing it brings up a search bar specific to that program, allowing you to find what you're looking for in an app easily and quickly.

Replace the Bundled Music Player With TuneWiki Android's bundled Music program is fairly weak and clunky. Our suggestion: Ditch it and pick up TuneWiki off the Android Market. It's easier to use than the bundled Music program, and has a lot more features (such as a fun karaoke function that searches for lyrics online and runs them with your song as it plays). Of course, you can download TuneWiki to any iPhone, but only if it is jailbroken and unlocked (which would void its warranty). This difference is emblematic of one of the key distinctions between Android and the iPhone--Android doesn't ban applications that compete with or replace its own programs.