Apple’s iPad 2 comes loaded with features and functionality that may be overwhelming to those who are not exactly tech savvy or familiar with Apple products. We recently showcased some tips and tricks you can practice to help you get the most out of your iPad 2. Since there are so many, here are some more for you to try.

Share Podcasts with Ease

It’s highly likely that your friends have the same tastes and interests as you.  Well, at least some of them probably do.  If you are listening to a podcast that is particularly interesting, you can share it with a friend from your iPad 2 by pressing the email button.  The interruption is minimal, and your friend will probably return the favor with another interesting podcast in the future.

Make iBooks Easier on the Eyes

As you move around different environments, changes in lighting can affect your reading of iBooks.  Tweaking brightness in the iBooks app is easy to do thanks to a slider that resides in the upper right-hand corner of the app.  Once you have an iBook opened and realize that the brightness is either too bright or too dim, tap on the small brightness icon to slide it to your liking.

Save Precious Battery Life by Adjusting Fetch Settings

The fact that new data is grabbed or “fetched” by the iPad 2 is a plus, unless it is done too frequently.  If the tablet constantly fetches data for certain apps that do not employ the Push feature, your battery life could be slowly drained.  You’d much rather conserve battery life for other iPad 2 features, such as video, music, web browsing, gaming, and the like, so every ounce you can save is appreciated.  Navigate to Settings>Mail>Contacts>Calendars.  Select the Fetch New Data option to tweak it to a more battery-friendly setting.

Copy and Paste like a Pro

If you want to copy a paragraph and paste it somewhere else for future reference or sharing, simply tap the paragraph four times.  Copying and pasting specific, smaller sections is a bit trickier, but still easy.  Tap and hold down your finger.  Choose select to highlight the specific text you want to copy.  When finished, tap Copy.  Go to the app where you want to paste the text.  Just as in the first step, tap and hold down your finger.  Tap Paste to complete the process.

Use the Replace Function to Correct Typos

Copying and pasting is a task that you will probably use a lot on the iPad 2, but the Replace function can be just as valuable to learn.  Tapping and holding your finger down on a word brings up options to Cut, Copy, Paste, or Replace.  You can replace the word by selecting the Replace option, which will display some alternatives to help you if you are stuck.

Quick AutoCorrect

AutoCorrect is an option that seems to emit feelings of love or hate.  Some like how it supplies a spelling aid or helps speed things up, while others find it causes more bad than good.  Regardless, AutoCorrect is there for you on the iPad 2.  To use it quickly, as you are typing a word and see the correct suggestion pop up, tap Return to use the suggestion immediately.  You can also use a space or a punctuation mark instead of Return to do the trick.

Activate CAPS LOCK

Let’s say you are typing an email and want to do some virtual yelling, or perhaps you are writing notes on the iPad 2 and want something to stand out via all CAPS.  Here is the shortcut:  Using the virtual keyboard, double tap either of the Shift keys and CAPS will be activated.  This is obviously a much better option than tapping the Shift key after each letter.

Quick Apostrophes and Quotes

Yes, the iPad 2 is a great tool for informal messaging, but what if you want to type an email for work or something that needs to be more formal?  An apostrophe will probably be a necessity, so why type it the old fashioned way by going to another keyboard screen that holds that option?  Use the shortcut of holding down your finger on the ! key and you will see the apostrophe option pop up.  Slide the same finger up onto the apostrophe icon and it will be inserted.

Quotation marks are another item that you will probably need to use from time to time, and they can be accessed via a shortcut similar to the apostrophe.  Tap and hold the ? key to make the quotation mark option appear.  Slide your finger up over the icon to insert the quotation mark.

Email Photos in a Snap

Did you just snap a photo that you’d like to share with someone via email?  The best way to do it is through the Photos app.  Once you have accessed the Photos app, look for the picture you want to send.  Locate the small rectangle with the arrow in the upper right-hand corner of the photo of your choice, and select the Email photo option to send it to the appropriate destination.

View and Share Photos in a Stylish Way

Have some friends over and want to share photos from your recent vacation?  The iPad 2 is a perfect device to do so.  On the Lock screen you should see a small picture icon in the lower right-hand corner.  Press it and the iPad 2 will start displaying its photos in a manner similar to a picture frame.

Tweak FaceTime

When you video chat using FaceTime on the iPad 2, a small picture-in-picture window of yourself will appear on the screen.  You can move this small window wherever you want it by dragging it with your finger.

Take Control over Search

Google may be the most popular search engine around, but it may not satisfy your needs.  The Safari browser on the iPad 2 allows you to choose between the Bing, Google, and Yahoo search engines.  To switch the default setting, go to Settings, select Safari, and tap Search Engine.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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