Battery saving tips for the LG Optimus S

To squeeze every minute out of your Optimus S battery, there are a few simple things you can do.

First off, we need to set our screen brightness to a level that is the best balance between usability in a variety of lighting situations, but that doesn't chew through our battery. The screen is the single biggest draw on your battery life.

To adjust the display settings tap the Menu key. Tap Display. Tap Brightness. Adjust the slider bar to a level that works for you. When you're happy with the result, tap OK to set.

We can also adjust the length of time the screen remains on without input. The default is 30 seconds. However, 15 seconds works just fine in our experience so we'll choose that. Apps like YouTube and many games will keep the screen on for you anyway.

Next, we'll turn some of our wireless services off. Things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use up your battery whether they're actively being used or not. It helps to turn these services off when you don't need them.

Back in the Settings menu, choose Wireless & Networks. Tap the checkboxes beside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to turn them on or off.

Back in the main Settings menu again, scroll down to find Accounts & sync. The two options we have here for Background data and Auto-sync.

Turning these services off lets you decide when apps can sync data. This nets a net battery savings but makes your phone less convenient as you'll no longer get push email, Facebook and other online notifications. If you're a real battery miser though, you can turn these off. Data won't be synced until you actively open an application, like Gmail, Email or Facebook.

To get quick access to turn services on or off, go back to the homescreen, press and hold to add a Widget then scroll down to find Power control.

This Widget gives you one tap access to services. From left to right: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location services, sync and finally, screen brightness.

If you're travelling, it's also possible to turn roaming mobile data services on or off. Tap the Menu key, choose Setttings, tap Wireless & networks, scroll down and choose Mobile networks. Here, check or uncheck boxes to turn mobile data services on and off, including data roaming.

Finally, let's look at how copy and paste works on the Optimus S running Android.

In the browser, tap and hold over text you'd like to copy. Two handles appear. Tap and drag these handles to select the beginning and end of the passage you'd like to copy. Tap again to copy. Links on a web page can be copied by pressing and holding on the linked text and then choosing Copy link URL. You can copy a URL from your address bar in much the same way.

The most recently copied text now sits in your clipboard. Open up any text-entry app. Tap to place the cursor if necessary. Tap again and hold. In the menu that appears, tap Paste. Your text will be dropped in wherever the cursor sits.