Tip Roundup: webOS phone-based tips that work on the TouchPad, part 2

While many owners of the TouchPad have been long-time webOS phones owners, many are being introduced to the operating system in webOS 3.0.2. In the last two years since debuting with webOS 1.0.1 on the Palm Pre, lots of functionally has been built into the phone-based version of the OS that has continued onto the TouchPad. In this series of Tip Roundups, we will revisit many of those old tips for all you new TouchPad owners (and as a refreshing to our long time webOS users). In case you missed our first edition of the Phone/TouchPad Tip Roundup, you can check it out here.

Keep in mind that while the functionality of these tips remains the same, the screenshots and descriptions may not match up perfectly when comparing phones with a physical keyboard to the tablet. Keep reading after the break for your second PreCentral Tips review lesson.

• Determine your webOS version
  • While webOS versions may not have cute-sounding names for their OS version, it is still important to know what version you are running. Some apps may not function properly on all versions of webOS and many bugs get fixed in later versions.
  • So, for any TouchPad user, check your version to make sure you are on 3.0.2 (the current version as of Sept 2, 2011). If not, go check out the "System Updates" app and update!
• Double-tap to select text
  • Instead of press-and-holding on text to select it, you also have the option of double-tapping on editable text to select the word. And, if you keep your finger on the screen after the second tap, you can even drag it around to highlight whole sentences, paragraphs or pages.
  • This doesn't work in every app, and it may sometimes cause your screen to scroll as well, so just play around with it to find where it works best.
• Set default Email account
  • While adding multiple email accounts to webOS is a simple task, you will want to make sure that you set your default email account. webOS will use this account whenever you launch an email from Just Type, or tap on an email address from within a website or document.
  • However, when you replying to an email or starting a new email message from within an already open email folder, it will override the default account and use that currently selected account.
• Adding applications to Exhibitio
  • Exhibition Mode allows your TouchPad to remain on and in an interactive state while charging on a Touchstone charger. By default, you only have a few options to choose from within Exhibition mode, including the Time, an Agenda view, and photo. Many apps have an Exhibition mode option, as well, but you need to turn them on first within the Exhibition Preferences app.
• Logging into a Public Captive Wi-Fi Network
  • Since (almost) all TouchPads are Wi-Fi only models, you need access to a Wi-Fi network to access the network. Many public networks are available to you, but you often need to perform an additional step after you connect to these networks to agree to that provider's terms and conditions. webOS will alert you when you are logging into one of these "captive" networks so you know that you need to take an additional step before using the internet.
• Check Available Storage
  • Although 16GB or 32GB sounds like a lot of internal storage, once you load in a few movies, some music, and start installing apps (some of which can be nearly a gig on their own), you may find that you want to check how much storage space is left on your device.

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