An Android tablet is a complex piece of electronics that is both delightful and intimidating. Obviously, that qualifies it as the next great thing. It also means that if you want to get the most from the device, you need some gentle hand-holding and careful explanation.Read on for plenty of tips, tricks, and other useful information that help make your Android tablet experience a pleasant and productive one.

The Home screen on your Android tablet is more than what you see. It’s actually an entire street of Home screens, with only one Home screen panel displayed at a time. To switch from one panel to another, swipe the Home screen left or right. There are pages to the left of the main Home screen page, and pages to the right.

A screen shot, also called a screen cap (for capture), is a picture of your Android tablet's touchscreen. So if you see something interesting on the screen or you just want to take a quick pic of your tablet life, you take a screen shot.The stock Android method of shooting the screen is to press and hold both the Volume Down and Power/Lock keys at the same time.

Your Android tablet gives you all kinds of options for connecting to the web. Not every Wi-Fi network provides free, unlimited access. Some connections are metered. That means the provider may charge you per minute or per megabyte for accessing the Internet, similar to the limitations placed on the mobile data network.

Some locations follow good computer security and change their Wi-Fi passwords. When you revisit that one charming café and find that your Android tablet doesn’t reconnect to the network, follow these steps: Obtain the new password.Demand the new password from someone in charge, like the confused young woman who keeps asking whether you want “room” in your black coffee.

Computers have had the capability to allow multiple users for some time — even though people seldom seem to use this feature. Your Android tablet should be the same, but just like your computer, your tablet can have more than one user account. Some tablets allow you to configure multiple users — several people who can have their own custom Home screens, widgets, and other options on a single tablet.

The Email app, as well as the newest version of Gmail, can be configured to pick up email from multiple sources on your Android tablet. If you have a Windows Live account or maybe an evil corporate account in addition to your ISP’s account, you can add them. Both the Email and Gmail apps offer different ways to add a new email account.

Organize the Home screen on your Android tablet by building app folders to contain icons for your favorite apps. You save room on your Android Home screen by putting multiple apps into one folder. The folders appear differently in Android Jelly Bean than in Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Here's how to create a folder in each version: In Android Jelly Bean, create a folder by following these steps: On the Home screen, drag one icon atop another.

Here’s a great way to give yourself a headache: Use the Bluetooth to copy a file between your Android tablet and a Bluetooth-enabled computer. It’s slow, it’s painful, and it might even work. Get started by pairing your tablet with the computer. When your tablet and computer are paired and connected, how the file transfer works depends on whether you’re using a PC or a Macintosh.