TEXTING IS FINE FOR fast and simple communications. But what if you want a program that lets you do real chatting, without the 160-character limit, and lots of other features thrown in? And what if you don’t want to have to pay for the rights to communicate via the keyboard?

Then you want Google Talk, a chat program built right into the Galaxy S II. Run it by tapping Talk in the Apps Tray.

One of the niftier things about Google Talk is that it integrates with the computer-based version of Google Talk. When people contact you via Google Talk, they don’t need to know whether you’re seated in front of your computer or on the Galaxy S II—it’s all the same difference. And it’s the same to you as well. So if you’re already a Google Talk user, the Android version automatically imports your existing friends and settings.