Electronic – the equivalent of a beep on a multimeter without a beeping function

Measuring the cheap meter on my desk, the 10A range uses a 0.1 ohm shunt resistor and the 400 mA range uses a 2.5 ohm shunt resistor and the 4mA range uses a 100 ohm shunt resistor.

100 mA through 0.1 ohms is 10 mV drop and 100 mA though 2.5 ohms is 250 mV drop. So depending on the impedance of your circuit, the current could be lower in the lower range just because of the increased series resistance.

You can measure the voltage drop across the ammeter with another voltmeter.

When you can't tolerate voltage drop, try a feedback ammeter: http://www.keithley.com/data?asset=6169

Sharp tips are able to poke through insulation, whether it be wire insulation, or the coatings on circuit boards. They are also handy if you need to stick it down into a connector between the wire and the body of the connector. Also, as parts get smaller, you need sharp tips to be able to contact one pin of an I.C. without shorting to the others. Lastly, a sharp point isn't as likely to slip when you look away to read the meter. The flow of current from a point isn't meaningful here because that's only relevant when there's an air gap present.

The response time of the continuity "beep" is important. If you want to test a number of contacts--especially if you're hunting for that one signal in a large set--you want to be able to do it fast. Otherwise, you have to touch the wire, then wait, then move on. It's very unsettling when doing continuity checks to have to rely on the notion that "it didn't beep, therefore there's no continuity". Did I wait long enough? Did I actually contact the wire? This is why you start by touching the meter leads together to be sure the beeper is actually working.