Smart Phone Tips Archives - Page 46 of 65

Skip those irritating voice mail instructions and go right to the beep!

Posted on April 26, 2017

If you’re like me you probably hate calling someone who doesn’t answer, especially if you need to leave a message.

Before you get to that magic beep, you first have to wait while the voice mail system plays the recipient’s personal greeting, and then you have to listen for another eternity while it tells you how to leave a message.

If you’re wondering why all the major cell carriers require us to listen to the same boring voice mail instructions over and over again before allowing us to leave a simple message, it’s because it makes them a ton of money! [Read more…]

Take your iPhone photography to a new level with an off-camera flash

Posted on April 20, 2017

The most recent iPhones are notorious for taking outstanding photos that rival those taken by expensive point-and-shoot cameras. And I must say that I have seen some pretty spectacular images that were captured with them.

But as most any professional photographer will tell you, it’s difficult to take professional quality photos in low-light situations using just the camera’s built-in flash unit. To get a truly magnificent image under those conditions, one must use an off-camera flash.

Photographers have been using off-camera flash units with their expensive DSLR and high-end point and shoot cameras for years, and now iPhone users have that option as well.

The awesome Nova Off-Camera Wireless Flash for iPhone will provide that all-important flash of supplemental light to give your iPhone photos a crisp and bright professional look. [Read more…]

Want faster Internet on your smart phone or tablet? Use Opera Mini!

Posted on March 8, 2017

If you use the standard web browser that came pre-installed on your smart phone, you’re wasting your time. And I mean that literally. That’s why you need Opera Mini.

Opera Mini is a lean, super-fast version of the popular Opera web browser that loads web pages and photos much faster than the standard mobile web browser.

It achieves these faster speeds by compressing all the images on a web page right on a dedicated Opera server, then sends the optimized pages to your phone. When you first click a link you’ll notice a slight delay while the server is optimizing the images, but then you’ll see the page load onto your screen in a jiffy. [Read more…]

Why you probably should skip your carrier’s insurance on your smart phone

Posted on February 7, 2017

Are you paying a monthly fee to your cell carrier to cover repairs to your phone should something happen to it? If you are, you’re probably paying way too much for what could amount to very little coverage.

Depending on the carrier and phone, you could be paying upwards of $15 per month for a plan that has a whopping $200 deductible!

In my opinion, carrier insurance (AKA an extended warranty) is rarely a good deal, even when it does actually “pay off”. Which brings me to my next point… [Read more…]

Warning: Apple will soon start ‘analyzing’ your iCloud data and personal files

Posted on February 2, 2017

Apple is planning to release iOS 10.3 before long, and with that update will come several significant changes to the operating system.

I believe most of those changes will be good ones, but there’s one that concerns me.

Beginning with iOS 10.3, Apple will start “analyzing” your iCloud data to “help them improve intelligent features and services such as Siri and other similar or related services.”

In a nutshell, that means Apple will soon start scanning your email, your notes, your contacts, your photos, your calendar, Keychain, Find My iPhone, your iTunes items and all the various files you have stored on iCloud. [Read more…]