The Smartphone has never been more popular. In the modern age, our phones have become an extension of self, we use them constantly to update, navigate and traverse the modern landscape. We check the traffic, monitor the weather and use GPS to make our way around. According to an article published in Tech World there are up to five billion cell phone users across the globe - that's a lot of handsets. Because most modern smartphones are so delicate, most people choose to protect their phone with a case. The trouble is most of these cases are made from environmentally detrimental materials. With over a billion new handsets sold every year, that adds up to a big pile of waste heading to the landfill or even worse, the ocean.
Thankfully, there are better options out there. Many proactive companies have begun to offer greener, earth-friendly phone accessories. We've picked our two favourites and outlined the benefits of their products.
In terms of protection, this case can hold its own with traditional plastic phone cases. Although, this case does not have an official drop rating yet, the company promises satisfaction or your money back. Finally, the most important feature: when you're retiring your phone, simply toss this case onto the compost heap and let nature take its course. You can shop the eco-friendly phone case range here at CaseFace.
These are by no means the only options for a greener case. More and more companies are choosing to offer most sustainable options to their customers and choosing such options can have a dramatic effect on the environment. So, when shopping for your next case, consider going green.
Just like every other year, flagship smartphones are going to start arriving from this month onwards, armed with the latest in camera optics, display technology and of course, faster SoCs. If you are planning to buy one of the many upcoming, awesome smartphones this year, then you will be spoilt for choice in 2020, even if you don't have a $1,000+ budget!
However, there will be a few gimmicks to watch out for. Some of these will be presented as "innovation," while others may be called "evolution!" Whatever the respective manufacturer's marketing team decides to call it, here are three of the most likely gimmicks that you need to watch out for.
Gaming Smartphones are Irrelevant
Well, the term "gaming" is misused for selling even smartphones these days, and yes, they have been misused.
To understand why the term gaming smartphone shouldn't matter to casual and serious mobile gamers alike, go through the following points.
Unlike laptops and desktops, smartphones cannot be customized yet
All flagship smartphones with the same flagship SoC will perform similarly in-game
A bit of difference in benchmark results are irrelevant in real world gaming, even if it exists due to temporary overclocking
Flashy RGB lights on a smartphone may make it unsuitable for carrying it everywhere, which is a serious problem!
Those RGB lights will make your battery run out a lot faster and the phone will become even hotter while gaming with those on
OEMs will often put terrible - decent cameras on the gaming phones citing the optics as secondary needs!
Mid-tier smartphones with mid-tier chips will be priced higher than they should be, just by using the gaming tag
The Megapixel War Will Restart!
A few years ago, the megapixel war stopped temporarily, but from 2019 onwards, it has started to pick up again! Take any smartphone with a 48mp sensor and compare it with the 12mp sensors on flagship models such as the Google Pixel 3, iPhone 11 or Samsung Note 10 to know why it's just a gimmick! This year, the megapixel war will likely take the count to 64mp - 108mp, so please wait for online reviews before jumping on the megapixel bandwagon again.
Curved Displays Look Nice But...
Do curved displays look nice? Most certainly they do and if that appeals to you, then go for it by all means! However, be aware that they can be an absolute pain to handle as the palm rejection almost never works! A high quality, OLED display with a flat panel is going to be better for gaming, regular use and media consumption.
A smartphone should be chosen on the basis of your needs and not marketing, but it's so hard to look past all that! Hopefully, this small list will help you to make the most of your hard earned money.
Author: Saikat
Mobiles have become one of the most useful and widely used forms of technology in the present age. People use it for all kinds of purposes other than just for calling each other. Mobiles are used to access and send emails, use social media, install all sorts of apps, play games, take pictures, and record videos. There is a wide range of types of mobile devices, including PDAs, iPods, cellular phones, Bluetooth devices, and wireless data networks. Mobiles connect to the internet and provide the users with access to it using WAP. The range of bandwidth on the 3G technology is high that is why users can efficiently get the information.
Mobiles have assumed the role that was traditionally associated with computers as we can not only communicate, but also read online books, newspapers, and watch the television. The Metalanguage, which serves the purpose of communicating the data and which is used to develop the applications, is XML language. Mobile technology assists a student in academic works in a variety of ways.
The Functionality of Mobiles for Students
Students find the integration of mobile technology into the educational system beneficial and useful. Since mobiles are pocket-size and handy, they can be taken anywhere and provide more convenience of use than the laptops. Mobile devices allow for the downloading and reading of e-books. Some students use their mobiles as USB devices. They save their assignments and documents and download or print them whenever they need.
Mobile technology is more reliable for carrying the soft-copies of documents. Their tendency to malfunction like USBs because of viruses is very less. The materials can easily be accessed in the destination folders any time they are needed. Likewise, they can share the files with their friends and group-mates using the free Bluetooth feature.
Mobile phones are increasingly being improved with the integration of technologies that are helpful for the students. Universities commonly establish online portals and provide the students with their accounts so that they can download the course content, upload their assignments, and access the online university library. Students can get paper help without actually visiting the university library because all of the required research papers can easily be downloaded from the online portal. These portals are beneficial for promoting efficient communication across the student groups and between the teachers and students. Teachers take attendance of students using the online portals, and students can also see their performance assessment forms online using their mobiles.
Mobile Technology Keeps Data Secure
Mobile phones are particularly useful for carrying and securing sensitive information. Students also use mobile phones to make online transactions. They have installed the apps of their banks in the mobiles and can safely access their online bank accounts from the convenience of their classrooms or their flats.
Mobile technologies that the university students can use include SMS, Global System for Mobile communication known as GSM, 3G technologies, XML, and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Everything ranging from the mobiles to the apps containing sensitive, private, and personal information is password-protected. If a student repeatedly enters the wrong password, the app denies access to online banking after four to five unsuccessful attempts, and the user has to contact the bank to grant access to the app.
Handy Solutions Offered by Mobile Technology
Mobile phones are integrated into the modern lifestyle in a way that they surpass even the laptops in their usability. Students who are going on a bus and want to revise the course content in one last before appearing for the exam can easily browse it on their mobile phones. There are charging backup devices to ensure that they don't run out of battery when they need mobile phones the most. There are distinct software programs in mobile phones that allow for video making, editing, and streaming. Many students make presentations using the apps on their mobile phones.
Owing to the huge usefulness of a mobile phone for a student, educational institutions should make the necessary changes in their systems to allow for increased integration of mobile phones. One way this can be achieved is by recording all lectures. Many universities already engage in this practice. Recording the lectures makes it possible for the management to upload them on the online university portals. Students find it convenient to play the videos from there. Not only the videos are helpful if a student missed a lecture, but they are also useful for the students who did attend the class but couldn't grasp a concept. Mobile technology plays a vital role in the future of education.
It doesn’t even matter how much you like your phone, who made it or how much you had to shell out once to buy it, all smartphones get outdated sooner or later. Sure, you can stretch out its lifetime by buying a flagship device, because they do come with a bit of future proofing, but even that’s not going to do much but delay the inevitable.
That’s okay though, because such is the nature of technology itself, and not just smartphones. Older, slower, less functional devices are constantly being outdated by their successors, which in the grand scheme of things, defines progress and technological evolution. Unfortunately enough, the pace at which smartphone technology is evolving, it can put a significant load on our wallets!
Creation of a New Industry: Take Advantage of the Competition
The best way to soften the blow of updating to a new phone would be to either sell it, or have it exchanged for a discount while buying a new phone. Manufacturers, second hand vendors and retailers know that too, which is why they have exchange or selling options for smartphones going throughout the year. This has in turn, created another business, and where there is business, there is competition to take advantage of for consumers!
Not Every Site Offers the Same Deal
Have you noticed how different sites sell the same smartphones at different prices? The same applies here too, but even more so than buying. The thing is that unlike first hand retail units, second hand smartphones don’t have any OEM set restrictions on how low or how high one can charge/offer for them. This opens up the competition even more, and the exchange or selling prices of old phones will vary widely as a result of that.
What’s Your Best Option?
Ideally, there should be a platform online , where people would be able to go and compare the price they could be getting for their devices from various buyers. Fortunately, that’s exactly what SellCell provides to consumers! They provide a singular, online platform for buyers to compare the deals they can get from the top sellers across United States, so you won’t have to check a dozen sites and keep constant tabs on them separately. It just streamlines the entire old phone selling or exchanging process immensely.
In case you have held out from buying a new device because you like your old phone too much and can’t get a good deal on it, now you know how to get the best possible deal, without the unnecessary time wasting. On a general note, do not hold onto any Android or iOS device that the OEM has stopped servicing (2 to 3 years at best) with monthly, or at least quarterly updates. Our smartphones carry so much sensitive data in them and without the security patches, they would succumb to malware and hacking attacks without you even realizing it.
For most of us today, our phones have become part of our very being. We actually feel quite bereft if we forget our phone at home, and are likely to return home to pick it up, rather than be without it all day. Most people in the western world own a smartphone and are spending many hours of the day using them or some other digital device of their choice. Incredibly, in spite of the amount of time we spend on our phones, there are a number of features that most people, even those really quite techie types, are not aware of.
There are some really useful features that we could be utilizing to make our lives easier and more comfortable but are not even aware of. Some of these features will really help to improve your life and make having a smartphone even more essential. While your phone can be a lot of fun and can be used to play at SlotoCash Casino, it can also help you to get home safely or to measure and make sure you have aligned your painting correctly.
Scan QR Codes without using an App
It used to be that you had a QR (Quick Response for commercial tracking application) reader app on your phone. Now you don't need a specialized app to do this. You can just direct your iphone camera at a QR code and it will scan it automatically. Using your camera app you will then be directed straight to the product or website. This can also be done in a similar fashion but by opening a Google app on an Android.
Custom Vibrations
Some people want to know immediately if an urgent message is waiting for them but don't want to have to access their phone every moment of the day. You can create vibrations that will let you know if the particular message is urgent or not.
First, go into your Settings on your iphone and then click on Sounds. From here go into Ringtone and at the top it will say Vibration. Click on this and scroll down until you find Create New Vibration. From here you are now able to create a specific vibration and connect it to any contact you wish. Now you can ascertain whether a message is urgent or not.
Search Photos by Category
Trying to locate a particular photo can be really frustrating. But using the search function at the top of your Photo App you can locate it easily by category. For instance, if you are searching for that great photo you took of the Eiffel Tower on your visit to Paris, just write the word "Paris" and it should just pop up.
Identifying problems with Your Car
If you are having issues with your car, there is an app that can possibly help you avoid paying for a mechanic to figure it out. It's called the Automatic Pro app. You will need an adaptor to enable it to be plugged into your car's ODB-II port. This will let you know if you have indeed got some problem with the engine. The app can also locate your car, if say, your teenager is driving or if you have forgotten where you parked.
Check the Batteries on a Remote Control
By directing your remote control to the front facing camera of your phone and pressing any button you will be able to see if the batteries are still functioning. If you see the infrared light flashing on the remote, the batteries are still good.
Watch Your Favorite Program on Your TV
This great feature is subject to your having an Apple TV. You can transfer what you are watching from your iPhone to your TV screen. You have screen mirroring on your iPhone. Just click on this while standing close to your TV. You may be asked to enter your Airplay passcode and you're all set to go.
Be Safe While Walking Home
Walking home alone can be scary but there are ways to make your journey home safer. The bSafe app which is good for iPhones and Android allows for certain contacts to track your location, can set a timer to activate a distress call to your designated contact within a certain time frame and can also schedule fake calls so you look like you are actually speaking with someone.
Updating Siri's Pronunciation
To change the way Siri's pronouncing certain words is really easy. Ask Siri to pronounce a word that you know she consistently gets wrong. Tell her at that point that she is pronouncing it wrong. You'll be asked to say the word correctly after which you'll be given a list of options to update Siri's pronunciation.
Turning on your House Lights
This is a great feature to keep your home safe and at the same time to save energy. You will need to have wifi enabled bulbs for the Amazon Alexa app to work. At the touch of a button you are able to control the lights in your home.
Shortcuts : Texts and Emoji's
If you are someone who is forever texting and get frustrated with how long it can take, you can create text replacement shortcuts on your phone. Just go into your Settings, click on Keyboard and then Text Replacement. After pressing the + sign you can then create the things you want in shorthand or using Emojis. Next time you text using those phrases, the Emoji or word will show up.
Hanging Your Picture Straight
Making sure you are hanging your picture straight is simple when you use the Bubble Level app. No need to have a real level in your back pocket. This app will do the trick.
Sleep Better By Dimming
The brightness of the home screen on your phone can keep you awake. You are able to reduce the light by using Grayscale. In phone settings, click on Accessibility, then Display Accommodations and choose Color Filters. You can then enable grayscale. This dimming affect makes the light of the screen less startling.
Measuring your Blood Alcohol Level
Using the BACtrack breathalyzer which connects with an app on your phone you are able to check the amount of alcohol you have consumed. Think safety first. Better to be safe than sorry.
Undoing Mistakes with a Shake
With your iPhone it is possible to just shake your phone and an option to "undo' your text will pop up. You can do this with an Android but you do have to have the module to enjoy this feature.
Clear Your Screen of Apps in one Fell Swoop
You don't have to go into every single app opened in order to close them down. You can swipe up using your whole hand and the whole lot will disappear in one go. The app KillApps will perform the same task for an Android.
Car Security
Using an app like ViperStartSmart you can lock and unlock your car and even start the car using your phone from a distance. It is also possible to detect problems with the car using this app.
Drive Safely
Avoid looking down at your phone when using the GPS while driving. There are great apps for iPhone and Android that project directly onto a dash-mounted screen. No need to be distracted by looking down. Keep your eyes on the road.
Quick Charge
If you are in a hurry to charge your phone, you will be surprised to learn that by enabling Airplane Mode your phone will charge in half the time.
Which Planes are Flying Overhead
If you are wondering which planes are flying over your head, just ask Siri. You can learn which airline it is and also the angle and altitude of the plane.
Checking your Heart Rate
Today with our busy schedules it is hard to fit everything in. However, some things are really important. With the Instant Heart Rate app, connected to your phone you are able to monitor your heart rate during the day and even during your workout to see how your heart is doing.
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