tips/advice for using smartphone?

meako

meako

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
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I just made the leap to smartphone
although the guy at the shop was helpful it was another customer who informed me that
using wifi for free in shops saves my data limit.
or something??!
any other handy need to know tips?
cheers
 
People could probably give you more specific tips if you told us what kind it is. iPhone? Android? Windows?
 
thanks guys .the battery issue has become apparent after only 4 days.
Thanks burke-its a samsung galaxy s2 android.
ok i've already worked how to upload the app that plays a tune using peoples farts.
truly this technology is astounding. will that cost me money if i exceed my monthly lilmit?
 
Depends on your carrier. I have T-Mobile, with a 2 Gb "unlimited" plan. That means after 2Gb of downloads (pages, files, etc.) it drops from 4G to 2G so I can still e-mail, look up directions, etc. but no overages. But, if I use WiFi, it doesn't count toward my monthly limit (and it saves batteries - weaker radio). I even use WiFi for calling at home (counts toward minutes if you have a minute plan, but again, the battery thing...). Not sure how other carriers work it. I'd be concerned about picking up some malware using free open WiFi hotspots.
 
to save battery, keep your screens brightness down halfway. It really helps. And if it's equipped, use wifi more than 3g, that also saves battery. Smartphones short comings are, i bet you guessed it, battery life.
 
Most useful thing for me and my inability to "thumb type" was downloading Dragon or other voice recognition system so that I can talk into the phone to write my emails. On the iPhone you just download dragon, dictate your message, hit a button for email and put in the address.
 
Also, I don't know if its only on the iPhone but I have had pretty good battery life. The tip the salesman gave me was to close out your apps so that nothing was running while it was just sitting in your pocket.
 
i'm learning a lot here .thanks.
basically the thing didn't even come with an instruction book.
 
Open the android market an search for. advanced task killer free. Download it and let it install. That app will shut down any un-needed programs that are running. I use whenever I use my phone and am done with it.
 
What about on an i-phone? Are the apps that show up when I double click the main button closed down or just minimized and still running?

Bruceter
 
DO NOT USE TASK KILLER. Android has a built in task killer and this will make your battery life WORSE! I used android for 2 years and never used it and I had nothing but stellar battery life. My droid X once lasted for 4 days with moderate use! If you are on an iPhone, when you double click the home button those are the apps that are minimized and running. Keep these to a minimum for optimized performance. I average 2.5 to 3.5 days with the iPhone, and that is also moderate usage. Its best to lurk on the Android forums or iPhone forums for more in depth info. I know a thing or two about both Android and iPhones if anyone has questions.
 
Thats weird that everyone is saying not to us the task killer. The person at the Verizon store downloaded it before she even handed it to me and I've had friends tell me to make sure I'm using it. Whenever I use it theres a big list of things running after I have used my phone for whatever reason. Then if I let the phone sit for an hour or whatever and turn my screen on and open task killer theres a lot less running than there was when I opened it the last time.
 
ac700wildcat said:
Thats weird that everyone is saying not to us the task killer. The person at the Verizon store downloaded it before she even handed it to me and I've had friends tell me to make sure I'm using it. Whenever I use it theres a big list of things running after I have used my phone for whatever reason. Then if I let the phone sit for an hour or whatever and turn my screen on and open task killer theres a lot less running than there was when I opened it the last time.
Click to expand...

on a droid? hard to believe.
 
Sometimes when you try to visit a website, it will only give you the "mobile" version of the website. Most of the time this is a good thing because it cuts down on the usage from your plan (unless you are on wifi, then it doesnt matter) but sometimes it doesnt give you all the options and menus and stuff the normal website would. There are settings to change this but I have found the quickest way is to just go to google and type the name of the website and click the link
 
ac700wildcat said:
Thats weird that everyone is saying not to us the task killer. The person at the Verizon store downloaded it before she even handed it to me and I've had friends tell me to make sure I'm using it. Whenever I use it theres a big list of things running after I have used my phone for whatever reason. Then if I let the phone sit for an hour or whatever and turn my screen on and open task killer theres a lot less running than there was when I opened it the last time.
Click to expand...

Thats because most employees at Verizon actually know nothing about the product they are selling... Go check out android central or DroidForums for the correct info. This is coming directly from programmers. Android does it on its own and by running another one you are actually making your phone run worse.
 
I have a droid charge and my battery doesn't make it through the day. I carry a spare battery b/c sometimes you can't plug in your phone to charge and wait while you're on the move.

Apps are your best friend. I've downloaded, Yelp, google maps, google translator, flickster, IMDB, wikipedia, and Pandora. If you have a limited data plan, then only use Pandora when you're connected to wifi.

Have a nice big Micro SD b/c it will fill up fast with pics, songs, and movies. I got the 32 gb. haha

Just play with your phone constantly to get used to it. Also, have a numerical screen password. I linked my emails to my phone so if I ever loose my phone I don't want anyone accessing my email accounts. When you get a text message, you'll have to enter the code to check it, but for calls, it's the the normal "Accept" or "Decline"
 
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