The Smart Phone and Tablet Thread

[LA Ute]

This is a thread for those who, like me, who have become Apple fanboys and want to learn about new apps, tricks, peripherals, and the like.

EDIT: In response to the sage advice of SU, I've renamed this the Smart Phone and Tablet Thread.

I was an Android guy at first, then succumbed to Apple after my wife got me an iPad for Father's Day. I already had an iPod and used iTunes a lot. I loved the iPad and since it was basically a large iPhone, the next step was easy. I still admire Android devices but decided I don't have the time or interest anymore to be the slightly geeky guy who really thrives with those devices. (I am using "geeky" in the most positive sense.)

Anyway, share your new and tips and ideas here. You can talk about all manner of smart phones and tablets. I'll start.

I recently got this Skiva case and battery extender. I'm really happy with it. Previously I had a Mophie, which is great for protecting the phone but was heavy and pricey. The Skiva is now a steal for only $25, probably because it's for an iPhone 4s. I need a hard-shell case because I know I am going to drop my phone. The battery extender only adds a little to the phone's size and comes in very handy when I am running out of juice. When the battery is down to 15% or so, a press of a button puts it bask up to 78% or so. The Mophie did the same thing but the Skiva is much sleeker.

[LA Ute]

What Your iPhone is Trying to Tell You - Popular Mechanics

No matter how many iOS updates come out, there are always going to be snags. The good news is that the solution often is simply turning something off and on. You just need to know what that something is....

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...ick=pp#slide-2

[SeattleUte]

Why not call this the smart phone thread. Or gadget thread. Some of us don't care about iphones.

[LA Ute]

Done. If this thread doesn't get more attention now, your reputation as a wise man is going to take a hit.

[SeattleUte]

A absolutely love my HTC 8x Windowsphone. Love it. The big screen enables even comfortable movie watching. The beats audio sound system. The sleek design and those tiles. I've got bluetooth in my car so I can listen to anything I want anytime while driving -- Spotify, This American Life, whatever. I'm addicted to the backlit Kindle. Don't get me started on the navigator, which I can also run through bue tooth.

But best of all is that I can on my gadget search my firm's server for emails to which I was a party going back to the beginning of time. When I discovered that feature I thought I died and went to heaven. I use it all the time. I understand iphone can't do that.

Some say iphone has more apps but I haven't missed anything.

For some, Microsoft is the company people live to hate. But I don't see getting an iphone over this device.

[LA Ute]

A absolutely love my HTC 8x Windowsphone. Love it. The big screen enables even comfortable movie watching. The beats audio sound system. The sleek design and those tiles. I've got bluetooth in my car so I can listen to anything I want anytime while driving -- Spotify, This American Life, whatever. I'm addicted to the backlit Kindle. Don't get me started on the navigator, which I can also run through bue tooth.

But best of all is that I can on my gadget search my firm's server for emails to which I was a party going back to the beginning of time. When I discovered that feature I thought I died and went to heaven. I use it all the time. I understand iphone can't do that.

Some say iphone has more apps but I haven't missed anything.

For some, Microsoft is the company people live to hate. But I don't see getting an iphone over this device.

Good for you. I admire the Windows phone and related devices and envy you a little, mainly because my law firm (like almost all US firms) is tied to Windows and to Outlook. The integration must be very easy. I am a little annoyed with Microsoft for taking so long to come up with such an obvious product. But that's how Microsoft has always been -- they never innovate and are always playing catchup to others. I am now so invested in Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iPod, and an iMac at home) that I don't seen myself changing soon.

FYI, there is a Citrix product that allows anyone with any Apple device to log into any company's enterprise Outlook system. The screen looks just like my PC laptop screen at the office and works the same way. It is a great product and widely used at my firm. Once again, a third party vendor (Citrix) comes up with a way to bridge Apple and Microsoft. If either of those companies had its way it would be impossible to do that.

[Jeff Lebowski]

A absolutely love my HTC 8x Windowsphone. Love it. The big screen enables even comfortable movie watching. The beats audio sound system. The sleek design and those tiles. I've got bluetooth in my car so I can listen to anything I want anytime while driving -- Spotify, This American Life, whatever. I'm addicted to the backlit Kindle. Don't get me started on the navigator, which I can also run through bue tooth.

But best of all is that I can on my gadget search my firm's server for emails to which I was a party going back to the beginning of time. When I discovered that feature I thought I died and went to heaven. I use it all the time. I understand iphone can't do that.

Some say iphone has more apps but I haven't missed anything.

For some, Microsoft is the company people live to hate. But I don't see getting an iphone over this device.

Good for you, SU. Don't be ashamed of your love for a dumb phone. And it doesn't hurt to support the home team, right?

In my eyes, this Windows Phone is less of a smartphone and more of a dumbphone that can surf the web, send emails, and navigate you around town, without all the apps and other stuff you've come to expect. For some people, that's fine—in fact, it's exactly what they need. I'd recommend this to my less tech-obsessed friends that aren't locked into certain apps, or just want a phone that works. If you want something simple and distraction-free, Windows Phone has potential, but if you like Android and iOS, it's going to be difficult to switch. Not impossible by any means, but difficult.

http://lifehacker.com/5992575/is-win...one-or-android

[Jeff Lebowski]

Good for you. I admire the Windows phone and related devices and envy you a little, mainly because my law firm (like almost all US firms) is tied to Windows and to Outlook. The integration must be very easy. I am a little annoyed with Microsoft for taking so long to come up with such an obvious product. But that's how Microsoft has always been -- they never innovate and are always playing catchup to others. I am now so invested in Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iPod, and an iMac at home) that I don't seen myself changing soon.

FYI, there is a Citrix product that allows anyone with any Apple device to log into our firm's system. The screen looks just like my PC laptop screen at the office and works the same way. It is a great product and widely used at my firm. Once again, a third party vendor (Citrix) comes up with a way to bridge Apple and Microsoft. If either of those companies had its way it would be impossible to do that.

I use MS Exchange at work for e-mail and it works beautifully with my iPhone and iPad, but it is a hot mess on my MacBook. Go figure.

[SeattleUte]

Good for you. I admire the Windows phone and related devices and envy you a little, mainly because my law firm (like almost all US firms) is tied to Windows and to Outlook. The integration must be very easy. I am a little annoyed with Microsoft for taking so long to come up with such an obvious product. But that's how Microsoft has always been -- they never innovate and are always playing catchup to others. I am now so invested in Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iPod, and an iMac at home) that I don't seen myself changing soon.

FYI, there is a Citrix product that allows anyone with any Apple device to log into any company's enterprise Outlook system. The screen looks just like my PC laptop screen at the office and works the same way. It is a great product and widely used at my firm. Once again, a third party vendor (Citrix) comes up with a way to bridge Apple and Microsoft. If either of those companies had its way it would be impossible to do that.

The integration is seamless. Word documents have no funkiness on the big sparkling and crystal clear 8x screen. When I search outlook even back years the engine dips into Word attachments that were sent. So I can even access most of the briefs that way.

[LA Ute]

I use MS Exchange at work for e-mail and it works beautifully with my iPhone and iPad, but it is a hot mess on my MacBook. Go figure.

You should look into Citrix's product. It's beautiful and gives you a VPN-type experience.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You should look into Citrix's product. It's beautiful and gives you a VPN-type experience.

No need. I use vmware and so I run both Windows and Mac OS simultaneously. I use MS Outlook for my Exchange account and it works fine. Just would be nice if the native Mac Mail and Calendar apps worked better.

[SeattleUte]

Good for you, SU. Don't be ashamed of your love for a dumb phone. And it doesn't hurt to support the home team, right?



http://lifehacker.com/5992575/is-win...one-or-android

Stipulated. Android and iOS have more apps. I guess. I never miss them. Blissfully ignorant. I have my books, my music, all my emails, my Word docs, the Internet, my sports, movies, Navigator, my flashlight (for menus in dark restaurants it's perect). What else to do I need in life?

Also, originally I was scared of the key board, having grown attached to the blackberry hard keyboard. Actually this one is at least as good given that it anticipates entire words. I assume Android and iOS do this too.

[LA Ute]

No need. I use vmware and so I run both Windows and Mac OS simultaneously. I use MS Outlook for my Exchange account and it works fine. Just would be nice if the native Mac Mail and Calendar apps worked better.

VMWare? Never heard of it. All I know is what our IT people tell me.

[SgtUte]

Does anybody know how to go about getting an iPhone 4S operating on iOS 6.1.3 unlocked? It's an ATT phone and they won't factory unlock it since my wife only had it for about 6 months and then upgraded to the 5. They claim its service commitment has not been completed. Anyway, I wanted to use the phone on T-Mobile's network and can't find out how to unlock? There are a million online companies that offer to unlock it for you, but I've been told a lot of them are a scam. Any help??

[Hadrian]

I just traded in my iphone 4 for an HTC One. I love it.

The only issue I have now is that my new phone won't connect to my Pioneer car stereo. Apparently it only works with iOS.

[utebehindenemylines]

Recently picked up the Google Nexus 4. I bought it directly from google for $349.

So many good things about this phone:
-Price
-Since I bought it directly from Google, I have no contract. I can use it on any network and plan to use pay as you go as soon as my wife's contract with T-mobile is up.
-Running latest version of Android (Jellybean) and does not have any carrier bloatware
-Very comparable to my wife's S3 in terms of resolution, screen size, processor

Potential drawbacks:
-Only available in 16gb, no expandable storage
-No removable battery
-Not capable of LTE speeds, though I've been fine with 4g hspa

[SeattleUte]

Recently picked up the Google Nexus 4. I bought it directly from google for $349.

So many good things about this phone:
-Price
-Since I bought it directly from Google, I have no contract. I can use it on any network and plan to use pay as you go as soon as my wife's contract with T-mobile is up.
-Running latest version of Android (Jellybean) and does not have any carrier bloatware
-Very comparable to my wife's S3 in terms of resolution, screen size, processor

Potential drawbacks:
-Only available in 16gb, no expandable storage
-No removable battery
-Not capable of LTE speeds, though I've been fine with 4g hspa

One of the infuriating thing about Apple is the exclusionary games in terms of campatiblity with accessories. I can still use my blackberry chord with my HTC 8X WP.

[LA Ute]

6 Apps That Will Change Your Life

http://www.realclear.com/tech/2014/0...velyrepublican

Well, maybe not. But some are funny.

[U-Ute]

Related to smart phones and tablets because battery life.

Researches accidentally develop a battery that lasts 400 times longer than our current Lithium Ion ones.

http://www.popsci.com/researchers-ac...vYBZuG46UBq.16