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Overview of Windows Phone 8

December 31, 2024 Tech Review
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Windows Phone 8 is neither new nor strange to most people. It is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. Actually, it was first debuted in November, 2012 by Microsoft. Only one year later, it’s starting to pay off, you see, it has earned a lot of customers all over the world, enjoying huge popularity. Honestly, it is not an easy road for Microsoft. Up till now, the Windows Phone has outlasted BlackBerry, made market share progress, bolstered its app store depth, and has more or less become the accepted third place mobile platform. All that said, the reasons for Windows Phone 8’s popularity are largely lie in its cool features. Which include but not limited to the following:

1. Pure Homescreen

One of the most noticeable features of Windows Phone 8 is that, it is equipped with a pure & simplified interface on which, all you can see are the essential buttons, the additional icons/buttons/chunks of texts are gone. Compared with the Android, it is much simpler – no battery, signal or Wi-Fi indicator appears unless you press the top of the screen. Besides, unlike Android’s inconsistent and diverse widgets, the Windows Phone 8′s homecreen looks neat and well organized. Additionally, all of the tiles can be resized with the original shapes unchanged.

Start-Screen

2. Refresh & Intuitive User Interface

As most people know, intuitive user-friendly interface means a lot. Microsoft is also well aware of this fact and decided to ship a truly intuitive interface on Windows Phone 8 — it only shows what’s essential. Most contextual actions are accessed through a bar at the bottom of the screen, which is exempt of text. Besides, users are allowed to personalize the interface with their favorite colors, so that they can create a unique interface matching their own styles. Furthermore, they can also create smaller, more compact icons and bunch together four apps in the space that one icon used to occupy.

screen-shot-2013-12-20-at-1-32-51-pm

3. The Great Hardware

Let’s take a glance at some famous models of Windows Phone 8, such as Nokia Lumia 820, Lumia 920, Lumia 1520, the HTC Windows Phone 8X, etc, we will be impressed by the great hardware they own — higher resolution displays, dual-core processors, higher resolution displays, dual-core processors, NFC – supporting for sharing files between two devices and so forth. For example, Nokia Lumia 1520, it is the latest Nokia’s device which’s released this year. It came with a pretty industrial design, a gargantuan frame (6.4 x 3.36in, 162.8 x 85.4mm), quad-core chipsets, the big display, and the 1080p HD resolution to go along with a strong camera which does beautifully in taking pictures even in low light conditions and some other fun features

4. The Rooms

The fact is that, Google+ makes it quite easy to share contents like pictures in the specific circles. But when comes to the issue of chatting with friends/families while sharing files, we will inevitably get a refusal. However, this is not the case on Windows Phone 8. With its Room feature, users can chat, share pictures, calendars and notes with specific people in a single place at the same time. This clearly facilitates sharing and doesn’t even require all parties to have a Windows Phone.

Conclusion

Windows Phone 8 is an elegant, personable and easy-to-use mobile operating system. There’s significantly less of a selection of apps than those for Android and iOS, and the apps are different correspondingly, however, the odds are good that you’ll find whatever you need.

Overview of LG Optimus F6

December 26, 2024 Tech Review
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It was with great fanfare that LG finally launched its entry-level smartphone for T-Mobile. In general, the LG Optimus F6 is a midrange Web & Internet Android smartphone device with a lot going for it. Priced at around $199, it is a budget-friendly device which is worthy owning especially when you are on a budget.

Design

Sticking to the basic design principles, the F6 doesn’t stand out with amazing looking which grabs people’s attention. Instead, it comes with a conservative look and doesn’t offer any flashy design flourishes. It is slightly heavier than LG Optimus L9 with a dimension of 5.03 by 2.59 by 0.4 inches (HWD). The entire device of the L6 is plastic except for the glass display. Remarkably, it has not any hard angles; all of the sides and edges have rounded profiles, making the F6 feels good in the hand, if not a bit slippery though.

Display

Looking back to several years, when a 5.5-inch screen offering 960 x 540 pixels was top-of-the-line. However, the time has gone for forever, since there are lots of screens that offer super high resolution that even up to 4K. Obviously, the F6 cannot compare to those stunning full HD displays on today’s top smart phones. However, the underwhelming 960 x 540 qHD resolution pairs well with the 4.5-inch diagonal and give it a respectable pixel density. Importantly, the media contents look natural and crisp. That said, the F6 is one of the better displays that users can hope for on a mid-range device.

Camera and Multimedia

Frankly, the F6 has got no great or top camera as other smartphones do. It is equipped with a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and a 5-megapixel main camera — a poor performer in low light, and made any illuminated object cast an unwanted glow. The camera is able to record videos at 1080p, and for a mid-range device performed acceptably. Roughly, the F6 can handle many audio files such as FLAC and OGG. It can also support DivX, Xvid videos and even 1080p video files without any problems. Remarkably, the videos look good on the qHD display with plenty of brightness.

Processor and Memory

A dual core Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz is equipped on the LG F6. The 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage is paired, with only 1.3GB is available for use. Luckily, the storage can be expanded via microSD based on users’ requirement. Although the processor and memory specs are on the lower end, the UI performance is somehow smooth. The limited internal storage is a long-term concern however, as over 400MB of the available 1.3GB is taken by the pre-installed apps.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a modestly priced mobile and don’t care about using a lot of apps, the LG Optimus F6 would be an ideal choice. It puts all basic features & functions that you want on a handset together into an overall nice package, such as moderate display, outstanding call quality, etc. Whereas, its camera performance is not that good, the internal storage is low, but at $199 you’re paying more money than it’s worth.

How to Save a Wet iPhone

December 19, 2024 Tech Tips
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So far, iPhone is everywhere. It has been always showing intense interest from global consumers. According to the latest news, Apple’s flagship iPhone 5S ranked as third most popular Google search of 2013. Yes, it is really a dream mobile phone for lots of people. The chances is that, we would come across with some incidents, say, accidentally drop the beloved 5S/5C into the water! Now what? This is the last thing we would like to see. So, how on earth can we do to save the wet device? That is exactly what we are going to talk about in this passage.

Once you find yourself in such dreary situation, don’t panic. There is a big chance that you can salvage the wet iPhone by taking the proper steps.

Keep in Mind:

1.Make sure that the iPhone is switched off.

2.Keep the drown iPhone in where it is. Try not to turn it upside down or shake it to get the water out.

3.Quickly and carefully remove the cases, guards or protectors on the iPhone if possible.

4.Sop up the water on the surface of the device with a soft towel. Always remember to keep the phone in one position.

Right after you have removed the surface water of the device, it is the best to use something to absorb the moisture. To tell you what, there are some options for choice. Listed below are the best 2 in order of suitability:

1. Silica Gel

This little thing is designated to absorb water, therefore, it is extremely suitable for sucking the water out of the wet device. We can find it in clothes, newly purchased electronic goods and a lot of stuff. It is always attached with a life-saving warning: “Do not eat!” Now, what we should do is to get a handful of silica packets, put them in a plastic bag or Tupperware container and then place the wet iPhone inside. Don’t forget to seal the bag/container. Basically, it is the best to keep the iPhone right there for 24-48 hours. Try not to take the phone out and turn it on to see what happens.

2.Rice

In case that you don’t have enough silica gel packets on hand, rice will be a good option. It’s cheap and most people have it lying around. Simply put the wet iPhone in a bag which’s filled with rice, wait for about 12 hours, you will be surprised to find that the rice acts exactly like the silica packets and absorbs the moisture magically. Please note that the rice we are talking about is dry, uncooked rice instead of the microwaveable kind.

Conclusion

Stay calm, as soon as find that your iPhone is getting wet since it is not the end of the device. The key point is to resist the urge to turn the phone on. Then, dry it off by using the options introduced above. Remember to avoid heating it up unnecessarily. If you fail to achieve your goal, don’t give up, put your iPhone in a fresh bag of rice or silica gel packets ,leave it for as long as you can, one week, two weeks, three weeks, the longer the better.

5 Best Productivity Apps for iPhone

December 13, 2024 Tech Review
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Ever since Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2009, it has become a household word with increasing popularity day after day. People from all fields of work have already had or would like to own an iPhone. It seems that there is not any good reason for not buying an iPhone which has become a much more integrated device for managing productivity. In the App Store, we can find many types of iPhone applications, which are for social networking, web-surfing, entertainment and more.

Recently, there are also other new breeds of productivity apps for iPhone. With those apps, users are able to manage time, arrange appointments, and manage office jobs like email in an easier, more efficient and productive way. If you are interested in getting a useful productivity app for your iPhone(iPhone 5S/5C/5/4S, etc), why not spend some time to check the list we specially offer as below:

1. Producteev

Producteev is an awesome cloud-based task management app. Considered to be the ultimate productivity iPhone app, Producteev allows users to access tasks from anywhere. Numerous of useful features are included in the Producteev, for instance, projects and tasks, labels, due dates, reminders, collaboration, automatic web/iOS syncing, email integration. Users are allowed to make the best use of them freely. Have to say that, this productivity app is especially good for students, freelancers or marketing agencies.

2. Evernote

Evernote is a great cloud-based application for note-taking and file-storage. It is available for all Apple iOS-based products, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and WebOS. With Evernote, users can keep almost everything including text, meeting notes, documentation, articles and more. It is quite easy to get notes into this smart notebook, you can type, clip (from your iPhone or web browser), scan or upload to achieve your goal. Evernote has got the unique capability which enables users to filter notes and documents quickly to access the information they need.

3. Mint

If you are looking for a reliable personal finance assistance, Mint is exactly the best online money-managing tool for you which enables you to manage your money wherever you are. You just need to open an account, and then have your bank card, credit card, loan and retirement accounts connected to it and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize your transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your personal finances organized.

4. 1Password

Chances are that we use passwords in many occasions for credit cards, account numbers and other critical information. However, most of us are not good at creating or remembering strong passwords. Never mind, with 1Password app, things become much easier. As its name implies, you just need to remember 1 password to gain the access since it will save all of the passwords and necessary information. Of course, the information will be secured behind a 4 digit pass code and a master code to make sure that the details don’t get into the wrong hands.

5. Habit Lists

Everyone has good and bad habits. It is not an easy thing to get rid of the bad habits while keeping the good ones, right? Well, you are going to have a happy story so long as you’ve got this Habit Lists app. You just need to fill in the good habits that you want to keep or the bad one like drinking beer that you would like to get rid of into the app, then, enter the intervals in which they should repeat. Each time you enter a new activity, you begin to develop streaks (the number of consecutive intervals in which you’ve successfully completed an action). The app can be addicting and, if used regularly, it works.

It is time to make our life more productive with the help of certain useful productivity apps and software. So, what is your favorite productivity app for iPhone?