Bigger Phone are Burring the Lines and Sales Between Tablets and Smartphones

I had to take a little hiatus on this Blog for a bit for work and studying purpose. As you may know writing is a rhythm you have to be in to do, similar to dancing…So I am back with a lot of topics for discussion for the techies and not-so-techies out there!

So lets get down to business here!!!

So as the Christmas shopping season is upon us, maybe you were deciding to get a really good Black Friday deal on a new iPad or Galaxy or go with something else like a new Galaxy Note 4 or the large iPhone6. It is not surprising that you are thinking this and you seem to be struggling on a decision on what to buy because your iPad2 (because everyone has an iPad2) is still performing very well, even with the new updates to the OS. Now if you are having this difficult decision, the big boys, Samsung and Apple, have an even larger problem to deal with. The reports state the tablet sales are dropping as large phones sales are increasing and Samsung's profits have dropped to the tune of 70% from last year and they simply claim that they ran out of people to sell a phone to. 

Part of the reason that you are having this question is the fact that the phones and tablets are becoming redundant technology to each other. "Redundant tech" is the meaning I use that I user will have multiple devices on them to be productive and plugged in. Now since phones now a days are a necessity and the lifeblood to humanity, this is also something that has equity because the fact that you can trade in and get comparable value even if it is 2 years old, as compared to a tablet which has little and depreciating equity and the value doesn't hold itself like a premium cell phone does. Because the larger screen on the cell phones, the functionality, use and entreatment  that you would get with the tablet (games and movies) are really blurred. Throw in the mix of smaller 6", 7" and 8" and the waters become more and more muddy! 

Now let's bring it back to basics here, and just stick with the main tablet and the phones. The Galaxy Note series offers a stylus for precision for a smaller screen and the iPhone is a couple years late with copying Android (let's be real, and stop acing like we don't know or deny the fact. We are all educated here) and the fact that tablets are heavily reliant on wifi to be enjoyable and also connecting the wifi to your cell account is going to cost you extra money for what? updating Facebook on a 10" screen instead of a 7" phone? Mostly tablets have been reduced to giving it to kids to watch a movie so they don't bother us and now the phones are large enough that they just watch Youtube movies on the phone. 

Just observe the discounts the big box stores (Target and Best Buy) are giving you if you buy a tablet this season, over $100 bucks off in gift cards as well as a minimal price drop from retail MSRP. But I believe the lines can be blurred both ways into the tablets favor. As the tablets are getting smaller and cheaper and still hold its processing value, with the big push the phone carriers are doing to get off the unlimited data plans, consumers will probably start going to tablets more and more because the price of data and overages are not worth what you pay for. I mean can we just update the selfies when we are on wifi? The larger phones mixed with the smaller tablets are basically the same things. except you not going to pay several hundreds of dollars to instantly update your instagram account. The mobility of the smaller tablets give portability of to tablets to fit in your pocket similar to the large phones and also the fact you don't really loose much screen real estate.  

In my opinion, I think users are going to come off the premium phone services and get the second tier services and get tablets with the savings of their monthly data charges. And if you think I'm crazy, just wait and read the fine print on these family sharing policies you see on TV, 2016 is going to suck for a lot of people(but not for you because you are smart and you read my blogs) because all the family sharing plans promotional data expires then, and then enjoy the 200+ phone bill, I mean is Facebook and Instagram that important to update? I rather Lease a Car instead!

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Thanks for Reading

Some source articles

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-iphone-6-is-killing-the-need-to-own-an-ipad-2014-11

Be Smart in choosing a smart watch!

I am always on the consumers side when choosing technology and what exactly fits them and also why this is a good buy for them. Many questions are asked to me and the most popular one was "which smartwatch should I buy"? The answer is not a simple and straight forward one, however if you are an iOS (iPhone) user then the answer is clear, do not buy one... well not yet.

As the wearable market continues to expand due to the popularity and push for tracking your progress and heartrate for fitness purposes, Apple has lacked a product in this field and also as been very quite on the progress (typical Apple). The wearable field has been dominated by three major companies: Google/Andriod wear, Samsung and Pebble and the wearable market shows no sign of slowing down, but where is Apples?

Apple has always been very secretive about their products until they are announced in the Keynote Speeches of the events. So looking through patents that Apple has filed has given us an iDea of what they are trying to do. Apple has been acquiring fashion consults from designer companies and also designers of the Nike Fuelband which is a project that is very popular with fitness consumers,  but will no longer be supported by Nike. Using key people in these industries tells us that Apple is going to release a solid smartwatch that will be integrated in the OS and also one that is desirable. I expect the iWatch to be focused more on fitness tracking than the other watches due to the iOS8 and the healthbook functions that will be integrated in the OS.

Andriod and Motorola have announced an event to released the follow up to the solid Moto X, Moto X+1 and the Moto 360 is expected to announce their release date as well. The Moto 360 is the smartwatch that is getting all the buzz from the tech consumers because of the round interface and the fact it doesn't run Tizen (Samsung's Operating System) as compared to the Galaxy Gear. The Moto 360 supports functionality of a round interface and integrates very well with Google Now giving people the alerts on their wrist instead of their pockets.

Last but not least the Samsung Smartwatch, Galaxy Gear which is anticipated to release models that are not required to be connected to a Galaxy Phone. Having a device that is somewhat maybe the kick Samsung needs to sell more units even though Samsung admits it has ran out of phones to sell people. The Galaxy Gear line is an interesting line because it falls into the category and philosophy to never buy the first version of anything (due to the functionality of the product is low and the refreshed version 2 is a lot better).

Smartwatches are an interesting field because this is a niche product with mass appeal. People are excited and have large expectations about a product and are anticiping it to deliver a great product experience without owning a wearable device. In my opinion the wearables market is nice however I feel the consumer needs to be in the wearable ecosystem and not use this and browse you phone all the time, then there really isn't a point of getting a smartwatch. Owning a wearable device will only show you how dependant you are to a wall outlet and you must be near a charger at all times because having technology is one thing, having dead technology is another. The benefits of Glass is to not stare at your phone and realize there is a bigger world out there full of stiff larger than a 5" LCD phone. If you go after the wearables, I recommend to try and reinvent the way you consume mobile technology and get it out of your way. Unless you get a LG smartwatch,  because there really isn't a reason to own that watch as it does nothing for you. 

What you need to know about streaming your music - Pandora, Spotify and Songza

This blog has always written tech articles and blog posts about the hardware devices and software that effects our everyday lives, I wanted to shake up Charlieschecklist.com a little bit and write an article about music.

Many many many years ago, we used to have these businesses called record stores like Sam Goody and Virgin Mega Store that had nothing but media to sell to the consumers and when Napster and the iPhone was invented, it put the record stores out of business because why would I buy the entire CD when I only want one song? Since then mp3's have dominated the music market, but with the invention of Limewire and other file sharing systems, even digital sales are struggling to sell units today.

Now the new wave of technology brought us Pandora Radio, Pandora Radio was the first music project to integrate into our everyday lives. Pandora is a streaming music service that finds similar artist and songs to whomever you pick. You have the option of "liking" (thumbs up) or "disliking" (thumbs down) and this tell Pandora what you really want to hear. Pandora is now in smart TVs and  everyone's cell phone as the original streaming music.

Spotify is a music streaming service that allows you to make playlists that are custom to your liking. Unlike Pandora, Spotify lets you stream the entire album of any artist on their network which is very large and comprehensive. Spotify allows you to follow people and artists on for profile and also share playlists with fellow Facebook users. Spotify is great and many people's go-to streaming service because of the ability to control more of the content you like and also gives you the option to download songs with a premium subscription. If you choose the Premium subscription then you also enjoy ad-free listening and also the ability to hear any song and playlist as you like without having to have your playlist song selection shuffled.


And now Songza... The reason Songza is relevant as of late is because Songza was recently acquired by Google and will soon be incorporated into the Google Music. While Apple acquire Beats and Beats Music, I haven't got around to using that service but will post a review about it soon. Sognza is a service that will let you stream music by mood, time of day or activity you are doing, such as studying, working or working out. The playlists are created by people/DJ in the music industry and the playlists are updated weekly. This is a good feature because if you want to listen to Current Music, but specifically Club Music, there is a playlist for that, and a Happy Hour Latin Playlist... this is better for people who want to discover more music that is specifically for occasions for parties and also relaxing which Spotify requires you make or follow and Pandora will just play similar artist but mostly the artist you pick.

In closing, I use all three streaming services on my phone. the one I recommend is Songza, not because I am a Googler, but as a DJ who needs to hear and stay on top of music while discovering new music, current and old, I need a service that could help me as the radio stations have the same songs on rotation all the time. On my desktop, Spotify is my preference because the user experience is great as it really doesn't work well on mobile, except if you are just streaming your playlists. And if you have a Smart TV, Then Pandora is your go-to Streamer..... by defaut


Thanks for reading and also enjoy the Podcast!!!



 

Free Tech for Everyone!!! Except for the people who pay for it! - LAUSD to furnish laptops and tablets to student

This is a blog post is usually insightful about technology, uses and up and coming topics. But I guess todays posts can be considered a rant...

LA Times, Los Angeles Time which is a newspaper because some of us forget about what that is, reports that the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) is now rolling out to students technology such as tablets and laptops through "bond" money for students learning in one of the largest school districts in the United States. This will give students in 27 high schools laptops and tablets. Previously the LAUSD furnished the students with iPads and the security and firewalls that were put in place were bypassed and deleted. Students freely browsed the internet and apps instead of what they should be doing.

Microsoft markets their Surface tablet to be used in schools and for students to use them in lieu of paper similar to how they should use a notebook. However in the real world, students are not using them as tools and also most like going to surf Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all day. I can't wait to see these teachers as they try and teach their curriculum to students and they instead of taking notes, they are taking "selfies" of them looking like they are studying however the #hashtag list is a mile long.

Glass Explorers understand that with Beta testing Glass, the society is not ready for a computer on our face, and the public is still somewhat uncomfortable, however, now their are more interest than insecurity so I think that is going in the right direction. However, giving kids tech such as tablets and computers baffle me because not only are these things affordable now, such as HP Slate and Chromebooks, but they should invest in it themselves.

And here is why...

When people give you technology, or basically anything in life, if you didn't work for it, it simply not valued. Giving kids the technology, redundant technology because most kids already have a smart phone and access to whatever they are trying to accomplish is the worst type of technology because now they have two things to carry, two things to write and double functions for everything.  The article quotes that you cant give every kid the same technology, that every kid isn't the same and probably needs different tech to fit into what his life. Not every kid is going to use the technology for this, not to mention that using technology is good in some aspects however crippling in others. Kids are going to learn more about technology and what it can do for them, which is a good thing. What they are not going to learn is the basic and fundamentals and building blocks such as focus and writing. With integrating the new technology, the effort and the learning process is going to be affected, spell check is going to run the lives of these kids and the attention span and long term memory is going to suffer and probably feeding the popcorn culture of we need everything now.

As someone who tries to Innovate the office and other things as much as I can I have learned this. Not everyone is going to get it and secondly technology is a double edge sword, it can either make you more productive or it can cripple you. What makes me laugh is the people implementing these policies are probably no smarter than the kids are that are going to use them. Before you roll out this type of technology would you think coding programming would be implemented first? Did they even consider the speed that technology updates and how fast things become obsolete, so in 3 years the tech you invest $40 Million into is not only wasted, but undesirable and unusable. Am I exaggerating? Research the release date of the original iPad, give people a ICS (Ice Cream Sandwhich) or a Google Tablet or an original Chromebook. Well let's just hope they did their homework and not just Googled the answers, well at least they will get a new toy (I mean tool).....

And don't even get me started on cheating..... No way on earth are they ready for that!!!!

What a waste of money.....

Thanks for listening.... I mean reading!!

http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-laptops-20140630-story.html

Is Google Cardboard Oculus Thrift?

After the I/O Keynote speech, Google's gift to developers seem to be a strange little cardboard box you would find an book shipped from Amazon in. As developers opened the box and saw cutout that could be similar to what you would find in a cereal box, the developers put them together and turns out, it was a mock VR headset similar to Oculus Rift. While Facebook is pouring in billions of dollars developing the VR headset, Google not only released a cardboard pizzabox cutout of a headset, they released an APK and an app that runs a game, Youtube and photospheres for this app.

So who cares right?

Google just gave developers a green light to dabble in the realm of Virtual Reality. Google has always had the model to give developers and consumers more than they need and ask for and see what sticks (give more than what Apple gives consumers); what doesn't go away and what does stick gets developed into something. What may have started as a mock to Facebook and also Oculus may as well turn into something worth developing.... and this is brilliant... if the product and also the idea fizzles out and fails, well it was a gimmick and it wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. But what happens if it did catch on and there is something there? Well then this changes a lot and gives developers something new to give the consumers as well as  new ideas and creative space. Seeing this and exploring what it can do, it doesn't seem like the
Google Glass Technology and also Project Tango is that far away and different where we have a merger in the technology.

CNETs Article for Google Cardboard



This is an interesting program because there is so much upside to this without it really being heldback by price and cost to consumers. Similarly the Chromecast was released as a dongle to stream content from your device to your TV, was that a Gimmick? No, is it a revolutionary device? No, was a convenient and price affordable? Yes!! And the consumers everywhere bought into it and volumes sold of this product and you could get one for the first couple months of the release. The consumers said "Well if this thing doesn't work, I'm only out 30 bucks...So hpw bad can it really be" turns out, this device is widely used and is growing everyday.

Am I comparing Chromecast to Google Cardboard... No... but what I am saying that there will be something there. Is this the same as suggesting that a girl should go out with you as a joke so you don't feel bad when you get shot down... what's the worse thing that could happen, she says no... But what happens when she says yes???!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Thanks for reading!


 

Evolving Glass - Glass evolves your memories like the cell phone evolved the camera

As a current Google Glass Explore we are currently still in Beta test mode and trying to mold and shape Glass to be the best product on the market when it releases to the public. As we have been coming along in the Glass Explorer Program, we all have experienced many revisions to Glass XE Software as well as a hardware refresh swap done a while back for original explorers. After using Glass and trying to evolve the product through surveys and feedback, the data and experiences create while doing is what only history and use of Glass can provide to the users and Google. As an Explorer I found that majority of my pictures we not only taken on Glass but a video was captured in lieu of a picture.

Yes a picture is worth 1,000 words how much is a 10 second snippet worth? Seeing the snippets of video not only lets me relieve my moments in a better experience but also the videos captured was authentic, raw and in the moment, this is something that a hand held device can not replicate. So as Glass Explores are taking more and more content, we are creating more and more videos which we as children did not have and cannot recreate. So now with taking pictures, we are now taking videos that complement the moments and enhances the user experience. Though this seems like this article is a no brainer, surf your Google+ auto backup and you can see the amounts of footage that probably would not have been captured otherwise, this footage is not only irreplaceable but moments never to be relieved again.

This is what brings me to my original point. Glass is giving you the capacity to change the way you remember the moments and also change the way you experience them because you are not missing the live moment to capture it on your phone. With the way phones are today, fragile and bulky, by the time you want to capture a great moment or something brief and unexpected, its fades away, unless you have Glass. Now Glass is in a way upgrading the way we will remember our photo stream, our soon to be massive Youtube Channels will log 1,000s of Glass videos and archive them for you to have later and share with your kids instead of #Selfies.

In my opinion, what will push Glass to where it needs to be and also make it better product is Google+, Glass will store all the moments in the hard drive but with the recent upgrades to Google+, the introduction of Auto Awesome video stitching, Panorama and Stories. Stories and Auto Awesome and the updates to this function of Google+ is what Facebook and Twitter are not only missing but cant recreate or produce, well maybe Facebook. As of today all the stories can only be share throughout the Google+ Network and not cross social media apps, and the way Google can develop this function, ability of share and archive and put together multiple moments and pictures will push the Glass experience beyond anything Samsung Gear and Tizen can do.

So as we now rarely capture our pictures using film and a camera, even a digital slim sony one, having the ability to see, point and capture is something can an iPhone can not compete with. Apple once stated in their keynote (Maybe it was Steve Jobs) the best camera is the camera that you use (or something like that). After you pull it out, wake it up, pin you password tap the photo icon, load and shoot, not only did you become oblivious to the world for 10 seconds you missed everything, forget missing the oppoutunity of capturing it, you just flat out missed it.....What?? What did happen?

Thanks for reading! and create more content!
Podcast coming soon!

Amazon Fire Phone... or Flicker Phone

Today Amazon released a phone today called the Fire Phone which will be be featured along the Kindle Fire tablet line and Fire TV. Now I always have stated that the world is a two horse race between Samsung and Apple and LG creeping up in the distance, while Google/Android also duking it out via platform/software, the hardware is between the iPhone and Galaxy. For a phone to break into the scene of the smart phone market and make an impact, it truly has to change the game, be functional, useful and we have to fall in love with it because not every company shouldn't have the right to be our phones because of the sub par quality of the handset.



           SIDEBAR - Please think about this, A phone company like Apple or Samsung battle it out to   get your money to be your phone for 2 Years. So be very picky because even marriages can end quicker without consequences, so how is Amazon going to earn its way into your pocket and pocket book?

Amazon delivers the sale pitch at their keynote that Steve Jobs perfected and Apple is successful at, so the fact that even their sales pitch looks and sounds like Apple, tells me you should buy an iPhone. Amazon is also tell you that you can store pictures and giving up Cloud drive space and throwing in Amazon Prime membership for free. I guess these are perks if you are a regular subscriber and Amazon did just beef up its App Store and added a music streaming service.

What you are going to get with this handset is a quality build product, Amazon's flagship devices are not going to cut the quality of the build, the phone  features Gorilla Glass and chamfer edges throughout the phone, the screen is quality and the cameras are also pretty impressive to power the gimmicky 3D experience. Amazon introduced "Fire Fly" an app that can scan items and give you the option to buy it from Amazon instead of standing in line for the product that is right in front of you. If you live entirely in the Amazon Marketplace and if you are too lazy to type the item you want, well then this is the phone for you!

This is the major drawback, if you are going to be married to this device for 2 years, you are paying the same amount to AT&T because Amazon has an exclusive carrier deal to only be offered with this service (sorry Verizon). Also if you don't already have a Kindle, then you probably do not know that the app store is extremely limited, the Google Apps that everyone in the universe uses, even on Mars and Jupiter because Google has been there, so the productivity that your current phone is, except for you flip phoners out there!

So in closing why would you buy this phone? for the same dollar you get a refined phone from Apple, a superb phone from Samsung with better cameras and the best screen ever tested, a Google built phone such as a Nexus that has the purest Galaxy Experience which can connect to smart watches and Glass. By choosing this phone you are giving up all the utility, all the refinement of the many versions of iOS, you are stuck with something that is super limited and doesn't offer much that you couldn't get with a free phone. I guess if you really need to save money to get streaming services and Prime for a year (but what about year 2, now your stuck with a garbage phone and you have to pay for Amazon Prime - FML!). The only thing that can sway my opinion is if you can manage the inventory of your Amazon Store and improve you Amazon Store... well then that right there is a game changer!

Styles Make Fights.... How Yosemite and iOS8 give Apple a Fighting Chance Against Google and Andriod

Thanks for reading another blog posting and welcome!!!

If you just read my previous blog recently then you know how excited I am about the announcements at #WWDC last week (sarcastic of course). Well after reading posts and articles and seeing the event multiple times to examine what was announced and trying to digest the nuts and bolts of it.... There will some nice surprises in the works coming soon to users.

Lets not look at the surface of the announcements because we can all understand that iOS can relay to OSX... but what does that mean and why do I care???

Looking beneath one step further I am seeing that Apple is developing an entirely different #ecosystem for iOS.... maybe a true ecosystem for the user. Previously we all judged and considered Apple vs Google strictly on software and hardware and stock applications and the abilities of the applications to get you deeper and more personal information and data, knowing what you want before you knew it or knowing exactly what you searching like 2 people finishing up each other (sentences)<=== thats supposed to be blank BTW...

Apple has Numbers and Pages to compete with Excel and Word and that is failing while Google integrated a Docs and Pages program for free into their Cloud Drive application which is super convenient and also FREE!! Apple has push integrated new features in iOS that WOW'd iOS users and was heavily mocked by Android users who have been using similar features in previous builds....

Well enough with the obvious... As far as Innovation and ground breaking, few of us believe Apple is capable of this anymore... well until last weekend. Watch the WWDC carefully and notice not only the new features, but this is describing a totally new ecosystem that is not seen on specifications and pixels, but in userability and convenience to do things better.

In my opinion Apple has now taken the back seat in introducing innovation and is going off the beaten path of perfection, perfection of the user experience that people have been missing and don't know about. Apple has just redefined ecosystem and what you can do with it, you Macbook knows what your iPad/iPhone is doing and can finish emails, features are crossed integrated not only in applications and also in devices. Multiple devices have multiple uses before that have not been available before. You phone is now a "hotspot" for your Mac, automatically, your Mac is now your phone, you can start an email in iOS and finish it on your Mac.

To productivity people these are the things that are going to change and affect our lives and a daily basis. These are the features that are not easily found in specs and these are the things that can make 1 person as productive as two. Now Google and Android have dominated the phone market, activations, technology, camera phones and social networking.. but now at least Apple can something to get them back into the game and can begin to be a little exciting again..

Thanks for reading!

Podcast coming soon!!!

WWDC - Am I Impressed? No… Am I Disappointed? No…

WWDC - Am I Impressed? No… Am I Disappointed? No…

This is my general feeling now....

After watching the WWDC and seeing the Apple hype of what is coming out of Headquarters this year I can tell you that I am not overly excited as I used to be when I watching this, and I not disappointed either. As I have blogged about Apple for a while now, I have accepted that their is new direction and this is not the Apple of old that got us to risk getting fired because we lost productivity for an entire day or in my case, weeks. The tech-arms race between Samsung vs. Apple and Google vs. Apple is long decided and I no longer hope, I just accepted this is the way it is, this is similar to Maywether and Pacquia. I will give break downs of WWDC and what is going to be new with OSX - Yosemite in later blogs so users can understand the little things about it and see how this integrates into their lives, but is it innovative and is this upgrade going to change anything? Nope. 

As Apple develops the iPad and refines and refines and refines this product, it just has become essential to our everyday use. The fact that this device changed the landscape of electronics altogether and was once innovative is now just perfected for our convince and use. To me Apple does not go out on the limb anymore, it does not risk anymore, I just don't see the creative minds at it used to have in making new technology anymore. It seems to me that now Apple is taking the approach to see what everyone else is doing, sit back and observe what start ups and up and coming tech is doing and integrating it into the ecosystem, which is great for them and great for the users too. 

WWDC has shown us that Apple is putting all their resources into making thing beautiful and simple, transparent and evolving apps and functions such as Spotlight, Toolbar and Mail. The displays and the way the notifications alerts you for appointments is becoming better and better and using the iOS functions and integrating it into the new OS. I am not going to bash the new upgrade and since it is free, I'll take it… however its not something that I am overly excited and going to check on an hourly basis of when the release will appear, and I am not even going to sign up for the Public Beta Program. 

I always say that innovation is when you bring to different things together from different fields and make it work and create something new, something fresh and something better. Apple is giving us a new OS, something more functional and better than OSX Mavericks, however, these functions are nothing new and nothing to get excited about and nothing that I need to have right now and I don't even know why it is worth blogging about…. but I am. I am no longer disappointed, because we have seen this over and over and this is becoming their new trend and brand.. So it is expected. Windows isn't good enough for me to jump platforms, the Macbook is still built better than the Windows Laptop, the screens and hardware of the iMac are still superior to anything Dell, Toshiba and whoever is putting out hardware, so we stay by default. Google has the better and more innovative software, platform and ecosystem, however their current model isn't about perfection it is about innovation so producing a product through as many refreshes as a Mac… This is not going to happen, sorry Chromebook Pixel, maybe I may consider it in about 4 more revisions when it is right for consumers and can compete with the Retina Macbook Pro I am using now..

I guess I am one more WWDC away from being disgruntled and complacent….. Tim Cook tells us to be prepared as Apple will unveil the most innovative products in the next upcoming WWDC, we all now what it is going to be, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Phablet and a new iPad and most likely a Retina on an iMac, the release of the iWatch, which is so late i don't even care because wearables are failing, and the new AppleTV. I should have started with "Spoil Alert" but the way Apple is going, what is there to spoil?

Thanks for reading as the Podcast is being reformatted and released on Thursdays! 

Know how to protect your pics - learn how to back up your phone

This is a too common issue I see on  my social media feed... Dude.. Where's my phone?? and "I hope the person who has my phone will return it?" followed by a =( ..

This to some people is a simple problem with a very simple solution, but to other they have no idea!!!

I don't know if the type of people who always loose their phones even read my blog, and the one who do, this may be common knowledge... or you may learn something new.

Now if you are running iOS (iPhone), then during the setup turn on the "Find iPhone GPS Locator" during the setup of the device. What the location services will do is allow the GPS to track your phone. Most people who own an iPhone probably also own an iPad, this is a very common combination (see my previous blog about tech combinations) of Apple iPhone owners. Install the "Find my iPhone App" which is created by Apple and is located in the apple App Store and it looks like a radar screen (see pic below). What this will do is show you, very accurately, where your phone currently is, thats if it is on and give you the ability to turn on a ringer and also remote lock your phone. If the user has turned off your phone then the service/app cannot locate your lost phone making this section of the article useless. In the event that you loose your phone, you have the ability to "Remote Wipe" (Erase) your phones data and content as soon as it is online. If your not going to get your phone back, might as well lock it up and Erase it so the phone is pretty much dead weight. IOS is loaded with new upgrade features that give the owner a lot of control so in the even of a lost phone the devices is pretty much useless and also discourages thefts of these items because of the tracking.

If you are running Android, then there is a web based service created by Google to help locate all your devices and can be located

 https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager, 

and using your gmail/google account to sign in, all your Android devices will show up on a map also
 utilizing the GPS feature on your phone. this is used for remote locking your phone and also, if used
correctly, stalk your significant other. 

The other issue that I keep seeing in my news feed on Social Media, especially Facebook, is that also with 

all the phones being lost is also the pictures with it. Now the first and easiest solution to this problem is 

to upload all your pictures to Facebook and put them into albums because, hey it FREE storage right!!!

Using the correct settings that is a tutorial itself you can organize all you pictures in albums and it will be there like a vault... also it what Myspace is still used for.. anyway... the less obvious way is to use iCloud if you are an iOS user, however with 5GB storage and 1,000+ pictures, this isn't going to be a lasting solution. 

My recommendation is to download and use Google+, 

even if you don't use this Social Network it is beneficial because of the fact that it will automatically backup all your photos to your Google account and with 15GB and better privacy setting its a better way to go, and best of all it is free. Also using Google+ will keep the pictures in a higher resolution and you can also download them, may take a while, but that is an option where Facebook is not.

So in conclusion.... what did we learn today??? if on iOS enable the GPS feature, if on Andriod remember the android device manager website and also if you want to mindlessly protect your pictures from being lost use Google+ and also Google Drive to automatically save your pictures. It sucks enough that you need to get a new phone, but it sucks more when you loose all your pictures too...

Thanks for reading... and more episodes of the Podcast coming soon... 

Filter the Noise - Twitter announces Mute and how to declutter your social media

Twitter has announced that it has enabled a new feature on its social media  app that can filter the unwanted noise of social media posts.

Twitter has now implemented a "Mute" Button that can silence peoples posts so it doesn't clutter your feed without unfollowing them. Im sure a lot of people are like me and use multiple platforms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr etc.) and since many of these media platforms are connect through another social media platform you tend to follow the same people. This brings up a problem I haven't seen addressed yet....

HOW DO I UNCLUTTER MY SOCIAL MEDIA FEED??? I SEE THE SAME POSTS IN EVERY NETWORK!!

I follow my friends and family on most of the social networks, except the best one (Google+ because no one is on it taking Selfies Foodshots of their lunch and workout updates and Memes, thankfully!) and I see redundant posts and pictures of the same things because people use apps to share to multiple networks at the same time, this is also true for celebrities and also businesses that you follow.

Not that I am the Social Media Expert but I like to follow different people on different platforms so each platform I get a different experience.

Family = Facebook
New People that are interesting = Google+
Tumblr = things I Stalk
Instagram = Not Family because they post the same stuff on Facebook
Twitter = Stores, businesses and news people.

By separating the social networks I don't have a feed that is redundant and I am not seeing the same things over and over again. I spend a lot of time on Social Media to build a following and I also post different content to different sites because I don't want to be redundant and also you should not treat all social media the same.

Pics of your Family = Facebook
Motivational Material and interesting pics = Instagram
Google+ = Informative Material on marketing and other stuff
Twitter = a good mix of stuff - usually involves tagging people and use of  hashtags.

In closing don't feel that you have to follow everyone on every platform, most people are not that interesting and just want to post pictures of themselves all the time on every network nor are posting different content and material to different networks... That's okay, but I don't want to see it everywhere!

Thanks for Reading!!!!

Try and resist the temptation of the early upgrade!!

As the sale of the iPhone 5S and 5C continue to be sold at discounts and on sale, it is reported by CNET - Apple Byte - that Apple is going to contact owners of earlier versions of the iPhone to offer them an early trade-in at various Apple Stores around the U.S.

To many this is a good deal right??? I can trade in my old phone that is getting worn down and has significant wear and tear and possibly not functioning at 100%. It is not!!!

This is a tricky promotion and depending on where you are on the techy scale of must haves vs. value purchases. For the techy must haves this is a no-brainer, do not go for this offer since we all know a WWDC announcement and also an anticipate release of the next iPhone should be around the September-October time frame right around the time to be the Holiday Christmas Time Hot Item.

Some of the things that are reportedly in the new iPhone - i should say is speculated to be in the new iPhone since Apple is really good at keeping secrets, is the fact that the new iPhone is expected to come in 2 sizes to compete in the "Phablet" market as well as still satisfying its current slimmer phone market. Also things like touch ID and integration of wearables and the anticipation of Beats Audio - Not confirmed but rumors - will likely make its way into the new iPhone.

Now to the other side of the argument, if I was a value minded person to get the best bang for your buck, than this is a good offer. Recently there were promotions from Bestbuy that will sell you/ upgrade your account if you wanted to purchase the new iPhone 5S for free, less the taxes. Soon you will see Apple offer the iPhone 5S for a very discounted rate and if you don't have to have the latest and greatest tech, this is an awesome buy for you and I would encourage you to pick one up when the opportunity arises.

Instead of being a disgruntled Apple owner that complains about the new strategy of how all their products are being discounted, be a smart buyer and recognize a good deal when you see one! or avoid a really bad one.....

Some of the things to expect in the new iPhone if you are considering upgrading is the fact that the new iPhone will be iPod touch thin, which is really thin. The new iPhone will give customers the option to choose from 4.7" and 5.5" models, how ever the speculation is the fact that the screen of the new iPhone may have a Sapphire screen, but this may only be on certain models and my guess is probably the upper end models such as the 64GB. Expect the iPhone 6 to be geared more into Health Apps instead of improving screens and cameras, Apple maybe in the works with putting sensors in headphones to monitor heart rates and with the speculation of Apple buying Beats By Dre, this may be very interesting.

Thanks for Reading

 

Why the Fit will exceed expectations and the Gear watch will fall short

Samsung is releasing the new line of wearable technology the Gear2, the Gear Neo and the Gear Fit Smartwatch. As a consumer, which is the better watch to buy and which one is the ones to avoid.... in my opinion.

As I review these products, I would recommend these products over the field of other smart watches just based on the screen (AMOLED - the same screens used in the Galaxy Line of Phones) and the customization of the different interfaces as compared to Pebble and the Sonys, etc. The main selling points of this product, Gear2, is the camera (useless because you have your phone or if your a techy, Glass) and a remote, which is neat for about 2 seconds, notifications alerts and the ability to answer phones, this is redundant tech because 1 update to facebook and you have 4 notification dings (this gets old really fast) and interchangable bands (I guess at least we can be fashionable). I would say the only good selling point of this watch is the interface, the integration with your tablets and phones and Google Music. Now with so many options now with Apples iTunes Radio, Pandora, Spotify, Youtube,  Soundcloud is the integration of the Bluetooth wireless technology and not jogging with a phone on your arm during a workout. Because of this, this is probably the only feature that I could say could make this product even worth buying, however since Google Music is very late to the show and consumers are already set on iTunes Radio and other streaming services, to add another one or to port into another player is work a lot of people arent going to invest in or even consider doing.

So if you don't care about the Google Music, then the Galaxy Gear Neo is for you. However if you just ready the preceeding paragraph, with out Google Music, there isnt really anything to discuss here...

So last but not least the Samsung Galaxy Fit.... This is the wearable I see dominating the market and will be the best buy for consumers, because this is the product that I see having the longest life and will be supported the longest. In recent news the Nike Fuel Band is dead technology as the company has killed the product. Not the that was a bad product and I wanted that one but because its on it own network and separate from the iOS and Android platform it was another loop to go thru and that was one of the reasons I didnt buy it and other consumers either.

The Wearables market is an interesting market because this is new technology that the big companies haven't perfected and smaller companies have had success. however the expectations of the wearables to the consumer is going to be compared the the technology in the Top Tier Phones like the S5 and the 5S. Samsung Galaxy Fit is the product that best Fits (no pun intended) in this role as only the tech addicted know about too much tech and redundant tech and clutter tech. Though people see this as a good thing, people that have it thinks it a Gift with a Curse.

Though this product is bias to Android and specifically Samsung, Android purists will want the Google Watch. However with totally basing everything on the accessibility of Google Now and also the main feature, I dont see this product, the first edition, amounting to much. The Galaxy Gear fit brings a heart rate monitor, integration with S-Health which will eliminate the amount of time that you check your phone, as well as notifications sent from your phone. With the newest software update the orientation of the watch can now be flipped to portrait making the information easier to read.

The advantage of this product is the fact that you dont have to go into another system, another log in and another username. By having this integrated into an ecosystem that you are already living in this is an upgrade. the fact that this isn't a third party app make this more convenient than other products that are launching with very limited resources and development. The fact that it works well and communicates make your life easier and more efficient, and isn't that why you buy this stuff in the first place?

Thanks for Reading

 #charliestechlist #geekosystem #samsunggearfit #galaxyfit #nikefuelband #wearabletech #smartwatch 

 

Why wearables are falling short

In my personal opinion... and this is not fact just a personal opinion, which my Blog is based on. If you are a reader of my past blog entries you will see that my insight is pretty darn accurate, and these predictions and views are pretty useful, i just wish my March Madness Bracket was like this.

So, we dodged the iPhone 5C, and we got the Moto X, which Engadget named smartphone of the year and iPhone 5C as the worst.

So my next entry addresses wearables, this is a fairly new category as it is currently ruled by the Pebble Smartwatch and also the Galaxy Gear. So now the early bird is with all the other Eagles and Hawks, how does these fair against the new Android Smartwatch? With only seeing demonstrations on Youtube, i can only speculate that this watch will probably be the one to get now that Samsung has elected to go with the Tizen OS in lieu of Android.

But that is not the point of this Blog entry, the reason for this entry is why wearables are falling short? After using Google Glass and being a Glass Explorer, yes the luster has gone away but Glass reintroduces new things that just recapture the imagination and shows us the unlimitness of the potential this product has. Glass is so revolutionary users should expect every gadget that breaks into the market to be as such. I mean who wants to dump $400 on a watch which is going to be obsolete in a year and also unwanted? I surely dont.

With this market you want to make sure you get the correct smartwatch for what you want, as of now every smartwatch that is on the market does limit the "every 5 Minute glance at you smart phone" syndrome and has introduced the " Glance at your watch every 5 minutes" syndrome or even worst look at your watch and phone every 2 and a half minutes... thats even worse...

OK, now scince that is out of the way.

The Smart watch isn't giving you any benefit except that you don't have to pull stuff out of your pocket. No one is going to dictate to their watch and let in all seriousness, you are spending money to always be connected to Google Now. which is nice however that is all that it is. you are now wearing your phone as this device doesn't bring you any other benefit. Glass can also be said to be similar but only people who speculate and doesn't have one would say that. However I may be in that same class with the smartwatch, however the only justification or reason someone would use this is to substitute a cheaper version of Glass.

I would say that the Android Smartwatch is the better watch of them all because the upside of using the most advance sear engine ever created on your wrist probably tops Pebble and Sony however it will come down to price point and what the user wants to spend of this technology. The smart watch isn't bring a new dimension of anything to the table as it is currently only giving you shortcuts to notification  to your wrist instead of your pocket. Once the smartwatch is developed and refined and brings another benefit to the table in addition to the obvious function, then I may consider looking at one...

Till then I'll wait to see what Apple comes out with... if that ever happens...

Thanks for reading....

http://youtu.be/0xQ3y902DEQ

Samsung clearly misses the mark... by a little

I'm back with another blog for charlies techlist season 2. I'm am writing this on my galaxy note2 and not dictating this on a smart watch at the California DMV.. #kmn...

After seeing Samsung's announcement of the new refresh for the galaxy gear line, Samsung unveiled what we thought the galaxy gear watch should be. After somewhat of a year in disappointment,  Samsung was going to recapture what we had hoped for in the smart watch.... and it failed yet again.

The new galaxy gear shows the same direction of what the second generation should be after the first is released. Smaller, faster and quicker processing and refined user experience but it is still not what the techies would want to see in a smart watch, or at least what get a ton of hits on the Web.

I can't speak for everyone but what I want for the smart watch comes down to this, don't give me the same thing as the Sony,  Pebble and other watches that look the same. I am not going to dictate to my watch this blog post or post pictures.  What I want is somewhat of the glass experience on my wrist. Dynamic and curved with updates on my wrist similar to the notification screen pull down but better.

But wait....

Samsung quietly released Galaxy Fit to the Mobile World Congress expo and receive the awards for this gadget. The galaxy fit is a bracelet that has a heart monitor, notification screen and other functions with S-Health that is displayed on a curved screen.

This is what we want the smart watch to be, but a little wider and a portrait orientation so we don't consistently turn our heed in a weird angle to read the time and date.

In my opinion the galaxy gear is what we need in a smart watch and what the future design should be. In my opinion the galaxy gear design will be phased out and replaced by the fit design because there is really no reason to carry to similar products that with not that similar price points but close enough.

So in my opinion I would either get the Samsung galaxy fit or wait to a Google watch surfaces, but if you can wait I would sit back and let all these horrible design filter out until the one you want is released. .

That's my opinion and I am just sayin....

Thanks for reading