by Kye Husbands
The technology available to us today is simply amazing and while it seems as though things have always been this way, things are really just getting started in the mobile space.
Believe it or not, however, 60 per cent of Canadians still don’t have a smart phone, for a number of reasons, so here are four ways that having a smart phone can make your life easier and if you don’t have a smart phone as yet, perhaps we can convince you to make that decision even sooner.
1. Genius Scan- If you’ve ever searched for a memory stick to scan a document to email it to someone, or if you’ve ever driven to Staples to scan a document, save your gas and of course your time. One thing is for sure, we always know where our mobile devices are and that’s the beauty of it, so using it as a scanner makes total sense. Let’s say that you want to show off your cooking skills with one of your granny’s timeless recipes so you need to get a copy of the recipe, right. Well lucky for you, there’s an app for that as well. GeniusScan takes advantage of your smart phone camera to scan a document to PDF or JPEG and then you can email them as required. Genius right? Well, start scanning.
2. Translate- Learning a language is something that almost everyone has contemplated at some point in their life. Many of us have started and stopped, myself included, but the tools available today are incredible, so no more excuses.
Enter, Google Translate, an app that can help you communicate when traveling to a foreign speaking country. All you have to do is launch the app, touch the microphone and say whatever you want to say in your native tongue – English – and let Google Translate do the rest. So impress the locals with your language skills and learn a new language at the same time. Google translate currently supports 58 languages and works across all smartphone platforms.
3. ShopSavvy- Comparing pricing is what’s it’s all about today. Everyone with a smartphone, or not, has checked the price of a product at different online stores. Today, however, things are so much easier with these two apps, ShopSavvy and pic2screen. Simply take a scan of the barcode on the product that you want to find the price of and let the app find the best prices available in market. With books, this is especially useful because making an impulse purchase on the spot can cost you considerably more at times, so save your money download these apps and keep comparing prices. So if you are in market for a new cell phone and plan take advantage of our comparison service and find the best cell phone deal as well.
4. FindiPhone- As smart phones become more and more important to our lives, so do the consequences of misplacing or losing them. To guard yourself against this scare and at the very minimum protect your data, here are two apps that you should install today as well. For iPhone users it’s FindmyiPhone the app or iCloud on your computer and it can help you track that baby down. You can also try Lookout mobile for other mobile platforms.
These apps allow you to locate your mobile device first and foremost and in the event it’s really lost, you can send your device a message with a reward for returning it perhaps, remote lock it and if need be remote wipe the device to protect any personal information.
So there you have it, a few more creative ways to take advantage of your “smart” phone. If you don’t have one as yet, then surely you want one, so be smart and compare cell phone plans to get the best deal.
