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Apps

Ready for a new phone? Easily check eligibility on LetsTalk’s Facebook page

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, August 09, 2012 (permalink)
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The desire to get a new phone tends to get stronger as manufacturers and carriers bring new models with advanced features to market. LetsTalk has launched a new feature on its Facebook page to help customers quickly and easily find out if they are eligible for an upgrade. Simply visit LetsTalk’s Facebook page and select the purple upgrade button under the Liked sign or go directly to the Upgrade Eligibility app by clicking this link, select your carrier, fill out the required information and in seconds you can find out if you’re ready for an upgrade. If it turns out your ineligible, no worries just use the app to create an event in your Facebook calendar to help remind you when you will be eligible for an upgrade. If you like the app, share it with friends on Facebook.

Topics:Somethin' To Talk About Verizon Wireless Sprint T-Mobile
Apps

Apps

Verizon’s New Share Everything Plans: What you need to know

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, June 28, 2012 (permalink)
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Update: Verizon's New Share Everything plans are now available. Interest in making the switch? Here are more plan details.

This month Verizon announced a new type of plan that’s all about sharing the data. The new plans are called “Share Everything Plans” and up to 10 Verizon Wireless devices can be on the plan. That includes tablets, smartphones, Jetpack mobile hotspots, basic phones, and netbooks/notebooks. The idea is simple: Pay a monthly fee for each device on a plan and then an additional fee for the amount of data (1GB, 2GB, etc.) those devices will share a month.

The plans also include unlimited voice minutes, unlimited text, video and picture messaging for all devices on the Share Everything Plan. Plus the Mobile HotSpot feature, which is an additional fee to activate on other plans, is included as well. Just be aware that the data used with the Mobile HotSpot feature will come out of the shared data pool. If this is a feature that will be used a lot, keep that in mind when selecting a data option. Here’s the breakdown of the cost of each device on the plan:

Smartphones - $40
Basic Phone - $30
Jetpacks/USBs/Notebooks/Netbooks - $20
Tablets - $10

Here’s what data will cost:

1GB - $50
2GB - $60
4GB - $70
6GB - $80
8GB - $90
10GB - $100

To get an idea of what the monthly fee looks like, here’s an example:

2 Smartphones ($80) + 1 Tablet ($10) + 2GB of data to be shared ($60) = $150

For $150 (before monthly fees) service includes unlimited text, calls, and picture messaging, with the ability to use the Mobile HotSpot feature, and 2GB of data to be shared among all devices. Is it a great deal? It really depends on how much data you use monthly and that can be found out by looking at the monthly bill. Plus, Verizon includes a data usage meter on its devices that’s worth checking out to see how much data is actually being used by each individual device on the plan. For even more help check out this tool from Verizon.

The plans will be available on June 28th; however, there’s no requirement to switch from a family plan to a Share Everything Plan. There are no additional fees to switch to the new plan and switching also won’t extend an existing contract.

Topics:Verizon Wireless Cell phone plans Smart phones Android
Apple Apps 4G Carriers

Apps

5 Apps for Grads

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, May 31, 2012 (permalink)
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Summer is about to arrive and that means the school year is just about finished. Know someone who is graduating and getting ready to go into the world? Why not give them some helpful smartphone apps. We’ve rounded up five apps that are sure to help grads succeed.

1. There’s no place like home

For many graduates, the end of the school year means they need to find a new place to live. Depending on the area there can be tons of competition for any one rental. Help your grad stay ahead of the curve with the Trulia - Homes For Rent mobile app. Users can create personalized searches based on location, rooms, and price range. There’s also the ability to add open house times to a calendar and get alerted when new properties come on the market. When grads find a place they like they can take notes about it and even post it to Facebook to see what friends and family think of the potential spot.

Compatible OS: Android, iPhone
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on a compatible smartphone


2. Help Grads find a dream job

As most people in the workforce know, graduating school is just the beginning. Finding a job is an entirely new skill to learn. In today’s job market, there are loads of websites filled with new job listings. Visiting all those sites and sifting through listings daily can be exhausting. Instead, show your favorite grad how a smart mobile app such as Hire-A-Droid can do all the heavy lifting. The app is essentially a job search engine that accesses multiple job search sites in multiple countries. All the user has to do is enter the type of job wanted and let the app do the rest. If they find a search with good results, it can be saved so the lead can be followed up on later.

Compatible OS: Android
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on an Android smartphone





3. This to do list can help save money

Due dates don’t stop when school is finished. They just are required for something other than schoolwork – bills. Help grads develop good financial habits early with the Billski Bill Tracker. While there are tons of apps available for keeping track of finances, the Billski Bill Tracker takes a different approach. It just reminds users when to pay their bills. With this app grads will only have to enter the basic information: bill type, amount, date due, and when they’d like an alarm reminding them to pay it. Paying bills on time can means loads of savings in late fees.

There is a paid version of the app available for $1.00 that allows users to backup and restore data to/from the SD card and view the screen in landscape or portrait mode.

Compatible OS: Android
Cost: (Read more)

Topics:Smart phones WiFi Android Apple
Apps

Apps

Microsoft shuts down former Windows Marketplace for Mobile

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 (permalink)
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Windows Mobile Phone 6.x will no longer have access to its dedicated marketplace. The store is closing today. Users will still be able to use the apps they have already installed on existing phones, however, if a “hard reset” (basically, this is returning the phone back to factory settings) is performed the apps will also be wiped from the Windows Mobile Phone and users will have no access to them. While the store is closing, some of those apps may still be available from the app developers or third-party stores.

The new Windows Phone Marketplace, which offers apps for Windows Phone 7 and later models, is still open and users of Windows Phone should check that our for new apps in the future. More information on the shutdown can be found in this story from Fierce Mobile Content.

Topics:Windows Mobile Smart phones Apps Windows Phone 7
Microsoft

Apps

5 Apps for Mother’s Day

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Thursday, May 10, 2012 (permalink)
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Not sure what to get Mom for Mother's Day this year? Well consider getting her apps that will make her life easier. You can always download one or all of the apps to your favorite Mom's phone while spending time with her during the holiday.

1. Help Mom have more fun with pictures stored on her phone

Many smartphones come with photo editing options and the ability to share them. The latest mobile app Snapbucket from Photobucket takes that functionality one step further. Not only can users make edits and add photo effects, but they can also share photos with friends on Facebook Twitter, via email, or with other PhotoBucket users. Best of all the application doesn’t alter the original image, so it’s always safely stored in the phone or on the phone's memory card.

Compatible OS: Android, iPhone
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on a compatible smartphone


2. Give Mom coupons on-the-go

Does your Mom still clip coupons from the newspaper? You can save her time and money by introducing her to Yowza!! Mobile Coupons. The application provides coupons to tons of nearby stores, restaurants, and activities. The app uses the smartphone’s integrated GPS to deliver nearby coupons, so just be aware it might drain the phone’s battery life. If Mom has a favorite local store, she can even set a notification to be alerted when the shop offers a new discount.

Compatible OS: Android, iPhone
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on a compatible smartphone





3. An app that lends a helping hand at dinner

Busy Moms who enjoy making dinner, but don’t have a lot of time to research new recipes will love Recipe Search from AlltheCooks.com. The site has over 70,000 recipes including everything from appetizers and desserts to main dishes, and more. The most interesting feature in the app is the ability to find recipes based on ingredients as well as traditional recipe names. This can be a huge time saver for Mom especially if she tends to stop off at the store on the way home from work. As is the case with many apps, there is lots of community support and the ability to share recipes via social media outlets.

Compatible OS: Android
Cost: Free
How to get it: Visit the app market residing on a compatible Android smartphone



4. An intuitive way from Mom to track and organize reminders on her phone

Let’s face it, Moms have a lot to take care of in a single day and most likely the one thing they always have on them is a cell phone. Keeping track of everything that needs to be accomplished can be a task by itself. Enter (Read more)

Topics:Parents Smart phones Android Apple
Apps Windows Phone 7

Apps

HTC Sense to get update; don’t lose your data

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Wednesday, April 18, 2012 (permalink)
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Anyone who uses the popular HTC Sense found on many HTC Android phones should be aware that the service will be changing. What that really means is that if you use HTCSense.com to sync data such as contacts, footprints, call history, or messages on your phone it will no longer be available by the end of this month. Not to worry, you have until April 30, 2012 to download the data. It’s a pretty simple process, just log into HTCSense.com, click the download button in the Account Overview section, and voila a zip file containing your data will be downloaded to your computer.

Topics:HTC Android Google Apps

Apps

Instagram now available for Android users

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, April 03, 2012 (permalink)
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The popular photo-sharing site, Instagram, previously available only in the Apple iOS App store is now available for Android users in the Google Play store. Instagram is a free app that you can use to transform the look and feel of a picture taken with the camera on a smartphone by adding a filter (Hudson, lo-fi, and tons more). Have a photo you like? Then go ahead and share it to Facebook, Twitter, and even Tumblr. Similar to many social media apps other Instagram users can follow the pictures you share. The Instagram Android app will work with any Android phone running the 2.2 OS or higher.

Here’s a picture we took using the new Instagram App for Android. Let us know if you’re going to be an Instagram user, too.

Topics:Camera Smart phones Android Apps

Apps

Google Voice integration comes to Android 4.0 devices

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Monday, March 26, 2012 (permalink)
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All those who use Google Voice and have an Android device (tablet or smartphone) running the Ice Cream Sandwich OS will be happy to learn that the mobile app has improved functionality. The Google Voice app is fully integrated with the Android 4.0 OS. This means you can view and listen to voicemails in the call log – no more checking an e-mail account to get a link to the audio version of the voicemail. In the new version, voicemail will appear in the phone’s call log and you can listen to it or read a text transcription of the message. The new version for Android Ice Cream Sandwich users is available in the Google Play market.

Topics:Text messaging Smart phones Android Apps
Tablets

Apps

Android Market gets a facelift and a new name

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Friday, March 09, 2012 (permalink)
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The Android Market icon may look the same on your Android smartphone, but upon opening the application you’ll notice it has quite a new look and feel. Oh and a new name: Google Play. Instead of the more list-friendly view, it now looks a lot more like the Android Market you might see on a web browser. It has also expanded beyond apps and music. The idea is that everything you might want to use (Books, Music, Movies, Games, and Apps) on the phone or tablet is available in the Google Play store. There are also some great deals to be had as well such as the Free Song of the Day, movie rentals for 99 cents, and even apps for 25 cents.

There’s no need to download anything to get Google Play on and Android Device, just launch the app from the Market icon and Google will do the rest.

Topics:Games Android Google Apps

Apps

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 now available

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Tuesday, February 21, 2012 (permalink)
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The latest round of the BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 is loaded with new features and the company’s new BlackBerry Video Store, which had been announced in September 2011. Entertainment aside, there are plenty of other noteworthy features in the latest OS including integration with social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. Also included are improved BlackBerry device management and connectivity features such as BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and the BlackBerry Bridge App that uses Bluetooth to connect the tablet to BlackBerry smartphone apps. To get a better idea about the new OS features, check out this BlackBerry video below:

The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software update can be downloaded to PlayBook tablets today. Not sure how to get the update? Click this link for more details.

Topics:BlackBerry Apps Tablets

Apps

MetroPCS adds app that blocks unwanted texts and calls

by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter    |    Wednesday, February 15, 2012 (permalink)
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Prepaid MetroPCS phones just got a bit more feature-rich. The company announced a new service aptly named Metro Block-it. In addition to providing the ability to block texts and calls, users can also use the app to file complaints against telemarketers and debt collectors with the Federal Trade Commission. That’s a pretty useful feature. The application is initially available only for Android smartphones, but will soon support BlackBerry smartphones and some feature phones. MetroPCS customers can find it in the Metro App store and will receive a free 30-day trial. After that the service will cost $1.00 a month.

Topics:Text messaging BlackBerry Smart phones Android
Apps MetroPCS

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