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10 Ways to Make Cell Phones Better |
Here at NewPhoneInfo we are dedicated to making phones easier for end users. In the second installment of our "Top 10" list we give you, as well as the industry as a whole, 10 methods to making our mobile computing lives a lot easier. These are tips for all parties involved: end users, both new and old; manufacturers, and also the service providers/carriers. There really seems to be too much complexity in the industry, so with these steps, hopefully it will all just be a bit simpler:
10. Pick the Right Phone
The best way to get around frustrations with phones is right at the beginning. First, you have to pick the right phone, and not just the phone being offered to you. In fact, the opposite is often the case. Phones that are pushed upon consumers are usually just the phone that the salesman is trying to get rid of. The best way to pick the phone is to first, decide what you'll be using the phone for. If you are a simple user, than a simple phone. Phones like the LG 100C offered by Tracfone are basic phones, that are easy to use. If you are a more advanced user, looking for incredible flexibility, Android phones might be a nice treat. And finally, if ou are looking for style, loads of industry backing, and great multimedia, Apple is a no-brainer.
9. Read the Manual
Not many people read the manual, but 99% of the questions you see people posting in forums can be solved in those tiny booklets, with infintely small font. Ok, I know that these little guys can be a pain with poorly written or translations, but give it a shot, and you might be surprised. Fortunately, NewPhoneInfo provides many of these manuals online for you.
8. Use Screen Locks
Touchscreens are liked and disliked by many. Using the Lock feature on your smartphone will disable the function of the touchscreen, as well as any other buttons. This can be useful if you have your device tucked into a pocket or bag where you can accidentally press buttons, or dial numbers.
7. Preserve Your Battery Life
There are some easy tips that you can use to save your battery life. This can be one of the most frustating parts of phones. Some of these tips include turning your ringer off, decreasing screen brightness, turning off Blutooth and/or WiFi, and setting your screen timeout to the smallest possible value without being inconvenient.
6. Bug Tracking and Fixing
This one goes out to the community as a whole. Bugs in apps, or on devices themselves can be very annoying. Developers would love to be able to have a perfect product go to market, but unfortunately due to the competitive nature in the industry, the business side of it doesn't let this happen. But hopefully the community with the end users, carriers, and manufacturers can all come together and provide solutions to many bugs and problems.
5. Customer Service
This one goes out to carriers and manufacturers. There are some great customer service representatives out there, but unfortunately a lot of the time this area seems to get a lot of cost cutting. It really should not be though...it's an important part, especially in our industry. For end users, thing we can do is voice our opinion on this with taking our business to the companies with the best customer service.
4. Web Browsers
The smartphone web browser is probably the biggest area for improvement in mobile software development. There are many concerns and unknowns such as where HTML 5 and javascript are going, Flash support, and AJAX.
3. Software Updates
Have you ever wondered when a particular software update may be sent through your carrier? Well, you're not alone here. In some cases, the answer is never. This is one of those little dirty areas of the industry, which are probably decided in backdoor deals between carriers and manufacturers. They really need to clean up their act in my mind.
2. Become Part of the Community
The mobile handset community is a vast and wonderful one. You never know what you might find in one of the largest industries in the world.
1. Use NewPhoneInfo.com
Ok, a bit of a fun one at the end. But in all honesty, the web is probably the best place in the world to make the learning curve on your new an easy one. There are many many resources out there, and hopefully NewPhoneInfo can help you in some form.