Smart Uses of Smartphones
February 2017
Where do I get these apps?
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The apps we will talk about today are those that run on Apple (iOS) and Android devices.
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This includes both phones and tablets.
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To get Apple apps, open the App Store and search.
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To get Android apps, open the Google Play store and search.
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If, instead, you have a Windows, Blackberry, or other mobile device, they each have their own app stores.
Which app should I use?
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As of January 2017:
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The Apple App Store contains about 2.2 million apps.
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Google Play contains about 2.6 million apps.
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So, your best bet in choosing apps to meet your needs:
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Do a search in the appropriate store.
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See what kind of ratings the app has received (level of positive response as well as number of reviewers).
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Take cost into consideration (free vs. $0.99 vs $9.99, etc).
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Flashlight
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The current versions of both Apple and Android phones have flashlight functionality built in.
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The flashlight uses the camera flash LED to provide this functionality.
Visual notification
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You also can use the LED flash for visual notifications of calls, texts, etc. for occasions when audible or vibratory notifications are not an option.
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Like the flashlight functionality, this is built into the latest Apple and Android operating systems.
Magnifying glass
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If you are looking at tiny text, you can use the camera in your smartphone or tablet to act as a magnifier.
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Just open the camera, zoom in to the level you wish, and point the lens at the object to be magnified.
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If the thing you are magnifying is dimly lit, combine this technique with the flashlight.
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You also can use this technique to see something that is in a tight or difficult to reach spot.
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Just put the phone into the tight, turn on the flashlight if needed, and take a photo.
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You should wait a few seconds before snapping the photo to let the autofocus do its thing.
Mirror
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In its native form, your front-facing camera acts as a mirror (i.e., the image is reversed).
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This is useful for checking how you look.
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Interestingly, if you take a selfie with this camera, the picture saved is not reversed.
Hand-held memory device
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The camera in your mobile device has a wide variety of uses:
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Product tags while shopping for large items.
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Images of empty product packages instead of taking along the actual packages when shopping.
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Record device wiring schemes before removing the device.
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Take a picture of directions, maps, or shopping lists.
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Keep a copy of the license plate of your rental car with you.
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Grandkid pics when visiting an amusement park, county fair, etc. in case they get lost.
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Collect info if you have an auto accident: damage, tag of other cars, etc.
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Also, there are built-in and other voice recorder apps.
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Great if you are interviewing someone.
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Also can be used to record short notes or reminders to yourself.
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Some make it easy for you to send those audio notes to others.
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Restaurant assistance
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If you enjoy eating out, there are a number of apps that will help you:
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Calculate tips at various rates.
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Split a check among the folks at the table.
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Business card file
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Do you have a pile of business cards in the lap drawer of your desk?
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Do you throw new cards in with them?
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There are a number of apps that will scan business cards and store them on your device and in the Cloud.
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Some even do OCR (Optical Character Recognition) so you search the cards for particular text.
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And, of course, you always can just take a photo of the card.
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Home improvement
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There are apps that will turn your mobile device into a spirit level.
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This is a good example of skeuomorphism.
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The level uses the orientation sensors of your device to provide you with angles.
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You may want to look for an app that permits you to “zero out” the level at any given angle.
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Another useful family of apps are those that help you measure distances.
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Many of these involve taking a photo that contains the object to be measured along with a reference object, such as a credit card or coin.
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The app then can calculate distances using the known size of the reference object.
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Settling disagreements
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If you have ever wanted to settle disputes over the song playing over the restaurant speakers, or the TV shows in which an actor has played … there’s an app for that!
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SoundHound and Shazam will listen to music around you and provide you with information about the song, including where to purchase it online.
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The IMDb (Internet Movie Database) will give you all types of information about movies, TV shows, and actors.
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Television control
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You can turn your mobile device into a universal remote control for your TV, DVD player, etc.
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There also are any number of mirroring or screen casting apps that permit you to cast video content from you device to your TV.
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This content may be stored on your device or streamed through it.
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Musician’s friend
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If you play musical instruments, your mobile device can be an invaluable part of your equipment.
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Metronome
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Tuner
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Sound meter
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Slow down music without changing its pitch for practice.
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Comparison shopping
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With a bar code scanner app (such as Barcos or ShopSavvy), you can scan products in a store and then find out what their prices are online and in nearby stores.
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Using Google Goggles or similar image analysis apps, you can take a picture of that thing-a-ma-jig and (perhaps) find out what it is.
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More professional photos & video
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Purchase a tripod and Bluetooth shutter control to improve the quality of your photo and video efforts.
Old smartphone usage
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Do you have an old smartphone laying around?
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There are apps (such as IP Webcam) that let you turn that device into a security camera that you can monitor over the Internet.
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They make excellent dedicated universal remotes.
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They are MP3 players, so use them when working in the yard on exercising.
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Better sound
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A no-cost trick that can give you better sound from your smartphone is to put it into an empty coffee mug.