Millions of us unwrapped the seasons hottest gifts during the holidays - the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, Droid RAZR, Kindle Fire, Nikon 1 and more. For many people these new gadgets were also the first they've owned in a whole new generation of touchscreen and voice activation technology. How many of you were excited but found that after 5 minutes you had to set them down and decided to figure out how to use them later?
With technology overload these days, many of us use our electronics on the "easy" setting. We do what we can easily figure out and never end up using the "really cool" settings and getting value from our investment.
There are some basic steps that can help you get the most fun out of your new "toys." Here are our tips for improving your electronic gadget experience:
The trick to getting the most out of your phones and tablets are apps. Here are our five must-have useful, user-friendly apps for 2012:
Apple:
Android:
Most importantly, remember the goal of apps is to help you simplify and organize. You can get bogged down by downloading too many apps and actually defeat the purpose. Make a list of things you would like help with and then narrow it down to categories. Then purchase an app for each category.
We want to hear from you and which electronics you find are the most user-friendly? We want your recommendations.
If you share your user-friendly electronics reviews and recommendations this week you'll be entered for a chance to win one of our 4 giveaway prizes - a gift card to either iTunes or Amazon for Android Market. Submit your favorite electronic product to SheSpeaks Reviews OR add a comment to this blog post by 6pm EST on January 23rd, 2012. You can enter a review AND a comment and you will have two entries to win!
Prizes*:
*Winners will have a choice of either an iTunes or Amazon for Android Market gift card. 4 winners total.
Apple iTunes $15 App Store Gift Card |
Amazon for Android Market Gift Card |
The contest starts January 17, 2012 and ends January 23, 2012; at 6:00 p.m. Must be a US resident. No purchase necessary.
GOOD LUCK!
I'm fairly new to the world of Smartphones and usually they are smarter than me. I don't have any grocery apps, but am looking into getting one. Amazing!
I use my IPad's great educational apps for my kids, especially my 6 year old son who has serious developmental delays. The apps we use help him identify colors, objects, do puzzles, and even trace letters. It's an amazing learning tool!
I bought an iPod Touch 4th Generation with gift cards that I received for Christmas. I am in love! This is my first experience with apps, and they're awesome! I live in a rural area, and am not able to get an iPhone or other smartphone, since there's no cell service in my town. Since I can use the iPod Touch with my WiFi connection, I am able to use it much like a phone, using apps that allow me to text and call family & friends.
I haven't jumped on the i-bandwagon yet. I'm loyal to my Blackberry (I even miss the rollerball in my old curve). I do love the Calorie Counter by FatSecret App. But my favorite is the Greattrainer App. It's great for tracking my runs. I even used it to train for a half-marathon.
My husband started the entire family falling in love with smartphones. We could not believe what you could do on them and have put them to great use.
I have an Android phone and my fave app is Grocery Pal. I love seeing all the weekly advertised specials available at my local stores and the app even lets me make a shopping list right from the list of specials. I hear the iPhone version includes a price comparison tool as well.
I have an iPhone. Believe it or not, one of my best apps is the Translate. I can speak any language anytime. It even says the sentence for you, so you can say it to the person. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this app. Its not as great as Rosetta Stone, but close. You gotta try this app. I love speaking different languages or at least trying.
My favorite product is my kindle. I love it. I don't know how I managed to read without it when I was away from home.
Thank you for the suggested apps, especially the one for a safety emergency. I just received my first web phone for Christmas, and I feel like an idiot, especially since I'm over 30 but under 40. I feel like I am way behind on technology. At first, I couldn't even answer the phone. I never thought to utilize YouTube.
continued.... -----Make sure you check for App Updates, the blue App Store icon will have a red number in it. I found if an App isn't working correctly it usually needs an update. -----I also group all of my Apps in folders. So I will have an App named Shopping and then if I press Shopping it will show all of my store and coupon Apps. I made an App for my nephew by naming it Kevin so that when he presses on it all of his game Apps appear.
I have the iPhone 4s and the iPad 2 and they have opened a whole new world for me. The iPad I received for Christmas, but the iPhone was from an upgrade. A few iPhone & iPad tips I have learned along the way- -you can make the font larger for text messaging under Settings> General>Accessibility>Large Text -when you receive a text message & you don't want the whole message to come up & just the sender's name go to Settings>Messages>and then make sure "Show Subject Field" is turned to OFF. -instead of showing how much longer your battery will last by just the picture of the battery, you can show a percentage of battery life until it has to be recharged Settings>General>Usage>"Battery Percentage" turned ON
I got an iPad2 for Christmas. Not having wifi access for the moment, it is mainly used as an Kindle app e-reader and game center. The games available can be so addicting, especially Harbor Master, Flight Control, Cows & Aliens, Car Crusher, and the Ragdoll series. Reading at night is easier since the device is backlit.. Where wifi is available, I've been able to stream a few tv shows. All in all, the iPad2 is alot more entertaining than I thought it would be.
My favorite app is Tiny Tower- not really functionally necessary but such a fun game! It is one of the few free games that you can actually play for free without having to buy the in game purchases. The tower bucks come frequently- so the upgrades to your tower are free if you are patient- I mean it takes you 2 days to upgrade your elevator as opposed to 1 day... so not really that bad at all! :)
I got an iPod Touch for Christmas (I wanted all the fancy apps but not a cell phone, thank you very much!) and I love the SparkPeople app. In fact, it's easier to use than the actual website! Now I can track food on the go, and enter my workout as soon as it's finished at the gym!
I love love love the Nike Training Club App for iPhone. I've been using it for 7 months now and I have seen great results! It's a mobile gym, gym instructor and exercise class: which gives you no excuse to slack off!