Author Archives: Dennis Thompson

10 Best Android Apps You Need to Know About This 2018

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10 Best Android Apps You Need to Know About This 2018Thanks to these genius app developers, every now and then we see various apps developing, allowing us to enjoy new heights of functionality and enjoyment in our smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

But of course, with a myriad of choices around, it’s hard to keep track on all of them. Well, actually you don’t need to track each of them, you just need to find out which one among them is the best. And, that’s what we’re here for.

The Top 10 Best Android Apps for 2018

The key to making the most out of your mobile phone is making sure it is loaded with the best Android apps around! So, here are the top 10 best Android apps this 2018, that you shouldn’t miss downloading:

  • Driving Detective

We all know that driving and using smartphones is a recipe for disaster. This free Driving Detective app helps see to it that you’re focus on the road, and not on your phone. It automatically puts your phone in ‘Do not disturb’ mode and at the same time turns off your notifications. It’s a straightforward, user-friendly app and it automatically stops when you walk away a short distance from your car or after you’ve remained parked for over 15 minutes.

  • Sojourn

If you are into a diary or journal apps, Sojourn app is for you. This free app lets you log your activities, your thoughts and things in between. This modernized journal app doesn’t require those flowery and poetic words as it focuses on short entries. And, it doesn’t have any sharing features so feel free to write genuine posts, it’s totally just for you.

  • YouTube Music

This is basically a music streaming app that centers, obviously, around YouTube experience that allows users to browse on YouTube music videos which are based on recommendations, play lists, and genres.

  • TaoMix 2

With a lot of distractions, it’s harder to focus and relax nowadays. TaoMix 2 features sounds and features that help promote a relaxing ambience. It’s great for meditation sessions, when you want to relax and have a deep sleep and when you simply want to enjoy the sounds of nature.

  • Textra

Are you bored with your Android messaging app? Textra app offers an enhanced, highly customizable and faster texting app.

  • TickTick

Here’s to keep you organized and make sure you stay on top of your of your schedule. TickTick is a powerful yet easy to use task management app that you can sync through all your devices in the cloud.

  • Pocket Casts

This app allows you to enjoy various podcasts, both audio-only and video, plus, allows you to sync your podcasts through your other devices via the cloud.

  • Snowball

Get all your social media app together with this one single free app. Snowball lets you juggle across multiple social networks and manage your notifications which you can browse through in a breeze.

  • Solid Explorer File Management

This app offers the best way to manage your files and folders and keep them secured. It is customizable and you can adjust the interface seamlessly to suit your taste.

  • Greenify

Apps are great, but they can easily drain out the life out of your battery, which is why Greenify is one of the best apps to have in your mobile device. The app allows you to hibernate all those apps that you aren’t using all the time so you can maximize your battery power.

iPhone 8 Plus Review

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The Apple iPhone 8 Plus was released in September 2017. Since it’s release shortly before the iPhone X. The phone has been a near instant success among Apple users and enthusiasts. The bigger phone, which screen size is approximately 5.5 inches, is an excellent phone to use if you are looking for a powerful mobile device from a prominent and long-standing company.

iPhone 8 Pricing

The iPhone 8 Plus is priced at $799.00, which puts it on the more expensive side of mobile devices – however, the upgraded features, smooth design, and user-friendliness that this phone offers makes the price seem fair in comparison. When purchasing the phone – Apple will provide EarPods with the lighting connector, the phone, the USB lightning cable, and the USB power adaptor.

While the phone may be an upgrade from the previous iPhones, it still features a similar set up of an iPhone, such as the lighting port to plug in your apple headphones and charger, a pressure-sensitive home button, the speakers aligned against the bottom of the phone, and the other familiar side buttons. However, the iPhone 8 Plus has a slimmer design that weighs a total of 7.13 ounces (202 grams). Moreover, the iPhone 8 Plus comes in several classic colours: gold, silver, space grey, and now product red. Some of the phone colours will either have a front display that is completely black or completely white.

iPhone 8 Features

This Apple product has a few additional features, all of which will be listed below:
• 3D touch
• Wide colour display
• Multi-lingual support
• Fingerprint resistance coating
• Display Zoom
• Accessibility
• True colour tone display
• Wireless charging option
The new and improved camera featured on the iPhone 8 Plus takes exceptional photos that could be compared to using a traditional DSLR camera. The phone features a new sensor and image signal upgrade which promises that photos will come out clearly – despite the time of day. The newly installed A11 bionic chip ensures that each photo will show the most authentic and true to life colours, improved low light images, and autofocus that only takes seconds to adjust to the setting. Furthermore, the recently added portrait mode has had an upgrade as well. Portrait mode on the iPhone 8 plus features several different lighting settings which will make using this camera feature easier to use.

Each iPhone 8 Plus comes with IOS 11 automatically installed. While previous Apple IOS systems have been a hit or miss – IOS 11 has shown that it is one of Apple’s most innovative IOS updates that focuses on increasing overall productivity along with making the phone more user-friendly. With IOS 11, users have an easier method of transferring information between Apple devices. Moreover, it features an array of settings that can make using your iPhone more interesting, such as a newly designed user interface, more options for the control centre, and a smoother layout which gives the phone the much-needed upgrade to make it stand apart from other Apple devices.

Overall, the iPhone 8 Plus is a well-designed and unique Apple product. Despite this phone being released in the last year, it is still being constantly updated to ensure that it will remain functional, modern, and stylish for the next upcoming years. It is one of Apple’s most innovative phones, and it’s definitely worth the hype it received during its release and the hype that it still currently receives.

Reasons Not to Give a Smartphone to Your Child

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A smartphone is a great thing to have, but while it can offer you many things, but there are many reasons not to give a smartphone to your child or let your child play with yours. Here are several reasons why you should not give a smartphone to your child.

The Relationship

The parent-child relationship is an important one and in younger children the growth of that relationship is key. However, giving a child a smartphone can hinder that relationship, and you have to foster it and spend time with you child. Not only are you not spending quality time with your child if they are on a smartphone often, but with instantaneous info that is available through that technology, it also can hinder their process for finding out things on their own.

Not Very Creative

There are tons of games and activities for children on smartphones, but it can limit their creativity and imagination. Staring at a screen and pushing buttons is not the best way to foster real creatively and not only that but the younger a child uses a smartphone the more likely it is that their motor and optical development can be hindered.

Sleep is Key

Sleep is key for every person, but this is more so the case with children. If you give a child a smartphone, they may play it in bed rather than sleeping or doing other things such as read a nighttime book. Children need sleep to give food to the brain and letting them play with a smartphone in bed can impede that.

Learning Issues

Children’s use of a smartphone can impede social-economic development in a child and research has backed this. According to research in the area, much-needed math and science learning skills can be hurt by the use of devices where a simple touch of the screen can take the form of problem-solving.

Addiction Issue

We have all been addicted to instant information, which is so easy to get on a smartphone, but children are as well, and that addition can lead up a slippery slope. Any source of addiction is not a good one and if a child is addicted to usig a smartphone it takes away from the other activities that they can be doing that can be better for them not only socially, but creatively as well.

The Health Factors

Letting your child have a smartphone can have a negative impact on the mental health of your child. Research has shown that overactive use with phones and the internet can lead to depression and lethargy. On top of that when playing on a smartphone, it is pretty obvious that it is not a physical activity. The overuse of smartphones and other electronic devices can bring about obesity, since it can, many times, take the place of physical activity.

The Issue of Violence

In many games and videos, violence is the prevalent theme and children can be desensitized to violence by playing games and watching videos on a smartphone. Sure, there are great learning games and videos online as well, but many are violent and are not suitable for children, especially younger ones. Showing violence as a way to solve problems in a game or video is not a trait you want to teach your children, and with a smartphone, they will be privy to many of those things, which is not the best way to teach your child about violence and how to deal with it.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro review

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The Huawei Mate 10 Pro was the phone the company hoped would allow them to break into the lucrative American market. Huawei made a large investment in marketing the phone towards markets in the West but as its release was pending, partnerships with carriers failed to materialise, and that saw a delay in it hitting the market. The Mate 10 Pro is available at Best Buy, Amazon and a number of other retailers, and at a price of $799, is competitive and affordable when you look at the options and features it provides.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is the company’s flagship phone when it comes to the pricing and specs, but when you look at the market, many phones have similar specs and are priced comparable, especially in the competitive U.S market, one that is filled with choices. The problem facing Huawei is its lack of retail partnerships and inability to lock down carrier partnerships,

Hardware

When you look at the hardware of the Mate 10 Pro, it has virtually all you would expect in a phone that is meant to be their flagship product. The glass and metal body is well built and offers a polished finish, is resistant to water, dual rear camera system and its display offers an 18-9 ratio with stereo quality speakers.

The 970 Kirin processor is top of the line and made in-house, it offers 6GB RAM, 128GB of storage and a very fast charging battery that allows for a full days use, if not more, and the phone furthermore includes an IR Blaster that will let you control other electronic products.

As with other high-end phone products, the Mate 10 Pro fails to offer jacks for headphones nor does it offer the ability to charge the phone wirelessly. Offered with a 6-inch display, its resolution is less than that of its competition, but its brightness is more than enough to use outdoors. As expected, its display allows you the “always on” mode so as you can see the time and date.

Camera Features

The camera comes packed with loads of features, and that makes this phone a good choice for picture savvy users. This includes manual controls, auto scene functions, multiple portrait options and multiple blurring modes. The camera is advanced to allow you to point and click and will switch modes based on what is being shot. In other words, if you point the camera at a person, it automatically goes to portrait mode etc. This makes using the camera easy, and that is nice for those less skilled at picture taking than those who are skilled and frequently take pictures with their phones.

The one side to the Mate 10 Pro is that the company has virtually customised its Android software, and this is not seen positively. An example of this is the inability to expand notifications when the screen is locked, nor can you delete emails unless you unlock the device. The messaging app and settings menu are virtual copies of iOS, and for unknown reasons, the majority of the apps are by default, hidden and that forces users to take extra steps to locate and view them.

Overall, we give the Huawei Mate 10 Pro a rating of 6 out of 10.

Sony Xperia XA2 Review

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Meet the Sony Xperia XA2. The Xperia range has proven to be Sony’s most successful series of mobile phones, and when phones such as the XA2 are launched, it is not hard to see why that is the case. The Xperia XA2 is the latest Sony smartphone to debut, and it has a stylish but durable frame to it. Ideal for businessman, joggers, and casual users alike, the Xperia XA2 is one of the more trustworthy new phones you can get your hands on.

Design and Feel

Launched in February 2018, the Xperia XA2 is widely renowned for its rich looking screen, and its simple, but charming design. There have been numerous complaints that the smartphone’s design may not look as trendy come the end of the year (especially at a time when many other manufacturers are going for curvy looks to their phones) but we’re all about the here and now, and practically is the key.

Quite frankly, there isn’t too much of a difference between this Sony Xperia and the many others which have come before it. This phone is heavier, and a bit chunkier than its predecessor (the XA1) as most Xperia’s are rectangular in nature and fairly weighty (in comparison to other phones) but Xperia users seem to love what they get with the 18:9 screen phone.

Unusually, the Xperia XA2 contains metal panelling along the sides, but the casing itself is plastic. Plastic tends to last a while, and although it is a cheaper material for Sony to use (hence the lower price) it does look a bit tackier than your average iPhone.

Power and Performance

Of course, being a Sony Xperia phone, the XA2 comes with a built-in Sony Walkman, and that means the sound quality is way above average. There is a fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone, and 32GB of storage is reasonable but not excessive. The 1080p screen is much more impressive than the 720p resolution of its predecessor, with two very different modes giving you a customised appearance. Vivid modes offer far more colour than standard mode, which is something to consider.

The Xperia XA2 comes with Android 8.0 (Oreo), the latest operating system for Android phones. This sleek OS works wonderfully with the phone’s power, although the camera app can take a while to boot up. The 23-megapixel camera is quality, but jittery when taking live video, like most other Xperia phones.

The battery life in Sony’s Xperia XA2 isn’t brilliant, and when using the phone for most of the day, it tends to run out of juice in the early evening. However, the same is true of most modern phones. The battery should be able to make it through 2-3 days without a charge provided it is not heavily used, and the Walkman isn’t running around the clock.

All in all, the Sony Xperia XA2 is not the flashiest phone around, and it is not as powerful as other high-end devices you can bu, but if you want to pick up an above average phone with all the mod-cons for a fraction of the cost of those high-end devices, the couple of hundred quid this phone will set you back is good value for money.