Cellular

Giveaway! Your First Smartphone Could Be the HTC First!

by Michael Sheehan on May 21, 2013

in Android, Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, Giveaway, Hardware, Mobile, Technology

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It’s been a while since I hosted a giveaway, so I thought that I would start out the Memorial Day Holidays with a giveaway holiday! If you don’t have a smartphone yet, this giveaway is for you! Or, if your child is ready for their first smartphone, you better enter. Or if you simply want a back up phone, you may want to enter as well. Regardless, courtesy of AT&T, I’m doing an HTC First Giveaway!

HTC First

As I actually haven’t had any hands-on with the HTC First (because I’m giving it away), I’m just going to speak to HTC in general. I have had several HTC phones (some for Windows and I’m currently evaluating the HTC One). HTC is known for its solid design and the First is no different. Here are some quick specs on the HTC First:

  • Facebook Home – this device is MADE for Facebook addicts!
  • 4.3″ Touchscreen – not too big nor too small
  • 4G LTE – you want a fast network? AT&T’s got it!
  • 5MP Camera – snap those great photos!
  • 1.6MP – great for seeing how your look or for some video chats
  • 1080p HD video capture – get that HD video!
  • Music Player – take advantage of the new Google All Access Music service!
  • Text Messaging – text to your heart’s content, just DON’T do it while you drive!
  • Email/Calendar/Contacts – keep up to date with all of your activities and contacts
  • World Phone – you only need one phone if you go overseas
  • Android OS – currently supporting Jelly Bean (v. 4.1) with upgrade possibilities
  • Storage/RAM – Up to 16 GB internal storage and 1 GB RAM
  • Wifi/BT enabled – 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 GHz)/ BT v 4.0

Oh, and one more thing, if you win this smartphone, you can get it contract-free. Sure, you could buy this phone at a discount, but then you are also locked into an extended contract potentially. The winner of this giveaway gets it contract-free!

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Using the Sun to Power your Gadgets & Light the Way – WAKAWAKA POWER

by Michael Sheehan on May 15, 2013

in Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Mobile, Opinion, Review

Post image for Using the Sun to Power your Gadgets & Light the Way – WAKAWAKA POWER

If you look up into the sky, assuming it’s sunny and daytime, you will see a vast energy source that is incredibly untapped – the sun. Solar power technologies have been evolving a break-neck speeds and the size and costs have been reduced dramatically to the point where you can throw a solar panel, charger and battery into your backpack and never worry about plugging your smartphone or tablet into the wall again. The WakaWaka Power, is no exception. This small device, in my opinion, is critical to have for camping trips or in your emergency kit or just quietly charging in a sunny windows somewhere.

WakaWaka Power - Lights on

WakaWaka Power – Lights on

I actually really like this little “gadget helper” for a variety of reasons. Let’s start with the name, “WakaWaka” which means “shine bright” in Swahili. WakaWaka is created by Off-Grid Solutions (OGS) which is a company that develops and manufactures solar-based portable charging and lighting solutions. They got their start via a Kickstarter.com initiative (which raised over $419,000 – 838% over their initial $50,000 funding request) and are now a global brand. In fact, in 2012 they made it their mission to deliver 1 million WakaWaka’s worldwide as part of a pledge to the Clinton Global Initiative.

WakaWaka Power - packaging

WakaWaka Power – packaging

But OGS and WakaWaka haven’t stopped there. For every WakaWaka Power charger that they sell, they are donating $10 to the WakaWaka Foundation which has been set up to finance entrepreneurial education, micro-loans to women energy entrepreneurs and also subsidies for poor countries like Haiti, Nepal, Nigeria, India and others. One of their goals is to replace dangerous, expensive and polluting kerosene lamps with their solar-powered solutions. You can read more about their mission here. With initiatives and dreams like this, what is there NOT to like?!

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How To Easily Remove, Install & Replace an Apple iPhone 4S Battery (Video)

by Michael Sheehan on May 7, 2013

in Apple, Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Fix It, Gadgets, General, Hardware, How To, HTD Tech Tip, iPhone, Mobile, Video

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I’m such a heavy user of my Apple iPhones that it really seems like about a year after I get one, I’m doing a how-to article on replacing the iPhone’s battery. I now have an iPhone 4S and this past weekend, I replaced the battery. Other smartphone users may scoff at the fact that Apple has made their hardware quite proprietary (e.g., a closed design). Actually, it seems to me that Apple has actually now made it much easier to replace the iPhone 4S battery, especially in comparison to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS process. This article (and video) shows you how to replace an Apple iPhone 4S Battery.

iPhone 4S Back Case Off

iPhone 4S Back Case Off

WARNING: Before I go into this How-to, I do need to emphasize that this processes is risky. For starters, it WILL void your warranty, especially if you mess something up in the process. Also, there are lots and lots of tiny screws and pieces that are incredibly easy to lose, break or knock loose. If you don’t take time reviewing the installation process, you could seriously damage to your iPhone 4S. You should only undertake this process if you feel like you know what you are doing and promise to not hold me responsible for anything bad that may happen to your device. Anything good that does happen, I’m happy to be responsible for that! And don’t drink any coffee before trying any repairs!

With all the disclaimers aside now, let’s take a look at the process. It is, actually, quite easy but be sure to watch the video below as I did actually almost screw something up. But as of this writing, my iPhone 4S is quite happy with its replacement battery.

The Tools

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The Jabra Speak 510 Bluetooth & USB Connected Speakerphone Truly Speaks Great for Itself

by Michael Sheehan on March 28, 2013

in Cellular, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Mobile, Opinion, Review, Technology

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As workforces become more distributed to satellite offices, home offices, client locations and even roaming within an organization, technology needs to be adaptable to any scenario. Mobile devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets have untethered our dependence on corded locations, meaning that the worker (or parent) on the go often is not always at the same location. And despite our increased interactions on email and social networking, voice and video conferencing is gaining in popularity, regardless of whether it is for business or family events. Jabra understands this, as is evident with their new Jabra Speak 510 corded and Bluetooth-enabled speakerphone.

Jabra Speak 510 (Side View, Powered On, Dongle)

Jabra Speak 510 (Side View, Powered On, Dongle)

As a busy working parent, there are times when you need to take time to make or receive calls related to work or schooling or just social in nature. More often than not, parents are multi-tasking, requiring their hands to be free to pack lunches, cook meals, put away clothes, do cleaning…need I continue? And that mobile worker, you know the one, traveling frequently, having conference calls from hotel rooms or acting as a guest in a conference room somewhere? How many times have they tried to hold a meeting, only to find out that the speakerphone isn’t working or there isn’t even a phone in the room? And if you are a truly technology-enabled person, you often have many devices with you (as I mentioned – laptops, smartphones and tablets). If you are Skyping or doing Google Hangouts regularly, or simply having calls that require your hands to be free or you want to spare neck pain from cradling (and dropping?) your smartphone, you need to have a solution that works, is compact and is multi-functional.

Review of the Jabra Speak 510

The Jabra Speak 510 handles all of these situations and does it well. It’s compact design yet power features enable you to connect a myriad of devices (even a couple at once) to allow you to have crystal-clear speaker conversations on the go.

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How To Fix a Broken iPhone Home Button – A Free & Easy Software Fix

March 13, 2013
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Yesterday I received a panicked call from one of my daughters – “Daddy, my iPhone’s home button is broken!” Tears and wailing ensued. But, as with any broken gadget, I was up for the challenge, knowing that I could either replace the iPhone home button myself or figure out some other way to breath a [...]

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Tired of Coordinating Arrival Times or Notifying If You’ll Be Early or Late? Use Twist! App Walkthrough & CEO Interview

January 31, 2013
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As a parent in a busy family of 5 with 3 kid schedules to coordinate, activities galore and timing managed literally down to the minute, I have often felt a bit overwhelmed trying to let everyone know when I would arrive for a pickup or where I was en route to a variety of destinations. [...]

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Apple Posts iOS 6.1 Release – Here’s What’s New & How to Update!

January 28, 2013
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After releasing iOS 6.1 beta 5 to developers this past weekend, Apple released iOS 6.1 to the public today (Monday Jan 28, 2013). Updates can be obtained directly via your iOS update or via iTunes. You can also download the .ipsw directly from Apple. Details on these processes are below. So what is new in [...]

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How Apple Should Market the iPhone 10 – with Help from Disney

September 14, 2012
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So there is now a meme going around after the launch of the iPhone 5 with its longer body (now with 5 rows of icons). The meme shows new pictures of the iPhone “10″ which shows a huge number of rows of icons. And there are other ones popping up as well… So, I was [...]

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