Tag: Mobile Devices

Moto G First Time Setup with Motorola Migrate

by Greg Johnson, posted in Mobile Devices, Tech Tips, Tech Tools, Tools

If you’re setting up a Moto G (2nd Generation) phone for the first time, after entering your language preferences, connecting to a wireless network, and logging into your Google account, you’ll be given an option to migrate all your files and settings from a previous phone to the new phone using the Motorola Migrate app available on the Google Play store.

Here are some general instructions:

  1. Stop Migration First. The Motorola Migrate app will start during the initial setup of the phone. You can actually skip this step for now, and go to the main applications screen.
  2. Update Motorola Migrate. You may need to update the Motorola Migrate program on your recently purchased device. Go to the Google Play store, search for Motorola Migrate, and choose update. The version that ships with your device may be an older version.
  3. Use Local WiFi. The Motorola Migrate application uses your local wireless network to transfer information directly between the phones. So, you will need a local WiFi network — preferably your own personal home network. Connect to your local wireless network.
    • Note: If you’re in an Enterprise environment, or using some other business or WiFi network, it’s likely the migration will fail since firewall and business network switch/router settings may limit this kind of activity.
  4. Migrate Data. Follow the on-screen instructions to migrate your data.

 

Wi-Fi Phone With Free Unlimited National Calling

by Greg Johnson, posted in Mobile Devices, Tech Tips

Introduction

Wi-Fi calling is the ability to make phone calls from your mobile phone when there is little or no mobile signal. Until recently, people living in areas with poor mobile signal strength had to purchase micro-cell devices at a cost of about $150. These devices would plug into Ethernet and work like a small cell tower in your home. With Wi-Fi calling, it’s possible to make phone calls anywhere there’s a wireless Internet connection, even if no carrier signal is present — like basements or office buildings.

Skype Phone Number – $6 / mo.

Wi-Fi calling has been available for a while in various forms. The Skype app for mobile phones was an early offering that was initially blocked by carriers for use over cellular data because it was seen as a way of circumventing the mobile phone packages that limited the monthly calling minutes. You could still use Skype wherever wireless Internet was available, just not while away from wireless. Eventually, mobile phone carriers began offering unlimited nation-wide calling so cellular data use by VoIP apps was permitted. Skype continues to be a favorite solution for video calling.

A drawback to setting up a Skype phone number is that the available area codes are limited. For example, in Iowa, only 712 (Sioux City) is available. Unless you live in that calling area, people calling from landlines will need to pay long distance fees.

Republic Wireless – $10 / mo.

One of the first innovators to offer wireless calling included in their phone service was Republic Wireless. Initially the cost was $5 per month. That’s now up to $10 per month. With phones starting at about $130, you can have wireless calling as well as a pay-as-you-go cellular phone service.

Google Voice – $0 / mo.

Google Voice is available at no cost for every person who has a free Google account. If you setup an Android phone with the Google Voice app for Android or an iPhone with the Google App for iOS, you get a free phone number in just about any area code you choose. You can then receive and make calls from that number. The phone service includes voicemail and SMS text messaging.

If you’d like to activate the phone with a carrier, you can, but you don’t need to. So, essentially, you can have free phone service, and a free phone number, forever. It will work anytime you’re in range of a wireless Internet connection.

NOTE: Incoming calls can only go to voicemail or be routed to a working phone line. So, if you’re using your Google Voice phone as your only phone, then you’ll need to have people leave a message and then call them back using Google Hangouts.

Making Calls with Google Hangouts.

The instructions below explain how to make a call with the Google Hangouts App. Click this image for a larger view.

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Best Phones for Google Voice

If you plan to save money by using a mobile phone with or without carrier service activated, here are some great models to choose from. It’s best to choose a model with 16GB or more memory so the phone isn’t running out of room frequently.

  • Motorola Moto G 16GB Global Phone 3rd Generation – $219 on Amazon. This phone looks great and sounds great with dual front facing speakers. It has a fast quad-core processor and includes an FM radio. The smooth design all around is very comfortable to hold. The 5″ screen is an ideal size — not too big, and not too small. The display is super colorful, crisp and bright. As a global phone, it has maximum compatibility and resale value.
  •  Motorola Moto G 8GB 2nd Generation – $99 to $165 on Amazon. The 2nd Generation Moto G is available in 8GB only, but it will save you some money. It has many of the same benefits and features as the 3G. The US model is $99 and the Global model is $165.
  • Unlocked Android Phones on Amazon. There are a variety of unlocked Android phones on Amazon. Unlocked phones have the greatest flexibility and need not be bound to a contract with a particular carrier. Android phones offer the ability to use the Google Play store for apps.
  • Unlocked Apple Phones on Amazon. There are a variety of unlocked Apple phones on Amazon. Unlocked phones have the greatest flexibility and need not be bound to a contract with a particular carrier. The Apple iPhone offer the ability to use the Apple App store which may have more elaborate features than their Android counterparts. Newer models of Apple iPhones have one-touch fingerprint readers which help secure your phone.

Consider an iPod Touch $199

If you’re planning on exclusively using Wi-Fi calling you might consider using an iPod Touch starting at $199 for the 16GB model. The iPod touch offers many great features and it’s super slim and light.

Consider an iPad $269 – $1,400

Like the iPod touch, an iPad would also serve as an excellent phone system with the added advantage of having great computing features for other work. Using cloud storage with Dropbox or Box turns the iPad into a desktop-class file storage system.

AT&T Wi-Fi Calling

Recently AT&T partnered with Apple to allow Wi-Fi calling on new iPhones. This is great news for people who had very poor signal quality in their homes or offices.

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Managing and Reducing Smart Phone Apps for iPhone and Android

by Greg Johnson, posted in Tech Tips

Too many programs on a computer or mobile device use up storage space. Since mobile devices are generally more limited on storage, there’s even more reason to keep the list of installed apps to a minimum. Mobile devices also use up over-the-air mobile data plan quotas, and the updating process takes time and can slow down your device.

One approach to curating the collection of apps is to do it over time. As you’re notified of pending updates, review the programs that are being updated and consider if each program is really necessary.

Another approach is to conduct a complete inventory of programs installed on your device.

It’s common to ‘try out’ an app by downloading it and using it a little. Consider removing the apps that you tried and never used.

Some apps have duplicate purposes and uses. Consider reducing to the best one of the bunch.

Reducing apps can help declutter your screen, save space, save data usage, and speed up  your phone. You’ll be glad you did.

goTenna Personal Long-Range Public Mesh Network

by Greg Johnson, posted in Technology Devices

A new product called goTenna lets two or more people create a publicly owned wide area phone network for text messaging.

Even without access to mobile services, the goTenna network will operate as a mesh multi-node peer-to-peer network.

You can visit the GoTenna website, and support the product by purchasing two devices for half price.

“goTenna pairs wirelessly with your smartphone, enabling you to text and share your location with anyone who has the device even if you don’t have service. No towers, routers or satellites required!”

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Create Email Rules for Your Mobile Device

by Greg Johnson, posted in Tech Tips

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Benefit of Email Rules

Email rules are essential for efficiently managing larger volumes of incoming email. They automatically sort your mail based on criteria you define. This can help organize, file, and process communications using the same decision process you would, but it’s done automatically by the computer. For example, emails from certain people, or with certain words in the subject, can be automatically moved into folders. Newsletters from organizations or store emails can get filed for later reading.

Problem with Mobile Devices

Most mobile devices, including the popular Apple iOS devices, don’t have a mechanism for creating and processing email rules. So, when you work on emails at your desktop computer,  you’ll have messages automatically filed for you, but when you’re on your mobile device, you’ll need to wade through hundreds or thousands of new emails to find the essential ones.

Challenges

For most people, their desktop computer (or Laptop) is turned off or falls asleep when not in use. They probably don’t use an email client such as Apple Mail or Outlook to work on emails. They probably just use a web client by going to Yahoo, MSN, or Gmail online. If they do use a desktop mail client, they probably don’t use email rules.

IMAP Synchronization Essential

Email rules only work on your local device for accounts configured as POP instead of IMAP. Some email systems, like MSN / Hotmail don’t allow for IMAP (synchronized real-time mail management) on desktop systems. Oddly, IMAP with MSN/Hotmail does work on mobile devices, just not on desktop devices. So, on your desktop/laptop computer, when you download emails, read them, flag them, or move them around, this is all just happening on your local computer, but nowhere else. With services like Gmail (configured with IMAP), whatever you do with your messages on any device will be replicated across all devices. Having an IMAP or similar synchronized system is essential for email rules to work. It’s also important to have synchronization even if you don’t use email rules, so at least when you delete messages, file them, or mark them as read, this is being pushed out to all your devices.

Solution

As mentioned above, mobile devices typically don’t utilize email rules. The solution to this problem is to leave a computer running with an email client configured to manage emails. Then, your mobile device will magically have emails sorted for you into tidy folders.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • You may need to adjust the timing for when your desktop/laptop computer processes mail. More frequently will ensure that your mobile view of emails will be processed already.
  • Some email services allow for server-side email rules that filter incoming messages. If you have this option, it’s even better than using a mail client on your desktop/laptop because it should happen in real-time.
  • Remember that you may need to view an email folder on your mobile device to see the refreshed/current content — even if you have your mail set to push or to check emails automatically.
  • For this to work, you must store emails in folders on the server. If the messages are being stored (moved to) local folders on your desktop/laptop computer, then they won’t be visible anywhere except on that device. However, if your email rule moves messages to folders on the server (email service) then those messages will be viewable by all your devices.

Connecting an iPad Mini, iPad Air, iPhone, or iPod to an External VGA Computer Display

by Greg Johnson, posted in Tech Tips

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Summary

This mobile technology tip provides you with what you need to know to connect an Apple mobile device to an external display.

Shopping List

To make the connection, you’ll need the following:

Steps

Follow these steps to connect everything:

  1. Plug the VGA cable into the computer display.
  2. Plug the Lighting to VGA Adapter into the iPad (or similar device).
  3. Plug the USB Lighting Power Cord into the Adapter so the iPad continues to get a charge and then have the other end plugged into a power adapter.