Google’s Newest Phone Makes a Strong Case

With all of the options available and new developments coming out every year, choosing a smartphone can be quite a challenge. There are almost innumerable factors to consider, and making the wrong choice can leave you stuck with a phone you hate sometimes for years before you can afford to make such a choice again. There is one widely agreed upon choice as one of the best phones ever available on the market: Google’s new Pixel 2. It is one of the newest generation of smartphones and, by the estimation of tech experts on such sites as techradar.com, CNET, and Computer World, one of the best phones ever created. The question that we must ask, then is this: what exactly set is apart from other phones, and do those differences justify its place as one of the most talked-about new mobile devices? Read more »

Even with advances in recent years that allow apps in Android and Apple to run concurrently so that users can switch between them with a simple gesture the typical smartphone experience still prohibits people from true multitasking.  People can only view apps one at a time on most popular smartphones, limiting their experience. In order to check on services in real time, users must always open individual apps. Cool person in technology Dwipal Desai has founded Terrain in order to break users away from these limitations.  Terrain is a new launcher for Android devices that leads users away from a one-at-a-time paradigm for viewing apps.  Users can download and install the launcher from the Google Play Store.  Anyone who has trouble applying Terrain to his or her smartphone may need help from an Android tech support provider. Read more »

Waiting for someone to show up when he or she has made plans with you is never fun.  While people can text, e-mail, or call their friends or associates to find out where they are when running late, there are many situations where that person won’t be able to respond.  If the person running late is driving or talking to someone else because of a crisis, trying to communicate with him or her through a phone or mobile device will go nowhere.  However, cool person in technology Bryan Trussel founded Glympse to help people keep track of each other when they’re running late.  Without having to disturb people by sending them repeated text messages or phone calls, Glympse users can track their friends and see their location without bothering them. Read more »

Most calorie counting technology, whether it’s a smartphone app or a dedicated wearable device, provides people with pure data.  That data usually includes calories burned, steps taken, and numerous other cold hard facts about the user’s daily health statistics.  However, the problem with this system is that most users of these fitness tracking apps and devices do not know exactly what to do about the data they receive.  Without being extremely well educated in the subjects of nutrition and personal fitness, people have no context to what the data they collect actually means for them.   Everyone’s body is different and the same data will mean very different things to people depending on age, weight, gender, athleticism, and various other factors.  Cool product Fjuul is a fitness tracker that tries to solve this problem by taking a different approach.  Rather than provide users with massive amounts of data that they don’t even understand properly most of the time, Fjuul provides people with one easily understandable metric that they can follow: Fjuul points.  Users who want to try Fjuul’s system can download the app on their iPhone or iPod.  If someone has trouble installing the app on his or her device, contacting Apple tech support would be the best course of action. Read more »

Frequent online shoppers know that keeping up with their orders and can be an exercise in frustration, especially when ordering items from multiple sites.  With each order they place, customers receive new receipts in their inbox.  Someone making numerous online purchases a day can often find themselves lost in online confirmations and receipts and unable to keep track of when they bought what items.  This problem becomes exasperated if a shopper already has a flooded inbox due to their work or social life.  Cool product Slice offers people a solution that will prevent them from having to search through their email every time they need to find the details of a specific online order. Read more »

Reviewing places and things has become an essential aspect of the Internet.  Every major online retailer has a review system for customers to use with the products they sell. Most blogs and news sources on the Internet contain sections for product and entertainment reviews. Even major web companies like Google incorporate reviews into their online services.  However, with so many reviews spread out across so many sites, there is no easy way to get the full picture on the quality of a product without investing significant time into the project.  Cool person in technology Ryan Charles wants to change that with his service called Consumr.  Consumr is a website and mobile app that provides people with a collection of the available online reviews for any packaged good on command.  Consumr is an unbiased third party that simply gathers information about products from reviews that already exist on the web.  This fact means users can trust Consumr to provide a complete and objective picture of a product’s quality based on all of its online reviews.  Charles’s company collects both professional and customer reviews to ensure that people have all the information they need about any given item.  Any user who needs help downloading Consumr’s iPhone app can get Apple tech support to fix the problem. Read more »

Auto insurance claims are never fun or enjoyable experiences.  However, cool person Brad Weisberg has created a system that at least makes the process a lot more convenient and easier for auto insurance claimants.  Weisberg wanted to use technology to find a faster way for people to get quotes from auto body repair shops when they need to make an insurance claim.  Weisberg saw that opportunity when smartphones became ubiquitous devices in the public sphere.  With his service Snapsheet, Weisberg has made it so anyone with a smartphone can streamline the process of getting quotes for auto insurance claims by performing all of it directly through their mobile phone.  Users simply take pictures of the car or truck in need of repair and send it to body shops directly through the Snapsheet app.  The body shops then deliver a quote directly over the phone so users can make a claim with their auto insurance.  Users can even request direct deposit or check-by-mail from within the app when the insurance company settles their claim.  Users who have difficulty using Weisberg’s app to communicate with repair shops and insurance companies can get mobile PC support to find the source of the problem. Read more »

There are many cases where having a private phone number can be beneficial and increase personal privacy.  However, setting up a second cell phone line can be costly and require more effort than it’s worth.  Cool product Burner makes the process far simpler.  Burner is an iPhone and Android application that creates private numbers for use on your smartphone when you need them.  You can either set up a separate number indefinitely or make it active for a specific period of time.  This creates a wall of privacy between you and general public.  For example, if you ever need to give out a number on Twitter or Facebook for business reasons, Burner allows you to create a private number specifically for those calls.  If that number is ever compromised somehow, you can just “burn” it by deleting it from the app.  Users can keep as many extra phone numbers as they want in the app at any given time.  If you have trouble getting your Burner numbers to integrate into your phone properly, you will need smartphone computer support.   Read more »

External batteries for the extended use of mobile devices have grown in popularity over the last few years.  Power users who travel frequently like having constant access to an extra power source so they don’t disconnect at inconvenient times.  Unfortunately, not unlike smartphones themselves, these external batteries can sometimes be quite fragile.  Zendure CEO and founder Bryan Liu has developed an external battery where durability should not be a concern.  Liu calls these batteries the A-series.  Zendure is aiming these products at those who want extra charge for their mobile devices on the go, but don’t want to worry about carrying around another easily breakable electronic accessory. Liu is a cool person in technology who wants to solve this type of problem for consumers. Read more »

We still use paper and plastic in many unnecessary situations despite the rise of mobile technology.  Loyalty cards, gift cards, boarding passes, concert tickets, and coupons are all still most commonly physical items that are inconvenient and to both customers and businesses alike.  Some time ago, Apple created Passbook to encourage people to replace these physical items with digital version on their iPhones.  However, while use has grown steadily, Passbook has still only seen relatively limited uptake.  Kevin William David is a cool person in technology that wants to change that.  David founded Walletkit in 2012 to help businesses integrate Apple Passbook into their model.  David designs, codes, and delivers professional grade passbook passes to Walletkit’s clients to suit their specific needs.  David clearly believes in a more convenient future based on mobile technology and he’s doing his part to spread it with his company.  If you’ve never tried Apple Passbook, but are interested in using it, you should speak to iPhone support to learn more about it.  Read more »