For most people, the advent of the smartphone has had a huge impact on how they organise many aspects of their lives, including work, leisure and family activities. Gone are the days when a phone was used simply for making calls or sending texts, nowadays they are equipped to take pictures, create documents, watch television and so much more.
Really useful smartphone features
Wi-Fi connectivity
Wi-Fi connectivity is one of the principal things that make mobile phones smart. The ability to connect via wireless broadband means that a smartphone can function just like a computer, and as more and more public places make free Wi-Fi available, smartphones can access fast connections outside of the 3G or 4G mobile networks.
Mobile emailing
Access to email and internet browsing is particularly helpful, and is widely used by business people keen to keep in touch with colleagues; family members use it for social connections, and students for research purposes. Address books for email contacts can easily be exported from a computer to a phone, and vice versa.
Universal Serial Bus connectivity (USB connectivity)
USB connectivity is fairly standard nowadays and enables a smartphone to link with another device, such as a digital camera or a laptop. Although a smartphone’s USB is generally smaller than a computer’s, most come with a converter cable and a Micro USB that is compatible with a laptop’s USB port. It’s particularly useful to make this connection as the phone’s battery starts automatically charging in the process.
Camera and Video Recording
All smartphones now come with a camera for taking stills as well as a video recorder. This means there is no need to buy separate devices such as a camcorder or a digital camera. Photographs and video can be streamed to a computer in a number of different ways, including via Bluetooth.
Global Positioning System (GPS for location of places)
GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system that pinpoints a global position using latitude and longitude references. This means it can detect where a smartphone is at any time and help the user find directions to any location.
Flexibility of Sim Contracts
Unlocking a smartphone is necessary when a contract with a service provider has ended for some reason but a handset still has a useful life. Sometimes this can be completed free of charge, and a free sim card can then be inserted to use a new network.
Really rubbish smartphone features
Short battery life
The short battery life of most smartphones continues to irritate users and this is an aspect that really needs some attention; many manufacturers are now working to produce long-life batteries that will charge quickly and last longer than current models. Smartphone brands such as RIM, HTC and Apple with some other Android based brands are known for providing great phones with good battery life but still, there’s still a room for improvement.
Siri, the controversial personal assistant
Introduced initially by Apple, Siri is described as an intelligent personal assistant, the idea being that by talking to a smartphone that recognises their voice, users can reserve a table at a restaurant, buy cinema tickets or order a cab by telling Siri exactly what was required. Many customers report unfortunate misunderstandings, despite the voice recognition technology, and Siri is not a feature favoured by many.
Share Shot and S Beam Apps
Share Shot and S Beam are two apps promoted by Samsung Galaxy SIII that appear attractive if users want to instantly send images or URLs to another device; however, the disappointing feature of the smartphone is that these apps will only work if the other device is also a Samsung Galaxy SIII.
Which other features exists in your smartphone that you think deem useless or useful? Would you mind sharing them with us?
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