Episode 40: Picking up a present on my way to Grandma's hourse.

iPhone & Android Tip:

Did you know that you can scan the barcode on an item and find the best local or internet prices? There are several free and paid apps out there that will use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode and show you the local and internet prices.

iPhone/iPad Tip:
Do you frequently use common phrases when texting friends and family?

On my way…Be there in 5 minutes…In a meeting…picking up lunch for the office because it’s the holiday and I would like to treat the office because I’m a great boss. LOL…

Well, maybe not the last one, but you get the point. Go to “Settings\General\Keyboard\Shortcuts and will see “Phrase” (enter the phrase - On my way!) and “Shortcut” (enter the shortcut here – Omy). Use the “Add New Shortcut…” to create more shortcuts. To use the shortcut, start typing out the shortcut in your text and it will automatically show the phrase. Hit the space bar to set the phrase. Easy as pecan pie (Epp).

*Note: remember when you start a text, the first letter default is a CAPITAL letter, so on your shortcut use a cap first letter (Omy).

Episode 39: When is your flight arriving?

Well, we are in the midst of the travel season and did you know that there are apps to help you on your travels? Explore the app stores and you will see several free and paid apps that will help you in your travels or help you pick up family arriving from abroad.

Try TripIt and GateGuru (free apps) when traveling to help you find your gate or the Starbucks in the airport. Picking up someone at the airport, there are several free and paid apps that will let you know the flight status. You can watch their plane travel across a map and see if there are any delays. Remember, pay attention to the arrival times. If you watch the estimated times on the map, they run about 3-4 minutes behind.

Are you a airport circler? Do you drive around and around the airport waiting for someone? Try the airport “Cell Phone Lot”. Park in the free “Cell Phone Lot” and wait for your party to call when they are heading out to the curb.

Here are my travel apps: Kayak, TripIt, United, Flight Tracker & iExit. Be safe on your travels,

Episode 38: Apple's Express Lane

This tip is brought to you by Griselda King, “find your happy place”. Did you know that Apple offers support services other than Genius Bar? If you can’t get to an Apple store, try Apple’s support service called Express Lane. This is their support service for mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Apple TV, Macs & Software where you can schedule to have an Apple tech call you at your home or office.

Go to Apple.com, select “Support” then “Contact Us”. After you enter your serial number, the system will let you know if you qualify for service (Apple Care). Follow the questions about your issue, select a day and time. Then wait for the tech to call at your scheduled appointment.

Hope you enjoyed this tip,

Episode 37: iOS5

Hi Everyone,

I’m using this TOD (Tip of the Day) to cover some of the new iPhone iOS 5 updates. Last week, I showed you how to find the Camera button on the “Lock Screen” (double tap the home button to see the camera icon and use the volume up to take your photos).

Try the location service on “Reminders” to set reminders when you get to work or leave from a destination (when I set an alert to go off when I leave the office, I found that it goes off when I hit the parking lot).

Here’s a couple of new tips.

Message:
To lower your keyboard in Message, just swipe down right above the keyboard to lower your keyboard. To raise the keyboard, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (where it says “Text Message”). Tap and hold on a message balloon to show copy/speak option. Click on speak to hear your message.

Weather:
If you click on the weather screen, it will expand to show you the hourly forecast.

Remember, if you find something new, pass it on

Episode 36: How smart is your phone (Calendar Events)?

Do you get emails asking you to mark your calendars or maybe just setting up a meeting date. Well, check your email to see if it adds a link to the date. If it does (iPhone & iPads do), just press and hold on the date to create an event. It will use the subject line for the event title and place the event into your calendar. Sorry Android users, maybe on the next update? Blueberry users, let me know if this works on your phones.

Episode 35: Sorry, I forgot to silence my phone

Here’s a quick tip voicemail tip for our iPhone users. Most of you are aware, that if you are in a meeting or can’t answer an incoming call, just press the “Sleep/Wake” button on the top of the phone to silence the call. Did you know that if you press the “Sleep/Wake” button twice it will immediately send the caller to voicemail.

Here’s a tip for our Android users. This one comes from Rhonda, so if you call her and she doesn’t pick up right away… you’ll know why. If you get calls from businesses or people you don’t always want to answer right away? Go to contacts and select “Send to voicemail” for that person or business.

Episode 34: Smartphone Keyboard Tips

These tips should work on most phones:

• Want to save an image from the web, simply touch and hold the image and a menu will pop-up with save options.
• Need to use an accent for a name or word, hold the letter you want to change on your keyboard and it will change, revealing the accents. This also works with URLs. Hold the .com button to reveal .net, edu and so on.
• This tip is for Apple devices. Scrolling through a book or website and you want to quickly get to the top of the page? Tap the status bar (bar with the time, battery, etc.) to go to the top of the page.
• When typing on your keyboard and want to insert a number, try holding the "Number Key" (.?123) and drag your finger to the number you want and then release. The keyboard will return to the text keyboard without having to touch the "ABC" button.