Smart Phones More User-friendly
Following on from last week’s article about smart phones I have now been using Samsung’s latest offering, the Galaxy S7 for a week. I transitioned to this new phone from a Samsung Note 3 which I have used for the last two years. I can report without hesitation that just two years of further development has produced a far more polished (user friendly) product.
I was initially worried about going back in screen size from the 5.7” Note 3 that I had to the 5.1” S7 however the new phone has a more sensitive touch screen which makes for faster and more accurate typing. The new screen simply responds more instantly and ‘crisply’ to all touch commands, although you need to keep in mind that none of these touch screen devices even come close to the ease and efficiency of a proper computer sized keyboard with discrete keys for extended typing.
The screen on the new phone is also more vibrant and easier to read even though it is a shade smaller than my previous device. As far as operation is concerned it is also much faster to switch between applications and offers a host of handy little shortcuts that just make sense when you are using it.
Other points of interest are the clarity of phone calls with the built in speaker and the range of the built in Bluetooth when it is connected to other devices such as car kits and external Bluetooth speakers. Yes – I decided to get hip and paired it with a Bluetooth speaker so that I could play some favourite tunes direct from my phone when the situation permits some background music.
So what else did I have to do during the changeover? I had 100’s of contact details, photos, some special apps and even some important text messages that I wanted to bring across from my old phone. Because I was going from a Samsung to a Samsung I had two choices here so I tried both. The first was to download a free and simple Samsung app called ‘Smart Switch’ which I installed onto both phones. Next using the cable supplied with the new phone I simply connected the two together and ran the app which gave me the choice of what I wanted to transfer.
The second transfer method I had as an option was to use my Gmail account. I already had all of my important information synchronising between my old phone and my Gmail account to protect against losing the phone or other events. All I had to do was to sign into this account with the new phone and I was again presented with the option of getting all of my information brought across to the new phone via a Wi-Fi Internet connection or via the phones own data plan.
I will be keeping my new phone ‘synced’ to this Gmail facility to prevent a ‘catastrophe’ arising out of any future miss-fortunes. This automatic backup feature is not to be ignored as only a week ago one of my best friends left their 4 day old Samsung Galaxy phone on their car boot. The phone and its owner parted company somewhere around Kerrigan Street in North Rocky and except for the Gmail account sync, all important information would have been lost.
As you have seen, this article has particularly discussed my new phone as the Samsung branded Galaxy range and Apple’s iPhone range are by far the two major players in today’s phone market. Again it is amazing how rapidly the IT field can change as only a few years ago the Nokia phone company completely dominated the phone market.
For Apple iPhone users there are also automatic backup offerings from Apple like the iCloud as well as some Apple specific features, however just like the age old Ford vs Holden debate I have a preference for the Samsung’s. Next week we will look at some phone tips and tricks that can save you time and money.
Future Byte Me topics can be emailed to [email protected] and Bruce is contactable at Kerr Solutions, 205 Musgrave Street or on 49 222 400.
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