Smartphones are something incredible. 20 years ago, a device like the iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy, or other similar devices would have looked like something out of a Science Fiction movie. And today, we complain when we don’t have a reception in some countryside areas or that an app is lacking features. We grew into this kind of technology like our forefathers grew into using a television set.
Why do we post this?
First, mobile phones are extremely popular these days and there is a lot of cool software available. We will therefore also post about apps for smartphones. Below you will find some links already for apps we mentioned earlier on this website. So this post is like a reminder for those apps. But we did not talk about the basics, so let’s start with it.
What is a Smartphone?
Well, as Wikipedia mentions, a smartphone is a mobile device that combines cellular and mobile computing functions into one unit. That means your smartphone is still a telephone that you use to call your friends, your co-workers, or other folks. But at the same time, your smartphone is a computer. And it is pretty powerful. You can receive and send emails. A web browser is normal for a smartphone, and if you ever visit Japan, you will see lots of people on the trains browsing the internet or playing games. You don’t speak Japanese? Nothing to worry about, with the Google Translate App you can use your mobile phone to instantly translate spoken language in both directions to have an almost decent conversation. Talking about directions, if you need to go somewhere, you can get directions from Google Maps.
And there are plenty of other things you can do with a smartphone. A lot of people listen to music. And if you have not finished your math homework, you should definitely try the Microsoft Math Solver. But there is also stuff like office software. However, working with spreadsheets, creating slides for presentations, or other business-related tasks seem a bit of a hassle for me with a small device like a mobile phone.
Disadvantages
You know, of course, that you can’t have everything. Even though a smartphone is a powerful device, it is of course not as powerful as a full-grown desktop or laptop computer. The small size can simply not hold large enough batteries to provide the needed energy for high-end software. And the small screens and keyboards (most smartphones don’t even have a real physical keyboard, they use virtual on-screen keyboards) do not provide the same comfort as a desktop or laptop computer. But when you are on the road, these small mobile devices are a great and often very helpful tool.
Now the important stuff
Most people don’t think about the most basic security measures regarding their mobile phones. If you have a computer at home, you probably have a good virus scanner installed, and you update your software frequently to be safe from all the malware out there. Don’t forget that your mobile phone is a computer as well. This means you should update your apps (this often happens automatically) and install a virus scanner (e.g., Avast Security & Privacy).
