Many people associate the smartphone with the groundbreaking — and for so many Apple devotees, completely life-changing — iPhone release in 2007. But there were actually some predecessors. The very first was the Simon Personal Communicator in 1992, which was a combination of a cell phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA). This just goes to show that smartphones have been a part of our collective consciousness longer than we sometimes even remember.
Considering the fact that Apple has released 18 versions of the iPhone, and there are countless Android-based brands competing on the market — unfortunately, there is no available Simon update — there are certainly some things that the average person should know how to do on their phone.
Grab your stylus so you can take some notes!
1. Grab a Screenshot
Have you ever received a text from a friend that you wanted to save and share as an image? Or maybe you need to have your phone repaired and you want to remember all of your apps so you can easily reload them if necessary. Either way, you can grab a screenshot just as easily on your smartphone as you can on your computer, notes USA Today.
On your iPhone, hit the ‘home’ button along with the ‘sleep/wake’ button. Once you hear the shutter click, your screenshot will appear in your camera roll.
On your Android, hold the ‘power’ and ‘volume’ buttons at the same time, then visit your ‘Captured Images’ file in your Gallery app to find your capture.
2. Reset Your iPhone or Android Smartphone
You may ask yourself ‘why would I need to learn how to reset my iPhone or other smartphone?’ Maybe you are trading it for an upgrade and giving your current smartphone to a friend, or maybe you are simply troubleshooting a problem. Either way, you never want to leave your personal information on a device, regardless of where it ends up next. That’s why it is important to learn this simple process. Just remember to back up all the data stored on your phone, such as photos and music, on a SD card before performing your factory reset.
To reset your iPhone, first select ‘settings’ then ‘general’ before selecting ‘reset.’ Finally, select ‘erase and clear all settings,’ and presto, your data will disappear!
To reset your Android phone, open your ‘settings’ then navigate to and click on ‘backup and reset.’ Once this window opens, click on ‘factory data reset’ to erase all data on the phone. When the prompt appears, tap ‘reset phone,’ then enter your security credentials — either your four-step pattern, a four-digit code or a password — before confirming that you want to ‘erase everything.’
3. Save Data with an Offline Reading App
According to Fortune, 54 percent of ebook readers were cozying up with their favorite books on their smartphone or tablet as of 2015. The number is likely greater today. Either way, you can read your favorite ebooks anywhere you go — even if there is no available Wi-Fi — without burning up your data by downloading an offline reading app. Check out Pocket for iPhone and Aldiko for Android.
Learning these three simple but crucial steps is a great start to getting much more out of your phone each day. Once you start exploring all that your smartphone can do, your friends and family may wonder where you’ve disappeared to.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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