Technology | The Angel Forever

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More Sleep Required

Posted on May 30, 2013 12:01 am by TheAngelForever

For years, I have joked that my theme song should be Who Needs Sleep by Barenaked Ladies. I could go to sleep early, but the evening is often when I can get more writing done and spend time with TechyDad while the boys are sleeping. As I work on a more healthy lifestyle, I knew that better eating, exercise, and losing weight were not my only goals. Even when I sleep, I feel tired. Clearly, something is going on with my sleep patterns and I can not simply blame it on the little guy waking up with nightmares and invading our bed.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I recently received an UP by Jawbone (link to information page). The UP allows me to track my activity, sleep, and other items with the app that go along with the device. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Every morning, I simply plug my UP band into my smartphone (completely compatible with my RAZR HD) and allow it to synch up. I can check the battery life of the UP and make sure I do not need to take a short time to recharge it.

Once the band is finished, I can remove it from my phone and read up on my sleep patterns from the night and activity from the previous day. The following graph is based on 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) and 8 hours of sleep. Under the graph is a pop up message that you can also check for inspiration and information.

76% seems like I am doing pretty well in the sleep category. Of course, you can look closer at the sleep information provided by the UP. When you see this, especially several days of it, it helps to explain why I always feel like I need more coffee to stay awake.

If you are tired, you are less likely to make other healthy choices. When your body needs sleep, you need to give it sleep. I need sleep and thanks to the UP by Jawbone I am going to work toward this one step at a time so I can feel better. My goal is to no longer feel that this song is my theme:

How are your sleep patterns? Do you know how much sleep you are really getting each night? I know I was very surprised to see multiple wake ups and very little sleep sleep most of the time. With this information, I am ready to work on improving my sleep along with my general health.

Categories:
health awareness me moments Phone Apps Technology

Tuesday Tales – Reading with OverDrive Media App

Posted on May 21, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

While I love to read paper books and eBooks, there are times when I really enjoy listening to a book. Audio books have come a long way. Where you used to have to listen to books on multiple CDs, you can now get MP3 and other formats to purchase or borrow from libraries. As I have written before, check and see if your local library has a digital lending area. The Upper Hudson Library System does, as well as the New York Public Library. I often browse both collections for new reads on the go.

Over the weekend, when my son was sick, I wanted to listen to a book while he watched a movie. This allowed me to crochet and hear something. The first thing I did was to reinstall the OverDrive Media Console for Android onto my new phone.

Once I had the app, I knew that I wanted to add a book. I clicked on the “Get Books” icon at the top right and proceeded to add in my accounts with the two library systems. Now, when I am on the go, I can use my 4G LTE connection or Wi-fi to download new books on my account.

From here, your experience will be slightly different depending on the library that you are visiting. On the NY Public Library landing page you can select the type of book that you would like to search. I typically do an advanced search. Here I can select MP3 audiobooks that are available to download now. I can also specify publishers, genre, and more. As you can see, simply looking for MP3 audiobooks that were available now gave me a large number of options that was a bit overwhelming.

Thanks to my GoodReads list, I saw a book title that looked familiar. Sure enough they had Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster. I selected the title, checked it out, and within seconds it was downloading to my phone. Once you select your book to listen to, you can see the player and navigation pages below.

When you need to stop, you simply pause and close the app. The next time you begin and press the play button it will begin right where you left off.

Have you ever used the OverDrive Media App? I would love to know if you have any audiobook suggestions. As always, Tuesday Tales is about spreading love for books. Please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: I used the Lucid 2 by LG phone that I received as a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers to assist me with this post. All pictures were taken via the QuickMemo™ on the phone. As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. There is no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

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Categories:
books Phone Apps Technology Tuesday Tales

Using the WordPress App to Blog on the Go

Posted on May 17, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I recently received a Lucid 2 by LG to try and share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. This blog post utilizes the Lucid 2’s QuickMemo™ to share images of apps. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

When I travel, I typically have posts written and scheduled ahead of time. Sometimes, I write them and have also had some amazing guest writers over the years. Still, I have found myself at Walt Disney World or other locations with something that I want to blog at that moment. In the past, I was limited to using my laptop if I brought it with me. While I prefer to blog with Windows Live Writer, I am flexible when I need to be. Thanks to my smartphones, I am able to use the WordPress app for Android and I can publish at any time with my 4G LTE connection via Verizon Wireless.

The fist time I used this app was when we were at the Disney Social Media Moms celebration last April. I wanted to share some of the magical memories that we were having. Since I did not bring my Laptop (TechyDad had his), I used my phone. My post, Moving to Disney World, proved to me that mobile blogging is a possibility when I need it. When you look at that post, you can not really tell that it was done on the fly unless you notice the different watermarking and way that the photos are set up. Another example is Fantastic Memories from the same trip.

If you have never used the WordPress App it is really easy to install. Once you have it on your phone, you simply select if you have a WordPress.com blog, want a new blog, or use a self hosted WordPress blog like mine. Once you log in, you will have a dashboard of current published posts on the screen.

When you want to write a post, you simply press the “+” that you see in the screen shot above in the upper right corner. A blank post post will appear and it really does look like a smaller and more simple version of the WordPress publishing page. It took me a little while to remember how to use it since I use Live Writer to write, edit, and schedule my posts.

You simply go section by section through the screen. Give the post a title, then compose everything and add media from your phone, type in tags, and set other options the way you want them established.

Of course, the WordPress app also allows you to work with other items on your blog while out and about. From the main screen, you can open a menu by sliding your finger to the right to open up additional features. An item that TechyDad and I have had to use in the past is the comment area. If we get an e-mail about a comment and it is clearly spam, we can use this app to go in, mark it as spam and move on. Before we had smartphones, those comments would have to stay on our blogs unless we had computer access.

There is a lot more that you can do with the WordPress app, but these are some of the highlights. I know that I hope to use this app a lot more this summer while exploring new and fun locations with my family. Have you ever blogged on the go using the WordPress app? I would love to hear your experience.

Categories:
Phone Apps Technology

Getting to Know the Lucid 2 by LG

Posted on May 10, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I recently received a Lucid 2 by LG to try and share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

One of the items I missed when I graduated to a Smartphone was the portability of my new phone. Sure, I loved the bigger screen for seeing websites and apps better, but stuffing a giant item into my pocket while picking the kids up at school, or walking around Walt Disney World is not going to work. One other small issue, larger phones will not fit into those cute wristlets that are great when on the go traveling, running around on errands, or at a social media conference.

When I was asked to test out the LG Lucid 2 as part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I jumped at the opportunity. I have never had an LG smartphone, so I was curious to see how it would compare to other devices that run on Android. A little over a week later, the Lucid 2 arrived and I have not looked back.

Some facts about the Lucid 2

Starter or Standard mode option for setting up the phone
Starter Mode includes simple menus and prompts to assist you during the process
Standard Mode allows you to customize the features and apps that you will use
Has a 4.3 inch qHD touch screen
Runs on Android™ 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system and 4G LTE
Includes a 2460 mAH battery and able to be charged wirelessly via additional accessories that can be purchased
Make screen shots of your phone using QuickMemo™
Comes with Video Wiz preloaded, along with a recording app to make HD videos on the go
Additional information, videos, and accessories for the Lucid 2 can be seen on the Verizon Wireless website.

Setting up the Lucid 2

Setting up the Lucid 2 was extremely easy. Although this is not my first smartphone, you never know how the process will go each time you begin.

Once I put my SIM card into the phone, it prompted me to select one of two options. Since I really wanted to customize my experience, I selected the Standard Mode. The phone does note that no matter which you select, you are able to change this later on under settings and mode change.

Within a short time I had all of the apps that I use positioned where I want them for now. I also moved music into a file to set as ring tones, and made sure that my contacts were only phone numbers, and not coming from e-mails. My SD card was set for saving photos and other items. Oh and one fun item I noted in the set up from the factory, water waves are visible to see how charged your phone is (later on I also set it up so the battery icon has a percentage next to it).

Items I like about the Lucid 2

Although I was skeptical about the size of the Lucid 2, I have not had any problems adjusting to the smaller screen size. Where I may not have the additional screen for apps, I am able to hold it with more ease and keep it in my pocket when on the go. The vivid color and look on the phone more than makes up for this.

Moving from one app to another is easy with the Lucid 2. I was able to take several photos of the sunset, edit them into a collage using PicsArt, and toss a watermark onto it with Add Watermark before sharing on Twitter and Facebook using Instagram. This was my final product:

I appreciate that the Google Chrome browser was already on the phone. I like the look and feel of the built in weather app. I can easily look at my local weather and flip to dream about being in Orlando, Florida.

The item that I am in LOVE with (yes I capitalized that) is QuickMemo™. Something I always noticed with people that use iPhones is their ability to take screen shots of apps or whatever they are doing on their phone. LG has made this possible on the Lucid 2 and it was extremely easy to use. You simply swipe from the top of the screen down and select QuickMemo™ to get started. You can save the screen shot, write on it, or send it to another app. This will be so handy for writing app reviews where photos with a camera of a phone are tricky.

While I typically have a camera with me at all times, being able to use the one in my phone is also important. The camera on the LG has some great options available on it. You can quick edit items and this includes changing: Zoon, Brightness, Focus, Shot Mode, Image Size, Scene Mode, ISO, White Balance, Color Effect, Timer, Geotagging, Shutter sound, Auto review, Storage, and reset back the way it was. You can also select Time catch shot which captures the moments before you actually press the shutter.

While testing out the phone, our tulips opened up and provided a great chance to see what the camera could do. This is unedited and watermarked with the Lucid 2 and taken just after some rain.

Of course, I took many other photos while celebrating Free Comic Book Day on May the 4th, shopping with my kiddo, reading books, and capturing more beauty from Mother Nature.

You may be asking, if I highlighted items that I like about the Lucid 2, what are items I do not like? The honest truth at this point is that there is only one small concern and that is battery life. Compared to many smartphones, this phone does well with battery life on a day. I use my phone a lot for e-mail, social media, sharing with family, and letting the kids play when waiting at locations. All of these are major strains on a battery. I will admit, my last Android phone likely spoiled me with battery life since it would still be at 30-50% at close to midnight. The Lucid 2 does not hold up to those standards. If I use it a lot, I will likely need to charge it at about dinner time. Having a backup charging device or extra battery would be a must when I travel or am at a networking event/conference.

Overall, I am very impressed and intrigued with this LG phone. I look forward to exploring more items and sharing them with you soon.

Categories:
Phone Apps Technology

Taking Photos with the BlackBerry Z10

Posted on May 2, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I recently received a BlackBerry Z10 and accessories to test out and share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Taking photos is part of my life. Not only do I take pictures to capture memories of my family, but I am also on the go sharing moments in the fun world of social media. This means that I need a phone that has a reliable camera where I can point and click, edit, watermark, and share on multiple social media paths.

While testing out the BlackBerry Z10, I wanted to get to know the camera and I was not disappointed. The camera is extremely responsive. Unlike some of the other smartphones that I have used, it will focus very quickly on the item you are observing. There is little delay and you can quickly see the details that you have captured. What I also loved was the fact that you can press any location on the screen to take the picture. On other phones, you often have a tiny circular area as the target. While this may lead to extra pictures being taken, they can easily be deleted.

Here are some photos of flowers to see the level of detail that the Z10 camera produced. Obviously, these are not full resolution, but you can still get the idea (no retouching, I just added the watermark and caption).

Too often, cameras within a phone blur, have trouble with light, or are not able to work quickly. The Z10 really was able to keep up with my needs while on the go and taking photos, especially ones to share and utilize later on.

I usually share photos on Facebook and Twitter via Instagram. Of course, this app just arrived to Android users and is not available for BlackBerry. This meant that I had to Tweet items directly with Twitter and post right to Facebook. It made the process a bit more time consuming, but it was doable. What I had to search for in the BlackBerry World was for an app to watermark. I decided to try the PhotoFirma app. What I really liked about this app is that you can make a logo into your watermark. So rather than simply using the ©TheAngelForever.com, I could place my image right on the photo. Here is an example:

Overall, I think the BlackBerry Z10 has a lot of potential as a smartphone. It really does have many features that will be great for a business person that already uses BlackBerry with their work. I not only liked the camera, but the HUB and easy to use movements were great when getting to know the phone. The downfall for me as someone in social media and as a parent is the lack of apps available at this time. While approximately 100,000 apps may seem like a lot, it is very different than the 700,000 to 800,000 available on other platforms. The app developers have not focused on BlackBerry development at this time. There are just not enough of the apps that I utilize on a daily basis for it to be the right phone for me.