Tame Your Technology - Computer Repair Zone

Since the introduction of the Apple iPhone last year, competing phone manufacturers have been scrabbling to stay ahead of the wave. The original iPhone, and more recently the 3G version, have both sold out in stores shortly after launch proving how popular this model is.

Luckily for competing manufacturers like Samsung and LG, it’s not perfect, and taking the general theme of a large, touch-sensitive screen then improving on the iPhone’s limitations has managed to create a number of phones that, whilst that may not have the street cred of the iPhone, are actually better phones to use with more impressive features.

Take for example the LG Viewty. LG of course are known for their stylish phones like the classic “chocolate” that was so popular a few years ago.

This new model (you can shop for LG Viewty deals here) features the same touch screen, but with a massively improved camera. We’re talking a 5 mega pixel beast - that will allow printing of pixel perfect pictures up to A4 in size, coupled with a flash which is also pretty uncommon in camera phones these days.

This is therefore a handset that is as much camera as it is phone, and infact will replace most common digital cameras of today altogether if you so want it to.

Increasingly users are demanding Internet access on their handsets though the old 2G networks can be painfully slow to load today’s web pages - especially as there are so few “mobile friendly” pages currently. Of course, this slow speed also covers the old iPhone, though they have finally introduced a 3G version which should speed up Internet access. LG though seem to have gone even further for their customers and the LG Viewty boasts HSDPA speeds meaning that it is almost bradband speed internet in HSDPA areas - and so runs considerably faster than competing products (including the iPhone).

Lastly, you’re not limited to O2 as you are in the UK as LG’s latest baby is available on all UK networks giving you further choice.

So it would seem that so long as you don’t mind the lower street cred of the LG Viewty (though LG is still viewed as a “cool” brand by the younger generation) you would do very well to take a closer look at the LG Viewty and you can find out more from a number of genuine reviews at this LG Viewty review page.

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Well, tech-freaks, today I bring you news of an exciting new competition that has the potential to fill your pockets with free gadgets.

Here’s what is currently on offer:

• Flip Mino Video Camera
• Nintendo DS Lite (along with Cartoon Network Racing and The Grinch Stole Christmas)
• $50 Prepaid Amex Card
• 2GB USB Pen
• USB Missile Launcher

In other words that’s a whole lotta goodies - total value over over $350!

These prizes have been sponsored by the excellent Affiliate Confession blog (also great for advice on the Build A Niche Store software), Market Leverage and Vat19. The result will be pulled on June 25th so if you want to get involved, just head over to Affiliate Confession and apply.

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I’m slowly trying to move everything I can online at the moment because now that I am travelling quite a bit I don’t want to be tied down to any particular computer or geographic location.

This means things like swapping to web mail rather than a stand-alone mail client and using del.icio.us rather than Forefox standard favorites.

So I’ve been experimenting with Google Calendar to help keep life organised.

What I want to be able to do is access Google Calendar on my PC while I’m working (easy) but then when I’m away from my computer I want to be able to still access it. And this is the problem I have had in the past - one calendar on my cell phone, and another paper version at home. And keeping the 2 in sync can be a real pain.

What I *can* do is log into Google Calendar using the browser on my cell phone, but even running 3G the connection is so slow it’s painful - and I want to be able to make quick decisions. Worse - the data network isn’t as reliable as voice so sometimes I find I *can’t* access the net on my phone.

But now I think I’ve got the solution and it’ll be interesting to see how it works out.

As before, I enter dates and appointments on Google Calander when at my PC. But I have also found and installed a little application on my Windows Mobile-powered Palm Treo that syncs the Windows Mobile calendar function with Google Calendar.

So if I’m heading out for a meeting all day, I just turn on my Treo before I go, power up the synchronization software and - POW! - within moments everything is on my Palm.

This synchronization happens via my phones internet connection so I don’t need to be plugged into my PC in order to carry this process out.

Even better - the synchronization works both ways so if I add some dates at the meeting, I just resync at the end of the day, and my Google Calendar account is updated.

Perfect! Google Calendar will even send me SMS messages ot remind me of upcoming events!

The application I’m using is called OggSync - I’m using the freeware version at the moment but there is a paid version - though to me it wasn’t very clear from their website what the differences were so I thought - why pay the extra?!

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For the first time ever [blush!] I have actually installed a few additional applications on my trusty Palm Treo.

Whilst I consider myself above-average when it comes to general technology use, I’d never installed anything like this, so I was a little bit nervous.

It turns out it was OK.

The software I wanted to download had a mobile page available (often beginning or ending in “m” - such as www.maindomain.com/m or m.maindomain.com - and very plain to look at) so after finding it on my main desktop PC, I visited the link on my Treo’s browser.

Next I simply clicked the download link, ticking the “open after download” option and left it running for a few seconds to download the application.

Straight after download it automatically installed itself, and checking the “Programs” menu, there was the new application.

How simple is that?!

If you *can’t* download the file straight onto your Windows Mobile device however you can download it to your PC, then sync your PC and mobile device, then install from there but it seems a bit more complicated and long-winded.

I found this video (from an outside source) incase it’s of use though…

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It’s strange how many people still think they pay to receive a picture message. I suppose it’s similar to the way many people think they’ll pay to receive a text message when they’re abroad. Trust me - it ain’t going to happen.

So as to whether you need money on your phone to receive picture messages, the answer is “no”. Only the sender pays.

If you’re expecting one and you haven’t received it, then either there’s a problem with their phone sending it or yours receiving it. Firstly - can they send picture messages to other people? If not, the problem is likely their phone. If other people can receive them but you can’t, then the problem is likely your phone.

In which case, read my article about not being able to send or receive picture messages and all will become clear

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When I worked with cell phones this was one of the most common questions of all - and yet the easiest to resolve.

So let’s take you through a simple guide to linking (or “pairing”) your cell phone and Bluetooth headset.

Basically what we are going to do is play an electronic version of find and seek. We’re going to get your headset to say “come and find me!” then your cell phone to search for him and track him down.

OK, let’s get prepared. Best have your manuals for your cell phone and headset to hand as each model is slightly different and you might get stuck part way.

Here are the steps:

1) Turn the Bluetooth on your cell phone on.

Typically this will either be in a “Tools” or “Settings” menu. Taking my Samsung as an example, I open the menu, select “Organizer And Tools” and there 4 options down is Bluetooth. I go into this menu and notice by “Activation” it says “Off”. I need it to be on, so I toggle it with the menu button. It says says “On” and that’s stage 1 complete.

2) Prepare You Cell Phone To Search

Still within the Bluetooth menu look either for an option called “Search For Devices” (or similar) or look my “My Devices”. Taking my Samsung again I select the “My Devices” option and inside that menu there is an option to “Search New Device”. Basically where we end is in such a place that you can just click an option and your handset will start “looking” for any Bluetooth-enalbed device within range.

3) Put Your Headset In Pairing Mode

By putting your headset in pairing mode, it is essentially sending out a message so your cell phone can locate it and create the necessary link between the two. This differs greatly between headsets but generally involves pushing in and then holding down one or more buttons. You’ll know it’s right because the lights will change - typically rather than an ocassional blue flash you will get alternate red and blue flashing lights. When you see this, you’re ready.

4) Begin The Search

Your Bluetooth headset will only remain in pairing mode for a matter of 30 seconds of less (which is why we did that last) so quickly press the search option on your handset and within a few moments you should find the name of your Bluetooth headset appear on the screen. Wait till your phone has finsihed searching then highlight and select your headset on the screen. If you phone asks you for a password to link the two devices simply enter 0000 and that should work.

All done!

You should now be able to pop your headset on and make a call without holding your cell phone! You should onlt need to do this once and your phone and headset will continue to recignise each other when in range in the future.

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Cell phones have a unique identifying number like the chassis number of your car.

If and one gets stolen it gets blacklisted by the cell phone networks - which stops calls being made on that handset and theres no way to resolve the issue unless the network remove the bar. Bizareely they often *can* send texts, just not make calls.

A common occurence in “cheap” phones bought off a friend, off ebay or suchlike is this very problem.

So if you buy a new phone but can’t make a call when you can send a text think - dodgy phone and get your money back as quickly as possible.

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Text messages get routed through a specific number and the single most common reason for your phone to not be sending texts is simply that the number, hidden deep in the menu of your phone, is wrong.

The most common one is it’s missing the last digit because you accidentally changed it when you meant to do something else (did your handset used to send texts then just suddenly stopped?). Other options are that there is no number in the menu at all, or the incorrect number.

What you need to do is to contact your network and find out what the correct *message center number* for texts is on their network.

Then looking in your “Message Settings” in your cell phone look for SMS settings and locate the Message Center Number option.

In 90% of cases you’ll find it’s wrong. Just correct it by typing in the correct number, press save, restart the phone and you’ll likely be sending texts again in no time.

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If you’re unable to send picture messages with your phone there are generally only two possible causes  - which are also seen in combination some times.

They are:

1) Handset settings
2) Account settings

Let’s look at each of these in turn…

Handset Settings

In order to send or receive picture messages you will need to have the correct settings installed on your phone. There are a number of reasons why the settings may be wrong - many of them being based on the fact that different networks and different systems use different settings. For example:

- Are you using a contract handset with a pay as you talk sim card (or vice versa)?
- Are you using a handset from one network to try and send picture messages on another network?

Appreciate that on your handset there are settings for both incoming and outgoing messages so if you can do one but not the other it is likely the problem is your settings. These can be updated from the manufacturers website or the network you are trying to send MMS over. They will send out the settings essentially in the form of a text message (so make sure you know your cell phone number!) which you then install easily on your handset - problem solved.

Also, if you could send/receive messages in the past but can’t now, it’s likely you’ve inadvertatently changed a setting when you meant to do something else.

The other option, as I mention, is…

Account Settings

Simply your network must have activated this facility on your account. If in doutb contact them and ask them to double-check.

That’s it! Quite an easy problem to fix generally and one you may even be able to do yourself.

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While Bluetooth is gaining ground all the time, there are still a number of people who either don’t understand what it is, or aren’t aware of what it can do so I thought a quick overview of Bluetooth would be useful.

Bluetooth is, in short, a wireless connection between two pieces of technology.

To communicate by Bluetooth both pieces of technology need to be Bluetooth-enabled either by having the service built in (as many cell phones and the newer printers do) or by having it added (such as by adding a simple, cheap Bluetooth dongle to an existing computer).

The two Bluetooth devices, once a link is set up, can then communicate with one another without having to plug anything in.

The classic Bluetooth combination is an earpiece for using in the car and a cell phone. The benefit of this arrangement (beside the safety, and in some countries legal, aspects) is the lack of wires. You can leave your cell phone on the passengers seat and when you get out of the car with your headset on the connection will drop. When you get back in, the connection will automatically start again.

But this isn’t the only combination.

Some new cars will have an in-car kit that will communicate with any Bluetooth phone allowing you to talk out loud without a headset and the recipient of your call to hear what you are saying.

You could also print out photographs taken on your cell phone if you are within reach of your Bluetooth-enabled printer. Or back up your contacts to your Bluetooth-enabled computer. Or send ringtones, images, videos and the like to another Bluetooth-enabled phone.

And remember - you don’t pay for the connection or what you send. Like infra-red, it’s “just there”.

So, if you wanted to send a picture to a friend’s handset, you could either pay to send it as a picture message (MMS) or just wait till you and your friend are close (12-15 feet maximum generally) and then just send it free to their phone.

So get wireless and consider Bluetooth options - you won’t look back.

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