July 2013 - Design Theory

Why I Switched From iPhone to Android

For the past several years I’m been a fanboy for Apple products. It all started with my iPhone 3G a few years ago, then to an iPod Touch, then a white MacBook, then an iPad, to a MacBook Pro, and iPhone 4. Whew, when I actually list all of that out it seems like a lot huh? Well I recently made the switch to an Android as my mobile device. Switching from my easy to use and fully functioning iPhone 4. For me, learning how to use all of these devices was pretty simple. I’ve been a “techie” just about all of my life.

But why did I make the switch? Well, for a lot of reasons but some that are biggest to mention is that Apple has been slacking in their handheld department. My wife has been on Team Android for years, and of lately I’ve just been really frustrated with the lack of user options that iOS is still lacking yet Android users have had for years. She had been taunting me with these air gestures for scrolling through pictures, automatic pause when looking away from watching a video, scheduling text messages, and more. Aside from these I just mentioned let me talk about a few things I now enjoy that I was denied from Team Apple.

Swype

The ability to compose text and email messages by sliding your fingers across the keyboard. I was quite skeptical about this from the outside looking in, but once I started to really use it myself I finally understood what all the hype was about. Its amazing how accurate the engine is as well as the built in predictive text. There were plenty of times when I started spelling a word the wrong way and when I was done with the word expecting to delete it, the corrective type already knew what word I really wanted to use. Eerie but cool at the same time.

Automatic App Updates

I’ve never really understood why Apple hasn’t implemented automatic updates. Most PC software and a lot of OSX software have their own measures for automatic updated, yet on iOS whether you have an iPod, iPhone, or iPad you still need to manually update your apps and each time you do you need to enter your credentials. In most cases there really isn’t a reason you’re NOT going to update your apps. Updates are usually a benefit, be it for bug fixes, new features, and other advancements. Android apps can be updated automatically and you get a short note in your notification window that the app(s) have been updated.

External Storage

This has been a longstanding issue. Now that I can add my content from my devices straight to my mobile device is great. And not having to worry about filling up my internal and doing a data balancing act with my content is quite relaxing. On my Samsung Galaxy S4 I can add up to 64g of external storage. And that’s on top of the already allotted 16g of internal storage.

Removable Battery

Most Android phones will allow you to remove the back plate and have access to your battery and that may also be where your SD card slot is too. It’s pretty convenient to have a spare when you know you’ll be at an all day conference that may be limited on outlets to recharge. So when your device does go to that 10% status, you can just swap out your battery and you’re back to 100% and that should last till the end of your day. That was never an option on my iPhone 3G or 4. I kind of doubt that will be an option on the upcoming 5s too.

NFC

Near Field Communication is being able to send or receive data just by placing your device near another device. They don’t need to be the same device, they just need to have the NFC function. So you may have a debit or credit card with NFC where you can pay just by waving your card on a small box. Well with mobile phones you can send pictures, music, and more this way.

Widgets

Now this was a totally new concept to me. Having jailbroken my 3G and my 4, I had a few things that I added like SB Settings and Lock Info which were great for getting to commonly used options like brightness, airplane mode, weather and more. On my Android device there are many apps that have their own widgets that can be placed on any page you create from your phone. So for example you can have a row if icons for your favorite apps like Messaging, Gallery, Email, and Contacts, then have a full horizontal bar that is your music player, then a few boxes that are your weather app, calendar, tasks, etc. The combinations are vast especially from the native apps.

Overall this new OS (to me) offers a lot more in user functions that I was not even aware was possible when I was on iOS. Though one major shortcoming is that unless you have one of the major manufactured devices like HTC or Samsung, you may not get the same version(s) of Android. The one attack I’d usually is how segmented the OS was across so many different devices, and how unified iOS was. The phone I’m currently using is the Samsung Galaxy S4 and it has many more options baked in that aren’t yet available on other manufacturers so my views are from this device solely.

Now if you are deciding to make the switch, I found some apps to make your converting process a bit less painless.

Samsung Smart Switch

This free piece of software from Samsung called Smart Switch will actually find and transfer your text messages, memos (notes), music, calendar items, contacts and more. What you’ll want to do is be sure to do a sync and a backup of your iPhone prior to using this application because it pulls from that stored data from your computer. This is something available for Samsung Devices though, so I can’t say if it will work with an HTC device or others. They have it for Windows and Mac too. This process took a while because I had a lot of data on my iPhone but it was so nice not to lose any text messages or photos and such.

While you’re at it pick up Kies and configure your device to sync to your computer or laptop. It’s fairly easy to setup and configure. What I liked best was the ability for it to scan my hard drive or specific folders for media to then choose what I want added or sync’d to my phone.

So if you’re planning to do a switch I hope that this article helps to shed some light on what to expect and maybe more reasons why you’d want to go all the way. Of course I have a bunch more comments and such to add, but I’ll save that for replying to your comments below.

How to add a custom sidebar (Widget Area) to your WordPress Website

How to, Web Design, Web Development, WordPress

Do you have a WordPress website where each page has the same content in your sidebar? Have you ever wanted to have different content from page to page, but not sure how to do it? Well this post is for you.

Woo Themes has a really simple plugin that will allow you to create your own custom sidebars or widget areas for your website. You’ll be able to name each widget area whatever you like, and even assign it to your already created pages. See the video for a quick walk-through on installing the plugin and configuring a widget area.

Want to get a copy of this plugin to download now; follow this link to the WordPress repository and get your copy today. Oh and be sure to give a shout out to the guys at Woo Themes for making our lives easier!

Sizzling Summer Content Writing Tips

Blog, Branding, Content & Copywriting, Product Reviews

Summer is here and it’s not the time for cool, mediocre content on your blogs or website. Send your content and website hits soaring with these successful tips to keep your rankings and indexing climbing to the top of the charts.

#1 Consider what sells you on eBay — A good description of a product as well as the imagery selected creates the motivation to buy the item, right? So it’s no different with your product or service description. Want to heat up the return on your investment of time, money and effort expended on building your business, brand or blog? You have to engage and inform in such a way that ignites the audience to take action.

#2 Yes, Sweat the Small Stuff — I don’t like saying the “devil’s in the details” but the small, sweat drops of critical points are what’s going to take the success of your content sky-high! Remember, in the online world, all your competitors are just a few clicks away. Give them more than just a simple photo and bland product dimensions; engage them visually and then close the deal.

#3 Hot Headlines & Following the News in Your Niche — News is a great source to turn up the heat on your content . You’d be surprised where great ideas can be formulated when derived from the media’s ‘hot topics’ and headlines promoted on Yahoo, CNN and various websites as well as TV. This technique can effectively increase the exposure of your content and be just what you need to jump-start your creative juices and typing fingers. For example, while on my LinkedIn page, I saw an article about choosing the red vs. the blue pill in ‘Happiness Is Not the Most Important Thing at Work.’ It made me consider a future blog topic about the power of engaging headlines and questioning your audience within your content to fully-engage them.

#4 Test the waters with a Blog Aggregator – A what? You read it correctly – a blog aggregator. It’s a website that keeps track of blog posts and where bloggers go for idea sharing with other bloggers in your niche. This is a great way to be inspired, share ideas and even professionally debate a topic. I recently wrote an article on Triberr, one of the prominent blog aggregators today. Not only were people engaged, but one of the founders of the company commented on my blog to address some of the points I made. Engagement accomplished!

#5 Window Shopping & People Watching – Most of us are out & about more than usual during the summer months. Whether at the beach, tanning poolside or BBQing in the backyard–watching others can give way to some pretty cool topics for blogging. Window shopping and long walks about town can also be the catalyst for thoughts on a product or service, from or for your own business. Also, by watching how someone reacts to various stimuli can strike the right match to turn up creative thought within you.

I hope this ignited some inspiration in you with some great insights to consider when writing and posting your content. I’d love to hear what other piping hot tips you have to share with me!