All posts by Adam Prattler

4 Apps That Helps You To Stay In Touch While Travelling

Photo credits: British Airways

If you know you’re going to be traveling – near or far – being able to keep in touch with friends and family is a good idea for a lot of reasons. While you shouldn’t be checking your smartphone if you’re driving, we have four mobile apps that can help you stay in touch when you’re traveling. No matter your destination, these mobile applications are going to help you stay connected.

Four Apps for Communication on the Road

Here’s a closer look at four specific mobile apps that can help you stay in touch when you’re traveling on vacation.

  1. Fring – This is a very cool mobile app that will allow you to make VoIP calls with your smartphone via any WiFi spot you can find. It’s available for both iOS and Android based mobile phones. The best part is that you can even do video group chats – all without running up your data charges.

  2. Skype – You’ve probably already heard about Skype if you spend any amount of time online, but you might not know that it’s also available as a mobile application. If you have a WiFi connection, you’re going to be able to keep in touch via video chats on your mobile phone.

  3. WhatsApp – If you’re looking for a communication app that is location aware and has a super large user base, you’re going to want to download and install WhatsApp. The user interface is very easy to use and you’re going to find that a lot of your friends are already part of the WhatsApp network. This particular app has been downloaded over 1 million times, which proves that it’s at least somewhat useful. As with the other apps in our list, it’s all about how you use it.

  4. Wi-Fi Finder – While this isn’t an app that allows you to communicate directly, it’s still very useful when you’re on the road traveling. Basically, it allows you to find the nearest (and strongest) WiFi connections so that the other mobile apps in our list work better. Finding a strong and stable WiFi hotspot isn’t the easiest thing to do – especially if you find yourself in a foreign country or unfamiliar part of the world. With a few taps of your finger, you’ll be able to find what you need.

Using one or more of the apps listed above will help you keep in constant contact with your loved ones – or even your boss. In all seriousness, it’s never been easy to travel the world and still keep in touch with people back home. Know of any other mobile apps that help you keep in touch while traveling? If so, write a comment below and share your wisdom.

Top Free Apps this 2014 for Book Lovers!

The versatility of the iPhone is one of the reasons why it still remains at the top spot when it comes to smart phones. Today, there are thousands of available apps online, giving users the chance to download programs that can help their day-to-day needs. Even better – these apps grow in number practically on a daily basis. Here are some of the latest apps for the year 2014 that you might find useful!

Kindle

Kindle is one of the biggest names when it comes to eBooks and it just so happens that there’s an app for that! With this program, you have the chance to download hundreds of books for free and start reading them through your phone. Considering the fact that the iPhone 5 now has a bigger display only makes it more ideal for reading.

Nook

If you’re not much into Amazon’s Kindle, there’s always the Nook from Barnes and Noble. Both actually offer different features but basically make it possible for you to start reading books without the benefit of an e-reader. Like Kindle, you gain access to hundreds of books and magazines that can be both free or for sale – depending on your reading preferences.

iBook

For those who are hardcore Apple fans, the smartphone company also offers an app for habitual e-book readers. The iBook offers access to hundreds of different reading materials and makes it easier for you to read from the screen. It’s like a digital library that gives you the chance to search and save. One of the advantages of iBook is that it’s compatible with the iPad. So basically, you can search for the books you want, transfer them to your iPad and start reading. This way, you get an even bigger screen. Most of the published works are also available for free.

Wattpad

Already a popular online community for readers, the Wattpad app gives you access to thousands of possible eBooks, most of them for free. What’s great about this software however is that some novels are generated by the users. Hence, if you like amatuer books or have some of your own, try using this one.

Aside from different apps that could help personalize your phone, there are also different book-lover styled iPhone 5 cases    that could be useful in expressing your individuality. Whether you’re in the office or out partying with friends, you have the option of tweaking your smartphone internally and externally to make it more convenient for your needs.

 

Top 7 Live Chat Software

Photo credits: hobvias sudoneighm

Are you thinking of installing live chat software on your website? This is good! The bad news is that there are a lot of different options available. If you don’t know what you want, you could spend hours or even days looking up information about the different packages you can install. To help out, we’ve put together a definitive list of the top seven live chat software programs you can use to communicate online.

Top Seven Live Chat Software Programs

Here’s a look at seven specific chat programs that will let you talk (or type) live with customers or anyone else you want to communicate with online.

  1. LivePerson – This is a great solution, but you should be prepared to shell out the big bucks to get a license and support for it. Still, if you have a large website with a lot of users wanting to chat, it’s a good option.

  2. Comm100 Live Chat – This option is easy to use and very customizable. You’ll need to spend some time learning the software, but this isn’t a problem for most people.

  3. BoldChat – For even more options, check out the BoldChat software for live discussion on your website. This one really opens up a lot of possibilities.

  4. Kayako Fusion – If you’re new to online chat and think you’re going to need a lot of assistance, Kayako Fusion is a good choice because they have a very large and active community of users who can help.

  5. LiveHelpNow – For those with a small or medium sized business, this is another good solution for live chat software that can be used for customer service. The cool thing is that you can integrate Google Analytics, Google Adsense and Salesforce to your chat program to keep everything in sync.

  6. WebsiteAlive – If you don’t have a lot of employees, WebsiteAlive is a good choice because it’s easy to use and can help you keep up with multiple conversations just as easily. This software can really make your website come alive for all your visitors.

  7. Velaro – This is a great solution for ecommerce websites. This is primarily because of the built-in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and shopping cart gadgets that make it easy to deploy out of the box.

As you can see, a lot of different live chat software options are available these days. Before you make a decision on what you’re going to use, you need to sit down and make a list of wants and needs. Next, take a look at the pros and cons of all the different software available so that you can come to an informed decision about what to use.

Asus Transformer book takes 4 seconds to switch from android to windows

photo: laptopmag

The World increasingly wants more from less. Less in Asus’s dictionary does not necessarily mean less money but definitely means less baggage in terms of not having a load of devices, but just that one great device with almost super power like features. So these super powers are ,for instance, giving you the advantage of having a device which has both Android and Windows. And this advantage other companies can provide but the edge that Asus has and a huge edge, is that Asus gives gives you this switch between the two systems, in just four seconds. And this four second switch is just one of many things to boast off. Lets us hence look at the device which provides this, in detail and depth.

Dual Boot Transformer

The Asus device is dual-boot transformer Book Duel laptop-cum-tablet, which makes this switch in four seconds. A thing to definitely boast off as other hybrid computing cannot pull of this act smoothly, let alone in four seconds. This device is not only for those who want both systems but also for those who can’t take a decision between the two systems. This switch is as easy as it sounds- can be made through a key on the keyboard when important laptop mode and through a virtual key when in tablet mode.

The essentials

Moving onto the hard drive, it has Intel core i7 processor, a 4GB RAM and Intel HD graphics. The screen is pretty large at 13.3 inches and has a resolution of 1,920 * 1080 pixels. Memory won’t be an issue as there is  an impressive 128GB of solid state drive storage which can be increased over and above by the use of a SD card. And to add to this long list of delights, is a 1TB built in on the keyboard dock. And all this with the four second switch which is indeed a feat hard to achieve.

Padfone-Mini

The second worthy device from Asus is Padfone-mini which has been revamped from being an Padfone to Padfone mini and released as a 4 inch,dual sim smartphone. Again a hybrid,it slots into a 7 inch tablet. Both the small and the large screens have appropriate resolutions of 800*400 and 1280*800 pixels. The back is equally impressive with a 8 megapixel camera. A strong 1.6 Ghz Intel Atom Processor runs it. It has memory of 8GB which can be expanded by the use of a SD card.

The third product(s) again worthy of being spoken and talked of are phones by Asus. Zen Fones 4, 5 and 6. The numbers are meaningful as the larger the number, the larger the screen, better resolution, sharper camera and so on and so forth. Thus Zen 6 will be the best of all and Asus’s best spells a 13 Megapixel Camera, an Intel Atom Z2580 processor at 2GHz with ZenUI which is Asus’s new interface.

And lastly,it has released Vino Tab Note 8 with Windows 8.1 also 8 inches. Memory is good at 32GB, again expandable by SD card. Also 2GB above this 32 GB solid state by Intel Bay Trail processor. And lastly the Note has a somewhat surprising feature of having a stylus.