WhatsApp vs Viber vs Skype

July 9, 2015

The market is so saturated with internet messaging apps we, the consumer, have a wonderful amount of choice when it comes to messaging via the great World Wide Web.

But with all this choice comes confusion. Because which is the ultimate messaging app out of all these choices? Or are they- as is the case with much of the tech world- each specialists in one area?

In this article we’ll explore some of the main pros and cons of WhatsApp, Viber and Skype so you can make an informed choice whether you need all, a couple or just one of these messaging apps.

WhatsApp

-Free for one year with a 99 cent annual subscription thereafter-

Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 Billion in 2014 and the social network is rarely wrong with its investments.

An incredibly popular messaging app, WhatsApp is renowned for letting you send messages anywhere in the world for free (once you’ve paid the annual subscription.)

All you need is an internet connection. WhatsApp has plenty of positives and little features make it a fun messaging app to use.

The beauty of the international messaging is that WhatsApp allows you to attach images, short videos and audio clips to messages- so you can keep friends updated on your holidays with ease. The incorporation of location sharing on Google Maps is another neat feature we shouldn’t overlook.

One thing WhatsApp doesn’t have is video calling which Skype and Viber both have enabled. Despite this, WhatsApp does have plans to introduce voice calling in the future.

Skype

-Free for basic, but has price plans for premium use-

As aforementioned Skype is mainly known as a video chat service and it’s an incredibly good one at that. But Skype’s more than just video calling, in fact it’s probably the most comprehensive piece of software on the list; but being a jack of all trades isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Currently, Skype’s still probably the first port of call for video and voice calling across the internet and a couple of positives are the facts that it gives you HD enabled and video calling.

But the mobile app is, as you would expect, severely draining to battery and Skype doesn’t give you a choice of call quality incoming or outgoing- which is a bit of a pain.

The battery drain is probably due to the wealth of features Skype affords the user and it’s a comprehensive list.

On Skype you can: receive lessons in a new language, complete a PC to phone call, a PC to PC call, phone to phone, screen share and make an Android to iOS video call.

Whilst Skype remains a great video and voice call app, Microsoft seem to be overcomplicating what used to be a simple, yet highly effective app.

Viber

A great messaging app due to the plethora of features that enhance the Viber experience.

On Viber you can expect to: add your location, audio clips, stickers and emoticons- which gives it a similar functionality within message sessions to WhatsApp.

Perhaps giving it the edge of WhatsApp is Viber’s ability to make both audio and video calls in superb quality, which puts it on a par with Skype.

Both audio and video calls are free too, which allows you to avoid pesky long distance charges.

It’s not as feature heavy as Skype but this isn’t a bad thing in my opinion.

One problem is the user base- in the US and Europe Viber has a very small user base in comparison to the two other apps in the list.

The usual conundrum applies here, everyone follows the herd- which isn’t always necessarily heading in the right direction. In tech often the best software doesn’t get used and while Viber would be my software of choice from this list the rest of the world is yet to agree.

How to Store Your Galaxy S6 Photos on an SD Card

Kelly Hodgkins

July 8, 2015

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a fantastic camera, which means you will be using it to take a ton of photos. Before you fill up your phone with your amazing landscape images or stunning selfies, you may want to take a few minutes and transfer those treasured moments to a microSD card.Configuring your phone to save images from your Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone to an external card is easy once you know how.

The camera app is where you can find the settings that control the capture and storage of photos. These configuration options include adjustments to camera parameters such as ISO, tweaks for features such as HDR and utility settings that apply to the underlying camera functions such as the option to change where photos are being stored.

When it comes to photo storage, we are interested in the latter configuration settings which are accessible as follows:

Open the stock camera app
Tap on the Gear icon in the viewfinder to open the camera settings
Select the Gear tab in the settings
Scroll until you see the Storage option
Tap Storage and select the option to save photos to a memory card.

Once you’ve selected the option to store photos on a memory card, you can exit the settings app and start taking pictures without worrying about running out space on your smartphone. Use a high-capacity SD card and you’ll be able to store months and maybe even years of photos on this single card.

Just remember to remove the card occasionally and transfer your photos to a secondary storage location such as an external hard drive or a cloud account like Dropbox.

How to Get Ringtones on an iPhone 6 without iTunes

Henry McIntosh

July 8, 2015

The innovation of the cloud makes it possible to sync your iPhone without needing to connect it to a computer.

Unfortunately, the one thing you’re not currently able to sync through the cloud are ringtones.

This is a pain for most iPhone users. It effectively means that you have to sync the iPhone with iTunes to enable you to download the specific ringtone you want. This in turn means that you require the parent computer which houses your iTunes account before you can download the ringtone; which isn’t exactly ideal.

Luckily, there is another way to get ringtones on an iPhone 6 without iTunes and it’s an incredibly easy and quick solution which makes you wonder why so few people know anything about it. It also makes you wonder why Apple make such functionality so difficult but there you go. So here’s how to get it done:

Firstly, you will need to download the free app iTools onto your computer. Have your iPhone, a computer and an iPhone USB cable handy and make sure you have a ringtone file.

From there:

Open iTools -> Connect your iPhone to a computer using a USB cable -> iTools will recognise your iPhone and display its details on screen -> Select Music from the left of the iTools screen -> Select Ringtones under Media Types -> Select import at the top of the screen

Now you’re able to transfer the ringtone to your iPhone:

Select the ringtone you wish to transfer -> Click Import which should appear towards the bottom of the screen -> iTools will begin the ringtone download and it will presently appear on your phone

So there you go the conundrum of how to get ringtones on an iPhone 6 without iTunes.

Troubleshooting the Bluetooth Connection in your Samsung Galaxy S6

Kelly Hodgkins

July 7, 2015

Like most modern smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S6 includes Bluetooth, which provides a convenient way to connect your phone to accessories such as headsets, speakers, and even your car’s entertainment center. Bluetooth is fantastic when it works, but it can be frustrating when the system goes awry, and your phone fails to connect to other devices. Here are some tips to help you troubleshoot your Bluetooth connection.

Toggle Bluetooth on/off

The first step in troubleshooting Bluetooth on your Samsung phone is the most simple one — just try turning the service on and then off. Open the Settings and then Connections. Select Bluetooth and use the toggle to turn it off. Wait 10 seconds and then turn it back on.

Remove and reconfigure the Bluetooth profile

If one device is giving you difficulty, your best option to restore the Bluetooth connection is to remove the device from your phone and then restore it. Open Setting > Bluetooth and find your device in the list of paired devices. Select the device and then tap “Forget.” to remove the device’s Bluetooth profile from your phone.

Once removed, you must pair the device with your Galaxy S6 before you can use it. Open Settings > Bluetooth and confirm that Bluetooth is turned on. Then put the Bluetooth in pairing mode by following the manufacturer’s instructions. When the Bluetooth device is discoverable, your Galaxy S6 should locate it and prompt you to pair with the accessory. Authorize this pairing and follow the prompts to configure the connection. When you are done, the device should appear in the list of paired devices.

This removal and reconfiguration process often fixes whatever was broken in the original connection.

Wipe the Bluetooth cache

Wiping the Bluetooth cache will remove the temporary files created by the system to manage your Bluetooth connections. Just go to Settings > Application Manager and display all the tabs by swiping left or right on the screen. Find the Bluetooth tab and select the option to force quit the service. Then choose to clear the Bluetooth cache and confirm that you want to clear the Bluetooth data. Select OK to finish the process and then reboot your phone.

Boot into Safe Mode

Safe mode is a useful tool as it disables all third-party apps, allowing you to determine if your problem is being caused by any of the apps you’ve installed on your phone. Booting into safe mode is easy — simply power off your Galaxy S6 and then power it back on while simultaneously holding don the power button and the Volume Down button. Keep holding the Volume down button during the startup process. You can release it when the Home screen appears. If you’ve done it correctly, it should say “Safe Mode” in the lower left. To exit out of safe mode, just power off the Galaxy S6 and turn it back on using only the power button.

Once in safe mode, you can test the Bluetooth connection to see if it works. If Bluetooth works, then the issue lies with one of the third-party apps on your phone. If the device still fails to connect, then you know the problem is with the accessory or the Android operating system.

Best Waterproof Cases for the Samsung S6 Edge

Henry McIntosh

July 7, 2015

Waterproof cases afford the ultimate form of protection for your phone. Not only is waterproofing the key and most alluring factor but the fact that dust, snow and other debris will not trouble your phone is also a reassuring feature of a waterproof case.

One thing to note when purchasing a case is the difference between ‘waterproof’ and ‘water resistant.’ If we were getting technical I would say that no case is completely waterproof but if they are labelled as such then they are able to withstand prolonged periods underwater.

A ‘water resistant’ case on the other hand means that the case is only able to resist light splashes and some rain. So just be careful when making a purchase that the case specifically meet your demands.

Here we’ve listed our two favourite waterproof cases. Both offer complete waterproofing but both are either end of the price scale. Read on to help you make an informed choice when it comes to protection for your Sam sung S6 Edge Phone.

LifeProof Fre – $79.99

A high price point for an extremely high end case. There’s a lot to love about the Lifeproof Fre apart from the irony that this protective case will damage your bank account more than most.

Still, not only is the Fre waterproof, it’s also dustproof, shockproof and snowproof too; so you’ll be hard pushed to offer your phone better protection.

The ultimate case for the Samsung S6 Edge. But there is limited availability of the Lifeproof Fre so it might be a case of ordering and waiting.

Ultraproof Case – $7.99

This is a universal case and while it’s not the most flattering looking thing in the world, if you’re more in need of something practical rather than chic then this could be the case for you.

Rated as IPX8 the Ultraproof delivers the highest standard of waterproofing which is suitable for continued submersion.

Probably a good shout if you work outdoors or in extreme conditions, the Ultraproof is one of the best waterproof solutions for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and at only a tenth of the price of the Lifeproof Fre it’s accessible to all too.

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