Top Mobile Apps to Help You Organize Your 2017 Schedules

Now that 2017 is here, some professionals or small business owners are looking into shifting from paper-based tasking to becoming organized using applications that act like personal assistants to handle important tasks like schedules and getting organized. Seeing as there are a host of mobile apps up to this task out there to help get the work tasks together.

Wunderlist

Wunderlist manages your to-do list. This free app for iOS will keep you organized in the most basic way possible, organizing your daily tasks and lists. The Smart Lists hide what doesn’t need to be shown and recurring tasks and sub-tasks are simple to create. You can be even more organized by assigning your tasks to others and then getting a message when they are complete.

Google Now

You probably never knew that Google has a personal assistant app except for Siri. Oh sure, you could ask Siri just about anything, but you may be looking for a virtual version of an office secretary instead of a British butler. If that’s the case, it may be time to download Google Now, the “intelligent personal assistant” available for iOS and Android, as well as your desktop. The app organizes just about everything you can think of, giving assistance around the clock. Information is organized into cards that provide all the info you need without you having to spend time searching. The cards are customizable so you see what’s important to you like traffic, weather, relevant websites or sports scores. The latest update includes barcode scanning, song recognition, and the ability to store your boarding pass.

YouSendIt

YouSendIt lets you share, store, and sign files. If you need to share with a little more strength, this latest free iOS app provides a comprehensive and enhanced mobile service for accessing documents, presentations, video, and more from anywhere. Beyond sending files, you can also store files to shared folders and sign documents. Any changes are securely synced and instantly available for other devices and people. A mobile suite of services is also available for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Android.

Expensify

You can photograph receipts with Expensify. There is nothing like a bunch of receipts to make you feel unorganized. This free app is available for virtually every platform and makes it easy to track all kinds of expenses. Perhaps best of all, it lets you snap a photo of receipts and categorize expenses, and can sync to QuickBooks online. It’s a great app for the pain and mess of expense reports.

24me

If you are forgetful, then you need a virtual personal assistant that works like a second brain. 24me auto-generates reminders so you will never miss an important meeting or event, or forget to pay a bill. 24me combines your calendar, to-do lists, and notes all in one easy-to-use, clutter-free app. It syncs with other apps, like Facebook, to send messages to your friends on their birthday in case it slipped your mind, and lets you share notes with coworkers or friends. The app is free to download and is now available for Android.

Building Better Focus and Improving Work Productivity Using These Apps

The success of increased work productivity over the last five years or so has been attributed in no small part by the huge number of apps available to users. These handy little add-ons make life easier; there are apps for grocery shopping, banking, social networks and, of course, every type of work you can think of.

Many of these apps are actually proven to increase work productivity and enables you to perform your job better. It even provides the unique ability to work on the move in a way that hasn’t been possible since even the advent of the electronic organizer.

To take advantage of modern technology to increase your effectiveness and focus on the job, here are a few apps that have been proven to increase the productiveness of people at all levels of business.

Wunderlist

Wunderlist is a fantastic app for every aspect of work. As the name suggests, its main function is making lists which may sound simple but it’s incredibly useful. First, it’s free and it’s extremely easy to use. You can create as many separate lists as you want, and file them accordingly to ensure your life remains organized. It also has the ability to share with multiple users. For instance, you can create a list of to-dos for a certain project, then if you’re out of the office you can assign tasks to other members of the team from your device, laptop, or tablet. You can then set a due date for that task and request a reminder to be sent if the task has yet not been ticked off.

Speek

Conference calling is an important part of how most businesses operate. It enables teams, and individuals, working in different offices around the world to brainstorm, plan and discuss. Speek is a specialist conference calling app that cuts out the fuss and lets you get on with the work. All you have to do is pick a personal link which takes the place of the traditional PIN or phone numbers and then send it to the other callers. When they want to join the call, all they have to do is click that link from their tablet, smartphone, desktop, etc., to join in.

Shoeboxed

Claiming expenses can be a time consuming process, all those forms to fill out and keeping track of those receipts. That’s where Shoeboxed proves its worth. This free app is great for people who frequently find themselves out and about in the name of business. It enables you to scan your receipts into your phone as you go, and then collates and organizes the receipts for you. That’s great especially when the time comes that you need to generate an expenses report.

Tips to Empower Your Samsung Galaxy S5's Battery Life

Battery life has always been one of the major concerns of every smartphone and gadget user. Before consumers buy a new phone or gadget, the first thing they check for is the battery life. It's also one of the major driving factors why they go with a particular smartphone unit. Most devices available in the market today, specifically Android, have improved battery-saving feature, which is a right move. This article will serve as a guide on how you can maximize your Samsung Galaxy S5's battery life and have a worry-free day. You can simply change these settings to get more power out of your Samsung Galaxy S5 phone.

Power-Saving Mode

Since the release of Samsung Galaxy S2, the power-saving mode has been present as one of the original features of Samsung. When the power-saving mode is enabled, it blocks background app data, controls the phone's performance, reduces the screen frame rate, lowers the brightness level, and also changes the display to grayscale. The power-saving mode feature greatly enhances your phone's battery life without reducing the phone's capabilities that much. However, if you're planning to play any games or use CPU-intensive apps, it's recommended to disable the power-saving mode. The power-saving option can be found in the Settings section of the Galaxy S5.

Ultra Power-Saving Mode

Another way to extend your phone's battery life is by enabling the ultra power-saving mode. According to Samsung, when your Galaxy S5 is fully charged and the ultra power saving mode is enabled, your phone's battery life can last approximately up to 12.5 days. Actually, even when your phone's battery is as low as 10 percent, enabling this feature makes it last for another 24 hours. But wait, don't celebrate yet because enabling the ultra power-saving mode will greatly affect your phone's performance. Among these changes include change of display to grayscale and limited use of apps to Phone, Messages, Internet, Emergency Alerts, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and a few others only. Along with that, only six of those apps can be placed on your phone's Home screen.

Once you enable the ultra power-saving mode, your phone's mobile data will be automatically disabled when the screen is turned off, as well as its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection. In case you would like to re-enable one of the connections, you can do so by tapping the settings menu (three-dotted icon) found at the upper-right hand corner of the screen. This limited settings menu will allow you to control the volume, brightness, and toggle on location services. The ultra power-saving mode can be enabled via the Settings option and then scrolling down to the power saving option.

Brightness

Setting your phone's brightness to auto mode actually consumes more battery power than adjusting the brightness manually. This is because auto mode automatically adjusts your phone screen's brightness according to the lighting environment around you, which utilizes the phone's sensors, and therefore, uses up more battery. This mode, at times, will leave your display too bright for your current lighting conditions.

So if you're going to bring your phone outdoors where the weather is sunny, just turn down its brightness level or to something that is more acceptable to your eyes, in order to save battery life.

Location Settings

Lastly, another way to avoid getting battery drain on your phone is by customizing its location settings. So how do you do that on the Galaxy S5? From the Settings menu, tap on Location, and then tap the Mode Power saving option. Now, tap to select Power saving, which will use your phone's Wi-Fi and mobile networks to estimate your location instead of using GPS. Also, check to make sure to disable both the location reporting and location history settings on the phone since they, too, consume additional battery power. You can go ahead and turn them off by going to the Location Services option, and then going to the Google Location Reporting menu.

The next time you'll be going out on a long day of activities or work, don't forget to check these settings to make sure you'll never have to worry of losing your only means of communication, especially if you don't have any spare batteries or power banks at hand.

You can find more tips and tricks for Samsung Galaxy S5 here. Please feel free to share everything you know about Galaxy S5 in the comments below.

Tips to Protect Your Phone or Tablet's Touchscreen

Almost all gadgets nowadays have touch screen displays. It is the most common interface among smart phones, MP3 players, tablets, and computer monitors. They even come in very resistant materials such as Gorilla Glass, which is well-known for being thin, light, hard, and damage-resistant.

Touchscreen displays are very sensitive to dust particles, oil, and grease. The latest touchscreens are hard to scratch, let alone break, but they are most definitely not indestructible. 

Here are a few tips on how to protect your touchscreen:

1. Only use your fingers, or if you have one, a stylus to tap on the touchscreen. Never use sharp objects to tap on the display.

2. Make sure you cover your touchscreen with a screen protector. Not only are they very affordable, but they will also protect your screen from dirt and external damages like pressure and scratches. Most of all, they will increase your device's lifetime.

3. Do not apply excessive pressure on the touchscreen. Doing so can permanently damage the display.

4. Avoid using your device in dusty environment as much as possible and always use clean, dry fingers.

5. Avoid leaving your device on direct sunlight, because excessive heat can damage the display panel.

6. Use a microfiber cloth to clean the touchscreen. If microfiber cloth is not available, any non-abrasive cloth will do. Never use harsh chemicals, such as alcohol-based cleaners or anything with ammonia. If liquid is necessary, slightly damp the cloth with water.

7. Turn off the device before cleaning it. If your device has a cleaning mode, set it to that mode first before cleaning it.

8. Avoid placing your device in your front or back pocket. The touchscreen is very sensitive, and doing so will damage the display. If possible, get a case or pouch for your device to avoid bumps, scratches, and finger prints.

9. Make sure there are no objects pressing on the touchscreen area continuously.

10. Keep your device away from objects that contain magnetic field such as radios, televisions, etc.