iPhone 5: Siri Could Self Destruct

Siri - Speech Recognition

As the iPhone 5 release is quickly approaching in the Summer of 2012, creators are experimenting with the idea of a self-destructing iPhone 5 feature. Yup - self-destructing.  It's so easy to set your phone down, forget where you left it, and/or get your phone stolen.  Misplacing or getting your phone stolen leaves a very uneasy feeling and often a surge of panic through your entire body.  People are using smartphones for everything from email to updating their Facebook status to basic text messaging and often have very private and confidential information on their phone.  It's important to protect your privacy (and often the privacy of others); and with all of this valuable information located in one small piece of technology, this can be a true challenge.

NFL Apps!

For those of you who enjoy football season (and the fact that the draft just happened) the question remains as to what is the best way to prep for the coming season and the fantasy leagues that you and your buddies are gonna make. For me, it looks like lots of nachos, hot dogs, and good times with my friends and family watching that pigskin being thrown about. So how should YML "tackle" this issue?

First I would tell you to watch football with your phone. As cool as the apps are that I'm gonna show you, make sure that you get to watch games with somebody other than yourself. That's what they're there for. 

But secondly, enjoy the incredible amount of stats, points, games and whatever else you would need by  using your mobile device! 

Smartphones and Work: Offering Benefits or Creating a Mess?

Do smartphones dilute the work-life balance?

Technology is rapidly changing in today's society - quickly outpacing the rates at which companies purchase new tools and innovative equipment.  For personal use, this technology is allowing people to stay connected like never before.  However, this computing power is also creating problems when it enters the work environment.  Smartphones may allow workers to increase their productivity, but they also disrupt the work-life balance when emails are being answered off the clock.  Along with this, allowing personal devices to be used at work can create many problems, including increased IT department costs and legal mayhem if anything is to go wrong.  In the end, companies must weigh the benefits of allowing employees to use their own smartphone for work against having fewer hassles from simply standardizing equipment that the employees use.  I will explore some of the opinions and issues that both companies and employees face below.

The Ultimate Grocery Shopping App

Shopping Zen 

From personal experience, grocery shopping is a weekly ritual, but it is inevitable that every week, I forget something – and of course I realize it when I get all the way home! But after looking online for quick recipes, I came across an app that has saved my little grocery shopping life! 

Of course, as college seniors at Your Mobile Life, we truly understand the meaning of broke.  We really try to suggest and offer reviews on free applications that any iPhone or Android user can use.  So once again, I was incredibly relieved to find that this awesome app was available for free!

So, what’s the name of this life saving app?  It’s called ZipList.  Here are a few reasons that I love this new app.  You can…

OpenStreetMaps vs. Google Maps

For those of us who can't actually remember how to get to work, tell where we are in a city, or even go to the grocery store (despite the fact that it's three blocks away), Google has been a huge help with the program that I know you all are familiar with and no doubt cherish deeply: Google Maps. Since 2009, this program has been top dog - beating out MapQuest once and for all.

Is Google losing it's crown?

The almost universally used software for just about any business, park, or restaurant has been comprised of both satellite imagery and it's revolutionary 360 degree view of the terrain called StreetView. These stunning displays are updated by a fleet of over 1,000,000 vehicles patrolling most of North America, Asia, Europe, and most other big populaces. 

However, there is a new player on the block: OpenStreetMap. This new map system, used now by Wikipedia, Foursquare, and other big companies, are using this new map system instead of Google maps because of both it's free usage (much like Wikipedia) and not having an API (Application Programming Interface), which is expensive for these companies to use. It is also crowd-sourced like Wikipedia in the sense that each entry in the map requires a source to reference it.

However, after using it myself and playing around with it, it's clear to note that aesthetically, OpenStreetMaps is much easier to use and navigate, despite not having a satellite function. It loads incredibly fast, and for those of us that have some map experience, incredible clarity and usability. It's also really user-friendly and definitely has taken my vote over Google Maps. And the benefit? If it isn't detailed enough for you, you can fix it!

Overall, despite the fact that this company is taking on maps as we know it, OpenStreetMaps is worth looking into for personal use. I recommend it.

What to Do With Your Old Smartphone Device

Don't waste your old phone's potential.

What happens when your contract is up (or the latest mobile device is released) and you are getting ready to replace your old smartphone?  Should you bury it in the closet with the rest of your outdated technology?  While it might be okay to justify replacing outdated MP3 players, GPS units, and other devices that are incorporated into smartphones - you may reconsider forgetting about your old phone.  Below I have compiled a list of little things that you can do to maximize your once-expensive smartphone's potential and help to give it a longer life.

5 Mobile Apps for Allergy Sufferers

Many of us suffer from seasonal allergies.

As we make our way through spring towards a fast approaching summer, some of us struggle with allergies. Between the itchy and watery eyes, scratchy throat, and sneezing, we are willing to do anything to make them stop.

So let’s start with downloading some mobile apps – yup, you read it right. Download 5 mobile apps to help you deal with your allergies.

All of these apps are FREE and available on both the iPhone and Android mobile phones.*

Smartphone car??

As weird as it may seem, with the way the world is this way, sooner or later someone was bound to create an app for their car. The Ford company did just that to send their latest entry into the electric competition between automakers with their all new model - the aesthetically pleasing Ford Focus Electric (not the most exciting of car names, but it'll do.) Even more, it actually has a connection to your smartphone (no, it isn't a James Bond car) in order to optimize it's usefulness. 

Some quick stats on the Focus:

1. 110 MPGe (Miles Per Gallon Equivalent) city, and about 99 MPGe on the freeway.
2. Total Range is 76 miles on one charge 
3. Interior is made up of environmentally friendly materials and fabric made from 100% recycled plastic bottles
4. Optional charger for the car is $1,499 which can be connected to the buyer's home
5. Complete recharge in under four hours
6. Starting price before rebates:  $39,200

Nokia Lumia 900 Faces Rough Road Ahead After Big Launch

The Finnish company Nokia finally brought the Lumia 900 smartphone to AT&T On April 8, 2012.  In a market that is predominantly controlled by the duopoly between Android and Apple, many people were hoping that the Lumia 900 would shine as a beacon for Windows phones.  Unfortunately, Nokia has been faced with several challenges since the release of this device.

Poor Timing
As mentioned above, the Lumia 900 was released to AT&T stores on April 8th - which was Easter Sunday.  Since most of the stores were closed for the holiday, sales were meager (coming primarily from online sources).  The company issued a press release earlier today warning investors that they will probably be faced with lower sales in the first part of 2012.  The press release also indicated that they are only earning a 16% margin on their smart devices - probably as a means of penetrating the market.  With a hit to sales, they have little room for error.

Facebook Acquires Instagram, the mobile-only application.

Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion

Today, Facebook acquired Instagram, the well-known photo sharing, mobile-only application. While previously only available to iPhone users, Instagram was just recently released to Android users. This mobile application allows users to take photos and apply their own personal filters to make their photos more personalized. These photos can then be shared via most social media websites and applications.

Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook’s founder, released a blog post this morning sharing the news about the new acquisition. Today’s deal was the carried the biggest price tag for a mobile application. The $1 billion dollar deal far supersedes the $200 million dollar acquisition of OMGPop by Zynga. Zuckerburg claims that Instagram will most likely remain unchanged and work the same way – but we heard claims like that about Facebook. Some Instagram users say that it’s only a matter of time before Instagram gets a Facebook-style facelift and the thought of this has some Instagram users running for the door already.

What does this acquisition mean for the mobile-only application? With a price tag of $1 billion dollars, Facebook just acquired its main competition for photo sharing. Facebook probably won’t make the $1 billion dollars back, but it was a very smart and competitively defensive move on Facebook’s part. One of the most popular activities for Facebook’s 850 million users is photo sharing. According to USA Today, an average of 250 million photos are uploaded everyday.

So what is the future of Instagram’s mobile application? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Can my iPhone be my DD?

For my friends that enjoy drinking, but don't want to drive, let me present some solutions to you. I hope that you won't drive tonight -- it's Good Friday after all. If anything, tonight's a night to soberly reflect. But for those of you that will, put the effort in to keep yourself and other drivers on the road safe. Some quick drunk driving stats from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Commission:

• America has more drunk drivers than most countries have people.
• drunk driving costs EACH adult in the USA 500 dollars every year.
• between midnight and 3:00 AM, drunk driving takes a life every 23 minutes.
• each year, the USA loses 11,000 people to drunk driving, the same amount as 21 jumbo jet crashes.
• Every day, there are 1440 injuries and 21 deaths.
• Thanks to drunk driving, 200 people won't be able to make it through the first day of the New Year. 

So here are some apps that could thoroughly change your night, your wallet, and your life.

10 Tips to Make Your Smartphone Battery Last Longer

Tips and tricks for maximizing the battery power of your personal devices.

We all know that smartphones are getting faster and providing more options for entertainment, business, and communication between people.  However, with all of these extra features, many of us are discovering that our phones are reaching the low battery indicator far earlier than ever before.  Fortunately, there are several things users can do to make their batteries last throughout the day - as well as maximize the entire life of the phone battery.

1. Don't wait to charge your phone.
If you wait until your battery is at 10% to charge, this actually makes the battery work harder (and thus lowers its life expectancy).  A better practice would be to charge when you're at just under 50% remaining to ensure a longer life for your battery.

2. Focus on one task at a time. 
While you may be browsing the internet, playing Angry Birds, and reading through Twitter updates, you probably aren't doing all of those things at once.  Since each application requires some power to receive data and function properly, this drains your battery faster.  Make sure to close out of applications that you aren't currently using.  Some phones have task managers already built into them to quickly close applications that are running.  However, for those who do not have one on their phone, there are many free programs that work great (such as Advanced Task Killer for Android devices).

3. Adjust your brightness / background.
Brighter screens require more battery power.  Enough said.  As a solution, go into your settings and set the brightness somewhere in the middle of your settings (to minimize the strain on your eyes and conserve some power).  For phones that have an automatic brightness adjustment feature, enable it!  Another thing you can do with regards to your screen usage is to remove any animated backgrounds.  Just as videos require more battery power to display changing graphics, animated backgrounds consume battery faster than one that is stationary (in most cases, it makes your device respond slower as well).  By going into your wallpaper settings and finding a still picture or colored background, you might find that your phone makes it a lot longer in the day.

The POWER Struggle

As three students at Pacific Lutheran University taking an e-Marketing course and creating / maintaining this blog, we found the Marketing Pilgrim blog, along with others, to be incredibly useful for designing our blog posts each week. Though this post may not be directly related to mobile technology, I felt that it is directly related to our blogging success.

Joe Hall, the author of the Marketing Pilgrim blog, wrote a post that really hit home for us. We chose to blog about mobile technology – which is such a huge industry, especially right now. Between the rise in technology and the growing concern about privacy, Your Mobile Life has a lot to blog about. But there are a few things that we always ask ourselves before writing and posting is – Is it relevant? Is it important? Is it useful?

Joe Hall uses the acronym: POWER

P – is it PROFITABLE?
O – is it ORIGINAL?

W – is it WORTH TALKING ABOUT?
E – is it EARNING ME MONEY?

R – is it REAL?

He derived this inspirational acronym from the original THINK acronym.

T – is it TRUE?

H – is it HELPFUL?
I – is it INSPIRING?

N – is it NECESSARY?
K – is it KIND?

Many individuals start blogging, continue to blog, and become incredibly successful. Others start blogging, keep blogging, and go completely unnoticed. What divides these two scenarios is the information that they provide to their readers – how original is the information and is it and if it is even worth talking about.  This is taken into consideration with each of our blog posts!