Top 10 iPhone & Smartphone Tips
If you're a proud iPhone or smartphone owner, here are some top tips for getting the most out of it:
If you're going abroad…
1. Get a travel pass
Virgin has one of the steepest mobile internet rates, at £5 per MB downloaded. However, they compensate for this by having a ‘travel pass' system which allows you to use the net for an hour for £4 (still a little steep), or 24 hours for £6 (far more reasonable!). When using the net, it's easy to spank a megabyte without even realising it… So you could end up with a whopping great bill for what you might consider to be light browsing. At least if you can get on a ‘travel pass' system, you'll know exactly where you are.
2. Know your roaming limit
The EU has recently introduced a rule that sets a €50 monthly limit (around £40) on internet use and downloads. This is definitely a step in the right direction, as you don't want to come home to a bill of hundreds of pounds. You can, of course, set a higher or lower limit with your provider. But if you don't, and you do find you've got a bill exceeding that amount in a month, then you'll have legal recourse.
Read our blog entry ‘End of the roaming rip-off?' to find out more.
3. Turn roaming off or switch your phone to airplane mode
Of course, if you don't want to use the net at all whilst overseas, simply set your roaming to ‘off' to avoid any unexpected charges. Switching the phone to airplane mode also disconnects you from any networks.
It's not a bad idea to switch your phone's Wi-Fi reception back on. That way you should be able to pick up any free wireless signals (for example, if your hotel has free Wi-Fi).
4. Turn off your alerts and automatic updates
Stop your phone from downloading from the net behind the scenes by turning off any automated functions, such as internet-based alerts and updates. This will make it easier to keep on top of your actual data usage.
5. Consider buying a local SIM
A quick bit of maths should tell you if it's worth buying a temporary SIM whilst you're overseas… Even if overseas is just the Isle of Man! You may very well find that it works out cheaper to use a local SIM card for texts (and possibly even calls) than if you keep your regular SIM in. If so, buy one… And then pass it on at the end of your trip!
At any time…
6. Save your battery
To save you from draining your battery, you can change the time-out length of the phone, and reduce the screen's brightness.
7. What if you get your phone wet?
Here's a handy tip from a member of the Confused.com team who… *ahem*… dropped her iPhone down the toilet. She put the phone in a bowl of rice to absorb the moisture, left it there for a couple of days, and now it works just fine. Cous cous should work just as well. Two things though… Firstly, don't try and turn it on after you've got it wet. Secondly, don't cook the rice afterwards. We're all in favour of saving money here, but there are limits.
Or you could get yourself a dryer box…
8. Save it from a battering
They're costly items these phones, so you want to protect them from the type of impact that clumsiness or exuberant children might cause them. So why not get them a sturdy case? Check out some robust cases here.
9. Get Skype!
I wasn't going to go into specific apps, but no top tips list like this would be complete without mentioning Skype - the best way to talk and make video calls to mates and loved ones over the net for free (not including the price of your net connection, obviously). This could potentially save you a small fortune on phone bills - especially if you normally make a lot of international calls.
10. Get on the Tube
If you're not one for reading manuals, but you want to work out how to do something on your phone, look it up on YouTube. There are tons of ‘how to' videos uploaded by benevolent souls which should help you out.
About the Author
For cheap home insurance and travel insurance visit confused.com
Rating: Not yet rated