Automate Your Phone: Let Your Phone Perform Certain Actions Based On Your Location

How do you like if your phone automatically puts to a silent mode when you arrive at school or church and then switches back to regular mode when you leave the place? How do you like if your phone auto notifies your mom via SMS when you’re leaving the house? How do you like if your phone automatically plays your favorite songs when you arrive home?

Here’s a quick rundown of top-rated mobile applications that can automatically perform various actions based on your location. Actions such as sending of SMS text message, switching between profiles, and launching certain apps can now be fully automated using only your current geographical position.

GSMNavigator - Best Location-Aware App For Non-GPS Phone

First off, this is not only for GPS phones. As long as your mobile phone operates in a GSM Network, you can still enjoy full automation based on GSM cells collected by your phone.

Learn How To Automatically Switch Off Your Phone At Specific Time

GSMNavigator is a location-aware Symbian app designed both for GPS and Non-GPS phone. The application allows you to perform various actions depending on your location. With GSMNavigator, you can instruct your phone “what to do” when entering or existing a specific location. The first time you visit a place you may assign some actions “On Enter” which will be automatically performed by your phone the next time you visit that place. The same and other actions can be instructed to your phone “On Exit”.

GSMNavigator is capable of automatic sending of SMS text messages and emails, playing your favorite music, changing profile, launching an application, and many other actions upon entering or exiting a location. GSMNavigator keeps detailed information about the places you visited (in the form of GSM Cells) so you can always see through to the places you visited the whole day. With that logged GSM information, you can then tag them with intelligible names (e.g. GSM Cell 125325 can be renamed as “School”) and assign specific actions such as putting your phone to silent mode “On Enter” and putting your phone back to normal “On Exit”.

Password Protect, Lock Certain Applications Installed Your Phone

The nice thing about GSMNavigator is that it works even if your phone is not equipped with GPS. For more information, visit the official website.

For Android, AutomateIt, Chronos and Tasker are three of the best applications you can install on your  Android. Llama is a excellent app too. These apps work similarly with GSMNavigator; it lets you define a set of instructions/actions which will be performed by your phone in response to events such as location change, time of day, among others.

Stop Overcharging - Play Loud Sound, MP3 When Phone's Battery Is Full

You can use these location-based apps both for fun and security audits. If you want to know the whereabouts of your kid through SMS without him knowing, you can use these apps. These location-based apps for the Android and Symbian can also be used when you want to spy or catch your cheating boyfriend or husband.   

Spotify To Launch Experimental Social Listening Feature That Lets Anyone Enqueue Tracks in Real-time

Remember the now defunct Party Player Android app we featured before that lets your friends update the queue and play tracks by simply sending a text message to an actively-playing phone?

It was one promising app back in the early days when subscription-based music streaming services don't exist yet.

Now, it looks like we're going to see almost the same functionality on Spotify, but this time using QR-style codes instead of SMS.

Spotify is currently brewing a shared-queue Social Listening experience that lets anyone with an invite add songs to a queue in real-time. The feature was first spotted by Jane Manchun Wong in an Android app exclusively for Spotify employees.

Spotify is working on Social Listening, letting friends to control music together with their own devices

Scan Spotify Code or open link for it to begin

For example, I'm listening Spotify right now. Feel free to introduce me new music: https://t.co/f59D0sis7Y pic.twitter.com/nPOlcPwQdG

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 31, 2019

Why Spotify's Social Listening Is Cool

Imagine you're chilling by the beach with your group of friends and you only have one portable speaker to share. Why not create a shared queue where everyone can become a DJ and collaborate? All you need to do is to scan a dynamically-generated QR-style code and you're all good to go.

Spotify is yet to announce the launch of this co-listening feature, which is expected to arrive on Android and iOS first. Social Listening should not be confused with Spotify's Collaborative Playlists, where the latter lets your friends update a playlist while the former is designed for a shared, real-time listening experience.

Now, your move Apple Music.

How To: Add or Set Music Sleep Timer To Spotify iOS App (No Jailbreak Requried)

AfterFocus Lets You Create DSLR-Like Blurred Effects On Your Android & iPhone

Have you ever wondered how to take photos with blurry background using your mobile phone? You’ve seen a lot of these images produced by professionals. Well, there are a couple of answers to that but I will name one here; lens.

A DSLR camera can easily give you these kinds of images because of its big image sensors coupled with a wide lens selection. The law of physics gives limitations to the hardware that can be used on our mobile devices.

StillShot: Create High Quality Photos From Any Video On Your iPhone

But worry no more! We present to you an application that will easily transform your boring shots to a masterpiece with only a few strokes.

AfterFocus Is The Photography App You Really Need To Try

AfterFocus for Android and iPhone allows you to take DSLR-like images. Those blurry background photos are now in your hands. Select a photo you want and draw some lines to identify the focus and background and the application will do the magic. Selecting the focus area precisely will greatly improve the final images to look natural and professional.

AfterFocus does not only gives you the ability to create blurred background of photos from your phone, but it also comes with a bunch of naturally looking filters such as cross process filter that looks so natural. As a professional photographer, I love seeing bokeh on my photos. Photos with shallow depth of field won’t be complete without bokeh, and its maker must be kind enough to include a filter that does just that. Add bokeh to your already great shot.

Viddy — The Instagram for Videos — Lets You Create Visually Stunning 15-Second Slices Of Your Life

What are you waiting for? Go now to Marketplace and AppStore and get this application. It’s like having photoshop and lightroom in your pocket. It’s the best bang for the buck!

AfterFocus for Android Free [Google Play Link]
AfterFocus for iPhone ($0.99) [iTunes Link]

About the author:

Griffith Boniel is a Bukidnon-based photographer, Nikon User, and a Nokia fan who's also passionate about social media, mobile and web technology. You can follow @gboniel on Twitter.

Jongla Lets You Send Unlimited Videos, Photos To Any Mobile Number In The World For Free

Ever wanted to send a large video file from your mobile device to your friends, but couldn't due to restrictions on file size? Well, no more!

A startup company based in Finland seeks to eliminate the hassle of sending big files with its new global communication service called Jongla. The service allows you to send text, videos and images of any size to any mobile device and network operator in the world -- absolutely free!

How It Works?

Best Websites To Send Anonymous Emails for Free - No Signup Needed

For anyone who wants to use the service, a one-time registration is needed. Once the registration and activation of your account has been made, you can then proceed to the web interface or download the dedicated Jongla mobile app (available in iPhone, Android, Symbian and Java) so you can send unlimited amount of high quality videos, photos and text – or all them together straight from your phone.

Your friends don’t have to be registered to receive your message, and they don’t even need to own a high-end mobile phone to view your message. Recipients will receive an SMS text message, containing the name of the sender as well as link of the message. Of course, recipients have the option to view the message in a web browser or view it straight from their iPhone, Android, Symbian or Java-based device.

When Is It Useful?

In the end-user perspectives, I was a bit baffled by the idea of Jongla -- why its founders had to offer the service when in fact there’s already DropBox and other similar services that can cater our needs. But here’s something unique about Jongla:

This open messaging solution of Jongla comes in handy when there’s no computer or laptop available and you’re in a dire need of sending large size videos and photos stored on your phone. Jongla also is sure a piece of cake to anyone who wants to send photos or videos to non-MMS phones.

Learn How To Automatically Switch Off, Shutdown Your Phone At Specific Time

Start sending large size videos, high resolution photos, and long text message here.

How To: Make Any Wired Speaker Into Wireless Bluetooth Speaker for Less than $7

As what ultra-minimalist Steve Jobs famously once said, we “improve by removing more”. That's one of the guiding maxims of Apple that helped propel its way to greatness in the techno-wizardry scene.

Now, if you're convinced with that guiding principle of Apple, why not apply that same ethos into how you consume your music and movies?

I'm talking about those classic wired surround speakers & subwoofer systems sitting on your desk right now and all its tangled wires glory. While this wired speaker system works just fine, why not free yourself from all these clutter and get that simple joy of wireless you deserve?

How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

If you have a good old non-wireless loudspeaker lying around in the corner, don't throw that just yet. The truth is you can make it "cool" again by repurposing and turning it into a wireless Bluetooth speaker so you can wirelessly fire up your favorite Spotify playlist from the comfort of your fingertips.

Play Music On Your Wired Speaker System Wirelessly from Your iPhone, Android

Step 1 Get your preferred Bluetooth Audio Receiver from your favorite shop like Amazon. I scored a decent Bluetooth Receiver from Lazada for only Php 330.00 ($7). Sweet.

Step 2 Do the one-time setup. These Bluetooth Stereo Receivers usually have this simple setup:

1. Plug in your speaker's 3.5mm stereo jack into the Bluetooth device
2. Pair your Bluetooth Audio Receiver with your iPhone, Android or any Bluetooth-enabled devices

You're done!

You can now listen to your favourite music from iTunes or Spotify while you can freely move around.

Image source: nerdtechy.com

Long Commute? Get Power Naps and Get A Phone Call When You Arrive At Your Destination

The older we get, the less time is spent on quality slumber. Blame it to the corporate life' stress, household responsibilities, or maybe that's just how adulthood simply works?

That's why we always try to snatch that much-needed naps whenever we can, whether on a bus or a train.

So, if you're among those millions of nine-to-five warriors who commute your way to work, or you're a backpacker with long trips to the countryside, here's a neat trick how to sleep off your commute without worrying about missing your stop. Let your phone automatically alerts you when you're about to enter your destination just in time.

What you need

• IFTTT app (available on Android, iOS)
• Mobile data connection

For the uninitiated, IFTTT (short for If This, Then That) is a powerful web-based service that lets you perform actions based on user-defined triggers. We call these actions as “applets”. IFTTT works like Zapier but much easier to use.

Let Your Phone Alerts You When You Arrive At Your Destination

The goal here is to create an IFTTT applet that notifies you when you arrive at your destination. To do this, we'll use both Location and VoIP Calls services. Here's how to get started:

1. Install IFTTT app (iOS, Android), and sign-up.
2. Create your first applet by going to My Applets tab and click on + icon top right.
3. Now, you'll be asked to define the trigger and action, like this:

   

4. Tap on this and search for Location > You enter an area and specify the area you want to be notified.

   

5. Once done you'll be taken back to step 3 where you create an action. Just tap that and search for VoIP Calls service where you can fire Call my device action, as seen below:

   

6. Save your applet and ensure your IFTTT is running in the background. You're done.

   Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Copy, Collect iOS Photos on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

While Google Maps' previous update already has a push notification that alerts you when you're approaching your stop, I find it too unreliable to be honest. A VoIP call works better, ensuring you get off the bus or train just in time.

New AI-Powered Apps Help You Generate Captions, Hashtags for Instagram

Whether you're using Instagram for business or not, writing a killer caption and well-optimized hashtags is a must. Ask any Instagram marketer it's second most tricky part immediately next to generating the visuals to post on Instagram.

A good caption should drive user engagements and virality, while a relevant set of hashtags ensures you have the most optimal reach to get the exposure you need. People discover interesting posts thru hashtags, and it's a good opportunity for your brand to get discovered and ultimately earn followers.

While the best way to come up with words to accompany your Instagram post is to write it yourself, it doesn't hurt to try and get some assistance from new breed of apps to do just that.

Excel Gets OCR Support, Lets You Snap Tables and Convert Into Editable Spreadsheet

In this post, we'll be featuring an Android and iOS app that should help you decide what captions to post next.

Caption AI - Your Smart Instagram Caption Assistant ()

Caption AI currently hosts 15,000 captions (and growing) grouped into easy to navigate categories. Running out of caption idea for your next Instagram post? Just launch the app, open an image to post and Caption AI will automatically detect what caption and hashtags to post based on your picture.

Not happy with the generated caption? Just tap on any of the categories like Nature, Fitness, Travel, and Caption AI automatically suggests a caption for you.

Of course the auto-generated captions aren't original. They're mostly coming from third-party sources that curate popular lines and quotes from notable people and writers. Perhaps in the next update the developer gives proper attribution to each line.

This Android app can also suggest the most popular hashtags relevant to your post. So next time you're stuck deciding what to post, check out this app.

Auto Caption - Get Caption Ideas for Instagram (, )

Another app that I am pretty much impressed is Auto Caption for iOS. The moment you open a photo to post, it automatically detects whether it's ocean, mountain or food. Auto Caption will then suggest a caption and hashtags based on what it sees.

It's pretty clever and helpful app ideally recommended for Instagram marketers or casual Instagrammers.

Wrapping it up

Again, the above-mentioned apps aren't for everyone. A more personalized and well-thought out captions will still do wonders in your Instagram marketing efforts. But if doing so takes you forever, then, maybe time to explore those apps?

Dynamically Create, Generate QR Codes For Download Links, URLs

Android evangelist Zen is quick to suggest that I should've had QR images added to all iPhone & Android downloadables featured here. According to him, users will find it easier to access those mobile goodies if they can just point their camera down to every QR code, and let the phone do the magic.

And yes he's right; you want to give the best possible user experience from your blog, right?

DynoTag: A New QR Tagging Service That Helps You Find Your Lost Stuff

If you're wondering about how to dynamically generate QR codes for any given URL or web page, you might want to check out this cool QR Code API generator courtesy of Tag.cx.

Easiest Way To Dynamically Generate QR Codes Via JavaScript

Tag.cx QR Code Generator is a tiny JavaScript library that lets you programatically generate QR Codes for any given web link. Generating QR Codes using their API is a snap. Just copy and paste below JS lines anywhere on your blog post and it will magically display a QR Code image — pointing to the page.

<script src="http://www.tag.cx/qr-codes/tag-cx-qrcode.js" type="text/javascript"/>
<script type="text/javascript">
generateQRCODE("qr","150","http://www.rushlywritten.com");
</script>

The above script calls a function generateQRCODE() which will automatically generate a QR Code image for rushlywritten.com. Now mobile phones can easily bookmark your webpage, just by taking a picture of the image generated by this script. For a complete implementation instruction, head over here.

Learn How To Automatically Generate Thumbnails, Screenshots For Any Website

Tag.cx' QR Code generation service is a complete clean-cut if you want to programatically generate QR codes for any given website. Just a few lines of scripts, you'll see the QR code magically sits there.

You might not need Tag.cx' QR Code Generator right now, but it's a good site to bookmark for the future when you do.

QR code image for Tag.cx:

Bring Your Favorite Mobile Contents to Your Desktop with Cubiez (Windows)

Previously on this blog we have talked about YouWave, a high performance Android emulator that makes it easier to run Android on your PC. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, head over HERE.

Modern technology has brought computer desktop applications to be used on smartphones and iPhones. However, what if there are phone applications that you want to use on your desktop?

Add Multiple Tabbing Support To Windows File Explorer With Clover [Must Have]

Introducing Cubiez, the apps that brings your favorite phone apps on your desktop. All the apps on your mobile phone that you love or need to use can now be accessed on any desktop or laptop.

As of date, Cubiez is a free app download, though only the first lucky few who download can avail of the exclusive Alpha version.

Cubiez: Bring Your Favorite Mobile Content to Your Desktop (link)

Cubiez allows your phone apps to be made available at the bottom of the taskbar screen so they are always accessible. Should there be any new content for your phone apps, instant notification will alert you. The platform is also non-intrusive because you never have to leave what you are doing just to check for updates.


Cubiez is very simple to use. All you need to do is to download the free app and then install. A marketplace will appear on the taskbar, the purpose is to choose the phone apps that you like. In one click, installation can be completed and everything will show up on your taskbar. Now, all you need is to do is log into your favorite apps.

Turn Your Laptop, PC Into Wi-Fi Hotspot Without Using Ad-Hoc -- Internet Sharing Made Easy

The mobile apps on your desktop are even made to like, well, like mobile apps, the way you see them on your mobile phone.



Download: Cubiez (Windows)

Cubiez is available only for Windows. However, the developers will soon come out with versions for Mac and Linux.

Top 5 Best Pandora, Spotify Alternatives For Streaming Music Online

As a non-US citizen, I also have a fair share of frustration with Pandora. And while Spotify is available with greater country support than Pandora, still I live in country where neither of the two streaming services was ever supported. So there's no way for me to enjoy really good music like that of Pandora and Spotify.

Luckily, there are few good online music streaming services that offer almost the same feature sets at no cost. And here we're going to share a short list of top 5 FREE online radio services that we think are the best.

Top 5 Best Pandora & Spotify Alternatives

Below is a quick rundown of top 5 best Pandora and Spotify alternatives that will sure quench your music thirst.

8Tracks.com (link)

The number 8 is the minimum number of tracks you must add to create your own mix. You can either create one of your own taste, or browse through the playlists others created, I’m pretty sure there’s one just right for you, if not, you can always create your own. With their mobile app for android and iPhone, you’ll never be separated from your music. The stream also plays uninterrupted, so it will play just like a radio would.

Grooveshark.com (link)

Grooveshark has a good amount of song library for you too choose from and also features releases from rising bands. When you find new songs that you like and would like to share to a loved one or a friend, you can easily do so because of its excellent social media integration like Twitter and Facebook.

We Are Hunted (link)

When someone hears the word “indie” in band or song, there’s a stereotype that it’s mediocre. Think again. With We Are Hunted, you’ll be able to discover new emerging bands and also see what other people say about the song. You can also share your newfound favorites on Facebook and Twitter.

Google Music (link)

Google Music offers services with the likes of iTunes store and Amazon mp3. Google Music also allows you to purchase music with an extra feature of uploading your purchased mp3s up to 20,000 songs from your home drive and listening to it on your android mobile and on another Mac or PC via web. It also gives recommendation of songs based on your frequently listened tracks. It also features instant mix, like Genius mix on your iTunes.

ex.fm (link)

exfm is a music library with a twist of social media. If other social networks allows you to discover and rediscover friend, exfm allows you to discover and rediscover music. One of the features I love most is the TasteMaker. There are times that you just can't decide what song to listen to. With the help of TasteMaker, it presents you a pool of selection by people with great taste for music.

YouTube-Powered LoudLee Lets You Create Personalized Online Radio, Listen To Music Online

There you go. These are just some of the services out there. Take your pick and choose what's best for you.

About the author:

Griffith Boniel is a photographer, Nikon user, and a Nokia fan who's also passionate about social media, mobile and web technology. You can follow @gboniel on Twitter.

How To: Prevent WhatsApp from Automatically Downloading Photos, Videos

Unless you're on an unlimited data plan and your phone still has gigabytes of extra space at your disposal, you can skip this guide now. However, if you are a heavy WhatsApp user under a throttled, capped data plan and notice that sudden drop of available phone storage space, then, this guide is for you.

In this article, we will show you how you can save precious data and free up some space on your iPhone or Android by restricting WhatsApp from automatically downloading shared photos, videos, and documents on your phone. WhatsApp by default automatically downloads photos or videos being shared within the app so you get the best possible user experience. But if that UX feature means exhausting our data plan fast while shrinking our storage space, then, we don't want that.

Save Data and Space - Restrict WhatsApp from Automatically Downloading Photos and Videos

The process is easy, you just need to go to WhatsApp Settings tab and just fiddle around those toggles and checkboxes.

For Android:

• Navigate to Settings > Data and storage usage.

  

• Just scroll down and under Media auto-download, tap on When using mobile data. It should bring you a dialog. Just uncheck Photos, Audio, Videos, and Documents.

  

• Do the same process for When connected on Wi-Fi and When Roaming options.

For iOS

• Go to Settings > Data and Storage Usage

• Tap Photos and select Never option to stop downloading photos automatically

  

• Do the same for Audio, Videos, and Documents

You're done!

WhatsApp Web Now Lets You Watch Shared YouTube, Facebook Videos Within the App

Restricting WhatsApp from automatically downloading photos or videos is one simple action that can save you both space and data.

5 Surprisingly Cheap IoT Devices to Easily Upgrade Your Home for Less

These are the most essential smart home devices to give you a headstart with smart home living without breaking the bank. These smart home devices we hand-picked are all affordable, requires no technical know-how, and an absolute joy to use.

Unless you’re in a cave in the past few months minding your own business, skipping all the smart home technology headlines, you probably have heard of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and connected smart home devices.

Internet-of-Things (IoT) explained

The easiest definition of Internet-of-Things (IoT) I can think of is that it’s just a network like an internet where all your smart home devices are connected. IoT typically operates on top of your existing home WiFi network, so you can just simply imagine of IoT as a network of home devices within your existing home network.

Forbes predicts that by 2022, people would spend $1.22T on IoT devices and a global market that will continue to burgeon each year. No wonder the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) continues to surprise us with cool and bizarre IoT gadgets, ranging from robotic cleaners, smart locks and pet food dispenser.

Smart home technology or IoT devices - what are they?

At the heart of IoT network are your connected home devices that able to send and receive commands at a swipe of a finger or by your voice, giving you:

• the ability to automate routinary tasks like preparing your morning brew, starting your heater, turning on your cooling system at home while driving from work, turning off virtually any appliance at a certain time (and save money in the process), etc.

• the ability to secure your home from burglary and unwanted entries inside your premises while you’re away from home

• the convenience and efficiency, saving both time and money (later we’ll tell you how some IoT devices can cut your electric bills)

One popular notion of having connected home devices setup is that it’s going to cost you a fortune and it’s bloody rocket science to set up. That’s plainly wrong. While some well-promoted IoT devices can be costly, that doesn’t mean you need to follow the herd and just buy what other people buy.

We can just start off with the basics, the least costly ones, to give you the feel what it’s like to have IoT at home. And in this guide, we’ll even skip using smart home hubs and controllers like Amazon Echo or the highly recommended Wink Hub 2. Hubs and controllers are all optional.

Below are essential smart home devices you should start using for smarter homes

IoT on a Budget: 5 Surprisingly Cheap, Essential Smart Home Devices to Automate Your Home

1. Smart Plugs (~$15)

   

   No must-have smart home devices list is complete without smart plugs. Also known as Wifi Smart Sockets or Smart Wifi Outlets, smart plug essentially lets you wirelessly control nearly every single home appliance using your iPhone or Android device. This magical device gives your home appliance wireless connectivity so you can remotely turn them on or off right at your fingertips or schedule your appliance to be automatically turned on or off at a certain time.

   I have an old window-type aircon which unfortunately doesn’t have a timer, but with Wifi Smart Sockets, I can easily put a timer and let it automatically turn off at 3 am without interrupting my slumber.

   How To: Make Any Wired Speaker Into Wireless Bluetooth Speaker for Less than $7

   Do you want to wake up from the smell of freshly brewed coffee in your kitchen? Simply prepare the beans/filter a night before and plug your coffeemaker in a smart plug. You can get it to automatically brew your coffee the next day or brew it using your iPhone while you’re in bed scanning your emails.

   Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there. You can plug in your other home appliances like electric fans, water heaters and control them wirelessly at your fingertips.

   There are a plethora of smart wifi sockets to choose from, some even have nifty features like energy usage tracker, Amazon Echo, and Google Home integration so you can simply control them with your voice. The most important Wifi Smart Socket feature to look for is a timer, where it completely cuts power after a timer expires.

   You can score a decent smart plug at Amazon like the Orvibo S25 Wi-Fi Smart Socket which starts at $15 as of writing or from your local online store.

2. Smart Bulbs and Lighting (~$34)

   

   What if you can dim your light or control your ambiance within your iPhone or Android device or by simply asking Siri or Alexa to do so?

   That’s exactly what smart lighting is all about. You get a smart bulb and a special device (bridge) acting as a connector so you can remotely control the bulb wirelessly.

   In smart lighting category, Philips Hue Smart Lighting Kit is definitely king. But it comes at a price. However, there is decent Philips Hue alternative you can try like the cheaper, all-white version Philips Hue White. Or if that’s still expensive, Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb is a good Philips Hue line alternative.

3. Sound and Motion Sensing Device (~$25)

   

   Another welcome addition to your home security system, this category of the internet-connected device lets you monitor your home away from home. This top-rated monitoring device Wyze Cam Pan for instance alerts you when there are possible intrusions within your premises. It has a night vision capability, can track moving object and can detect sounds.

   Most smart motion-sensing devices usually work with Alexa so you can simply ask Alexa to show your front door, kid’s room, or anywhere else you have your Wyze Cam Pan.

4. Smart Smoke Detector (~$120)

   

   Smart smoke detector? Why not!

   I’m extra paranoid when it comes to fire so I don’t mind forking out a few bucks for smart smoke alarms. Smart smoke detector essentially alerts you when there’s a fire even if you’re miles away from home. This special type of device connects to your iPhone or iPad over wifi or cellular so you’ll be quickly alerted when there are smokes detected.

   Nest Protect is always a good one you can invest in but there is also excellent Nest Protect alternatives you can check in. Just search for it on Amazon or eBay.

5. Robotic Vacuums and Cleaners (~$179)

   

   Just when you thought IoT can’t be any cooler, I’m ending this list with smart home cleaners. This category of a connected home device can do all the dirty work of keeping your room dust-free. Robot vacuums normally come with a smart app where you can schedule or initiate cleaning session or you can simply ask Alexa or Google Home to start the job.

   Ecovacs Self-Charging Robot Vacuum Cleaner is a popular option under this category, but feel free to explore more that works for you.

That’s it!

Again, smart home hubs and controllers like Amazon Echo are all optional. The above-mentioned smart home devices will continue to work without Amazon Echo or Google Home unless you’re willing to spend more and take your home automation game to the next level.

How To: Automatically Send Email Messages At Later Time

Previously on this blog we have talked about SMS Scheduler apps both for the iPhone and Android.  SMS Scheduler apps are special kind of software that let you schedule, auto-send SMS text messages at later point in time. You just have to specify the sending date and time, and let your phone automatically send those scheduled messages at preset time. Head over HERE to learn more on how to automatically send SMS text messages at predefined time.

This short tutorial will introduce you to yet another awesome scheduling app, but this time for emails.

Check If Email Address Is Valid -- Verify If Email Address Is Existing

Scheduling your emails to be sent in the future is helpful for some reasons. One good example is that you might want to deliver your email at the exact time when the recipient gets to their desk every morning. Or if you know that the recipient always gets online every 8:00 PM, it might also wise to schedule your email to be delivered on that time. You don't want your emails to be buried by all of the other emails, right?

Schedule Emails in Gmail To Be Sent Later

This handy add-on is called RightInbox, a free Chrome and Firefox extension specifically designed for Gmail that lets you schedule, send email messages at predefined time. Once installed, you may need to reload Gmail until you get prompted like this:

Just hit "Continue" until you arrive on this page:

If you've successfully granted access to RightInbox, "Send Later" button should now sits next to "Send Now" button. Here's a quick video walkthrough on how to use RightInbox:

RightInbox - Email Scheduler on Prezi

Let Your Browser Talk - Awesome Webpage Reader Plugin For Chrome, Firefox

The good thing about RightInbox is that your email still get delivered even if you shut down your computer. Download RightInbox - The Email Scheduler HERE. 

WhatsApp Web Now Lets You Watch Shared YouTube, Facebook Videos Within the App

If you've been a long time user of WhatsApp for Android or iPhone, you probably have noticed that nice floating video player that pops up right within the app every time you click on a shared video from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Streamable. That feature is called Picture-in-Picture (PiP) launched back in December last year.

Now in what seems to be an attempt to inflate the amount of time you spend on WhatsApp, the same PiP feature is now available in WhatsApp Web. Which means you can now chat with your friends and watch shared videos from YouTube or Facebook WITHOUT leaving the app. Sweet.

New Chrome Add-on Lets You Watch YouTube Videos While You Search, Browse — Similar to YouTube Mobile App

The update comes from WhatsApp Web version 0.3.2041, which is expected to be followed by a few more enhancements later this year like dark mode, face recognition and more.

How to open shared YouTube/Facebook videos within WhatsApp Web

1. Ensure you have the most recent version of WhatsApp Web. WhatsApp normally auto-downloads whatever updates available. If you think you're not getting the update, you may need to hard-refresh your browser or clear cache/cookies.
2. Now, on your computer head to https://web.whatsapp.com/ and follow on-screen instruction.

New Browser Extension "Turn Off The Lights" Gives YouTubers The Feel Like They're In A Cinema

Support for PiP for WhatsApp Web may not be a big update for some but it's a welcome addition to those heavy WhatsApp Web users.

How To: Export, Backup All Instagram Photos Online

The day social networking giant Facebook acquired image-sharing mobile app Instagram for US$1 billion, many Instagram users startled and decided to delete their account.

If you're among those unhappy, long-time Instagram users who wish to completely delete your Instagram account, you might want to perform a complete backup of your Instagram photos first.

Backup, Save SMS Text Messages To Gmail All At Once (Android)

Here, we will present you handy and best methods to backup all your Instagram photos online. All you need is to sign in or sign up for these apps so you can download Instagram photos straight to your hard drive.

Free Tools To Download, Export and Backup Instagram Photos

1. Instaport (link)

Instaport must be the simplest way to export or backup all your Instagram photos by downloading a single zip file. All you need to do is to sign up the Instaport app with your Instagram User ID and password, then choose in which format you want to export all your Instagram collections.

There are advance options too: you may download Instagram photos taken at particular dates or by tags, as seen below:

2. CopyGram (link)

CopyGram is yet another awesome tool to backup your Instagram photos online. Using the app is a snap. First you need to do a one-time registration to their website and then allow CopyGram to connect to your Istagram. Once done, you should be taken to the homepage, displaying your friend's latest uploads.

Now, to backup your Instagram photos, just click the link "BACK UP PHOTOS" at the top of the nav bar and you are ready to backup all you Instagram photos. Just enter your e-mail ID and then hit the Backup now button to get the backup in your e-mail account inbox.

Cloud Save - The Quickest Way To Download, Backup Files Straight To The Cloud

You may not need these Instagram photo downloaders this time, but they're good websites to bookmark when you do.

New iPhone App Uses Sound to Transmit Photos, URLs from One Phone to Another

There is a new iPhone app called Chirp that will soon make tidal waves in the way we communicate through our smartphones.

No, technology is not going to the birds if you are also thinking of Twitter. It just so happens that the app’s name is Chirp because it uses a robotic bird sound to transmit data to other phones. Yes, Chirp can transmit URL’s, pictures, and words from one phone to another.

Little birdy reviews and critics are now lauding this app as not just another extension or entertainment application. It has the potential to take wings and fly away if marketed properly.

New iPhone App 'Yinztagram' Lets You Add Some Pittsburgh To Your Photos

Okay, okay, enough of the intended puns. Chirp was created by a company called Animal Systems (no pun intended, this IS the name of the company), many of its members coming from the Computer Science Department at the University College London. At present, the app is available only for iOS but, a version for Android is in the making.


Here’s how it works:

1 Simply open your Chirp app and ask the recipient/s to open their app as well. The recipient can be one up to 500 persons, even more.

2 The app then gives you a yellow button. Just press it and you will hear a two-second chirping sound that sends your picture, text, or URL to anyone within earshot. A second or two after, whatever you sent pops up on the recipient’s phone screen.

Viddy — The Instagram for Videos — Lets You Create Visually Stunning 15-Second Slices Of Your Life

Chirp isn’t really transmitted by sound. The app basically uploads the content to the cloud, creates a code for the content, then converts the code into sound. The sound is sent and received, with the receiver’s app decoding the sound. Though it needs an internet connection, it can be sent offline. When the receiver connects later, the app is received.

It even works in noisy environments. The app is optimized to receive only the chirping tone generated by the app.

The future of Chirp is very promising because Animal Systems has the ability to incorporate the technology into other products. It has the potential to be so revolutionary that companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter (obviously), Google, and Apple will want to incorporate it with their offerings. Its radical process of sharing content is what makes it stand out from other pairing devices like Blue-tooth, Wi-Fi, and texting, which are all just pairing devices.

Transfer Large Files Between iPhone and Other iDevices Over Existing Wi-Fi Network

Here are a couple of examples of the apps potential. A TV show could tell people watching to open their apps. When the show Chirp’s content, people receive the content because the sound is clear on the TV’s speakers. Or, imagine that you are giving a presentation to a large audience, you can Chirp the visual presentation to them.

It has been tested and works pretty well on videos, podcasts, and radio shows.

Download: Chirp [iTunes link]

Working On Shared Projects? ToodLedo Helps You Get The Job Done FAST

Whether for school or work, dealing with a group project can sometimes be a daunting task. One has to constantly check whether a classmate or a working colleague has done his part, accomplished the assigned task given a specific day and time. Working with group projects can be truly downright overwhelming as you’re to collaborate with other people whom you’ve got no control over their time with.

While the best way to avoid missing deadlines is to respect the time and being more abrupt, a good organization can also help you get the job done fast. Here I’m going to share you another awesome task management tool that changes the way you work and collaborate with your team on a shared task.

Best To-Do List, Collaboration and Task Management Tool Of 2011

ToodLedo is incredibly powerful to-do list tool that can help you organize your tasks for an increased productivity. This free web-based task management tool has been around for quite some time now and has been able to help thousands of workers throughout the globe.

Aside from the intuitive navigation, what sets ToodLedo apart from others is that it comes with an alert (SMS, email, Twitter, or iPhone) so that you and the rest of the team will be automatically notified for any tasks that are due soon. Task collaboration, being the heart of the app, is also quicker and much simpler; you can easily share tasks with your classmates or coworkers and collaborate on projects with them. Data portability is also worth-checking out; you can anytime take your data with you or send it to other popular cloud services out there.



ToodLedo is Ajax-powered making it quicker to organize and manage tasks. ToodLedo is also available for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry. Check it out here.

SpeakPipe: Let Your Visitors Leave Voice Messages -- for Wordpress and Blogger

When you own an active blog or website, you always love to read and reply to your reader’s comments. However, in the blogging world, comments left behind continue to be in text format and can be seemingly impersonal. Even email, website, or social media comments still feel impersonal using the usual text formats.

Now, you can allow audio feedback with the new SpeakPipe. Hearing the actual voiced comments from someone adds a personal touch to comments for any blog or website.

Learn How To Automatically Generate Thumbnails, Screenshots For Any Website

At present, anyone can leave voicemail podcasts attachments. However, telephone podcasting quality is very poor. Another method is to record audio attachments. This means, recording, saving, editing, encoding, attaching, and sending. Both of the above is not convenient for any user.

Listen To Your Website Visitors, Customers or Readers With SpeakPipe (link)

SpeakPipe is like your personal web voicemail directly accessible from your site. Your visitors can then leave high quality audio comments for you with just a few clicks. When you download and then install SpeakPipe’s box on your blog, your readers can now instantly send voice messages instead of the traditional plain text.



In short, anyone with a microphone and a computer can leave any kind of audio feedback or message without much technical fuss and trouble. They can even listen to their recording, edit, or redo it before sending.

When a message is sent, you then receive an email notice with an Mp3 download link. The sender has the option to leave a name and email address. This will show up on the SpeakPipe inbox.

Split, Paginate Long Blog Post In WordPress, Blogger/Blogspot, and Tumblr

SpeakPipe is entirely JavaScript-based so it is compatible with Android and iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad).

Its little drawback is that, while the initial download is free, it has a time limit, and that means you need to purchase the full version. However, you get a refund after using it for 120 days and not being satisfied with it. Other minor issues include email notifications do not include the name and email address of the messenger, only one inbox, and there are no sorting options like folders or labels.

Create Contact Forms For WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc.

Overall, SpeakPipe is still good to use and worth the time to try out for testing on you website or blog.

New iPhone App Lets You Schedule, Send Emails/Text Messages At Specific Time

If you're wondering about how to schedule, send emails on your iPhone or iPad at specified date and time, well, then, good news! A new email and SMS scheduling iPhone app just hit the iTunes yesterday that promise to do just that!

There are several occasions when you want to send emails straight from your iPhone, iPad at future date/time. For example, you might want to remind your co-worker (who's in the other part of the world and at a different timezone) to do an important task while you're in the middle of the night resting. Or you want to auto-notify your customers about a special promo that goes live in the next couple of hours.

Automatically Send Email Messages At Specific Time In Gmail

Whatever the reason is, email scheduling app for the iPhone or iPad will do you a favor.

Cronote Reminders: Schedule, Send Emails, SMS At Future Date/Time (iPhone/iPad)

Cronote Reminders (link) is the new iOS app that allows you to send emails and text messages at a specific date and time. Just specify the sending time, list down the recipients and let your iPhone auto-send that email/text message at predefined time.

The neat interface of Cronote allows you to send future email reminders to multiple recipients, which is manageable prior to final delivery. In addition, Cronote provides a website so you can manage your future emails and text messages even if you're not carrying your iPhone with you.

Automatically Send SMS Text Messages At Later Time (iPhone/Android/Symbian)

Download Cronote Reminders for the iPhone/iPad from the iTunes HERE.

Engage In The Bible Like Never Before With YouVersion

With the continued growth of the Internet and the affordability of web-enabled mobile devices, it nearly is impossible for anyone to set aside time, go to a silent place, read the Holy Scriptures and reflect. People today seem like too busy with the daily routine of checking updates on Facebook, watching live performances on YouTube, or getting news updates on Twitter. To cut this story short, online web services are slowly killing the habit of Bible reading especially among youngsters.

Create Online Memorials For Your Loved Ones

If you spend most of your time online, you might want to check out YouVersion.com, a free and feature-rich online Bible resource site purposely designed for people who prefer to engage in the Bible online.

YouVersion.com was founded with a notion that reading the Bible should not be boring. Rather, it should be fun and engaging.

In generation past, the Internet has brought about a revolution which empowers people like never before. With the ability to share, contribute, create, broadcast and communicate, it's easy to express who we are and what we believe with the rest of the world.

Create Professional eBusiness Cards Online

With YouVersion, you can:

• quickly navigate and search through chapters and verses from Genesis to Revelation
• create your own reading plan (e.g. 7 days of devotional reading, 100 days of Psalms and Proverbs, hundreds more)
• customize your Bible reading plan depending on your interest (e.g. love, friendship, etc) and time/availability
• discuss or interact with friends
• and a whole lot more...

YouVersion can also be accessed via Mobile Web or through dedicated mobile Bible app for your iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Symbian or Java phone device so that you can access the Bible on-the-go.

Best Online Brochure, Catalog or Magazine Creator