Although
many people own one or more smartphones, not everyone knows about some
of the really special things it can be used for.
A majority of us have and use smartphones on the daily, but how
many of us actually maximize its functions? Aside from voice calls,
social networking, telling the time, listening to music and maybe using
the device as a flashlight, there are so many other creative ways the
smartphone can be used beyond their standard features to make life
easier. Jumia Travel shares 5 things you probably didn’t know you could
do with your smartphone.
1. Tune a guitar
Yes! You can actually use your smartphone to tune your guitar and
as such, you do not need to struggle with an out-of-tune guitar ever
again. All you need to do is download and install the Strings Free app,
launch gStrings, then press the Menu key and select Settings.
Next, Select the “Optimize For” drop-down list, Select “Guitar”
then go back to the main tuning screen. Finally, press the “Tune Auto”
button to have the tuner automatically identify the notes. If your
phone’s mic is having problems picking up sound from the guitar, go back
to Settings and set the microphone sensitivity. This function is
usually possible with mostly android smartphones though.
2. Control a TV
This may sound incredible, especially if your phone and your TV are
not the same brand, but in reality, it can be done. Almost every
smartphone is released with an infrared port that allows you to ditch
your standard TV remote and instead use your device to control your TV.
You however need to download an app from google play (if your
smartphone is also android) which will help you set it all up. Once it
is set up, you are able to carry out all the normal tasks you’d expect
from a TV remote, but by using your smartphone.You can try download Peel
Smart Remote on Android & iOS.
3. Scan documents
As long as you have a smartphone, you no longer need to go to a
cybercafé or use a scanner to scan documents, photographs, receipts,
business cards or anything on paper that you want to make digital. The
smartphone’s camera is already a portable, pocket document scanner that
you need.
For those who use android smartphones, the Google Drive app has a
built-in scanning feature while Evernote Scannable is available for
iPhone and iPad users. Using the camera lens, scan and then share your
scans via email or text, or export them as PDF and JPG files. Most
smartphones even gives you the option of automatically rotating,
cropping, and adjusting images so your scans are easy to read.
4. A cordless mouse and keyboard
This is super convenient if you are the type who uses a computer a
lot and your computer’s touchpad is faulty. Your smartphone, especially
android, allows you to download an App called RemoteDroid, which
consequently turns your phone to a wireless computer touchpad or
keyboard.
This function is also a great solution for people who use their computers as their entertainment hub.
5. A mic
When it comes to communicating with people over the internet,
making audio recordings, or using speech recognition, a good microphone
is needed. Although, headphones usually come with a mic or there is a
built-in microphone in the computer, there are times when the audio
quality is not good or the microphone stops working while you are in a
middle of a conversation. In case of such an incident, your smartphone
right beside you can come in very handy.
There are many Apps available for this purpose, but the one that is
easy to set up is ‘WO Mic’ by Wireless Orange. All you have to do is to
download that free App on your smartphone and WO Mic Client program and
WO Mic device driver on your PC. You can then use your smartphone as a
mic using WiFi or Bluetooth or USB.
6. Games console
If you love to play games, especially video games, you will be
delighted to know that there are some tremendously powerful smartphones
around, which can give you a great gaming experience. The MHL (Mobile
High-Definition Link) offers a way to connect phones and other portable
electronics to HD televisions and monitors, using an MHL cable linked
between the micro USB port on your phone and your screen’s HDMI.
While some phones are rather selective and do not support MHL, If
you have got any of the Sony Xperia Z series, another idea is to make
use of PS4 Remote Play and play your console games on your phone.
7. A microscope
A number of smartphone cameras are great for taking selfies and
short videos, but with some tweaks, you can actually turn the turn the
same camera into a microscope. With magnification levels up to 375x, you
easily conduct a scientific experiment with your phone and satisfy your
scientific curiosity or just enjoy the aesthetics of greatly magnified
photos.
Parents will love this as it could come in handy when doing home science project with their kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment