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Best Smartphone Apps of August 2013

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Best Smartphone AppsHere are some of the best smartphone apps — for iPhone and Android phones — that we’ve come across in the last week. Check them out, and share!

Zagat (Free)

The famous reviewer guide Zagat is back as a free iPhone app, right now for only nine cities in the United States, but with more cities on the way. Zagat is well-known as a service that gives insightful reviews for restaurants, bars, and all other hot spots in your town. Of smartphone apps, this is my favorite.

Blux Camera Pro

Blux Camera Pro is a great new camera app that automatically retrieves data like your location, the amount of available light, local weather, and on-screen analysis to suggest the best possible settings for your shots, and suggests settings that may improve your shot, with an automated voice to boot. It comes with a lot of different lighting presets and shooting modes. Finally, it has a setting to get rid of the lens flare.

Google Keyboard (Android)

Google has released its keyboard as an app. Google Keyboard has some good new functionality like gesture typing, was typing, word prediction etc. Now you don’t have to wait for the OS update to use the new functionality of the Google keyboard.

Musaic (Free)

Musaic is a music discovery app that allows you re-discover your iTunes selection while selecting new songs “you might like,” which are then purchasable through the app. What’s more, it has a slick “mosaic” of album cover art (it automatically finds the art from your music titles) and places them in an easy-to-use interface.

Double Twist with Magic Radio

Developed by Double Twist, Magic Radio is a music-streaming subscription service add-on. It allows access for over 13 million songs and users to sync to iTunes. If you want to hear something new, create a new station and the tracks you want to listen to. MagicRadio is free for 7 days, Once it expires you can subscribe it for only $3.99. Download it From Google Play

Documents by Readdle

Readdle makes some of our favorite productivity apps for iOS, including Printer Pro (very useful if your printer doesn’t support AirPrint) and Scanner Pro (which turns an iPad into a scanner of sorts). Documents by Readdle is its entry into the document viewer segment dominated by the likes of GoodReader. As well as simply viewing documents of various kinds, you can open archives, annotate PDFs and play media files. It has a web browser to allow you to download files from various sources and you can set the ‘user agent’ to make the browser impersonate a variety of different web clients, so the site you like that blocks mobile Safari is no longer an issue. Its great strength is its connectivity to various cloud-based storage services such as Box.net, Dropbox and iCloud — just about any service you could name. With iCloud, you can even set up subfolders to hold documents of different kinds — that’s right, a file system, right there in iCloud. Now that the app is on the iPhone as well as iPad, that means you can keep documents from apps that don’t necessarily support iCloud natively synced across your devices. If Documents By Readdle were to cost you money we’d say it was worth the price for that alone. As it’s free, we don’t understand why you haven’t downloaded it yet.

Quip (Free)

Quip claims to be a “modern word processor” designed for collaboration across different devices. Aimed at workplaces as well as domestic use, it presents documents in “chat-like” update threads, showing which users are online and using Twitter-like @mentions to link to people and documents.

Office Mobile for Office 365 (Free)

Microsoft’s Office Mobile app is finally available — however, only in the US for Android smartphones (Apple version coming soon). While it requires an Office 365 subscription. it allows you view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, including email attachments.

Google AdSense (Free)

For those already using Adsense, you’ll be able to browse how much money you’re making, analytics of top custom and URL channels, and get individual payment alerts. More features are planned for the coming months.

Color Zen

Color Zen is a puzzle game. It is developed by Large Animal Games. Very addictive game, the players have to discover a path through an abstract world of colors and shapes. The object of the game is to fill the screen so that it matches the border without leaving any colors behind.

iPhone, News

World’s Most Expensive iPhones

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World's Most Expensive iPhones

Inasmuch as iPhones are considered to be among the most luxurious devices on earth, there are some people who are always willing to take this luxury to a higher level. There have been some reports where various people, especially businessmen, place orders for customized iPhones at record-breaking prices, thus making such iPhones the world’s most expensive iPhones. Listed below are some of these ridiculously expensive devices.

The World’s Most Expensive iPhones

The world’s most expensive iPhones have been a great subject of debate all over social media, schools, offices and even homes due to their unbelievable prices and the valuable materials used during the manufacturing process.

iPhone 4G Diamond Edition

The iPhone 4G Diamond Edition from Goldstriker International makes its way into the list of the most expensive iPhones in the world. It is surrounded by a metal band that contains 6.5 carats of VVS diamonds while the back has Apple’s famous logo in diamonds. It has an internal memory of 32 GB and it is factory unlocked thus enabling the user to enjoy it without worrying about the wireless carrier. It also has an ostrich-foot phone wallet fitted with various pockets that can hold a maximum of four credit cards. This device costs $19,460.

iPhone Princess Plus

iPhone Princess Plus is derived from the Princess cut that is used on 138 of the 318 pure diamonds found on its surface. The remaining 180 diamonds on this device are brilliant-cut. This iPhone has a total of around 17.75 carats of pure diamonds that were set in 18k white gold that runs along its rim. It costs $176,400 but you can still get the “Brilliants only” model that costs $66,150.

Kings Button iPhone

Kings Button iPhone  has a line of 138 brilliant-cut diamonds surrounding its sides. It is engrossed with precious metals but according to the manufacturers, the 6.6 carat home button is the most valuable and expensive section of the whole device. This iPhone costs $2.4 million.

Goldstriker iPhone 3GS Supreme

Stuart Hughes is famous for his innovative ways of adding a sense of elegance, uniqueness, and class on various devices such as video games and the iPhone appears to be his latest obsession. This iPhone has a casing created from 271 grams of gold. The screen is trimmed with 53, 1-carat diamonds whereas the home button is a 7.1-carat diamond. This device is encased in a chest carved from granite and the interior is made of top quality leather. It is estimated to be worth $3.2 million.

iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition

The iPhone 4 Diamond Rose Edition tops the list of the world’s most expensive iPhones. It is not a surprise that this iPhone is from famous designer Stuart Hughes who also created the famous Goldstriker model. It comes with a famous antenna band that runs around its sides. It also comes with a back plate made of pure rose gold. The antenna band is made of 100 carats of diamonds whereas the Apple logo is made of 53 more diamonds. Just like other expensive diamonds above, the home button has the highest value in the 3GS Supreme iPhone.

The home button in this device is made of platinum that includes a 7.4-carat pinkish diamond. It also comes in a classy pink 7Kg chest made of granite and the interior section fitted with leather. This iPhone is worth a whopping $8 million.

Naturally, even the most expensive iPhones in the world aren’t immune to damage. After spending all the money on cosmetic upgrades, the screen can still crack, or the device can still be dropped into a toilet. For the very wealthy, or the average joe, iFixYouri specializes in iPhone repair.

iPhone

Effective Ways of Fixing iPhone Volume Control

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Sometimes, the volume control of your iPhone can give you problems. The controls might not be responsive if you try to lower or raise the volume. Some units have a “volume ghost,” turning the volume higher or lower without any buttons being pressed. It’s a frustrating issue, but can it be fixed? Of course it can! Below are some tips to help you clear the problem on your own. If you’ve already tried them, let iFixYouri’s expert technicians take a crack at fixing it. Most volume control issues can be solved in as little as 30 minutes at any of our walk-in locations, or with 24-hour turnaround from anywhere in the country!

Ways of Fixing iPhone Volume Control

Some iPhone problems are not serious and can be fixed at home. For instance, if you have a problem with volume controls, you can try fixing it yourself by following the tips listed below.

Clean the Volume Control Buttons   

This is suitable if you feel like the buttons are stuck or feel mushy. Deposits of dirt, dust, oil, grease, food crumbs (“crud”) could be interfering with the sensitivity of the buttons. You can use a narrow pin, carefully get it down the side of the buttons, and see if you can clean the crud out. You can also clean the area around the buttons with a regular vacuum nozzle and a clean, dry toothbrush.

Press the Buttons on Every Side

In some cases, the buttons could be just stuck. You can easily get them unstuck by pressing on the buttons repeatedly. iPhones are designed for durability and the buttons have gone through pressure tests to ensure that they can withstand thousands of finger pushes. A couple of quick pushes could be all you need to dislodge a stuck button and get it working again.

Perform a DFU Restore

A DFU is what the guys at the Genius Bar will likely advise you to do. A restore is often done to rule out software glitches. If this does not resolve the issue, you most likely have a hardware problem.

Check if Volume Changes With and Without Headphones

In some cases, faulty connections between the phone and the headphones can cause changes in volume. There is no clear reason why this occurs. You can bring your phone to the iPhone store and have it checked for loose connections.

For buttons that feel mushy or soft, this could easily be a hardware problem that you can fix by manually moving the buttons around. You may require more help when the problem involves software glitches. If your phone is under warranty, you can easily have it replaced by Apple. Many customers dealing with faulty UP or DOWN buttons have had their buttons replaced by Apple in most retail stores. You can bring your phone in, have it checked out, and see whether it is software or hardware issue.

If your phone is past warranty, you can have the professional repair technicians from iFixYouri do the repairs for you. The next time you need to fix iPhone volume control issues, just call us and we will come to your rescue.

DIY Fix, iPhone

Dealing With an iPhone Black Screen

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Most iPhone users freak out at their first encounter with the iPhone black screen. This often occurs unexpectedly and has been known to strike even brand-new phones. After all that money spent, most users don’t want to see their phone display pitch black. It’s important to know what to do when this problem occurs. If any of tips fail to bring your device back to life, send your phone in for a free diagnostic and our expert technicians will diagnose the issue and iFixYouri will offer to repair it (or buy it from you for cash!).

How to Deal With an iPhone Black Screen

If your iPhone screen blacks out, there’s no reason to worry. Several methods can get rid of the black screen. Below you will find some of the most common ways of dealing with this issue.

Hold the Home & Wake Buttons

  1. Press and hold the Lock/Wake button on the right side of your iPhone.
  2. Simultaneously, press and hold down the Volume Down button on the left side. Keep the Lock/Wake button pressed.
  3. Continue holding the buttons until the screen goes black and the Apple Logo is displayed.

Also known as a hard reset, this is the first solution that you try since it is fairly easy. The screen should come back on. If it doesn’t try a full restore.

Do a Full Restore in iTunes

If the first solution does not work, a full restore is your next best bet. The restore returns your phone’s data to its original settings according to the settings on the backup. This is often done to transfer data from a defective device to a new and working device but also works to restore all data from a blacked-out iPhone.

  1. Open iTunes on the Mac or PC used to back up your device.
  2. Connect your device to your computer with a USB or Lightning cable. If prompted for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.
  3. Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes.
  4. Choose Restore Backup in iTunes.
  5. Review the date and size of each backup. Choose the most relevant option.
  6. Click Restore and wait for the restore to complete. Enter the password for your encrypted backup if asked.
  7. Keep your device connected after it restarts. Wait for it to sync with your computer. You can disconnect after the sync finishes.

 

What to Do When the iPhone Black Screen Won’t Go Away

If none of these options work for you, you should contact the nearest Apple store and have your phone looked at by the technicians at the Genius Bar. If you try to do any repairs yourself, you’ll end up voiding your warranty. If your phone suffers from simple software problems, they can easily make quick fixes for you. If your phone is still covered by the warranty, the people at the bar can open it up and see what is wrong. If a visit to the Genius Bar reveals that you have a defective unit on your hands, you may get a replacement iPhone.

Other Options Available

If the warranty period for your iPhone ended, you can have it repaired by professional technicians. At iFixYouri, we have some of the best technicians in North America, with lots of experience fixing the black screen on iPhones as well as any other issue under the sun.

DIY Fix, iPhone, News, Repair Parts

What To Do When Your iPhone Microphone Stops Working

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One of the most common problems that iPhone users encounter is the microphone not working during phone calls. The person you are speaking to can’t hear you while using the handset, but in some cases may still be able to hear while on speakerphone. It’s a frustrating problem that can make it difficult to use the phone on a regular basis. If you’re tired of shouting and asking people to “SPEAK UP,” consult the tips below or take it in for a professional diagnostic and repair.

Causes of iPhone Microphone Malfunction

  • Water exposure. Has your phone recently been dropped into water? Gotten wet in any way? Sometimes, even exposure to high levels of moisture, like steam, can cause the microphone to malfunction.
  • Mechanical malfunctions can sometimes cause the mouthpiece on the phone to stop working, like after a drop onto a hard surface.

How to Fix an iPhone Microphone Malfunction

  1. Allow the phone to dry. If the microphone is malfunctioning after being exposed to moisture, you can allow the phone to dry. Turning the phone off and placing it in a porous environment, like in a box of rice, can help to dry the phone effectively and hopefully get the microphone back to normal.
  2. Replace the microphone. If the problem persists, and you don’t want to buy a new phone, you can always have the microphone replaced by a professional.

Microphone Repair Cost

The costs can vary depending on the model of the phone, the damage and whether the mouthpiece can be repaired or needs to be replaced completely. Mechanical problems with the phone that have not been caused by the user are usually fixed under the warranty of the phone with no cost to the customer.

Keep in mind that phones less than one year old are usually covered under the manufacturer or carrier warranty, but there are exceptions. In addition, the warranty program on phones that have been tampered with or repaired outside Apple are often void under and the phones are ineligible to be repaired or replaced for free when the mouthpiece breaks.

The next best alternative is to ship your iPhone to our stores and we will fix it for you and send it back to you. iFixYouri has experts equipped with skills required to fix your iPhone’s microphone when it stops working. Alternatively, you could also sell your iPhone for cash.

DIY Fix, iPhone, News

How to Increase iPhone Processor Speed

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Your smartphone has certain benchmarks for processing that can be overcome, increasing the processing power of your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. By overclocking the internal processor, it is possible to boost the circuit boards and increase performance. This overclocking, however, greatly reduces the battery life of the iPhone and will rapidly drain it, even for programs that draw relatively little energy. The key to increasing iPhone processor speed lies in overclocking the processor through jailbreaking.

Benefits of Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

When you increase the processing speed of a phone, there are many benefits. Your apps take less time to power up and down, you can get better access to streaming internet content, and your wait times for pages to load is significantly reduced. One of the major criticisms of some iPhones is the amount of time they take to load content.

Secret to Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

Apple iPhones are “underclocked,” running at about half the capacity of their processor power. An iPhone 6S, for instance, can run at 1.4 megahertz but is set to run at only half that. Thus, overclocking the phone will boost processing speed by 50%, but will also drain the battery 50% faster. These safeguards put on the phone also prevent it from overheating. When you overclock an iPhone, it may heat up past the point of damage to the circuitry.

Jailbroken Phone Necessary for Increasing Processor Speed

An overclocked iPhone needs to be jailbroken, removing the limitations that Apple puts on their products. A jailbroken phone automatically violates Apple’s warranty process, meaning that overclocking your phone will make it impossible to get it fixed by Apple’s product services. It is best to jailbreak an iPhone once the warranty has expired or else you risk losing the phone in the event of damage. Using a cooling pad minimizes the damage that overclocking could present.

Overclocking 101

There are a number of protocols that you can download from the internet to overclock your phone. File-sharing sites and torrent distributors have the files needed to install overclocking software on your processor. It will be necessary to download and rename the file, however, since the device will automatically block any files do not have Apple configurations. Install it on your phone and reboot the processor. Your iPhone will utilize the program to run on a new processor configuration.

Overclocking Can Damage iPhone

In addition to boosting processor speed and heating up the phone, overclocking will reduce the lifespan of your phone’s computer processing unit. The best way to maximize CPU life and minimize heat is to close the apps you are not currently using and to check the temperature often. Anytime you jailbreak or overclock a phone, you do so at your own risk. Increasing the processor speed on a brand-new smartphone is not recommended, especially since some new devices (like the Galaxy Note 7) are subject to recalls and jailbroken iPhones cannot be recalled or replaced.

While it is possible to increase iPhone processor speed, it can end up causing you more issues with your phone.  Since you’ve voided the warranty by jailbreaking your iPhone, you’ll need to get it repaired by a third-party professional company, like iFixYouri.

 

Accessories, iPhone, News

The Best Wireless Charging System for iPhone 4

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Wireless iPhone Charger Powermat

The Powermat is by far the best wireless charging system for iPhone 4. Since there’s no competition on this patented product, you’ll want to see an in-depth look at the functions, features, pros and cons of owning this device.

Pros/Cons of Wireless Charging System for iPhone 4

Pros:

  1. Easy to charge
  2. Safe to use
  3. Built in system prevents battery leak and depletion over time
  4. Cordless charging keeps the phone safe from more hazards

Cons:

  1. Cost prohibitive
  2. Not compatible with other phones
  3. Exclusive charger for iPhone 4

How The Powermat Wireless Charging System for iPhone 4 Works

The Powermat charging system comes with a charging mat, a phone cover, and a wall adaptor. The charging mat uses inductive charging technology with a customized sensor so when the phone is 100% powered, the charger stops pumping energy in, preventing battery drainage and life loss.

The owner simply sets the phone on the mat, careful to position it in the proper face-up position, waits for the audio confirmation that the phone is connected, and walks away. The phone will be fully powered in no more than two hours.

The Considerable Advantages

With a wireless charging system, you don’t have to worry about many of the hazards that accompany other chargers. If you’re a pet owner, or have small children, if you’re clumsy or often rushed, you’ll be familiar with the downsides to the traditional wall chargers for cell phones.

A pet might chew on the power cord, a toddler might get tangled in the cord, and a loose length of cord might hang in a walkway and get caught on someone’s leg as he rushes past. In any one of these incidents, damage might occur to the charger, phone or worse, person or pet.

iPhone Repairs

Cell Phone repair is commonly sought for broken USB charging connector. If the charging cord is tripped over, the force might bend or break the USB port. However, with a wireless charger, this problem is not even a consideration.

Moreover, the designers of the Powermat had a dual-purpose function in mind with their charger. You might be turned away by the cost of the system, but when you consider that the Powermat case reduces the cost of purchasing a separate protector case, you’re looking at cost savings.

You’ll still want to purchase a screen protector, but with the wireless charging system for an iPhone 4, you’ll be sure to have fewer costly accidents.

 

iPhone

Do You Need iPhone Digitizer Replacement?

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If you bought an iPhone, you know that the touch capabilities are the best part about it. The component that makes this enjoyable experience possible is the digitizer, which is firmly fixed to the screen. Unfortunately, this means that if your touchscreen gets broken or damaged, you will require iPhone digitizer replacement as well.

How iPhone Digitizer Replacement Works

The digitizer is like a thin plastic film attached to the screen. It’s sensitive to your finger movements, and sends information about the position and movements of your fingers to the motherboard. The information you enter with your fingers is analog information, and it is converted by the digitizer into digital, or computer-readable, data.

Why You Might Need a Replacement

If the screen is damaged, it is usually the result of the phone being dropped, or knocking against something – a very common occurrence. However, it’s possible that the digitizer itself can develop problems. Symptoms that could indicate that your digitizer needs replacing include:

  • No response from your screen when you touch it.
  • There is a response, but it is very slow.
  • Some areas respond erratically, or not at all.
  • Some applications seem to open unpredictably or randomly.

If you experience any of these problems, your digitizer is faulty and needs replacing – repair is not an option.

Whether the digitizer needs replacing because it is faulty in itself, or because the screen is damaged, it cannot be replaced by itself. Because it is fused to the screen, the two are in effect a single component, so you have to replace the screen as well. There are various ways to do this.

How to Replace the iPhone Digitizer

You can try to do it yourself. There are a number of low-cost digitizer replacement kits on the market, and several instructional three-minute video clips online. However, it is a very difficult repair to do successfully, especially if the kits supply cheap plastic tools rather than metal, and you don’t have years of experience and know-how. This can cause serious frustration. There’s even a chance of causing additional damage to the iPhone. There is also the option of using Apple’s own repair service, though this costs up to $200 and has a lengthy wait time.

The easiest and most satisfactory way of obtaining an iPhone digitizer replacement is usually to find a reliable professional repair company. This is likely to be a lot cheaper than using Apple’s service, or paying the deductible for your carrier’s phone insurance. Make sure you choose a company that offers a warranty, lists prices on its website, and can guarantee a fast turnaround, such as iFixYouri.

The Simple Truth

The chances of damaging your iPhone are actually pretty high. As you can imagine, the inconvenience of being without it can be pretty painful. It’s a smart idea to identify a reliable repair service in advance, such as iFixYouri, that specializes in matters such as iPhone digitizer replacement just in case you need it. Alternatively, if your phone is damaged and you’re ready for an upgrade, you could always sell your old iPhone for cash.