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Turning A Smartphone Into A Driver’s Best Friend

We’re not encouraging that anyone spends more time looking at their phone rather than keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the steering wheel. However, smartphones are becoming versatile tools with apps to seemingly fit any situation and that includes when you’re on the road as well. Here, we’re going to look at some of the coolest, most convenient, and even most helpful apps that can help you drive safer, cut costs, and even deal with an emergency.

Don’t choose between tunes and data

This might not seem like the most vital of tools, but when it comes to using apps on the road, a lot of people are going to discover the limit to their data very quickly when they first hit it. Rather than cutting off your access to half your apps thanks to data-draining apps, there are ways to make it stretch a little longer. In particular, if you listen to music or podcasts on the road there’s a good chance you use Spotify to do it. Spotify Lite is a slimmed down, efficient version that can keep those tunes, but without burning through your data.

Balance your fuel budget

Sick of paying more than you think you should for gas? There are other apps that can help you manage your fuel efficiency, but Fuel Map is all about one thing only: helping you find the most affordable gas stations closest to you. By comparing and listing the current prices of stops across the country, as well as how far away you are for them, it can help you make a real dent in the fuel costs that can make your car more expensive to own than you might like.

Be ready for any situation

There are apps that can help you when you’re in a true pinch, as well. If you’ve been caught in a car accident, then after the dust has settled, you’re going to need a replacement car. Apps like Compass Car can help you get a replacement delivered quickly to your location and pick it up wherever you like whenever you’re done with an app that shows you where the delivery is in progress as well. Rather than simply downloading, you have to apply to the service to get the app, but it can be truly helpful in a tight situation.

Never have trouble finding a spot again

Particularly useful for urban dwellers, Parkopedia is an app that’s designed to help you find a parking spot much more easily, highlighting where the open spots currently are. It doesn’t yet reach across the whole country, but it is steadily expanding to include more locations. If you’re having trouble finding spots consistent, you should check the site to see if it’s in the city in which you live.

While often the cause of accidents when misused, smartphones can be a lot more helpful to drivers than you might imagine. The above-mentioned apps are some of the most useful out there, but there are plenty more worth taking the time to discover, as well.

 

Episode 318 #SwipeDelete Ft.Swiss / OsmoPocket / Devil May Cry 5

Data Meme

What are your most Data Draining Apps?

We all love our data and back in the day there was a stupid amount charged per MB! So, wouldn’t we all like to save MB’s where possible? We all don’t like that dread text message towards the end of the month that you’re about to run out of data. Therefore wouldn’t you like to know which apps are sucking the life out of your data plan? Well we’ve got some data for you! (See what we did there) A study, conducted by Mobile Phones Direct, explored the data usage of a number of apps that hurt your data balance.
First of all, daily video and music streaming is doing you more harm than good and it’s hitting your data, HARD. If you use BBC iPlayer and Channel 5’s My 5 then you’re gonna have to cut back. As they’ve been named as the worst offending video apps for data drainage. Taking up to a gig, a GIG of data for an hour of streaming.  Suprisingly Netflix uses very little data at 314mb. See the handy chart below for more:

Quick Tip: 

Download on Netflix to allow videos to be played offline to save data. However, if you don’t wish to download videos, let the show buffer whilst you are on WiFi network and then watch on your mobile network. Therefore you aren’t using any data as the file has already buffered on your phone! Furthermore on YouTube you can head into settings and make sure that the ‘limit mobile data usage’ option is ticked. This will force the app to only watch videos in HD when connected to a WiFi Network.

Music Streaming however, there may be a different way to save data, if you’re a Spotify user. Tthere’s a way to help limit the way that it uses your data! As well as changing the quality of the music, making the music available offline, or downloading the music that Spotify (and many other apps) offer you, you can do more.
With Spotify only there’s an app called Spotify Lite (Currently only available on Android). This version of the app only takes up 15mb of memory compared to 100mb. Most of all, the app doesn’t allow HQ music to be played. If you’re an Apple Music or a Tidal user however, then they take up the most data when listening for an hour. Tidal gobbles up 184mb compared to Spotify using almost 100mb less.

(Deloitte)

(Mobile Phones Direct) 

*Mobile Phones Direct watched 5 minutes of content from each app and multiplied it to determine the total data usage over an hour. Each video was watched on both an  iPhone 7 plus and XR in HD using 4G. Results may vary.

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How To Save Netflix From Killing Your Data!

We all have data caps on our phones & (unsurprisingly) it can get costly if you can’t latch on to a free WiFi network. Netflix uses 1gb of data per hour and 3 gigs of data if you stream in HD!

But Netflix do have a handy tool to let you know how much data your using, please see below!

Low: Basic and most data and cost effective at 0.3gb data
Medium: SD quality video uses about 0.7gigs
High:The best you can get depending on the content, 3gb for HD content and up to 7gb for UHD.
Automatic: Netflix automatically chooses the best quality stream for you based on the strength of your network.
Unlimited: Highest quality possible for your device same rate as High standard. (So will choose UHD if your network will handle it)

HOW DO I DO THIS?

On The Netflix app, head on over to the ‘APP SETTINGS’ and go to the “Cellular Data Usage’ tab and choose what one you want Netflix to use for all your content.

On the desktop head to Your Account -> Playback Settings and choose what one you wish to use.

Google’s new app makes it easy to save mobile data

New App ‘Triangle’ let’s you control data use

Google have developed a new app which lets you view and control the amount of data you use. The app ‘Triangle’ lets you monitor data usage and restrict apps from using your data even when your 3/4G is on.

This is a handy little app if you’re on a contract with limited data as some apps consume a lot more data than others but it’s also helpful as some apps will continue to drain your data if they are running in the background.

Another feature this app has is that you can allow certain apps access to your data for limited time periods from 10 to 30 minutes.

This app is only available in the Philippines for now as it’s still in it’s testing phase.

 

EP 102 Zus Car Charger (Bonus)