Which Data Plan Do I Need?

Smartphones brought with them the idea of wireless data for the masses. Being able to access the internet when not at home was not new when the iPhone came out in 2007- business people had been doing it with their Blackberries for years before then- but since then it is now a given than phones can access the internet anywhere, and increasingly common for laptops to be able to do so as well. With this, people have increasingly been asking "Which data plan do I need?"

Here are the main things to consider when looking at data plans:

1. How much data you need- The first thing to do is consider how much data you need. Will you be streaming Netflix regularly or just checking your email every once in a while? Different uses use different amounts of data. The only way to really know how much data you use is to do it and adjust (you can usually increase your data service later, but not decrease it), but you can find a good file-size estimate here on What Size Flash Drive Should I Get?
2. Coverage in your area- Next, shop around for coverage in your area. Cheap data does you no good if you can't connect when you want! Compare their coverage maps, making sure you're looking at data coverage and not voice coverage. Additionally, most major carriers will have separate maps for the different speeds of data- LTE, 3G, Edge, etc. If you're not familiar with these terms, How Fast is 4G? may help. Use these maps to narrow down to carriers that will give you the most coverage in places you'll be spending most of your time.
3. Price per gig- For this, compare the price per gig for the remaining possible options. Buying "in bulk" will generally get you a better deal per gig, but don't fall into the trap of paying for more data than you'll honestly use. Look at your budget and what you can reasonably afford.
4. Speed of download/upload- At this point you'll have narrowed it down quite a bit and there will likely only be two or three contenders. At this point you may need to do some digging, but look at their data speeds. The higher the number, the better the speed generally speaking, though there are lots of nuances that can affect that. You'll also see two sets of speeds: upload and download. Upload is when you're putting information up into the internet, and download is when you are taking information down into your device.

After all these things have been considered, if two services offer the same price per gig of data, and have roughly the same coverage, go with the cheaper option.

How Do I Keep My Electronic's Battery Healthy?

It happens to phones, laptops, tablets, and everything else that uses rechargeable batteries (which seems to be increasing with every year). At first everything is fine, but slowly... eventually... you notice that the battery just doesn't seem to hold a charge as well as it used to. Maybe you used to only have to plug your phone in once every couple days, but now you have to charge it multiple times a day. Maybe your laptop used to never dip below 60% between uses, but now you get low-battery warnings regularly. Here are some tips for maximizing your electronic's batteries:

1. Check your settings- There are many things you can turn off, minimize that will help save on battery usage. Similar to how a car that's laden with weight uses more gas, a computer with lots of things turned on will use more electricity.
1. Turn off unneeded settings- New devices will often come with certain settings turned on by default to help maximize your user experience, but you may find that they're not needed for what you use the device for. For example, many devices come with bluetooth turned on. Bluetooth is a wireless technology used for connecting to different devices like wireless keyboards, your car, or wireless headphones. (You can read more about bluetooth here: What is Bluetooth?) 

   

   If you see this symbol, it likely means bluetooth is turned on for your device.

2. Dim your screen/keyboard backlighting-  Most electronic screens nowadays have the ability to adjust their brightness levels, and some computers even have light-up keyboards to make it easier to type in dim lighting. While these make it easier to use the device, they can also use a lot of battery power. Set your screen brightness as low as is comfortable for you, and if your device has it (Apple products like iPhones, iPads and Macs have this, for example) turn on auto-brightness so the screen automatically brightens and dims according to the amount of light around.
3. Put your device to sleep/turn off as needed- Not using your device for awhile? You can turn the screen off by either clicking the lock/unlock button (for mobile devices), or you can put your laptop to sleep by simply closing the lid. Depending on how long you'll be away from you computer, you may choose to turn it to screensaver, put it to sleep, hibernate, or turn it all the way off. You can learn more about which option is best for you here at When should I turn off my computer?
2. Don't completely drain it- Completely draining a battery (to the point the device shuts off) is bad for the battery, and while doing it once or twice likely won't have any noticeable effect on it's long-term lifespan, repeatedly doing it will put unnecessary wear on it. Think of it like exercising- you go until you're tired, but not until you pass out from exhaustion.
3. Don't be afraid to use it either though- On the other end of the spectrum, some people get laptops, but then leave them plugged in 99% of the time because they're afraid of using the battery. This can be just as harmful as the battery can "forget" how to hold a charge. Using the exercise analogy again, you don't train for a marathon by sitting around conserving your energy for weeks before.
4. Avoid extreme temperatures- "Don't leave electronics in any conditions you wouldn't leave your child." Both extreme heat (leaving it in the car for hours in the middle of summer) and extreme cold (leaving it in the car overnight during winter) can have detrimental effects on your battery. The optimal operating temperatures for lithium ion batteries- the kind used in most rechargeable electronics- are the same temperatures that you'd feel comfortable in. Because of this, also be mindful about using laptops on beds where blankets and pillows will retain heat and warm up the laptop unnecessarily- use a surface that wicks away heat like a wooden desk or plastic stand. You can read more about other weather dangers here at Hidden Winter Hazards for Your Electronics.

Should I Get a Screen Protector for My Smartphone?

If you have a smart phone you inevitably ask about the best way to protect it from damage. Should you get case? Should you get a screen protector? Do I really need to spend the extra money? After spending so much money on a new smart phone you would think that most people would want to protect it as much as possible, but sometimes people try and save money by leaving their phones unprotected. Don't be cheap, spend the extra money to get at least the screen protector!

Although smart phones are made out of very resilient material, it's best to have a screen protector put on them to help maximize the lifespan of your phone. Do you really want to be walking around with a phone's whose screen is scratch so badly you can barely see it? Having a screen protector can help protect your phone from superficial scratches that can then turn into major scratches and even cracks.

I generally recommend spending the extra money to get screen protectors that are cut for your particular device, but if you can't find them, getting a generic one and cutting it yourself is not that bad. The most important thing is to make sure that it's put on properly, without air bubbles or any kind of debris beneath it. Not only are they distracting, but they also mean that your phone is not nearly as protected as it should be and debris can actually scratch your phone's screen from the friction if your screen protector shifts around.

Practical Tip of the Day:
If you've already dropped your smart phone and it has a crack, but is otherwise fine, putting a screen protector on it now isn't necessarily a bad idea. Doing so can help cover it, letting you use your phone while you save up money to get it fixed or purchase a new one.

When Should My Kid Get a Cell Phone?

As fewer people have land line home phones, we're also seeing an increase in the number of people who have cell phones. Among those people are younger and younger children. Many parents are getting their kids cell phones so they can easily keep in contact with them when everyone has busy schedules. Others are for emergency purposes, but there are plenty of parents who are now getting their kids cell phones just because "everyone else has them."

When should a child get a cell phone? Most people agree nowadays that teenagers are ok with cell phones, though you need to monitor their use. What about younger kids though? Does your ten year old need an iPhone? There is obviously no exact answer to this, but here are a few things to consider before you make (or don't make) the purchase:

1.  Is your child responsible? If your child still looses their toys, needs reminders to feed their pets , or in general shows a lack of forethought and responsibility, do you really want to buy them a cell phone with an expensive plan and a two-year contract? A good option for an irresponsible child who needs a cell phone for whatever reason is to get a cheap "burner phone" (a phone that costs $20 or less) that just makes calls, texting if they're lucky, and is on a pre-paid plan.
2. Why does your child want the phone? Is it because they constantly need to borrow their friend's phone to get ahold of you or is it because "everyone else has one?" Make sure your child has a valid reason to want a phone. You can also use this question to find out what kind of phone they need. Parents sometimes want to spend the extra money to get their kid the nicest phone even if the child never uses many of the options.
3. What's their school's policy on cell phones? Ask any teacher or school staff member, and they'll all agree- they see lots of kids bring in cell phones their parents gave them for emergencies, but the kids are showing them off to their friends as toys instead. This means that in a short while, the phone is likely to either be taken away from a teacher, stolen, or broke. Some schools are stricter about their cell phone policy than others, but you always want to make sure you're not sending your child to school with something that will be taken away shortly thereafter.

Practical Tip of the Day:

No matter what age, gender or grade level your child is, I always recommend getting their cell phone in a durable case as soon as you buy the phone. This will help phone stay undamaged and in working order for as long as possible. Far too often, a child will accidentally drop theirs or another friend's phone, and then they will be looking for you to get them another one (newer model, of course).

What is VOIP?

As previously mentioned in the article entitled "What is Skype?" an increasing popular way to make long distance telephone calls, especially out of country, is using a VOIP service like Skype. VOIP stands for "voice over IP," which means that yes, it's an acronym that holds another acronym. "IP" means "Internet Protocol," so to break down "Voice Over Internet Protocol" it simply means that you can talk over the Internet like it's a phone.

To understand why this is impressive, one must first understand the difference between "analog" and "digital." If something is analog, it travels along a continuum. Think of this as the way someone can count between 1 and 2, using a seemingly infinite number of decimals between them. If something is digital, it's more like counting between 1 and 2 (well, 0 and 1 actually), but there are no decimals. It's either one or two. Sound is something that is analog, we can make a wide range of sounds, but computers and other electronic devices only understand digital (click here if you don't know why) so the trick is getting something to sound analog when in fact it's digital. I'll spare you the long explanation as to how that happens.

Once the sound is converted into a digital signal, it can then be sent over the Internet to anywhere you want it to go. When you use a service like Skype, you can "call" people to direct where your digitized voice will be sent to. The nice thing about the Internet is that whether your voice is going across town or across the world hardly changes the delay in conversation so it can simulate a phone very well, and since most countries have a decent connection to the Internet, it can usually also save you money versus using an actual telephone.

Practical Tip of the Day:
If you're travelling abroad, using a VOIP service can save you money versus calling long-distance, but be careful if you're using an "Internet anywhere" card or a smartphone to access the Internet for that purpose as roaming fees for data are often much heftier than roaming fees for voice, and a conversation over VOIP can use a significant amount of data. When travelling abroad, I usually recommend turning off data roaming and using Wifi only if possible to save you from surprise several hundred dollar phone bills when you return.

Should I Get a Smartphone?

A recent study has shown there are now more smartphone users in the US than basic phone users. That means that now more than ever people are using their phones for more than just making calls, but is a smartphone right for you? Even if you easily feel overwhelmed by technology or don't think you'd use all the functions, it's still easy to feel the pressure from friends and family to "get with the times" and buy a smartphone.

First of all, what makes smartphones "smart?" Generally speaking, a smartphone is a handheld device that can make calls and run programs like a computer. This means that on the same device that you call your friends with you can write an email, play a game, check the weather, and almost anything else you can imagine. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, you might be a candidate for buying a smartphone. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who aren't interested in doing anything besides talking on their phone, and if that sounds like you, a smartphone might be unnecessary.

The other major consideration when contemplating getting a smart phone is your budget. Many smart phones nowadays are free or close to when you sign up for a contract. If you don't want to sign up for a contract, many smartphones will increase in price since the cell phone provider will not help subsidize the cost of the phone then. Either way, you want to make sure you look at the cost of adding data to your cell phone plan. Smartphones access the Internet often, and if you don't have an adequate data plan your cell phone bill could go sky high. Check with your cell phone carrier to see which plans and options they offer, and look at others available in your area as well to get a good competitive solution for you.

Practical Tip of the Day:
When in doubt, try them out! Head down to a store you can try smartphones out at and play around on them. See if you can easily figure out how to do all the things you'd want it to do, and make sure it "feels right" to you. There are a plethora of smartphones on the market now, and each one is slightly different. Picking out a smartphone is like picking out a car- make sure you read reviews, ask your friends and family, and do your research before spending your hard-earned money on a new phone.

How Fast is 4G?

Now that you know what 4G LTE is (click here if you don't) let's take a look at how fast it is. Is it really worth upgrading your phone to get it? Will you get it everywhere? Will you actually notice a difference in speed?

The biggest problem with answering "How fast is it really?" is that it changes. There are several factors that could affect the speed of your wireless data, regardless of whether we're talking about 4G, 3G, Edge, or any other kinds. While 4G is often said to have speeds of about 100 Mbps (Megabytes per second), it's still subject to the same limitations as all cell phones. First, do you have coverage? There's not much point in having a 4G enabled phone if you live in the country and rarely go to major cities for example. At this point most cell phone carriers are just starting to have 4G coverage in major cities.

Second, if you do happen to be in a major city that has 4G coverage, your speed could also be affected by how many other people around you are using 4G. If you've ever gone to a convention, sports game, or any other large gathering of people, you may have already noticed that it's difficult to access the Internet on your phone when you're in a crowded place. That's because your phone is only one of thousands trying to connect to one tower.

Lastly, there are differences in speed based on the carrier you're using. Some carriers claim faster speeds (but less coverage), and others claim more coverage (but slower speeds). It all comes down to if you're actually going to be able to use it to it's full advantage. Is 4G really that much faster than 3G? In a word, yes, but that's only in theory.

Practical Tip of the Day:
When looking at a new cell phone, also make sure the provider is right for you. Most cell phones are available at multiple providers, so looking at your provider's coverage map for both phone and data plans as well as their advertised speeds can help you decide if a provider's right for you. If you live in a major city, speed might be more important since coverage is almost guaranteed, but if you live in a rural area, coverage may become an issue.

Why is Water Bad for Electronics?

It's happened to more Americans than not. An electronic device- iPods, radios, phones, hopefully not toasters- falls into or is otherwise in contact with water. Sometimes it's not water. I've lost count of how many times I've met people who've spilled soda on their laptops, put an iPod through the washing machine, dropped their phone in the pool, and the list goes on and on. This inevitably leads to a frantic Internet search on how to save their device, but the most potential damage is done within the first few seconds. So, exactly why are liquids bad for electronics?

It's all simple science. Electricity moves through matter- be it solid, liquid or gas. Some things conduct electricity better than others, and water is a very good conductor. The way modern electronics are made, electricity travels around the device through tiny wires that connect all the different parts. When water gets introduced to device, the electricity can spread and go to parts that aren't supposed to get electricity, and give more electricity to parts than they're designed to handle. This essentially electrocutes the device. This is the point where the most potential damage happens.

Now, if your device is turned off when it gets wet it's less likely to suffer major damage, but since few portable devices ever turn off completely there's usually at least a small current of electricity going through them. As far as other problems with getting your electronics wet, you also need to account for material other than water in the liquid. For example, if you spill a soda, the acid can corrode parts as well as make it sticky. Pools have plenty of chemicals, as so washing machines, and I won't even go into the additional problems when you drop a device in the commode!

So what can you do to prevent or minimize the damage of liquid to your electronics? The easiest thing is to keep them away if possible. Don't take your iPod to the beach, or drink your wine next to your laptop. Secondly, if your device does get wet, turn it off right away if it's on- this will turn off the electrical current going through those wires and hopefully minimize further damage. Lastly, once it's off, keep it off for at least 24-48 hours, preferably in a room with low humidity. There are other suggestions on the Internet, but none that have been proven to work.

Practical Tip of the Day:
If you need to take your electronics to a place with potential moisture, there are lots of things you can do to protect it. If you're going to the beach, put your electronics in a baggie. This will help protect against both water and sand. If you canoe, kayak or even scuba dive, they make water-proof cases for most cell phones and MP3 players. They even make water-proof headphones! For your laptop, a simple plastic cover over the keyboard helps cover the easiest point of access for spills of all kinds. This also helps keep crumbs, dust and other matter out of your keyboard as well.

Should I Plug In My Phone At Night?

Almost everyone nowadays has a cell phone. As a matter of fact, it's becoming increasingly popular to not even have a land-line phone in a house- everyone has their own personal cell phones.

When the first cell phone was made, battery life was considered a non-issue since the phone was so heavy you probably couldn't hold it up to your ear long enough for the battery to completely drain, but cell phones now are so small that people can, and sometimes do, talk on them for hours at a time. This, in addition to most phones being able to do more than just call people, has increased demand for phone batteries to last several hours.

Which leads us to this modern day dilema. Am I supposed to plug my phone in every night or let it drain all the way?

Batteries are similar to car tires in that they both wear down with use. Each time a battery is depleted (used up) and charged (filled up) it's called one "recharge cycle" Like tires, there's an average amount of use a cell phone battery takes before it starts seeing a degregation of quality. So the trick is to try and get the most of those recharge cycles. It used to be that you had to "train" a rechargable battery on how much of a charge it should hold by letting it drain down all the way and then charging it back up. Modern batteries though don't require that sort of babying, and will hold the same amount of charge if you charge it from empty or nearly full.
 
Almost every tech-person agrees that the best way to treat a rechargable battery (this applies to cell phones, laptop computers, iPods, and anything else with this kind of battery) is to let it drain down to low (but not all the way) and then charge it up. You don't want it to get so low the device turns off. This means the battery has "died" and has absolutely no charge left. This damages the battery, but don't worry, the battery can still be charged back up; This is not a permanent kind of "death".

This is the way I usually explain phone charging to people: Most of us drive our cars until our gas meter shows we're getting close to "E". (Or, if you're my husband, you drive it until the gas light turns on and then you figure you still have 30 miles. Drives me nuts!) Once our car says we're low on gas we go to a station and fill it back up. That's what you should do with your electronic devices. Use them until they're low, and then fill them up. You wouldn't want to drive your car until you had absolutely no gas and the car stopped would you?

Here's the catch. I use my cell phone until it's about 2/3 depleted every day. If I left it unplugged at night I'd only get half way through the next day before my battery died. (Which is bad.) Because of that, I plug my phone in every night. I know I could have my phone's battery last longer if I didn't, but we're talking about a difference of a few minutes worth of use after I've been doing this for a year. By the end of two years it might be a half-hour difference.

That being said, it is better to let your phone get low before charging it, but if doing so would cause you to be constantly watching and babying your phone,  don't worry too much about charging it every night. It won't ruin your phone.

Practical Tip of the Day:
I've run into a fair amount of people who use their smart-phones (phones that do lots of other things besides making calls) so much that they can't even make it a whole day without needing to charge. If you find yourself to be in that group of people, or if your phone's getting older and the battery doesn't last very long, there are cases you can put your phone in that have an additional battery. They usually make your phone larger (because of the size of the additional battery), but often double the amount of usage you can get from your phone before needing to charge.