Archive for the ‘How to Guides’ Category
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Years ago, voice dialling was a novelty feature found on only a few of the top end smartphones. These days it’s found on most mobile phones, Bluetooth Car Kits and Bluetooth Headsets. The idea behind it is simple, rather than having to mess around with the menu on your phone, you can simply tell your device to do something and it will do it.
As is often the case with mobile phones, each manufacturer implements the technology slightly differently -which makes it a little more difficult to use and can cause some confusion.
We’ve been asked a few times recently to help people to understand voice dialling on phones and car kits, so I thought I’d put a quick guide together that explains how it works, what it can do, what the differences are and what accessories will work with it.
Voice Dialling on your Mobile Phone:
To use voice dialling on your phone, you’ll normally need to press and hold a button on the keypad to put the phone into listening mode. You’ll normally hear a beep to say it’s ok to start talking and you should see a notification on screen too. Once you start speaking, the phone will analyse your voice and match it to a contact in one of two ways – either using voice tags or voice recognition technology. In both cases your phone needs to have the necessary software to process your voice and match it to an entry in the phone book.
Voice Tags
The voice tag system has been around for quite a long time now. The way that they work is that you need to manually record yourself saying the name of a contact in your phone book. They work well, especially if you have multiple people in your phone book with the same name as you can say anything and use it as the voice tag. Other people won’t be able to use the voice dialling on your phone unless they re-record the voice tag.
Voice Dialling using tags
The biggest downside though is that it’s not all that accurate. If you record the tag in a quiet environment and then want to voice dial someone while you’re in the car, the phone will struggle to match it because of all the background noise – often the easiest way round this is to record the tag while you’re driving, but it’s still not ideal.
Voice Recognition
The other, newer option uses voice recognition technology. This is where the phone recognises what you’ve said and matches it to the text entries in your phone book. It’s not perfect, but it is a lot more accurate than voice tags and you don’t need to waste any time recording a voice tag for every entry in your phone. Once you’ve added a name and number to the phonebook you can call them using voice dialling straight away. As it doesn’t rely on a recording of anyone’s voice, voice recognition systems can be used by any one.
Voice Dialling in the Car:
This is where it starts to get a little more complicated. Car kits are getting more advanced and are able to do much more than just act as a loud speaker. Just like phones, there are two different ways that voice dialling works when you use a car kit.
Phone Dependant Voice Dialling Car Kits
Just about all Bluetooth Car Kits support voice dialling, but most only pass your voice through to the phone. The way they work is that you press a button on the car kit to put it into listening mode. The car kit will then send a signal to the phone to tell it to listen out for a voice command and the car kit then relays your voice to the phone and the phone uses one of the two methods above to match your voice to a contact.
Most Car Kits activate voice dialling on phones
For these car kits to work, your phone still needs to support voice dialling. If your phone doesn’t have voice dialling, these kit’s won’t work, instead you’ll need to look for a car kit like the ones mentioned below.
Phone Independent Voice Dialling Car Kit
Phone independent kits work very differently to those mentioned above. Instead of passing your voice through to the phone, they process the signal themselves and tell your phone who to call. There aren’t too many kits that support this yet, but more manufacturers are getting behind it and the prices are coming down. It’s normally found on fitted Car Kits rather than the Plug and Play Car Kits, but the Parrot Mini Kit Slim and Parrot Mini Kit Chic both support it.
Because it’s the car kit that processes your voice and matches it to a phonebook entry instead of your phone, you can use voice dialling even if your phone doesn’t have the feature.
Parrot Car Kits support Voice Dialling regardless of your phone
In order for this to work you’ll find that the car kit will need to synchronise with your phone and transfer a copy of your contacts to it’s internal memory. To make a call you press a button on the car kit to activate voice dialling and speak when prompted to do so. The car kit then matches your voice print to a phone book entry and then sends the number to your phone to initiate the call.
What can I do with it?
There’s no easy answer to this one as it’s all going to depend on the phone that you’ve got, but I can give you a few examples.
- The HTC Desire users running the latest version of the Android can use their voice to search the internet, call people, search for an address and navigate to it using Google Maps.
- iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 users can use voice control to find out the time, find out what song is playing, change track, play a specific album, dial numbers and call contacts from the phone book.
- Nokia & Sony Ericsson owners can usually answer/end calls and call contacts from their phonebook.
Phones that support third party apps such as iPhone 4, Dell Streak and the HTC Desire will be able to download other apps that will enable them to do much more with their voice.
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Normally when it comes to upgrading your phone, it’s just a case of popping the sim card out of your current phone and inserting it into your new one. Apple have complicated this with the iPhone 4 and iPad by using Micro Sim Cards in both devices.
If you’re upgrading your phone through a network or are taking out a specific iPad data plan then you won’t have a problem as you’ll get a micro sim as standard, but if you’re buying your iPhone sim free or on Pay as You Go you’re going to run into a snag.
Micro Sim cards are exactly the same as a standard sim card, they just have less plastic around the edge of the gold chip. You can of course request a micro sim from your network, but this could take a couple of days – leaving you without a phone. The other option is to trim your existing sim card to fit. This may sound complicated, but it’s actually quite straight forward – especially if you use a MicroSim Cutter Tool.
MicroSIM Cutter Tool
The sim cutter tool takes all the hassle out of cutting your card to size, just slide your sim into it, press the lever and hey presto, one fully functioning Micro Sim Card.
You’ll need to make sure that you put your sim card in the right way up or you may end up cutting the sim card and rendering it useless.
Currently only iPhone 4 and iPad use micro sims, but over the next few years I’d expect them to appear in more smartphones and tablets.
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Well, Apple have almost acknowledged that there is a problem with the signal on the new iPhone 4, but they’re saying that the problem is actually caused by you holding the phone incorrectly. I think that’s a strange thing to say when users that are having the problem (myself included) are holding the phone in the exact same way that it’s being held in the promotional videos on the Apple website.
We don’t really think that holding your phone differently is the answer, so we’ve carried out our own testing and have come up with four ingenious ways that you can stop your iPhone 4 from losing signal.
1. Use a Bluetooth Headset
It might seem obvious, but if you’re using a Bluetooth Headset you can leave the phone on your desk, in your pocket or on the seat next to you. No contact with the phone means that there’s no chance of losing signal and dropping the call!
Using Bluetooth removes the need to touch your phone
2. Get an iPhone 4 case
As mentioned yesterday, the most effective way to resolve this problem is to fit a case to your phone. We’ve got almost 200 iPhone cases to choose from and all of them will stop the phone from losing signal.
Fitting a case will prevent signal loss
3. Wear Gloves
I know, you can’t use the iPhone if you’re wearing gloves. Well, technically that’s not true. Fingerless gloves work a treat. They cover the palm of your phone, preventing the antenna from touching your skin and detuning, while still allowing you to use the touch screen. It’s the perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t want to spoil the look of their new iPhone 4 with a case.
Use fingerless gloves to fix signal problems
4. Sellotape
I bet by now you’re thinking we’ve really lost the plot, but trust me. This works. Cut yourself about 1cm of sellotape and place it on the antenna on the left hand side of the phone over the black plastic joining strip. Fold it round so that it covers the back of the antenna and job done.
Use Sellotape to cover the Antenna Join
What do you think? Got any other suggestions for us? How have you fixed the signal problems on your iPhone 4?
Let us know using the comments below.
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Like a lot of people, I was up very early this morning to secure my place in line for an iPhone 4. After 5 hours of waiting I finally got my hands on one, but after the sim had been activated, I began to notice the same unusual signal problems that have been widely reported online.
Bizarrely, when you’re holding the iPhone 4 (particularly in your left hand,) the signal drops down one bar at a time until there’s nothing left, resulting in dropped calls.
iPhone 4 - Out Now
It turns out that it’s caused by your palm bridging the two antennas on the phone, causing the 3G antenna to ‘detune’ and lose signal.
Fortunately, there is a really quick and simple fix that requires no technical knowledge at all. All you need to do is get yourself an iPhone 4 Case!
It doesn’t matter too much which style you go for, as long as it’s non-conductive and puts a barrier between your hand and the stainless steel band that runs around the sides of your iPhone 4.
There are 4 cases that I’d recommend to solve this problem, an iPhone 4 FlexiShield, an iPhone 4 Bumper, an iPhone 4 Silicone Case or a Cygnett iPhone 4 Snaps Duo. Here’s why:
iPhone 4 FlexiShield
FlexiShield Skins are by far our most popular case. They’re made from a tough, thin gel and cover the back and sides of the iPhone, leaving the screen and buttons fully accessible. As they wrap around to the front of the phone, they completely cover the metal sides of the phone, eliminating any chance of you touching the antenna.
iPhone 4 FlexiShield Skin
Cygnett iPhone 4 Snaps Duo
These covers from Cygnett are similar to the iPhone 4 Bumpers from Apple, but cost less and come in a twin pack. They completely cover the sides of the phone and give it a little more bounced when dropped, but most importantly prevent you from catching the antenna. Another nice touch is that they also include 2 iPhone 4 screen protectors – one for the front and one for the back of the phone.
Cygnett Snaps Duo for iPhone 4
iPhone 4 Silicone Case
Silicone Cases are great value for money. They’re similar in many ways to FlexiShield skins, but are thinner and more flexible. They don’t offer quite as much protection as a FlexisShield, but will still cover up the antenna and prevent you from touching it.
iPhone 4 Silicone Case
iPhone 4 Bumper
Apple’s first case for the iPhone caught people by surprise at the Keynote presentation earlier this month, but having now played with iPhone 4, I can see why Apple thought it necessary to develop these cases – to prevent the signal loss. The bumpers are made from a combination of plastic and rubber and completely cover the edges of your phone.
Apple's new iPhone 4 Bumpers
Apple iPhone Bumpers aren’t the cheapest iPhone 4 Case, but they are made to Apple’s usual high standard and have ‘push through’ metal buttons to control volume control and to turn the phone on/off.
Most of these iPhone 4 Cases are available now, but as it’s launch day, you may find that some of these sell out quite quickly. We’re expecting more iPhone 4 Cases to arrive daily over the course of the next few weeks, so keep an eye on the Mobile Fun Blog for updates.
Tags: deathgrip, iphone 4 case, iphone 4 Cases, iphone 4 Cover, iphone 4 Covers, iphone 4 Pouch, iphone 4 Pouches, iphone 4 Skin, iphone 4 Skins, iphone4 Case, iphone4 Cases, iphone4 Cover, iphone4 Covers, iphone4 Pouch, iphone4 Pouches, iphone4 Skin, iphone4 Skins,
2 Comments
Monday, June 21st, 2010
We’re all waiting patiently for Apple to roll out the long awaited software update to the iPhone operating system – now renamed to iOS. Version 4 for iPhone and iPod touch is due at some point today, but in usual Apple style, they’re not announcing a time, although from past experience I’d expect it around 6-7pm tonight.
The update adds a number of new features to the latest versions of both devices, including multi-tasking, unified in-boxes for email, home screen wallpapers and an all new iBookstore.
For the first time, this major new software update is free for both iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch users and will come pre-installed on the all new iPhone 4 when it hits the shelves on Thursday.
Will it Work on my iPhone?
For the first time, the software update will provide different functionality for different devices. If you’ve got one of the first generation iPhones or iPod touch, you’re left in the cold as this update isn’t supported by the hardware on your device so won’t be available to you.
iPhone 3G owners miss out on some of the new features too. Multi-tasking, fast app switching, orientation lock and the iBookstore are both excluded from the update. The only devices to fully support everything new in iOS 4 are the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and the 3rd generation iPod touch.
Should I upgrade?
Yes. Even if you’ve got the iPhone 3G, the new features that you get make it worthwhile, and if you’re planning on upgrading to the all new iPhone 4 on Thursday, this will give you a preview of some of the new features you’re going to get later in the week.
How do I Upgrade?
Chances are, unless you’re really new to iPhone, you’ll have already completed at least one software update on your phone and this one will be no different.
To update your device, you need launch iTunes. If you’ve not already downloaded the latest version of iTunes (Version 9.2), do it now – before you start and before the update is released. Once it’s out, iTunes is going to suffer a bit of a melt down and is likely to struggle to cope with the volume of devices trying to update.
If you can force yourself to wait a day to update, you’ll find that it will be a much easier process as the initial rush will be over and the whole process should be quicker
Once you’re running iTunes 9.2 connect your iPhone or iPod touch. After a few seconds it will be recognised by iTunes and should automatically check for an update. If it doesn’t prompt you to update, you’ll need to select your device from the list of devices in the left hand pane of iTunes and click on the summary tab. Here you will see the option to ‘Check for Update’.
iTunes will connect to Apple’s servers, and after a few seconds you should see a message similar to this one:
To start the update, click on ‘Download and Install’ and you will then be shown a screen that shows you more information about what is included in the software update.
When you click on Next, the download will start. It’s a hefty download, the exact size will vary depending on your device, but it will be several hundred MB and will take a while to download.
While it downloads and updates, make yourself a drink and if you’re upgrading later this week, go shopping for a nice new iPhone 4 case while you wait for it to finish. Once the download is complete, it will back up your existing device and begin the update process.
Depending on your download speed, the update process will take around 20-30 minutes to complete – although don’t be surprised if it takes longer than this. In previous years the sheer volume of phones being updated has caused Apple’s servers to buckle and updates can take longer than normal.
Once the update has completed, the phone will show the connect to iTunes screen while it attempts to activate itself with Apple’s servers. Last year this part of the update process went down and activating your phone took quite a while and meant your phone was out of action for quite a while.
Subscribe to feed
