Your Next Mobile Phone is All About the Apps

If you’re in the market for a new mobile phone, it won’t be a Windows phone. With Windows 10 as the operating system for less than 1 percent of the mobile market, Microsoft is killing its mobile phone. It’s all about the apps – more specifically about app developers.

With Android and Apple accounting for more than 99 percent of the worldwide mobile market, app developers have put all of their efforts into those systems. Apple generally gets the nod to get an app first, but selling an app to Android can be equally enriching for developers.

Both Apple and Samsung are expected to release new phones this year, the iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8, respectively. Samsung needs a replacement for its ill-fated 7 series, and Apple needs new energy for its 8 series. Whichever manufacturer and OS you choose, you’ll find plenty of features and power – and an abundance of apps.

The apps are critical because we use our phones for just about everything but talking. We shop, find restaurants, use navigation to find the best route to places we’ve gone to for years, research healthcare options, watch TV and movies, read newspapers…

We’re not only untethered from a desktop computer or television, we can do or watch anything on our phones as long as we have internet access. Why, we don’t even need to reach into our wallets for charge cards to make some purchases. Apple, Google, financial institutions and merchants all have secure apps that help protect your credit card information through series of transfers between the merchant and your account. This is one of those few instances in which convenience can be more secure.

According to the website Statista, there were some 2.2 million apps available from the Apple Store as of this past January, and there were a similar number available from Google Play last year. Microsoft, by comparison, had 669,000 apps available from its Windows Store. While gaming apps are in decline, which some parents may find hard to believe, Smashing Magazine reports the biggest growth is coming in customization apps, such as launchers, icons, wallpaper and lock-screen apps. The next growth area is newspapers and magazines.

Other categories for app growth include:

  • Productivity tools
  • Lifestyle and shopping solutions
  • Messengers and social apps

The trend toward mobile apps shows no signs of letting up. With slightly less than half the world’s population owning smartphones, you know there’s an upside waiting to be tapped. A growing number of major companies in the world see mobile devices as a catalyst to transforming their businesses, and the value of mobile apps is expected to more-than-triple by 2020. With mobile apps and Bluetooth integrating with our cars and homes as well as just about every aspect of our lives, apps will fuel the growth of mobile devices, and more users will demand more apps.

We happen to like Apple phones and tablets because we believe they work better with Outlook for email and calendars and because we believe its proprietary OS offers better security. But we are impressed with the creativity that Android’s open software spawns. For most users, either OS will run apps equally well. Your choice may simply come down to the cost of the device and the best plan you can find from a wireless carrier or provider. We can help you whittle down the daunting number of considerations in mobile device selection – and we can help you set up your device to integrate with other systems, including storage options. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to discuss your mobile device needs or with any questions you have about using your apps more efficiently.

Nomorobo = No More Robo Calls? We Hope It Adds Up

If you’re tired of robo calls and caught in the web of spoofed telephone numbers, Nomorobo might be the app for you. It is for us. It’s one product to help you manage your telephone.

For most of us, robocalls are a major annoyance. Even when you don’t pick up the phone, they ring and ring until your answering machine picks it up, and then you need to follow whatever instructions your answering machines provide to get rid the message.

For many others, however, robocalls are an expensive trap. Scammers posing as IRS agents steal millions every year, despite regular warnings from the real IRS that its agents will never contact you by phone if you owe them money. They send a letter first, and they tell people that if they have questions about whether they owe taxes, they should call the IRS toll-free phone number.

At one time, you could register your phone number with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to block robocalls and telemarketers representing companies with which you did not have a relationship. But VOIP (voice over internet protocol) technology made it cheap and easy for scammers operating outside the US to make long-distance calls that look like domestic calls. Essentially, the same technology that gives you a free Google Voice number gives scammers and thieves the ability to reach you under false pretense. How ridiculous can it get? You can get a call from a device identified as your own phone.

As phone carriers and the FCC went ‘round and ‘round in pointing fingers and passing along suggestions for the “other side,” the logjam broke when the FCC allowed the phone companies to block robocalls. One of the industry’s concerns was that it would block legitimate phone numbers, including those used by emergency-notification organizations.

Here’s where Nomorobo stepped in to fill the breach. It won a $25,000 cash prize from the Federal Trade Commission in 2013 for figuring how to stop robo calls. The system reroutes calls to your phone number to a service that checks the incoming phone number against a database that whitelists the good guys and blacklists the bad guys. Once you sign up for Nomorobo, you need to wait until the second ring to pick up the phone. Nomorobo uses the first ring to check the incoming number against its database. If you don’t get a second ring, then you know a robo call was blocked.

In a perfect world, good calls, such as those from emergency-related organizations get through. Of course, the world is not perfect, but it is “trainable.” If you experience any problems, such as a school closing or a call from a hospital, you can report it at www.nomorobo.com/report under “A Valid Number That Was Blocked Incorrectly” and correct the database. The service won’t block charity calls, but it can block political calls. You can enable or disable this feature by clicking “Edit” next to your number.

Nomorobo is free for landlines, and it supports most carriers. It has an iOS app that costs $1.99 per month, and it plans to have an Android app soon. The company has an online help desk that covers most questions users would have about using its system or deleting it.

Nomorobo has plenty of company in the robo-blocking space, and you might find one you like better. One place to start your search is the CTIA website product listings. CTIA represents many wireless telecom companies in the US. If you have any questions about selecting a call blocker or installing on a landline or mobile device, we’re here to help. Just call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us.

How About an App to Navigate Airports?

Trying to cover the distance between gates for connecting flights can be a huge – if not insurmountable – problem for flyers. After catching our breath in Atlanta, I’d like an app that can tell me where my connecting flight is, how I get to that gate and how long it should take me once I finally get off the airplane.

Until somebody develops a universal app just for that, an increasing number of airports have their own apps, which include maps (helpful if you’re connecting to another flight or just beginning your visit at a destination). As part of your trip planning, see if the airports you’ll use have apps and download them ahead of time. That will make them quicker to access, especially if you need to scramble. You may be able to download information ahead of time that you can use offline to more easily find your way to baggage claim areas, ground transportation and rental car areas.

If you’re planning to travel during spring break or this summer, or if you’re a regular business traveler, there’s no shortage of apps that are useful or entertaining. Most are available from both the Apple Store or Google Play.

Handling Emergencies

The multitude of websites that let you find and book the best flights can be your best friend if you run into problems because of weather or delays that prevent you from making a connecting flight. If you’re flying routes served by multiple carriers, those apps can help you better identify your options, but they may not give you the immediate information you need. You may want to think about a premium app or premium version of a free app if you regularly run into the need to make changes on the fly.

Some apps you might want to look at include Kayak, GateGuru and TripIt. All offer you the ability to input your itinerary, which helps you know where you need to be and when, and all push out alerts with information about security wait times, flight and gate changes and similar information. As part of its premium service, TripIt can give you alternative flights when you run into trouble with weather delays or problems that can prevent you from making a flight.

Kayak syncs with your Apple Watch, which can be a welcome feature when you’re trying to get to a gate as quickly as possible.

App in the Air is a “personal flight assistant” that uses SMS texts to push information on flight changes, eliminating the need for an internet connection.

Whether you use one of these apps or your airline’s apps, use an app if you need to change a flight quickly instead of going to a desk and standing on a line. The app enables you to tap into the airline’s reservation system quickly to change a flight, select seats (if possible) and get your boarding passes.

While you may need to juggle apps, they can help you get a better outcome, and they’re faster if you have them installed and configured before you need them.

Getting There

Most likely, you’ll have used Google Maps or Waze to find the best route to the airport, and you – or rather one of your passengers – may have consulted the airline’s website or one of the many flight-tracker apps to make sure your flight is on schedule. If you’re coming from your home and need to park your car, there’s an Apple app, Airport Parking Reservations, that lets you compare and select off-site parking lots for some 150 airports in the US and Canada. And, of course, it lets you know about available discounts. There are many apps for parking reservations and discounts, but this one specializes in airports.

Getting Through Checkpoints

Once you have the car parked or if you’re on your ride to the airport, there are apps to check you in, get you through security and find a good place to hang out until boarding time. And if your phone is charged, you don’t need any paper.

If your airline doesn’t have an app to check you in, GateGuru, TripIt and Kayak are three of many apps that can help you check in and/or get to security.  They all give you security waiting times and airport maps to help you find your gate and amenities along the way. They’re all free for iOS and Android devices.

Going through security lines is usually the next challenge after checking in, and you can choose a variety of apps to help you or least give you information to help navigate the process. The TSA has its own app, My TSA, which gives you real-time info about wait times and updated information about what you can carry on a plane, etc. Its biggest advantage may be the info on which airports and airlines support TSA PreCheck® and how to sign-up.

For international travel, you can combine it with Mobile Passport. Officially authorized by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), it lets US and Canadian passport holders skip the customs and border protection lines at US airports. Simply fill out your profile and answer four of the CBP’s questions. Once they receive your data, you can go straight to the “Mobile Passport Control” express lane at 20 US airports and the Port Everglades cruise port in Florida. It’s a free app for iOS and Android, and while you won’t need it on your way out of the country, it can speed up the process when you return.

 Inside the Terminals

The apps we discussed earlier, TripIt, Kayak and GateGuru all provide info on flights and gates, amenities along the way and maps. Kayak now boasts maps with turn-by-turn directions, and it has a companion app that lets you see if better seats are available for your flight.

A growing number of airports worldwide now have their own apps, too, which give you information about amenities on the way to your gate – or to baggage claim – and maps.

One app that goes above and beyond just telling about restaurants and lounges is AirGrub, which is only available in a limited number of airports. It’s an Uber-type app that uses your flight info to help you locate participating restaurants near your gate. When you provide your flight info, you can view menus and arrange to have food delivered to the gate area before you board – all paid for through the app.

Of all the apps that center around airports, my favorite is LiveATC.net, which lets you listen to air traffic controllers in real time. It gives me a real feel for what’s going on with landings and takeoffs and helps me figure out how much time I’ll need to spend in the airport based on flight conditions.

If you have any questions about configuring travel apps or any apps for your mobile device, call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us for help. Especially when you travel, your app should be a resource – not a source of frustration.