Managing Storage on Your Devices

It doesn’t get more disappointing than to get a message that you can’t shoot a photo or video because your storage is full. Don’t let a storage shortage limit your ability to capture those memorable vacation moments. You can get the storage you need, and the sooner you do it, the better off you’ll be.

You can sometimes get two storage messages at the same time. One message is that your cloud storage is full, and the other is that your device is full. It’s easier to tackle the first message.

In our opinion, you can maintain enough storage and optimize your storage options by spending money wisely on storage space – both in the cloud and on your computers or devices. We’re sometimes amazed that people won’t spend anywhere from $11.88 (that’s 99 cents a month) to $100 for cloud storage for photos and videos. Whatever mobile platform you use, iOS or Android, there’s a way to buy cloud-based storage to back up any number of gigabytes you need for photos and videos on the fly. Just make sure you do it over a cellular network, which is preferable to a network that’s supposed to be secure, such as a hotel’s network. (See Safe Travels, Safe Wi-Fi.)

The extra cloud storage is the most effective and efficient way to make sure you have storage capacity, and it’s also the best way to make sure you don’t lose any photos or videos because you damage or lose your device. With many people taking vacations at places with water, including cruises, it’s all too easy to drop a phone into the water. You may lose the phone, but it’s replaceable. Your photos and videos are not.

Along that same line, newer cameras have the capability to send your photos automatically to your device or to back them up in the cloud. Although the files sent to your device may be smaller, getting them out of your camera keeps them safe in the event you lose your camera or damage its storage medium.

Getting back to a device, if its storage capacity is full, you’ll need to manually delete data, which could be photos, emails or files that are automatically downloaded by an app. Deletion steps will vary, but it’s an issue you can resolve before your trip.

If you are buying a new device, you can get one with more storage capacity. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we use our phones for more than we think we will, including more photos and videos. You can use up 16 GB of storage very quickly, and it might be a better investment to spend, say, $100 more to get 64 GB of storage. If you spend the money on more storage now, it could increase the service life of your phone, which brings us to another point.

That other point is that many people tend to hang on to technology longer than they should – and fail to install all the software updates. The result is a slow system that leads to frustration and one that is wide open to a security breach (and that’s all we’ll say about that for now).

Here’s an example of one instance with a photo library with 100 GB of data. The system was too old to work with the pictures and email them – and there wasn’t enough hard disk space to work with the pictures. In addition, the photos on the computer hadn’t been backed up for two years. To make a long story short, it took an entire weekend to back up the photos so that the client could restore them to a new, faster system. Any money that might have been saved by hanging on to the old technology probably got eaten up by the time spent for an overdue upgrade.

Today’s technology is a much better value than yesterday’s latest-and-greatest equipment. Systems are faster, which enable them to handle more tasks in less time, and they can handle the latest software, which enables you to do more things. And the prices are the same, if not less.

The daunting part is trying to figure what will work best for you. Whether it’s a phone, a tablet or a computer, we can help you cut through all the hype to identify a system or cloud-based storage plan that meets your needs – nothing more and certainly nothing less. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to talk about your needs and budgets.

iOS 11 Has a Lot to Like

Apple has released iOS 11 for mobile phones and tablets, and it has a lot of great features. For cars, we really like the “Do Not Disturb, I’m Driving” response to text messages, and for iPads, we like the drag-and-drop feature.

The “Do Not Disturb” feature has been available on Android phones, and for somebody like me, who spends a lot of business time traveling to clients while always on call, it could be a lifesaver. You can activate in one of three ways: Bluetooth, when your vehicle reaches a specified speed, or manually. I have been able to add a customized message to let texters know that they can call because I can talk while I drive. Because the screen stays dark in this mode, I am looking at the phone a lot less now, and that’s much, much safer.

The camera on the iPhone is getting better, too. You can take Portrait Mode images with optical image stabilization, True Tone flash and HDR. Memory movies are optimized to play in portrait and landscape orientation, and more memories, such as photos of pets or birthdays, are automatically created and a new technology, called High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF), reduces the file size of every photo taken with iPhone 7 and newer models.

Siri has new male and female voices that are more natural and expressive, adjusting intonation, pitch, emphasis and tempo while speaking, and it can translate English words and phrases into Mandarin, French, German, Italian or Spanish. It uses on-device learning to offer suggestions based on personal usage of Safari, News, Mail, and Messages.

For AR (augmented reality), there’s a new platform for developers to create experiences on phones and tablets using the built-in camera and the latest computer vision technologies. You’ll likely see content for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more.

iPad’s drag-and-drop capability across the entire system makes it easier to move images and text, and when combined with the new Files app, you can keep things in one place, whether you store files locally or in the cloud. Its new, customizable Dock and a redesigned control center give you access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen and let you move documents between apps using a split screen or Slide Over. Apple Pencil lets you draw or add notes from the lock screen through the Instant Notes feature opens Notes by tapping Apple Pencil on the display.

The new screen sharing capability, however, tops off all the new features. It enables two people to share screens in real time on any iOS-powered device. For us, that will increase our capability to help clients troubleshoot problems in a timely manner.

Make the most of your Apple devices by understanding all the features of iOS 11 and how they work. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us if you have any questions, and have more fun with your devices or make them more useful.

Apple Speaks…or Listens

Siri’s new voice made a lot of noise at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last week. She’s the lead voice of HomePod, Apple’s home hub that will try to muscle out Google Home and Amazon’s Echo. But as they say, “wait, there’s more.” Apple had a lot more to announce and a lot for Apple fans to look forward to.

HomePod is the biggie. Like its competitors, you can ask questions and get info like news, scores and weather. Apple claims it’s going beyond the others by providing encryption to protect users’ privacy, and a system to sense the size of a room and adjust its acoustics. It’s expected to be available in December and carry a $349 price tag. But it also signifies a move by Apple to making greater use of artificial intelligence (AI), and that will be reflected in some of Apple’s other announcements.

You can look for a new operating system for Apple’s devices, iOS 11, and for Apple Watch, watchOS 4. Siri plays a key role in both. For iOS 11, Siri will be able to do more tasks, speak in a more natural voice and assume a male or female voice. There will be other features available, including a control center for making certain adjustments, a person-to-person payment feature for Apple Pay, GPS features and a “do not disturb” option for voice and text while you’re driving your car. Apple Watch will have a new Siri-focused interface that can personalize notifications based on your behavior at different times of the day, such as traffic updates before you leave for work or home.

The new iOS 11 will add new features to the iPad Pro, which will increase its screen size to 10.5 inches ($649) and a bigger 12.9-in screen model ($799). Both will have 512 GB of storage, and they’ll add productivity features with the new iOS, such as multi-tasking and drag-and-drop images between apps. With a better stylus, it should also read your handwriting.

Macs are getting a new OS, High Sierra, and the machines are getting upgrades, too. New desktops have higher memory capacity and stronger graphics performance. The 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,099; a 21.5-inch, 4K-capable iMac Retina will cost $1,299; and a 25-inch iMac Retina 5K goes for $1,799. All are available now. In December, you’ll be able to get the new iMac Pro, but it will cost $4,999. For laptops, the MacBook and MacBook Pro have faster processors and solid-state hard drives. The 15″ MacBook Pro is also getting faster graphics. Apple is also cutting the basic price for the MacBook’s 13-inch model by $300. All are available now.

Finally, Apple TV customers will now be able to watch Amazon Video through their set-top boxes.

I’ve always been a big fan of iOS-powered devices and have been developing more of a liking for Apple products. I believe there are many instances where Apple and Windows products can integrate seamlessly and where other devices and systems can come into play. Apple’s announcements have raised my geeky sense of excitement, and I hope they do the same for you.

As always, we’ll be getting our hands on a lot of this new technology as soon as we can, and we’ll be available to help you make informed buying decisions and get everything properly installed and operating. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us with your questions and comments. Better yet, leave a comment on our website to share your thoughts and experiences with our Sterling Rose community.

Finding Tech Discounts

We love Apple products, but we hate paying top dollar for them. Apple stores have been the traditional retail outlet for many of the company’s products, but this year, the landscape has changed. You may find competitively discounted prices at leading retail stores and websites.

We’re not privy to Apple’s marketing and sales strategies, but we are seeing the Apple store as the place to showcase technologies, take care of repairs and let customers come in and really put a product through its paces. Factory-trained experts can better concentrate on answering questions and offering suggestions without the pressure to sell at full retail prices.

When it’s time to make the purchase, we’re finding lower prices at “big-box” retailers, and that includes many of the latest iPads and Apple Watches. We suspect the retailers are happy to offer Apple products to help build traffic for all other types of products, and if they make a little less on an Apple device, they can more than make it up selling something else.

We’re also finding more widespread buying opportunities and lower prices on Microsoft’s Surface tablets and other manufacturers’ tablets and devices. It could be the start of a “tablet war,” that also includes Samsung and puts three mobile operating systems into play.

The winner of any tablet war should be the consumer. Each tablet manufacturer has several models on the market of varying ages and capabilities – and putting them on the open retail market heats up the pricing competition.

Naturally, this wide-open market is not restricted to tablets. Computers, mobile phones and TVs are part of the product mix. All of this puts it on your shoulders to find the best prices. Research both online and brick-and-mortar retailers for the best prices but be aware of a few caveats – all of which add up to caveat emptor, or buyer beware:

  • When shopping a specific brand and model, make sure you are comparing the same performance specs for the products offered at each store. TVs especially may be a mix of older and newer models, with the older ones having lower refresh rates and resolutions or not having as many features, such the number of HDMI and USB connections or older connection ports. Some may or may not Internet connection capability. There’s nothing wrong with the older or lesser technology; just don’t think you’re scoring a deal that’s too good to be true.
  • Some items just may not be discounted. They may be too new to the market and still have a WOW factor, or their market may be so limited that the manufacturer cannot produce and sell enough to take advantage of any economies of scale.

As you get deeper into your shopping and price comparisons, questions will inevitably arise about whether a product and its price are right for you. We can help you with both the questions and the answers. Just call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us. And remember, we can help you set up any home electronics system.

iPad Pro and the Tech Transformation

Our new iPad Pro is a great device. We love it for what it does – and maybe for the technology transformation that it and other tablets are ushering in.

We can see the iPad Pro and other large tablets edging closer to replacing laptop and notebook computers for some people. If your primary use is to surf the web and take care of email, simply hook up a keyboard, and you’re up and running. If you want to watch videos, the screen on the iPad Pro is amazing for its clarity and speed.

Yes there are some downsides. For one thing, as much as I love it, the tablet is not a full computer. It’s a mobile device, and Apple gives every indication it will not merge its iOS (mobile) and OSX (computer) operating systems. However, with Apple and Microsoft fighting for market share, don’t bet against a tablet replacing your computer. You can get Microsoft Office for tablets – and mobile phones – and as more people get comfortable with storing documents in the cloud, they’re likely to demand more computing capability.

As far as tablets go, iPad Pro is bigger and heavier than previous generations of tablets, but I personally don’t find that to be a problem. In 2005, screens on cell phones started to get bigger, and as we advanced to smart phones with Internet capability, it was only a matter of time that users would demand even bigger screens to watch videos.

By 2010, recalling a once-every-five-years family reunion, the iPad was new to the market, and many family members wondered about the need for it. Well, the iPad and other tablets are here to stay, even though sales have slumped lately. They have a variety of sizes and uses professionally, ranging from healthcare professionals in offices and hospitals who need to maintain patient records as they move through an office or hospital – to IT specialists and sales reps who can do a lot of work without being tethered to a computer.

So, don’t sell tablets short. If the history of mobile devices holds true, enough users will try to push the technology a little farther than its capabilities so that Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and others will notice. Their teams will respond to market demand, and the cycle will start again.

iPad Pro, I love you – until the next better device hits the market.

Have questions about tablets? Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us and tell us what you’re looking for and how much you’d like to spend. There’s a tablet that’s right for you today – and maybe for the next 18 months.