POST 6

Should You buy a new phone? REALLY?

Smartphone brands want us to feel that our device is outdated. If you just go on buying smartphones because some new device is trending or amazing. IT REALLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. Even if you have money. You have better ways to spend money than this.

First of all. Analyze how is your current phone performing. If you have purchased a good smartphone within last one year. No you really don’t need a new smartphone. You have been brainwashed by the advertisements ,some-reviewers and already brainwashed friends of yours.

So, How to analyze whether your current smartphone can be used for some more months or maybe an year more. Check the points on the right and decide whether its a YES/NO .

For how many points did you get YES as the answer. You can only buy a new phone if you got 2 or more answers as YES.

Last thing I want to say is, Every smartphone ever manufactured is the result of lot of efforts, R&D and non-renewable metals and resources. It’s not just about money. It’s about our planet.

It joins the pool of electronic waste which is another major issue our planet is facing.

Even though you don’t care about the planet. You are becoming a fool temporarily assuming that you are the latest and the greatest right now by buying a new phone. WHATEVER YOU BUY TODAY IS OUTDATED THE VERY NEXT DAY.

Therefore my only aim is to communicate that “Be conscious and think thoroughly before buying a new phone”

Brands can make the best phone but they don’t so that you buy the new one within next 2 years.

They even skip numbers and advertise gimmicky features to fool you. DON’T GET FOOLED.

You aren’t a tech enthusiast if you don’t understand when you get fooled.

  1. Is is lagging continuously literally making it unusable? You need more than 25-30 seconds to open an app. YES? or NO? (If YES: Try these-> {Factory reset your phone}{Add external memory card and store photos and videos on it}{Store data on cloud}{Flash a custom ROM if Android}
  2. Is any hardware component faulty/dead or is malfunctioning? {If YES-> If camera doesn’t work try to fix it by visiting service center, If audio jack doesn’t work use bluetooth, If speakers doesn’t work use headphones,If screen doesn’t work ,Also take into consideration repair costs. If repair cost is more than 40% of your smartphone AND your smartphone is more than 2 year old: BUY A NEW ONE. YOU DESERVE IT}
  3. If you click photos frequently. Is current camera terrible or sub-par and seriously limiting your productivity and skills?{If YES->Install a GCAM port on your device if available. Google about it you will know.}{Try to edit the images and add filters. Maybe it will improve them}{Compare the images from new phone you want to buy with the help of reviews to your current phone.Is the difference noticeable?}
  4. Battery life is so bad that you can’t even rely on it while travelling. Battery drains out overnight. You wake up with dead phone?{Solutions->Even after replacing the battery you are haunted by the same problem within 1 year. Try to manage with a power bank if a frequent traveller}{Screen on times are below 3 hours. You can buy new phone then}
  5. Has it been more than 3 years and your new phone will be a major upgrade?{Then-> Buy a mid-ranger if you are a heavy user and lower mid-ranger if an avearge user. Best smartphones on the market are not flagships. They are mid-rangers. Go with phones with minimum 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and mid-range Soc}{Don’t buy low-budget phones just by looking at specs}

Why are my search results better than yours?

Let’s get straight to the point. Google search can be troublesome if somebody else finds good results and you don’t. Why does that happen?

Let me answer!

Google search is all about keywords. The most important thing you need to focus on is “What words you use”. It is of no use if you type a long sentence and hit search. Google ain’t human. It analyses keywords and links them to domain names and contents of websites.

I know that people love shortcuts. So here are the things you need to tweak to get the best results on google search.

  1. Get the Right app: I use Google app and it’s search widget when I need short and brief answers. Most of us do it. Anyways. But when i need to visit a website it is preferred to use a Browser app i.e a Browser on Laptops and desktops. New Microsoft edge is what I use. Use the browser when you want to read a lengthy post, news or when you want to navigate through the website.
  2. Don’t change search engines frequently: Stick to one search engine. You will slowly start to gain proficiency about what type of results you can expect. Before even typing something. e.g Google/Bing/duckduckgo if you prefer any one of those search engines. Keep using them, don’t switch between 2 or 3 unnecessarily. Duckduckgo is best if you hate google.
  3. Choose the right word by googling for it: This might look like a joke. Most of us can’t recall the right word/keyword which is crucial for search. But by initially googling for the synonym of the word you remember, you can get the most effective keyword.
  4. Quick trial and error is the best approach: If you just type and search one single time and go on scrolling the results for the next few pages. You won’t get what you want. You need to retype the whole search query again in a different format and try again. Different sentence structure. Observe whether there is any similar type of results you were searching for. Don’t expect right and relevant answer on first attempt.
  5. Keep refining your search query till you get what you want: Your method of googling may differ from others. But this point applies to everyone. The more you refine your query the more better results you get. Just like communicating with a philosopher. Try to be specific but also don’t lose touch with the general domain.
  6. Useless results tell you what not to search: When you get the results which are not useful. Think why it showed those results. Some keywords directly point to very different characteristics of a topic. So you get a pair of Topic->->keyword dictionary to keep in mind.

Above points might look like philosophy. But if used in the right way. You get the perfect results. Life will be much easier and better when you can google better. Hope it helps.

Keep visiting my blog. I post everyday. Thank you!

How to escape from spam and fake news in 2020

This post might not be very relevant to the age group of 16-35. But it is really useful and can help you escape from hundreds of spam messages you receive on your smartphone.

Another important problem I am trying to address here is FAKE NEWS. Let’s begin with basic to quite complex changes you need to make in your smartphone to escape from fake news.

Step 1: When you buy a new smartphone pay attention to every permission the manufacturer and third party apps ask for. And what all is being installed on device during setup. Like

  • It’s better to not allow for “anonymous data collection for diagnostic purposes”
  • Do not opt for installation of extra set of unnecessary apps from the manufacturer just to check them out. Choose only the apps you really need. Lesser the number of apps it’s better.
  • I do not recommend news aggregation apps from lesser known developers. e.g Instead of UC news ,opera news install Google news, Feedly.

Step 2: To block spam calls and messages you can do these things:

  • If you go into settings section of your “Calling OR Phone” app and enable “Filter/block spam” option if available, most of the spam and advertising calls will be automatically blocked.
  • As mentioned above, “Block & Filter” enable in SMS/Messages app. This blocks the unnecessary messages from crowding your messages app.
  • If you don’t have any such Block & Spam filtering option built-in. You can install and use this app. I have personally used it. Tap on the here-> SMS ORGANIZER APP BY MICROSOFT
  • If you get a lot of spam calls it’s better to use Truecaller app , I hope you know about it already.

Step 3: Disable notifications for the apps which bombard you with unnecessary and a lot of useless notifications. For example:

  • Music streaming apps: You need to go to app settings of that specific app and disable all the other notifications and just keep “Music playback” notifications on.
  • News apps: Some news app send a lot of notifications. It’s better to make proper settings to avoid headache;)
  • Social media and chatting apps: You already know how annoying these notifications can be. You can disable notifications from some groups or for preset duration of time.

Step 4: Because the news apps and most of the android apps depend on ads for revenue. It is hard to block ads and malicious links getting opened automatically when you launch such apps. You can do as listed below to escape from some annoying apps.

  • Quality is always important over quantity. Try to use ad-free apps . Apps with ads aren’t an issue but make sure the type and quantity of ads they serve also should be taken into consideration. No app is worth if it doesn’t allow use of smartphone seamlessly. Banner and full screen ads popping apps should be avoided. They waste time and resourcs.\
  • If the app of a specific site or service is ridden by intoletable amount of ads. Better access there website via your browser.
  • Make sure you close all the 10s of unnecessary tabs that you have kept openin your browser. They might open malicious sites without you noticing it.
  • Whenever you get a link from some contact or app , Don’t click on it without being aware of where it takes you.
  • Whatever news you read on Whatsapp , Facebook , Instagram or any other social media apps take them as a pinch of salt. When news apps have become the source of fake news how can you trust the social media apps. It’s good practice to follow news from some trusted sources like “theguardian.com”, “thehindu.com”, “deccanherald.com”. You can use their apps too.

There are literally thousands of things to pay attention. But according to me these steps might be sufficient for most people.

POST 3:NON-TECHNICAL

Regarding writing blogs. I had published just 2 posts almost an year ago. This is my third post. Why did I quit just after two posts then?

Because, even though I am confident on the outside. Internally I was convincing to my brain and heart that I am good at what I do. I really love reading ,understanding and experiencing everything about smartphones , apps and gadgets. But it was really hard to convince myself that whatever I do is also valuable.

From this post I want to communicate just one point. In this overcrowded internet world. There is no need to compare your capability with anybody else’s . You just need to become better. Take help from people around. Keep posting whatever you like. Internet is not just about consumption. It also involves creation, improvisation and refinement. Therefore your efforts never go into vain. If not anything else. You will learn.

YOU MUST POST AND PUBLISH WHATEVER YOU GENUINELY FEEL IS GOOD. YOUR OWN CREATIONS ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE YOU CREATED THEM. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. CHEERS!

If you want an android smartphone which lasts for many years, give attention to these things…#post2

  • “The smartphone should be at least a mid-ranger as per the specifications”. Don’t try to save money and don’t go for lower priced devices, generally they don’t age better and the experience they provide is not up to the mark.
  • “The smartphone should be under ANDROID ONE program”. If it is launched under ANDROID ONE program it will get 2 versions of Android version upgrades and 3 years of Android security patch updates for sure. So the software will be fresher and latest for 3 years.
  • “Make sure it runs the latest version of android out of the box”.
  • “It should have a Type-C charging port”. As type-C charging port is symmetric it will not fail after few years due wear and tear. So it’s important.
  • Buy smartphone with higher RAM and higher storage capacities( Current standards: Average user needs at-least 4GB RAM and heavy user needs 6GB RAM) ( Make sure at-least the in-built storage is 64GB )
  • This is actually not related to smartphone, but it’s really really important. Buy a high quality case and apply tempered glass as soon you buy a new phone. Best way to make sure it lasts for longer. As it will reduce changes of your phone screen/display getting shattered and avoids scratches and dings.
  • “Buy phones which sell in large quantities and become highly popular.” This will make it easier to find spare parts after 2 years as the user-base is strong. It will be easier for small repairs in the future.
  • “Don’t overcharge your phone.” Try to use it between ranges of 20% to 90%. As it will reduce the charging and discharging cycles your phone undergoes.
  • “Keep your phone clean and free from bloat-ware”. Junk apps and apps that you install to get money on installation can take a toll on your smartphone performance and lead to slow downs.

As many users complain about Android devices not lasting for many years. So this was my small effort to help you to decode a general solution. That ends my list. These points are based on my personal analysis and from varied sources i have visited in past few years .

Thanks for reading. Please visit again as i will be posting regularly.

Venkatesh Dixit

Technology news sources i visit #post1

  1. androidauthority.com :- I have been visiting this site since last 5 years. It has really helped expand my understanding about gadgets and specifically android smartphones. You can also install their app from google play store via this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androidauthority.app
  2. techmeme.com :- This is one of the best news aggregator site related to technology. The quality of news from variety of sources is really refreshing. The site is very simple in design and loads pretty quickly.
  3. beebom.com :- This news source is based from India. So you will notice that most of their news articles are relevant to Indian smartphone market. You will also find all latest news updates related to gadgets and technology. You can also download their app from here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beebom.app.beebom
  4. arstechnica.com :- This news source is very unique and special. This will go in-depth into whatever topic it deals with. You will slowly notice that you are becoming capable of giving opinions and taking sides during debates if you regularly read news from this site. This will definitely make you think!
  5. gadgets.ndtv.com :- Again, this is also a Indian technology news site. This is pretty popular in India as it regularly pops up in the search results while searching specifications of smartphones in India. They update it very frequently so this might be helpful to stay up-to-date.

Well! This ends my first blog. Thanks for your time. Hope it was worth spent. Please visit again as i will be posting regularly.

 Venkatesh Dixit
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