11 Useful Things You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do
Some people build their entire lives around their smartphones.
Others use them just to make calls.
But no matter where you fall on the spectrum of tech users, there are new apps as well
as hidden features built into the phones that can make your life easier and more enjoyable…
Smartphone Apps
1.
Monitor your heart.
Many people check their heart rates often for signs of a medical problem or to help
determine fitness levels.
The app ­Instant Heart Rate has more than 5 million ­users.
You place your fingertip over your phone camera lens for 10 seconds.
Using the camera sensor and flash, the app detects a color change in your finger from
blood flow each time your heart beats and then calculates your pulse rate.
2.
Find dropped screws and other metal objects.
These apps use the phone’s built-in magnetic sensor to detect metals such as steel and
iron.
The apps are effective only within a few feet of the object, but that may be enough to avoid
stepping on a nail that you dropped.
3.
Measure height and distance.
These apps are useful if you need to check the dimensions of a room or the distance across
your yard…or determine whether a piece of furniture will fit through your door.
4.
Translate foreign languages.
Point your phone’s video camera at any printed material such as a road sign.
The app replaces the words in the live picture on your screen with its English translation.
It covers major languages including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
The Android and Windows versions even work without an Internet connection.
5.
Mail a postcard.
Now your phone gives you a way to easily create your own custom paper postcard and have it
mailed.
The Postcard on the Run app allows you to take a snapshot and ­personalize it with
a message and your signature.
You send it via text message to the company, which prints and mails your card for you to
anywhere in the world.
6.
Digitize documents.
CamScanner ­allows you to take a picture of any document, receipt or photo and instantly
convert it to a high-quality PDF or JPG file format.
The ability to “scan” on the go without a cumbersome office scanner can be very useful.
Features allow you to enhance scanned images, adjusting for low lighting and for documents
with light print or handwriting.
Free for all three major phone operating systems.
Built-In Features
Here are other things your phone can do for you without your having to download any apps…
7.
Allow you to create a high-security password.
Instead of using a simple four-digit code to unlock your phone, you can create a more
complex password with a mix of letters, numbers and special characters.
8.
Take a screenshot.
There may be times when you want your phone to capture a picture of what appears on your
screen and save it—for example, detailed ­information on a web page that has constantly
changing content.
9.
Enable you to see text more easily.
If you’re having a difficult time reading from your phone’s small screen, you can
change the size of the text.
10.
Let you customize vibration mode patterns.
With iPhones and Android phones, you can set your phone to vibrate in a different pattern
depending on who is calling you—so you can tell, say, that your spouse is trying to reach
you, even if your phone is not set to ring.
11.
Turn off music automatically.
Many people like to fall asleep listening to ­music.
You can set your phone to turn off the music automatically after a certain period of time
in order to avoid draining
the battery.