If you were lucky enough to receive a new smartphone or tablet this year, we have some tips to make your experience easier. We hope you are able to enjoy one the top ten best hottest coolest smartphones 2012 or maybe a tablet.
No matter what you've got, smartphones and tablets are so complicated nowadays that there usually is a learning curve to get up to speed. In fact, we know intelligent people with PhD's who have told us that the latest devices take time to master.
Some people get so frustrated they yell at the device, which does nothing but make the human more angry. Siri and Google Voice take commands or search for you but can't calm down human emotions.
Let's review some guidelines.
1. Take Your Time. Learning how to set up and use your smartphone or tablet can be overwhelming.
2 .Back Up Data. Before you do anything with data, your contacts or email, back it all. up. One wrong click or tap and you may lose everything. With Android-based devices, you may also want to edit your contacts in Google Voice and Gmail because all those contacts will be imported into your Android phone. If you just got an iPad or iPhone and you will be mainly using it for media. set up your playlists in iTunes first before syncing. We suggest you not click on any automated tasks before you click. It is also important to make sure that your email clients are setup the way, you want them. Do you want every single one of your email address on your phone? Or do you want to set up a special email address just for phone to conserve data and stress.
2. Read Quick-Starts, Tips and Guides & Watch Videos. Most devices come with a Quick Start Guide. We know you want to get everything working right away, but we suggest that you read the Quick Start Guide. Smartphone makes and carriers offer video demos. We found some great videos that we combined into articles. Here are some of our favorite new user tips articles:
- Samsung Galaxy S 3 productivity and S Apps tips.
- Droid RAZR MAXX HD/HD/M setup and tips videos.
- Samsung Galaxy Note and Note 2 copy tips, handwriting tips and review.
- LG Optimus/Nexus 4 tips.
- Kindle Fire HD tips.
4. Breathe and Relax. This could be a daunting task. If you relax and realize that your ultimate purpose is to make your life easier, don't pressure yourself, and it should be a little easier. Keep in mind why you need the device in the first place. When you look at your objectives, they will guide your processes. If you get frustrated take a break, eat a cookie and go back later. Phones are longer just phones, they are complex mini computers designed by engineers that often hide functions under icons or menus that are not obviously. After having great success using handwriting recognition on the Samsung Galaxy Note our editor, Lynn tried to find on it the Note 2. She tapped all over the place and played with every setting she could find to get the handwriting to show up. In frustration she hit the microphone on the keyboard that showed four different keyboards including the handwriting S Pen keyboard. Yes she looked in the manual, too.
5. Think Before You Social Sync. iPhones, Android and Windows phones all have ways to bring social media together and sync in some form. Before you unify all your contacts or email account on your new phone, you should consider if you want to know what's going on every few minutes with all your two hundred Facebook friends. In smartphones and tablets, you can set, if you want, all your feeds checked constantly in the background, which of course drains the battery and costs data. If you want longer battery life, shut off background data synching.
6. Keep Your Old Phone or Tablet For a While. If you are with a GSM carrier, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, you can swap the SIM card from your old phone. If anything goes wrong you need to call tech support. All the carriers offer phone support. Also you may forget to copy contact or data from your old device. The old phone comes in handy in case you break the new one or decide to return it.
7. Recyle or ReGift as Soon as You Can - The longer you wait to recycle a phone the less you get for recycling it or trade-ins. Many carriers offer a rebate for trading in a phone.
8. Get a Live Help. Many stores offer classes. Verizon Wireless offers classes at store. Check at your carrier's store or call for an appointment to be shown how to use your smartphone or tablet. This will save you time in the long run. You also get an appointment with an Apple genius to help with your iPhone or iPad.
9. Save Your Boxes, Invoices & Packaging. The boxes and packaging are often needed for shipping and returns. They also have connectors and wires that you may forget. Keep the packaging in a safe place, just in case.
1o. You Always Get a Second/Third Chance. If you can't master your smartphone or don't like it for any reason, most carriers allow for a 14-day return period, which is often extended over the holiday season. Verizon extended its return time for smartphones bought over the holidays to January 15, with a $35 restocking fee. Returns require the original packaging and invoices. AT&T also extended holiday returns. You can check out Wireless and Mobile News Review of Reviews to help decide what model your next phone will be.
11. Find Help When You Need It. Wireless and Mobile News is dedicated to helping our readers with news, reviews and articles so that you have the best wireless experiences. You are welcome to search our site and send us feedback via comments, Google + or Facebook.