#mobiledevicetips

[amyaschrcl]

Thing 9 | Taking & Editing Photos

As someone who takes and edits photos as part of my profession, I'm usually skeptical of the quality of these apps.

I downloaded 'Cam Me' because when with friends, I generally do hate trying to take a group photo where one person has to attempt the outstretched arm and press the main or side button to take a picture - usually me.

There was a small learning curve to the app - I couldn't figure out at first whether I was supposed to wave my hand side to side. I eventually realized I just need to close my fingers into my hand to take the photo. This resulted in a few photos of me staring with focus and intent and my hand still in the air, but since then it's been useful the few times I want to take a group shot.

Although I don't see myself using this app a lot - it will be helpful the few times I want it so I plan to keep it on my phone for now.

[amyaschrcl]

Mobile Device Tips | Thing 2

For Thing 2 I watched the YouTube video "iOS 7 Hidden Features" followed by reading the article "15 (more) iPhone Tips & Tricks You Probably Don't Know".

I was surprised by all the features I wasn't aware of when I've been using iOS 7 for a few months now. The following tips I anticipate will be most useful to me:

1. Safari Shared Link Feature: When opening Safari, you can go to bookmarks and select "shared link". This feature sorts through your twitter feed with linkable content. As the manager of our libraries social media platforms, this will be extremely helpful in finding great articles that are relevant to share with our followers. (Source: iOS7 Hidden Features)

2. Correct Siri's Pronunciation: I have a very long last name that most humans struggle to pronounce, let alone Siri. I was excited to see there is a way to correct her pronunciation so she would correctly say my name from now on. (Source: iOS7 Hidden Features)

3. Compass App becomes a Bubble Level: While this app isn't something I will use often, it is nice to know my phone has this feature for when I hang pictures or decorate anything. (Source: iOS7 Hidden Features)

4. Invert Colors: This actually wasnt a part of the video tutorial but I came across it when learning about another feature and found it interesting. Obviously the basic color settings on an iPhone are bright white which makes turning your phone on in dark places distracting. This would be helpful when I have to use my phone in darker rooms and don't want to draw to much attention to it. (Source: iOS7 Hidden Features)

5. Switch Shooting Directions in Panorama: Luckily I have yet to need to use Panorama in reverse, so now I know about this cool feature prior to running into a problem. (Source: 15 iPhone Tips & Tricks...)

6. Type Emoji with Shortcuts: I love using emojis when messaging with friends but I often forget what page certain emojis are on and don't like scrolling through it's many pages. I think it's pretty cool I can create a shortcut phrase to use with my favorite emojis. (Source: 15 iPhone Tips & Tricks...)

7. Generate a Random Password With Siri: It's hard to come up with a secure password these days, and it's nice to know I can have a randomly generated password given to me with ease. While it might be hard to remember these passwords, I could always screen shot the page and have it saved in my photos for future reference. (Source: 15 iPhone Tips & Tricks...)

8. Filter Groups That Can Reach You: This seems like a cool feature to access depending on the situation you're in. For example, if you are at a work related function and need to be available by phone, it'd be nice to turn off calls from friends and family. (Source: 15 iPhone Tips & Tricks...)

I learned more about my iOS7 than I was expecting through this video and article. These 8 features in particular are most useful to me in professional and personal use of my phone.