Oh yes! Smartphones are amazingly useful machines. Indeed, they are not just called smart for nothing. That device in your hands can do so much more than you know it is capable of, yet most of us miss out on some of these incredible functionalities.
Interestingly, research shows that the majority of smartphone users explore less than 40 per cent of the utility of the devices. Whereas the majority are comfortable with making calls, watching online movies or taking that occasional selfie; there is a lot more benefits locked in your smartphone.
These are six new things you can do with your smartphone:
1. Speak any language
You probably didn’t know this but with your smartphone, you can easily speak and understand any language – a task that some of the world’s most prolific linguists will struggle at. If you are using an Android phone, all you need to do is use Google Now to translate a word, phrase or sentence from any language of your choice. The most interesting part is that you can even get both a spoken and written response. Amazing, right? You can also use the app, iTranslate, which can be downloaded on iOS, Windows Phone and Android, for the same purpose.
2. Measure your heart health
With the growing cases of heart-related ailments, the importance of monitoring one’s health cannot be over-emphasised. Your smartphone can help you achieve this without taking a trip to the doctor. With apps such as Cardiio or Blood Pressure Companion, you can measure your heart rate blood pressure and overall level of cardiovascular health and fitness. Some of these apps can also take voice memos for symptom tracking and help you take note of drastic changes or readings that may be a cause for concern.
3. Prevent drunk driving and potential accidents
You are probably out for a party, had a few drinks and not too sure you can comfortably drive yourself home. Not to worry! You can know for sure if you are too inebriated to get behind the wheels with a smartphone app. A very good example is the Smartphone Breathalyzer, which can measure the alcohol in your breath in just five seconds, then wirelessly sends your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) reading to your iOS or Android smartphone. Through this and similar apps, you can predict how long it will take for your BAC levels to return to zero per cent. The most interesting part of this is you can even use them to book an Uber ride!
4. Find out what song is playing
You have just heard that memorable tune on the radio or on a stranger’s device and wish to find out the artiste or song title. That’s an easy task. With apps such as Shazam or SoundHound installed on your smartphone, you’ve got all you need to identify a song as it is playing. Furthermore, a number of platforms such as Google, Apple and Microsoft have song identification tools built right into their respective virtual assistants, so you can just use Google Now, ask Siri or tap the Music Search icon inside Cortana for the same purpose.
5. Scan a document
These days, you don’t need to invest in a large flatbed scanner to scan that urgent document. With your smartphone, you have the perfect, convenient tool for this. Just open your smartphone camera, which effortlessly becomes a makeshift scanner. Once you snap the document, you can save it as an image and share with the intended recipient. The higher the resolution of your smartphone camera, the better the quality. With Google Drive and apps such as CamScanner and Evernote, you can go further by converting scanned images into PDF files and read the text in them.
6. Remote lock or wipe your lost phone
The pain of losing one’s phone is often excruciating. The possibility of unauthorised access to your data and sensitive information makes this loss even more depressing. If you are using an Android smartphone, you can use the Android Device Manager to track and take control of your phone, in the event that you lose it. What’s more, you can use the Android Device Manager to ring your phone, remotely lock it or even factory reset it if you know you’re never getting it back.
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