Directive Blogs

It’s not hyperbole to suggest that many people in business these days prefer digital communication over the alternative. Smartphones have evolved over time and adapted to this need. That said, using a smartphone to communicate does still have its fair share of unwritten rules to follow. Let’s discuss some of the dos and don’ts of smartphones.

Foldable displays are an emerging trend in the technology industry, as they are quite unique in their form factor and capabilities. What is the real value of this tech, though? Who is it actually being marketed to, and what for? Let’s dive in.

For all the good smartphones have brought about, some serious problems have arisen regarding their widespread use. In fact, they can be attributed to a lot of the damaging mental health side effects that people around the world are battling daily. Here are some of them.

One telling sign of how far we’ve come as a society is the selfie. What’s a selfie you ask? Not only is the selfie a real thing, but it’s a legitimate word. According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, a selfie is, “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.” Aiding in the popularity of selfies is the rise of selfie technologies, such as these three examples.

Each year, we take some time and take a look at the most interesting new smartphones that are being released. Over the past few years, fewer companies are making smartphones and throughout the whole industry, innovation has seemed to slow. Whether this is a result of rigid market dynamics, supply shortages, or the extraordinary costs it takes to manufacture and source components, it has taken some of the largest technology companies in the world—such as Amazon, LG, and HTC—out of the market and presented limited opportunities for other global technology leaders such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nokia. 

It’s undeniable that the smartphone is one of the best inventions of the 21st century. You can tell that by their adoption rates. These devices have completely changed the way people communicate, recreate, and work. They are so new that it’s funny to think that maybe in the very near future, these devices will be nothing more than trash in the world’s landfills. Today, we will briefly discuss what comes after the smartphone. 

If you were to ask anyone under the age of 30 what the most important invention of their lifetime is, you may be surprised how many of them would say “the smartphone”. These devices have revolutionized the way that people communicate, work, and play, but like any other technology, the form factor may not be here forever. So what’s next after the smartphone? We unpack what technologies may replace the smartphone as the next big jump in personal computing. 

Have you ever struggled with storage space on your Android device? For individuals who have, we bet that downloading applications that you ultimately don’t end up using very often is a major culprit here. To help you clear up storage space on your device, Android will receive an auto-archiving feature that can save you significant amounts of storage space by archiving your unused applications.

If you've ever had your smartphone stolen, you can attest to the frustration and potential risk that it brings. Many organizations and legislators are working to muzzle the issue, and there are steps that you can personally take to help prevent your device from being stolen. Let's take a look at how to prevent smartphone theft, and how to respond if your gadget is stolen.

Last year saw many rumors regarding foldable screens on mobile devices, but no manufacturer has produced an OLED display flexible enough to fold in half… until now. In fact, there are many manufacturers out there that have committed themselves to producing foldable screens and devices in 2019.

Smartphones are everywhere. Nearly everyone has one either in their pocket or in their hand and that fact would make you think that the underlying smartphone market is one that is remarkably strong. This really isn’t the case. Today, we’ll take a brief look at the smartphone market and how a lack of true innovation is one of the reasons the industry has seen large decreases in sales. 

Mobile utilization in business has been on the rise for quite some time and today’s business has to stop and confront the issues that come along with it before they become problems. Like any technology that people have come to rely on outside of their job, a business’ first consideration is how to make use of it for business as well. This month, we thought we would take a look at some of the pain points organizations can experience when managing their mobile devices.

Technology gets better and more efficient over time, and smartphones are one of today’s standout examples. Although their growth has stagnated a bit in recent years, it’s no small thing to say that smartphone innovation has really taken off, offering extremely fast processors, data storage in the cloud, and so much more. Let’s go over what you might look at when you purchase a new smartphone.

Mobile devices have changed the world. They’ve definitely changed the way people do business. The prevailing sentiment is smartphone innovation has stagnated a bit over the past few years as most of the flagship smartphones are using extremely fast processors, data storage has moved to the cloud, and many other factors. Just look at the new iPhone, which traditionally looks just like the last iPhone. Today, we’ll take a look at what you need to know when buying your new phone.

Did you know that people tend to spend an average of 3-5 hours on their phones every day? The smartphone might be one of the most useful modern tools out there, but it can get in the way of running your business if you let it. Here are a couple of ways you can get the most out of your smartphone for business purposes.

“Value” smartphones don’t always have to be “bad” smartphones! To help you get the most out of your investment, we’ve put together a list of the best and brightest value smartphones on the market today. You might be surprised by how much value these manufacturers can pack into such devices!

For the past two weeks we have looked at some of the best phones and some that bring the most value. This week, we turned our gaze to a form factor that is only a couple of years old, but seems to be the future of mobile technology, foldable screens. The different form factors made possible by foldable OLED technology make the future of mobile devices more exciting. Let’s take a look at three of the top foldable devices right now.

Last week we took a look at three of the most impressive phones on the market. Those phones all cost a pretty penny. Not that you will get a new smartphone for a song, but it’s just not feasible for most people to drop over a thousand bucks on a new smartphone. Most cellular carriers make it palatable by allowing people to finance the phones as a part of their monthly cellular service, but if you are looking for a strong device that comes in under $500, here are three good options.

There’s no denying that the smartphone has completely changed the way in which we live. Today’s world is much more connected—for better or worse—and the majority of content is viewed using a smartphone. Let’s take a look at three of the very best smartphones available in the early stages of 2022.

You always read that “business has changed”. This is true because people have changed. More people use their mobile devices for a majority of their communication, their browsing, and a lot more, and it is changing the way business is conducted; it’s just not always easy to separate work use from personal usage. Let’s take a look at some of the ways the smartphone has changed the way people approach work, and how that shift in perspective has changed business.

You often hear about malware that infects desktop PCs, laptops, or servers, but other types of malware that infect mobile devices also exist. One such malware, a threat called TangleBot, has been discovered, and it can become seriously problematic for both workers and consumers utilizing Android devices—especially in today’s mobile-centric workplace.

Make no mistake, the impact that your mobile device strategy has on your business is an important one. It can make or break your organization’s security, as well as stymie or encourage your organization’s productivity. Therefore, you should do everything in your power to make sure that your mobile device management platform is working to your company’s advantage. Let’s take a look at some of the features that all good MDM platforms should enable.

As you might expect, the remote circumstances that many business professionals have found themselves in as of late have created challenges that must be overcome, especially in regards to the access and dissemination of data to mobile devices. Let’s examine the mobile device’s role in the modern business and how you can ensure these great tools are being used properly for your organization.

We know that you might not feel comfortable traveling yet, and for good reason, but when you do, it is extremely important that you take steps to protect the technology you take with you on the road. Here are some of the best ways that you can keep your mobile devices safe while out of the office and traveling.

Think how much has changed in the past 20 years. The Internet went from dial-up to broadband. Cellular networks have brought computing to more people through the use of computers that fit in your pocket. These mobile devices have changed the way that we communicate, changed the way business works, and changed the way we go about our daily lives. Let’s talk about how mobile is the predominant type of computing being used in society today.

Recently, we discussed a wide range of smartphone options, ranging from budget-friendly to the sharpest of cutting-edge devices. One question we’ve gotten is, “How do I choose the best smartphone for me?”

Read on to learn how.

Smartphones are everywhere. You go to the supermarket, people are on their phones, you go to the gym, people are on their phones. Go into the office? People are constantly on their phones. All that phone use cannot be in the best interest to organizational profitability. The question becomes, do smartphones help or hurt business? Let’s get into it.

With smartphones becoming more expensive every year, the top offerings from major manufacturers price some out of the market. This provides an opportunity for these companies to offer budget smartphones to a growing market of people who don’t want to drop a $1,000 on a new phone. Today, we discuss options from Samsung, Google, and Apple that can be had for a fraction of the cost of today’s flagship smartphones. 

We’ve looked at the best phones (flagships), we’ve looked at some of the most innovative devices, but what happens if you don’t have $1,000+ to buy a smartphone? Many of the main manufacturers spend a lot of their marketing budgets highlighting their most expensive devices, so a lot of people don’t know that there are some very capable smartphones that don’t come with four-figure price tags. Let’s take a look at some phones that people can get that won’t empty their wallets.

Last week we looked at the flagship smartphones that are currently available, and while they are undeniably the best smartphones available today, they may not be the most interesting. In late 2018, manufacturers started releasing smartphones with folding screens. These devices didn’t work as well as the modern user needed them to, but it did signal that manufacturers are trying to innovate and extend what’s possible for the modern smartphone. 

The smartphone is the most important device for millions of people. In fact, if the numbers are to be believed, many people have moved completely away from using traditional computers. Today’s flagship smartphones need a combination of fast connectivity, reliability, and longevity so that users can justify the lofty price tags associated with these devices. Let’s take a look at four of the most noteworthy smartphones available right now.

Think about how happy you are when you first get your new phone. If you are like most of us you can’t keep your hands off of it. You try all the new features out and mutter to yourself, “wow, this is so cool”. The enthusiasm that people have for their new mobile devices can be a major benefit for the company they work for, too. Today, we are going to discuss how, with all the features and powerful computing power, you can work effectively on your smartphone.

The modern smartphone has a lot of computing power. It has enough to be a dynamic tool for today’s workers. It can also be a major distraction. Today, we are going to share a couple tips that will help you be more productive with your smartphone. 

While there aren’t many reasons that you would want to restore your existing Android applications, the ones that do factor in are pretty compelling. Here, we’ll take you through the process of doing just that.

The smartphone has become the most utilized computing device in the world. As a result, consumers are looking for the very best of them to get the functionality they demand. The current set of flagship smartphones that are available provide all types of benefits for business, for commerce, and for networking. Today, we’re going to take a look at the best phones you can buy heading into 2020. 

Smartphones are a marvel of modern ingenuity. After looking at employee smartphone use as a problem for much of the past few years, today’s businesses have begun to amend that strategy and are now using employee devices to their advantage. With such a large percentage of today’s workers actively using smartphones, it only makes sense for businesses to try and incorporate their employees’ devices into their day-to-day operational strategy. Today, we’ll take a look at smartphones and how they’ve managed to go from nuisance to necessity. 

If you were given the task to look up a phone number, call a business, and navigate to the new-to-you area, would you be able to without your smartphone? For some of us the answer will still be yes, for a vast majority, the answer is no. Smartphones have quickly transitioned from a calling device, to one of our most valuable tools. Shopping, navigating, video streaming, and an unbelievable amount of other capabilities are all at the palm of your hand. 

Mobile devices accompany us more or less everywhere, leading us to use them more and more frequently in all aspects of lie, including for business purposes. As a result, cybercriminals have even more motivation to target them. To help you avoid a mobile device being the downfall of your company’s security, we’ve assembled a few practices you and your staff should adopt.

No doubt you’ve noticed the increased use of smartphones. No matter where you go, people are on their phones. Sometimes they are using them in places you wouldn’t even imagine. For the modern business, employee smartphone usage can be a major pain in the side. Today, we’ll go into how smartphone usage helps and hurts a business and how to go about keeping employees from being on their phones for large chunks of the workday.

Make no mistake about it, Huawei is one of the largest technology companies in the entire world. It employs over 200,000 people and in 2018 saw revenues of over $100 billion. Over the past few years, their devices have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible in tech all while being relatively unavailable to one of the major technology markets in the world, the United States. The fact is that outside the U.S., Huawei is a major player.

Anyone that has used a computer is familiar with the following scenario. A friend tells you a story about an app that is really useful or fun so you take a chance and download it. After you download and fire it up, you get a pop up asking if you want to allow notifications from that app. You blast “yes” just to get to the application and sometime later, you are asleep or working and you get a notification from the company behind the app you downloaded. Then you get another one, and another, and since you’ve blasted “yes” on 25 little pop-ups, you are getting a constant flow of notifications that you could completely do without.

Even though no one will admit to it themselves, everyone knows that person that, for some reason or another, has dropped his/her smartphone in the toilet, or into the sink, or into a puddle. Needless to say that dropping electronics into any bit of water isn’t typically recommended, but today we will talk about what to do if this happens to you.

With the smartphone market losing ground for the first time in its short history, many of the manufacturers you’ve come to know are either non-factors in the current market, or don’t even produce smartphones anymore. With new demand growing every year, new manufacturers such as OnePlus and Xiaomi are primed to fall in line behind Samsung and Apple.

One of the major aspects of smartphones is how portable they are. Thanks to them, business professionals can be productive while out of the office, no matter where they are. Unfortunately, this also means that they have more of an opportunity to lose their devices, along with the data they contain. If the device is Android-based, then you can alleviate this trouble thanks to built-in features that can help you find it.

While smartphones and tablets can help businesses quite a bit, they can also be quite detrimental to their success. If you can get past the issues related to employees bringing their own devices to the workplace, then you’ll be able to save a considerable amount of time and resources on device procurement, but you certainly want to make sure you have a mobile device management policy put in place first.

Have you ever received unsolicited calls from unknown numbers? Sometimes you might receive them at incredibly inconvenient times, such as while you’re home and trying to wind down after a long day’s work. While Caller ID and voicemail have allowed users to keep unwanted calls to a minimum, there are other ways that you can block a caller entirely from reaching your smartphone.

Chances are, you’ve heard of phishing before--emails that promise some benefit or prize if you only click on the included link, that actually only results in trouble for you and your data. Unfortunately, as technology has embraced mobility, so have phishing attempts. This is why you must also be aware of SMiShing scams.

The new smartphone models are here. This year there are plenty for consumers to get excited about in the smartphone space. The return of the Galaxy Note, the evolution of the Galaxy s8, a premium iPhone, and the return of two of the industry's heavy hitters highlight this year’s best smartphones.

It’s that time of the year again--the holiday season. Filled with lots of gift giving and sharing, you’ll want only the best and brightest smartphone on the market to ensure that you can keep in touch with friends, family, and even your clients should an emergency drag you back to the office suddenly. We’ll break down the specs of each major smartphone on the market so that you can make an educated decision about which one you would like to buy.

Learning how to use a new technology can sometimes be troubling. If you’ve been a dedicated Apple customer throughout the years, but are considering switching allegiances to Android, you should know that simple differences between the two platforms can end up disorienting. Here are a few things you have to know when switching away from the iPhone.

Wireless charging is a challenging technology. While the benefits are clear as day (imagine, only having the one cord to supply power to the charger itself!), the concept has yet to see the mass implementation and adoption one would expect it to. Today, we’ll look at this underperforming technology’s history, a few applications that could be seen in the future, and the holdups it is seeing currently.

You may have heard the term augmented reality, but you may be surprised to learn just how much A.R. you already use in your life. For the majority of people who use a smartphone, A.R. applications (like a camera app) are already used en masse. Today, we’ll take a look at augmented reality and how it is going to be used in the future.

Today the smartphone camera has become one of the biggest selling points when consumers look to purchase a new phone. This is largely because it is crucial to the use of many of the applications that your average user uses the smartphone for. It just goes to show that in less than two decades how much utility the phone has than it did when the Samsung SCH-V200 first offered users the option of taking pictures with their phone.

Digital payment options have become commonplace in today’s society. In fact, ever since people could purchase goods and services off of the Internet, some of the world’s most successful companies are a result of digital payment. It was a natural progression then, as the mobile device boom came, that mobile payment would take the place of cash and/or cards and bring these digital payment options beyond the Internet, and into our retail stores. This simply hasn’t happened and here are four reasons why.

Years before Steve Jobs stood up on the stage in San Francisco and proclaimed Apple had brought you the future, the future he spoke of was already being developed, and in some cases utilized already by millions of people around the world. Cellular phone technology had been around for some time by 2007, but the iPhone, set in motion a mobile revolution.

In 19th century America, the hottest innovation for political campaigns was the exposed stump from a fallen tree, thus the stump speech. This technology revolutionized politics by allowing the candidate to elevate himself above the crowd for greater visibility and to better project one’s voice. Today, the political stump speech is obsolete, having its usefulness far surpassed by the technologies of the modern age.

How smart are smartphones really making us? If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us would admit that our mobile phones are more for entertainment and efficient communications, and less about actually being used to make ourselves smarter. Thanks to augmented reality technology becoming more accessible, perhaps smartphones will one day live up to their name.

There’s no denying that smartphones are the predominant consumer technology in the world at the moment. Over a billion smartphones were sold each of the past two years, with growth coming in at a fairly impressive 23 percent from 2013 to 2014. Growth is projected to decrease slightly in future years (around 12 percent in 2015), but it’s obvious by now, smartphone usage will be the principal manner people will access the Internet going forward.

Your smartphone is, without a doubt, a valuable business asset. It keeps you connected to your business at all times, even when you’re home; but is this a good thing? Have you ever considered what your significant other might feel if you answer your phone while out to dinner? Thanks to the indisputable power of social science research, it’s been proven that smartphones are bad for our personal relationships. Gasp!

We always talk about protecting your computers and servers from outside threats, but what about protecting your smartphones? There isn’t much difference between a smartphone and a computer. They both function in very similar ways with access to a variety of apps, social media, and browsers. Your smartphone could hold much more valuable data than just contacts or text messages.

Thanks to the explosion of mobile phones, the world is connected like never before and most people seem to have a good grip on how to talk to each other using proper telephone etiquette. Therefore, when someone breaks socially accepted phone etiquette practices, they make themselves or the business they represent look bad.

Mobile devices are changing the technology landscape in the modern office. What kind of changes are smartphones specifically having on human productivity? We are looking at this question in two parts. In our last blog article we looked at how mobile devices impact networking. In part two, we will take a look at smartphones and human awareness.

What kind of phone do you have? Or rather, what kind of person does your phone have? With people relying on constant connectivity and constant communication, do devices have an interface for constant productivity, or is it just a constant distraction? Do all these outstanding new gadgets have the kind of value business professionals claim they do?

Do you have what it takes to win the annual National Texting Championship? 17-year-old Austin Wierschke has the texting speed, dexterity, and accuracy to be crowned the most recent texting champion, an accomplishment accredited to sending 500 texts a day for training! This is a major achievement for young Alex, but does it translate to a hirable skill?

Have you ever had a cell phone call drop or not go through even though you had all five bars? What's up with that? Going against the grain of conventional wisdom and cellphone marketing, it's not always the case that more bars guarantees you better service.

What is the scariest situation you can imagine? Being chased by a werewolf? How about being boiled alive in a witches brew? Or what about succumbing to a zombie hoard? For people that are nomophobic, these monster-filled situations would be preferred compared to their greatest fear; being without their cell phone!

What are you terrified of? Spiders? Heights? Deep water? Financial problems? Shockingly, the greatest anxiety among humans is public speaking, even ranking above the fear of death! But, for some people, these things would be readily faced in lieu of their greatest fear; being cell phone-less! Oh, the horror!

The fact that over half of all working adults own a smartphone is changing not only the way we do business, but also how we interact as a species. With the development of smart glasses and watches, we are seeing technology becoming even more intertwined with our bodies, effectively turning people into cyborgs.

Upselling and add-ons are the reason why you go to buy a new smartphone, expecting to pay the too-good-to-be-true sale price, and walk out locked into a contract that costs twice as much as you planned on spending. One add-on that's pushed hard is the device protection plan (smartphone insurance). Is a protection plan worth the expense?

Most people believe that the internet, cellphones, smartphones, and other mobile devices are today's technology. What they may not know is that the very concept of wireless communication and data transmission was being experimented with in the late 1800's to the early 1900's by Nikola Tesla.