Life & Technology – 2GB 10th May 2014

A big show this week, especialy with only one day left until Mothers Day.

Mobile company Motorola has been relatively quiet since being bought by Lenovo at the start of the year. To find out what they're up to I sat down with Motorola's Magnus Ahlqvist where we discussed the Moto X smartphone, the intriguing Moto X smartwatch and the challenges Motorola faces in the Australian market.

We also caught up with Daniel Hall, Product Marketing Manager at Belkin. He filled me in on Belkin's new products including their new wireless router and light bulbs that you can control from your smartphone. 

Finally, TV technology is undergoing a massive shift with the move to new technologies such as OLED and Ultra High Definition sets. I spoke to LG's Grant Vandenberg about their new product range and what consumers can expect with these new developments. 

Also, we answered some of your questions received via phone and email –

Amalia, via email asked how to back up her Galaxy Smartphone to her Mac using KIES software from Samsung. 

 

Amalia, Kies is an application from Samsung for Windows and Mac computers that allows for data backup, transfer and multimedia management with Samsung smartphones.

 

1)   When using Kies connect your device, click ‘Back Up/Restore > Data Backup’ and make sure you have the checkboxes checked for everything that you want to backup (photos, contacts, calendar).

 

2)   You can select all content by marking the checkbox next to ‘Select all items’. Click ‘Backup’. Click ‘Complete’ when the backup is finished.

 

3)   You can have Kies automatically back up your device every time it's connected by clicking the checkbox next to ‘Automatically back up when USB connection is established’.

 

4)   If the the process is not working try updating your phone to the latest firmware. On your phone make sure you are on WiFi or a cellular internet connection. Then head over to ‘Settings > More > About Device > Software Update’.

 

Angelo needed some last minute tips for mother's day gifts. In particular he was looking for a way for his mum to view digital photos.

 

There are a number of solutions for viewing photos digitally. You can get a dedicated digital photo frame or you can use a tablet such as an iPad or an Android device. On any of these devices you can play a photo slideshow.

 

Digital photo frames can be had quite affordably. Harvey Norman has a good selection including options from AVLabs, Amicroe and DigiFrame with prices ranging from $25 up to $200. These frames range in size with the larger ones between 8 and 15 inches. 

 

I’d recommend considering a tablet as it will allow your mum to view photos with the added benefit of being able to use the device for other things as well. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is a 7 inch Android tablet that has 8GB of storage and WiFi. It costs $198 at Harvey Norman. Your mum can use it for all sorts of things including as a web browser, music player, movie player and more.

 

Allison via Twitter asked how to keep her laptop battery healthy over the long term.

 

Allison most gadgets these days run on Lithium Ion batteries, which are easy to take care of. They will have a finite life no matter what however you can maximise the life of them by keeping the following things in mind:

 

– Don’t leave the device plugged in when the battery is at 100%. When it’s fully charged unplug it and give it a rest.

 

– Perform shallow discharges. This means instead of discharging the battery to 0% every time, let the battery charge a bit, then discharge for a bit. Letting the battery discharge to 50% before charging is a good rule of thumb.

 

– Keep the battery cool. Excess heat is bad for batteries. Try using a laptop stand that keeps your laptop off the desk. You can buy models now that have built in fans to keep the laptop extra cool.