How to use your smartphone smartly: Saving data on your Samsung

SO you have just upgraded to the latest smart phone, but now you’re stuck with excessive data costs and a phone that’s harder to figure out then the myth of the yetti.

This week Northglen News looks into helpful tips to use your smart phone smartly, focusing mainly on Samsung products and saving data.

There are some really simple ways of saving data on your Samsung phone and the tips in this article are valid for most Samsung Galaxy phones.

1. Browse smartly

MOST phones these days come out with an internet browser already installed. But half way through the month you get that dreaded notification that you have alsmost depleted your data. Panic sets in and you start pondering over what to do for the rest of the month. Afterall, you need to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and emails at least three times a day, not not to mention uploading your favourite selfie.

Well, by downloading an internet browser such as Opera Mini from Play Store you could save tons of money.

Opera Mini is an effective browsing tool for when you use Facebook a lot or for trying to clarify points on Google. You can go to Opera Mini where you will see a Google window – use that.

With Opera Mini you can add numerous tabs under the ‘Speed Dial’ option.

All you need to do is:

• Click on the add icon (+), which will automatically redirect you to another page.

• Enter the address you wish to add.

I for one never log off my Facebook and keep it running all day through Opera Mini and so far I’ve had no data issues.

Just make sure to close windows for websites you have open at the bottom of the page.

2. Upload smartly

AS duck face selfies, foodie pics and other photos become more and more popular to upload to various social networking sites, I recommend the user to upload photos via Instagram. By doing this you can upload your favourite pout-pic onto Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr all at the touch of one button.

Also, by only uploading this to Instagram and posting it on these other sites via Instagram all in one go, you are saving loads of data. This is another one of the apps I never log out of.

3. Spring clean before bed

TO lower your data costs do a spring clean every night or so. And don’t worry, you won’t need a duster, vacuum or broom to do this spring clean.

Simply hold in the middle button at the bottom of your Samsung until a row of windows pop up. Then take your finger and swipe from left to right across each of these windows until they are all removed.

From my understanding with many a conversation with friends of the opposite sex these are all apps that are running. I suggest you clear this at night before you sleep, because it can be a very helpful tool to use during the day in that you can have multiple tabs open at once, allowing you to toggle between Facebook and Twitter or Instagram and a game. You will find that once you have closed these tabs your phone will also run a little faster.

4. Easy dialing and messaging on the go

NONE of us ever have the time to actually read everything on our smart phone’s start up wizard. But, having had to replace my phone after it got stolen I was pleasantly surprised at how informative it really was. Here are some tips I picked up the second time around.

Call – To call a person saved on your phonebook without any hassle, simply search the person’s name and swipe from left to right over the name to call that person. It will then automatically call for you.

Message – To quickly message someone from your phonebook, simply swipe from right to left over the contact’s name for the message box to pop up.