Bluetooth accessories for Android?

How many of us can say we use a Bluetooth accessory with our phone or tablet? Out of all my friends, I reckon it's just me and only it's only a  recent phenomenon that I've started using a Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet. I'm no stranger to Bluetooth accessories, I've been using them with my games console, PC and laptop for years now but didn't see the need for one with a tablet. I made a point of writing this post on my tablet, with my keyboard to prove that they are actually quite useful. I find carrying a keyboard and tablet much easier than lugging my Mac around. But why aren't more people doing the same?

How cool are they?
You rarely see people with Bluetooth headsets walking round do you? I certainly don't. Taxi drivers are about the only people I see with them sometimes and the odd few people in supermarkets (not sure why they lurk there with their headsets...). Maybe they're just not cool and so people don't want to use them? I think it's probably more to do with not really needing them, how often do you think 'I wish I could tap a button on my ear than take my phone out of my pocket'? Rarely. I admit it would be easier, but there just aren't enough scenarios for that to happen for it to be worthwhile.

The same applies with a keyboard, there aren't many times when you're on the move and a tablet and keyboard would trump a laptop, except for maybe on a busy train? Or when you're trying to travel as light as possible?

What accessories are there?
Keyboards, mice, headsets and I'd have to search online for more suggestions after this. I'm currently using a normal sized Motorola keyboard on my Nexus 7 but I certainly wouldn't use a mouse with it, what's the point of that?! So I guess maybe there needs to be more accessories? Bluetooth watches such as the Pebble watch are likely to be the next big thing with phone manufacturers all eyeing them up. If it wasn't for the price tag, I would probably purchase one, maybe if they didn't look so hideous too (sorry Pebble!).

Better productivity?
I am already more productive with this keyboard and I can write stuff up with more flexibility, like the type you would get with something like a Macbook Air or a netbook but for a fraction of the price and a touchscreen so there are clear benefits. It makes more sense than a Windows RT/8 tablet too since they are very pricey too. I wouldn't take a laptop on holiday but I might contemplate taking this combination on holiday just in case I wanted to check something up or perhaps if I wanted to blog about my travels abroad!

Conclusion
With smartphones and tablets become so powerful and rivalling laptops and desktops, I think the combination of a tablet and keyboard is an awesome idea and one that perhaps shouldn't be so quickly disregarded as being unworkable. It remains to be seen whether there will be demand for this but looking at online retailers and manufacturers, there is already plenty of devices which are there to help make the most of your phones and tablets which might be worth a look. You could end up surprising yourself. I know I did!

Mo

Low-end Android smartphones?

So in an effort to be savvy and save as much money as possible, I decided to sell my Galaxy S3 a couple of weeks before the S4 is released. In the meantime I have to put up with a low end Android phone, the Orange San Francisco 2 (OSF2) aka ZTE Crescent. I'd like to say right now, I have a lot more respect for people who can get by on using these types of phones because they are not for me, at the same time I wouldn't wish this phone on my enemies (slight exaggeration...). I've also come to the realisation that I used my S3 across many aspects of my life. Quite scary that someone can have so much dependence on a single device.

What's so bad?
Let's start with the speed. the OSF2 has a measly single core 800 MHz processor, compare to the S3 which was a quad core 1.4 GHz processor. For normal day-to-day processes, the phone struggle. SwiftKey has gone out of the window and Kii keyboard is being used as a replacement. SwiftKey just locks up the phone and predictions would often be behind my typing and the frustration was too much. Then there's the matter of games, the phone is rooted and it's on Android 4.2.2 and I still haven't been able to come across a single game that I've had on the S3 that works on this. That might be partly to do with the fact that I can't access the Play Store for some reason, but even using my Titanium Backup games, none are working! Boring lectures are now going to be just that for me...boring and without distractions.

The amount of screen time I've racked up on this phone is pretty much the same as my S3, which might be down to the fact that any task on the phone takes about 5 times as long to complete than on my S3, even a simply text or call. Another very important point is the lack of internal storage, it's nearly non-existent. After you account for the ROM partition and cache you are left with 160mb to use for apps. You do have a microSD slot but unless you move apps to the SD card (only some will let you do this), you'll be able to install a couple of apps and you're full up!

What's so good?
It's a cheap phone. That's really it.

Uses for a smartphone?
Compared to the average smartphone user, I think I use my phone a lot more and so my predicament is made even worse. On an average day these are some of the different uses I found for my smartphone:

• Alarm clock
• Phone calls
• Instant messaging
• Games
• Online Banking
• Exercise (Endomondo and Jefit)
• Voice recording
• Pictures
• Videos
• Music
• Organiser
• Calendar
• Getting directions
• Browsing the web
• Social networkings (Twitter and Facebook)
• Viewing documents/presentations
• Emails
• And some more which I can't remember off the top of my head

Basically, my phone is a pretty big part of my life, which I'm not saying is something to be proud of, but it does make it much harder. I envisage walking to lectures without being able to listen to music and have to admire and take in the sights and smells that I've experienced near enough everyday for the past 4 years as opposed to having my head firmly in my phone and music blaring in my ears. The phone can't play a song without interruptions when the screen is off let alone when I need to use it for something else.

Improvising is hard, there isn't a good substitute or way round for some of the things listed above but my Nexus 7 has stepped up to help. It's also made me realise just how useful cloud storage is for some apps. Let's take Jefit as an example, for those of you who don't know what it does, the app tracks your workouts and keeps a log of how much you lift so you can monitor your progress. It syncs your workouts at the end of each session and so you can get the app on a different device, log in and it will download all your logs and routines ready to go. This is one thing ticked off that list, plenty more obstacles to come across yet!

11 days until the Galaxy S4 is released, I imagine I'll have to take it one day at a time. Yes, I know some people might think I might be exaggerating but believe me, I wish I was.

Mo