Allie is thinking of getting an Android tablet, but she's having trouble connecting her laptop and her Samsung device. Leo says that Allie needs to download a Samsung utility called KIES. It will connect with her phone and update drivers. Leo says it can be tricky to connect her phone to the laptop to move data, though. That's why Apple and Android have both moved to connecting over Wi-Fi. Leo also recommends getting DoubleTwist.
Andrew has been noticing that when he shuts down Android apps, they still appear to be running when he goes into Manage Apps. Leo says on all mobile devices, there's no need for programs to actually shut down. On modern versions of Android, iOS, and even on Windows 8.1 or RT, apps don't necessarily close. The operating system just takes care of it on its own. When the user does something else, the OS will halt the CPU for that app, reclaim the memory, and eventually close it. It will still be in the "recent apps" section, though, but that's more for the user's convenience.
Gail did the update to iOS 7 on her iPad and she hates it. Especially the calendar. Leo says that since she can't really go back, he suggests FantastiCal, Agenda, and AnyDo.
Chris wants to go with a new phone and service (he uses Sprint) because he can't get 4G in his area. What Android device should he get?
Leo says if he's bought a lot of apps on iPhone, it may be worth just changing carriers and get the iPhone unlocked. If he can't do that, then both Android and Apple have so many apps now that he can make the switch and still get apps that he likes. Leo hates the iPhone keyboard anyway. He should choose the carrier that's best in his neighborhood.
Kira has to replace her four year old Blackberry, and wants to know what to get next. She really likes the keyboard. Leo says that just about any smartphone can do what Kira is looking to do (Gmail, Facebook ,etc). The downside is that physical keyboard phones are dying out.
Wendy needs to buy a new smartphone. Suggestions? Leo says that the first thing to do is look at your carrier. It impacts what phone you get because you may not have a choice of the phone you want. And Third party carriers like TING ties into Sprint. Page Plus has Verizon. Metro PCS is T-Mobile. So it's important to pay attention to coverage maps. And you won't be able to subsidize if you're not going under contract and that means full price.
Leo says when it comes to the iPhone, Apple has to support Windows, but it doesn't have to support Linux. Leo's not sure that even matters though, because increasingly the iPhone is designed not to be connected to a computer. Updates all happen over the air now. It's no longer tied to a desktop computer. Obviously there's no iTunes on Ubuntu for his music, which might be the biggest issue, but he can get music directly on the phone. Leo doesn't think he'll run into any major issues using an iPhone and an Ubuntu desktop computer.
Larry has an elderly friend who has an iPhone. He would like to forward email to his phone and it's not working. Leo says that every phone offers a special address that is the phone number via email. So if he knows the carrier is, he can email him through that phone number. Usually it would be something like "10digitmobilenumber@txt.att.net" but they're all different. It'll be sent to him as a text message.
Leo got his iPhone 5s when he got home from vacation and his thumbnail review is that he loves the Touch ID authentication. It's really easy to use. He also likes that he can make purchases without having to input a password every time. TouchID will ask to rescan your fingerprint from different angles to get a more accurate impression of your print. It asks you to hold the phone differently so it can scan from side angles, which is very effective.
Scott wants to know why the iPhone doesn't backup all of his Wi-Fi passwords when backing up. Apparently iTunes doesn't keep them. The Chatroom says that LastPass should be able to do it, and Leo agrees. The Premium version is only $12 and it's worth every penny.
