Samsung Galaxy SIII

Samantha recently bought a Samsung Galaxy SIII and she likes the idea of the automatic reminders and "geo fencing." Leo says the iPhone has a similar, but easier way to do that. Tap the Google Search bar with the microphone and it'll use hot words to set location based reminders. It's all pretty geeky. And once you get used to the idea, it's great, especially if you're using with an app like Grocery IQ. And it's exactly where Google is headed.

Bobby is wondering if he should upgrade from his current Samsung Galaxy SIII to the new Galaxy SIV.

Jim recently bought a Samsung Galaxy SIII and he's rooted it. He wants to use a hotspot app and tether his laptop with it.

Cathy has to get a new phone and wants to change to something else from Sprint. She has ruled out AT&T and Verizon, so that leaves T-Mobile. It doesn't have the iPhone yet, though. The real problem could be coverage. Softbank just bought Sprint, so they may improve over time. Leo thinks T-Mobile is the best bet for Cathy and recommends the Samsung Galaxy SIII or the Galaxy Note 2.

Brandon is traveling to Europe for a month and wants to bring his Samsung Galaxy SIII on Verizon. Leo says it won't work too well because that phone is for CDMA networks, which isn't international. He'll want a GSM phone for that since it uses a SIM card. He could still use his Verizon phone, but he'd be paying international roaming charges which isn't cheap. He should talk to Verizon about an international data plan.

Leo says Manny can go into the phone's settings and at the very top is an on/off switch which he can turn off to disable it. Turning off WiFi can save battery life if he's not in an area with WiFi. If he's in an area where WiFi is available, however, using WiFi will be easier on battery life than 3G or 4G. If he's not using Bluetooth, turning that off will help save some battery as well.

Noises usually indicate a failing hard drive and that's an easy thing to replace. Yvonne can just backup her data, swap out the drive and then reinstall her OS and programs. There's no need to go to the expense of a new computer if that's all it is.

Brad is also going to get a Kindle Fire. He's wondering whether to get the Fire HD, which is a bit more expensive. Leo says yes. It has a higher resolution and a much faster processor. So for another $40, it's definitely worth getting the Fire HD.

Leo says that's by design. What he needs to do is put the phone into "disk mode," or "MTP mode" so that the computer will see it as a disk to mount. This should be in the settings. If it doesn't mount, try a different cable. If that doesn't do it, then there's something wrong and it could be hardware or software at this point. A driver may not be loading that the phone needs to broadcast that it's there. Resetting the phone will reload that. If that doesn't work, then take the phone back.

This can happen with a smartphone if it's a faulty unit. Leo advises taking it back to Verizon and asking for a new one. It's under warranty and Verizon should replace it for free. She was wondering if she should have gotten the warranty on it, but Leo says it should already be covered by a warranty. Purchasing anything additional would merely extend that warranty. So she should be able to get that phone replaced without having to purchase any additional warranty coverage.