Ever dropped your phone down the toilet or even know someone who has? We have all nearly been in that position, using the phone as we all do in the bathroom and it just slips out the hand whilst sending that important text message or email that couldn’t wait. If you dropped your phone would you know what to do? or better still what not to do in order to get your prized possession back up and working again?

We walk you through a guide of what to do in infographic format to enable you to give you phone that kiss of life, unless however you just wish to put your phone to the graveyard of mobiles in the sky? A perfect illustrated guide is far easier to read than 500 works of text, so help a friend out or better still know what to do should you drop your phone down the loo.

Scott Morris is a keen blogger on various topics, Do-it-yourself, technology, tools and automotive, you can catch me over at my bathrooms related site and creator of this infographic Plumbworld. A petrol head with a love for music. All words and ramblings by Scott Morris

Many of my friends communicate with their children via text message. It’s easy for the kids to send a quick message from school or when they are at a friend’s house to update so their parents know what they are up to. In my generation, you didn’t need a cell phone when you were in middle school or high school, but now with families having busy schedules, it almost has become a necessity. Keeping in contact with your kids is the biggest benefit of text messaging. You can see an example of how text messaging was a lifeline to this parent whose child was on lockdown during the Arapaho shooting. Without his child having a cell phone, he would have been in the dark if his child was okay.

Despite some obvious benefits, there are some drawbacks to allowing your kids access to text messaging as well. Here are just 4 dangers that they may face when they have a cell phone and send texts.

Cyber Bullying

It seems like everyday that you turn on the news there is a new story about kids getting bullied or committing suicide because they were bullied. The attacks can come from people they know or even people that they meet on the internet. It’s becoming an epidemic.

Sexting

As kids get older and head into their teens, they start to get curious about their bodies and start wondering about their sexuality. Some teens have started to practice sexting, which involves sending naked pictures or suggestive text to people they know or would like to know. Many scandals have arisen from those text messages getting forwarded. Teens need to work hard to protect their reputations in a digital age and refraining from sexting is one way to do so. Since their relationships are young and volatile, a person who they trust now may be an enemy next week. What’s to stop that person from sharing those private texts that were sent?

Phishing Scams

Another way kids can become victims is through phishing scams. Even with the FCC cracking down, they still exist and kids are easy pray. They usually come in the form of a text message that tricks someone into replying. Once they reply, they are signed up for a premium service and their bill gets charged. They may never know they are being scammed.

Predators

Online predators are everywhere. They lurk on social media, forums and chat rooms. Make sure that your kids aren’t making themselves susceptible to these predators. Tell them to be wary of anyone who they don’t know contacting them online.

What’s the solution? Teach your kids to not give their number out to just anyone. Also, they should never be sharing their phone number on social media sites like Facebook. Unfortunately many have their number on Facebook right on their profile and may not even realize it. Some of those phone numbers show up in their “friends” contacts in their phones. I was surprised when I linked my social media accounts to my phone how many private phone numbers showed up. If their phone number is in their profile someone that they don’t know could be text messaging them.
Image Credit: David Castillo

Author Bio:

Jill Myers is a mom and drivers education instructor. When not helping others learn to drive, she is contributing her knowledge to the blog at Phone Sheriff, parental control software that helps parents keep track of what they are doing online.

Before the invention of smartphones and hi-tech mobile OS users mainly used their phones for calling and messaging. Since that time the call costs have been inflating. With improvement of technologies, the users are blessed with plenty of apps that they can use day today for varied purposes. One of the main purpose being free calls. With National and International call rates heavily shooting up the following Android Apps will let you to make free phone calls at a much less price (data connection charges/Wi-Fi charges alone).

The following are top free phone call apps for your Android/iPhone/Windows devices:

1. Fring:

Fring has a lot of great features that will make you go for it, ranging from free calls to normal chat to advanced video calling. Fring app now lets you also to append various other communication based services viz. AOL, GTalk. Also there is an option for connecting with your phone’s contact book thus letting you to talk with anyone with just one app.

However you can do the free call only when the other party has Fring app on their phone, which is obvious. This won’t be a big problem since the Fring app available not only for Android, but also on other operating systems like iOS, Windows, Symbian and also via a mobile browser.

Their latest feature is being capable of video calling between four people at the same time over any Wi-Fi or data connection. Albeit it’s fun to try this out, it looks a bit choppy too.

Additionally, you can call to regular phones also by buying some credits or points (similar to Skype) so you can now talk to landlines.

2. Line:

Line is the latest and very innovative app that lets users to make free voice calls for 24 hours a day. You can update your friends about anything and everything from your Android phone by using text, calls, photos, video calls, stickers and location info also. You can call all your friends from anywhere in the world and make calls internationally for free. Line is available in the Google Play Store for free download. Other noteworthy features are stickers, emoticons.

3. ooVoo:

ooVoo is a basically a video chat app that was developed by ooVoo corporation. You can view friends who use ooVoo and select their profiles for making video call, voice call or to send instant text or even video messages. You can make conference calls with up to 12 people at the same time. This app has options to save videos and photos that were sent by your friends. Speed dial option is present which will help you to keep up with five best friends while on the go.

4. Viber:

Viber is the most straight forward and hassle free app. All you have got to do is install this app and then it will search all the users in your contact box who use Viber and connect you to them. You don’t need nicknames or e-mail verification. You phone number serves as a unique user ID.

Put this app in your home screen and then use this as a calling function instead of your carrier based call and you are not only allowed to make free calls to the other Viber users but you can also send SMS to them. This is an efficient app to make normal SMS and calls and also email right from the app. The one thing that makes Viber outstanding is its call quality. The audio is very clear without any lags. It is so clear that you will think that you ate using your regular carrier phone line. This is a must have free call app on your Android.

The other free call apps include Skype, Tango, Tru App, Qik, Nimbuzz, Google Voice, ICQ, etc...

Image Credit: Tim Robberts.

Author Bio:

I’m Zoya Bennet, part of Contus mobility team and author of this article. I’m a passionate blogger interested in writing articles on professional android application development. I constantly offer technology-based solutions for the platforms iOS, Android and Windows.

Google’s Android is open, customizable and a highly versatile operating system compared to other mobile OSes. And rooting it allows users complete control on their devices. However, you may wonder as to what rooting your Android device involves and what are the benefits in doing so. First, it is essential to understand what rooting is all about.

For the uninitiated, rooting gives users root permission and access to their devices. Rooting also gives the users the ability to tweak the settings on their phones, flash custom ROMs on the phone for adding additional features, as well as modify the software on the device. However, rooting is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it can be done successfully provided the users follow the rooting instructions for their device carefully.

A thing to note is that with different kinds of Android phones available, the same rooting technique may not work for all. So before rooting, users need to ascertain whether or not a particular rooting method will actually work for their devices. Users should also know that doing so will void the manufacturer’s warranty on your device and there is a small chance that improper rooting can also damage the phone permanently. Nonetheless, there are still plenty of benefits to rooting your phone and it is a risk definitely worth taking.

Flash a custom ROM:

This is one of the best benefits of rooting an Android device. In simple terms, a custom ROM is a modified version of Android that users can install if they are not happy with the Android version that their device comes with. Adding a custom ROM adds more unique and convenient features to the phone that are not usually seen on their devices. Samsung devices are usually the most rooted of all, as users want to use stock Android ROMs that are much more agile than Samsung’s TouchWiz skin.

Flash a custom kernel:

A kernel allows apps on the phone to communicate directly with the hardware of the phone. A custom kernel helps improve the performance of the phone, enhance battery life, speed up battery charging, and also add advanced features such as Wi-Fi tethering on certain phones that do not come with this option.

Tweak under the hood settings: Users can tweak every little feature of their phone including customizing the keyboard layout, enhancing multitasking functionality, increasing the scrolling speed as well as adding interesting themes to the phone. Basically, rooting allows users to reach into the darkest corners of their phones and make the most of the changes that are possible.

Remove bloatware:

This is one of the best reasons for rooting. Often the phones are preloaded with software and apps that one does not use. These programs not only occupy the onboard memory, but can also drain the battery. Before uninstalling any apps, users should confirm that those apps are not vital to efficient functioning of their phones.

Backup:

Having a backup of crucial data and settings is highly recommended. Should a user want to migrate to a new Android handset or wishes to restore the deleted data to the current handset for any reason, then a backup must be readily available. This is also helpful even if the user is not rooting his/her device.

Apart from these benefits, rooting also helps to block annoying ads that appear in apps, boost the speed and battery life of the phone, automate everything as well as unlock certain hidden features in the device and install certain apps that are otherwise considered as incompatible.

Author Bio:

Rohit Reddy is the editor of GadgetResearch. He is a gadget and technology enthusiast and loves blogging about them. In his free time he likes to follow the latest tech news and share it with his friends.