Hacks and tips for using a smartphone with your SO

[jayq]

Hey everyone,

 

I'd like to ask you if you have any interesting tips of how you use your smartphone with your SO?

 

Could like apps you love to use together at different times, any problems you've had with certain apps and how you got around it or if you wish something was fixed or done differently?

[d0nnivain]

Forget the apps & all the other electronics you can put in between you & a real connection with somebody else. Pick up the phone. Use the voice feature & actually talk to them.

[carhill]

What operating system? I've been messing with a new Android phone and some of the video chatting features are pretty cool, though they can be data suckers. I'm a novice so have only been messing with Google Hangouts so far.

 

I found one technology I used a lot overseas when talking to friends and clients back home, both voice and video, which worked well was Skype. It required an internet connection for VOIP/video but those were always easy to find.

 

If by 'hacks' you mean methods of rooting the phone's OS and customizing it or any applications, unfortunately I have no knowledge of that kind of stuff. That's more in the realm of coder stuff and probably best asked on a tech forum.

[jayq]

What operating system? I've been messing with a new Android phone and some of the video chatting features are pretty cool, though they can be data suckers. I'm a novice so have only been messing with Google Hangouts so far.

 

I found one technology I used a lot overseas when talking to friends and clients back home, both voice and video, which worked well was Skype. It required an internet connection for VOIP/video but those were always easy to find.

 

If by 'hacks' you mean methods of rooting the phone's OS and customizing it or any applications, unfortunately I have no knowledge of that kind of stuff. That's more in the realm of coder stuff and probably best asked on a tech forum.

Yes that would be Android or iPhones pretty much.

 

Hacks I meant ways of using something differently than normal, someone told me they use WhatsApp chat emailing function to archive their chats and media files with their SO's. Things like that basically.

 

How easy was it to setup video calls? and did you find any specific annoyances with the process?

[carhill]

The hardest part for myself was getting friends/customers set up because, even though I consider my tech knowledge fairly limited, engineering and computers are a part of my background and not so much for those I tend to interact with and making sense to them and getting things going was often a problem. Once set up though, the technology worked fine, a lot like what you see on CNN when they do VOIP interviews with people. It's not studio quality by any stretch but works OK.

 

I noticed my phone took some updates last week which improved the functionality of aspects related to video calling but haven't tried them out yet, mainly making it easier to set them up. I'll have to experiment more. Unfortunately, most of my friends are older and our generation isn't generally tied to their phones the same way younger folks are, save for texting their kids and grandkids.

 

With Christmas coming up, hopefully can experiment some more.

 

Here's some general info on Google Hangouts for Android

 

Also, if you want to see some good user experiences and tips in video form, along with sample video calls, try using this search verbiage on youtube:

 

google hangouts video call android (or 'apple' or 'ios')

 

To me, having had a LDR in the distant past when a picture sent by e-mail was like a letter received from overseas and a crude QuickTime video clip was priceless, video calling would be my single most important technology in the communication area, since it allows both voice and seeing each other's body language and appearance, which is part of how a couple connects in real life.

[justwhoiam]

Using a smartphone with your SO? It's very simple. He gave me login & psw of his iPhone and I can get in, see his calendar, send e-mails directly from his own phone (that I'm sure he got delivered on his phone) and see where's at. That last thing is quite useful, so that I know if he's still at work/working late or stuck in a meeting.

 

Regarding using different phones, I'm trying avocado. Not bad. You have a calendar together with all your important dates, appointments, days off, whatever. You can use it as a chat and send pics, but we still use Skype for that. But if I'm not home, he looks at that calendar and knows where I am (school meeting, board meeting, court, etc.)