5 tech-centric New Year resolutions you can keep easily
For 2018, here's a list of the easy, tech-centered resolutions you can make (and keep).
A New Year means new beginnings — and that applies to technology too.
For 2018, here's a list of the easy, tech-centered resolutions you can make (and keep).
Modernise Your Car
If you spend some part of the day in your car, why not modernise it to get the best possible experience for multimedia, web, and navigation?
Opt for a smart multi-media head unit for your car that offers Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. These head units usually come with a large touchscreen and let you access apps from your smartphone on the screen. This essentially means you can access your music playlist, videos as well as internet radio on your car along with turn-by-turn navigation and telephony.
Currently, you need to connect a smartphone to the head unit using a USB cable (this also charges your phone). At CES 2018, we should see the first wireless Android Auto head units from top brands. Another idea is to place an Amazon Echo dot in the car for music. You can connect it to your existing car stereo using Bluetooth or aux input. Note that your Echo will need to be connected to your phone’s WiFi hotspot in order to stream music.
Never Lose A Photo
(Image: Thinkstock)
Smartphone cameras have consistently been improving over the past years. Also, the ease of access to a smartphone camera has lead to a rise in the number of photos being taken. The trouble is that these photos take up a lot of storage and you might end up accidentally deleting photos.
If you don’t want to lose photos ever again, set up an auto cloud backup. Dropbox, Flickr and iCloud (Apple only) all offer auto-upload of your photos. With Dropbox and iCloud, the free plan has limited storage but you can opt for paid plans to increase the storage.
An alternative is to use Google Photos which gives you unlimited storage space for images as long as your photo resolution is under 16MP. Google Pixel phones get Unlimited Photo storage space without any restrictions.
Travel Light With Tech
We see so many people carrying multiple devices through airport security: a laptop, tablet, smartphones, gaming console, battery pack, and camera are common companions. Not to mention the multiple cables, connectors, and chargers for each device. To lighten your load, choose to consolidate your tech accessories.
For instance, get a 6 port USB charger for your devices instead of carrying multiple chargers. You can buy shorter micro USB, Lightning, and USB C cables from Amazon Basics to reduce cable clutter. If you can get by with a tablet for work, get a keyboard cover (Logitech Folio case) or a Bluetooth keyboard (Logitech K480). Not only will your bag be lighter, you’ll also clear security much faster.
Automate Everything
Controlling room lights and appliances by voice is not limited to the homes of the rich & famous anymore. Turns out it is not too difficult to do this thanks to the growing number of IoT products in India.
Oakter.com offers home automation kits with smart plugs and locks that can be controlled remotely from your smartphone. Another option is to get Amazon Echo Plus which has a built-in smart hub and lets you control connected devices with your voice.
Do keep in mind that you will need to switch to smart bulbs from Philips, Xiaomi or Syska or get smart plugs from Oakter, D-link or Tp-link to control the appliances.
Achieve Phone-Life Balance
Do you feel you spend too much time on your phone? Irrespective of the answer to that question, we suggest you head to phonelifebalance.motorola.com and take the quiz.
If your phone-life balance is poor, you should take steps to fix it. The first step we would recommend is trying to manually control the amount of time you spend on your phone.
Opt for a social media sabbatical for a week — no viewing or sharing anything on any social media. If you feel you are unable to control the urge to check your phone, then forcefully shut yourself out by using apps like Offtime, Quality Time and Space. These apps let you restrict the usage of a particular app and even block incoming notifications to minimize distractions.
Make The Jump To 4k
4k has been around for some time now but it’s still not a household name. The main reason behind this is that most people think that it’s expensive to move to 4k. However, there has been a consistent drop in prices of TVs, projectors, media boxes as well as game consoles making it easier to shift to a 4k setup.
You can now get a 50-inch 4k TV for less than Rs 40,000 from brands like Mitashi, Cloudwalker, TCL, VU or Micromax. Once you decide on a TV, you can stream 4k content from YouTube or Netflix (make sure to get the UHD subscription) or invest in a 4k set-top box from Tata Sky, Videocon or Airtel. If you need 4k gaming, you can get the Xbox One S or the PlayStation 4 Pro.
Secure Your Home
(Image: Thinkstock)
Using standard key locks is no longer the best way to protect your home when it comes to home security. There are many choices available to enhance the security of your home now. You can opt for a smart lock like Noke that uses Bluetooth from a pre-registered smartphone to unlock. You can also share temporary, digital keys with friends who may be visiting.
The other option is to get a smart security system such as the Netgear Arlo which gives you wireless, battery powered, weatherproof security cameras to monitor your home remotely — they even have a built-in two-way mic and speaker.
If you don’t want to invest in hardware, then you can try the newly launched app called Haven which converts any spare phone into a motion/sound/light detector using the phone’s built-in sensors. Whenever the app detects a motion/sound, it captures images and sounds and saves it on the device itself. Just like the Netgear Arlo system, you can choose to get secure notifications each time the app detects something.
Step Up Your Fitness Game
One of the most common new year resolutions is to get fit. You can keep up with your resolution using your smartphone with free apps. Apps like a 7-minute workout and 100 Office Workouts let you be active at work or home without worrying about a trainer or special equipment. They show guided illustrations and images to help you exercise better.
If you are more serious about being fit, you can invest in a fitness tracker — there are multiple options available today across price range from brands like Mi to Fitbit. The fitness trackers with the companion app keep a track of all your activities, sleep and some even track the heart rate in order to deliver data in an easy to understand graphical format.
A New Year means new beginnings — and that applies to technology too.
For 2018, here's a list of the easy, tech-centered resolutions you can make (and keep).
Modernise Your Car
Opt for a smart multi-media head unit for your car that offers Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. These head units usually come with a large touchscreen and let you access apps from your smartphone on the screen. This essentially means you can access your music playlist, videos as well as internet radio on your car along with turn-by-turn navigation and telephony.
Currently, you need to connect a smartphone to the head unit using a USB cable (this also charges your phone). At CES 2018, we should see the first wireless Android Auto head units from top brands. Another idea is to place an Amazon Echo dot in the car for music. You can connect it to your existing car stereo using Bluetooth or aux input. Note that your Echo will need to be connected to your phone’s WiFi hotspot in order to stream music.
Never Lose A Photo
Smartphone cameras have consistently been improving over the past years. Also, the ease of access to a smartphone camera has lead to a rise in the number of photos being taken. The trouble is that these photos take up a lot of storage and you might end up accidentally deleting photos.
If you don’t want to lose photos ever again, set up an auto cloud backup. Dropbox, Flickr and iCloud (Apple only) all offer auto-upload of your photos. With Dropbox and iCloud, the free plan has limited storage but you can opt for paid plans to increase the storage.
An alternative is to use Google Photos which gives you unlimited storage space for images as long as your photo resolution is under 16MP. Google Pixel phones get Unlimited Photo storage space without any restrictions.
Travel Light With Tech
We see so many people carrying multiple devices through airport security: a laptop, tablet, smartphones, gaming console, battery pack, and camera are common companions. Not to mention the multiple cables, connectors, and chargers for each device. To lighten your load, choose to consolidate your tech accessories.
For instance, get a 6 port USB charger for your devices instead of carrying multiple chargers. You can buy shorter micro USB, Lightning, and USB C cables from Amazon Basics to reduce cable clutter. If you can get by with a tablet for work, get a keyboard cover (Logitech Folio case) or a Bluetooth keyboard (Logitech K480). Not only will your bag be lighter, you’ll also clear security much faster.
Automate Everything
Controlling room lights and appliances by voice is not limited to the homes of the rich & famous anymore. Turns out it is not too difficult to do this thanks to the growing number of IoT products in India.
Oakter.com offers home automation kits with smart plugs and locks that can be controlled remotely from your smartphone. Another option is to get Amazon Echo Plus which has a built-in smart hub and lets you control connected devices with your voice.
Do keep in mind that you will need to switch to smart bulbs from Philips, Xiaomi or Syska or get smart plugs from Oakter, D-link or Tp-link to control the appliances.
Achieve Phone-Life Balance
Do you feel you spend too much time on your phone? Irrespective of the answer to that question, we suggest you head to phonelifebalance.motorola.com and take the quiz.
If your phone-life balance is poor, you should take steps to fix it. The first step we would recommend is trying to manually control the amount of time you spend on your phone.
Opt for a social media sabbatical for a week — no viewing or sharing anything on any social media. If you feel you are unable to control the urge to check your phone, then forcefully shut yourself out by using apps like Offtime, Quality Time and Space. These apps let you restrict the usage of a particular app and even block incoming notifications to minimize distractions.
Make The Jump To 4k
4k has been around for some time now but it’s still not a household name. The main reason behind this is that most people think that it’s expensive to move to 4k. However, there has been a consistent drop in prices of TVs, projectors, media boxes as well as game consoles making it easier to shift to a 4k setup.
You can now get a 50-inch 4k TV for less than Rs 40,000 from brands like Mitashi, Cloudwalker, TCL, VU or Micromax. Once you decide on a TV, you can stream 4k content from YouTube or Netflix (make sure to get the UHD subscription) or invest in a 4k set-top box from Tata Sky, Videocon or Airtel. If you need 4k gaming, you can get the Xbox One S or the PlayStation 4 Pro.
Secure Your Home
Using standard key locks is no longer the best way to protect your home when it comes to home security. There are many choices available to enhance the security of your home now. You can opt for a smart lock like Noke that uses Bluetooth from a pre-registered smartphone to unlock. You can also share temporary, digital keys with friends who may be visiting.
The other option is to get a smart security system such as the Netgear Arlo which gives you wireless, battery powered, weatherproof security cameras to monitor your home remotely — they even have a built-in two-way mic and speaker.
If you don’t want to invest in hardware, then you can try the newly launched app called Haven which converts any spare phone into a motion/sound/light detector using the phone’s built-in sensors. Whenever the app detects a motion/sound, it captures images and sounds and saves it on the device itself. Just like the Netgear Arlo system, you can choose to get secure notifications each time the app detects something.
Step Up Your Fitness Game
One of the most common new year resolutions is to get fit. You can keep up with your resolution using your smartphone with free apps. Apps like a 7-minute workout and 100 Office Workouts let you be active at work or home without worrying about a trainer or special equipment. They show guided illustrations and images to help you exercise better.
If you are more serious about being fit, you can invest in a fitness tracker — there are multiple options available today across price range from brands like Mi to Fitbit. The fitness trackers with the companion app keep a track of all your activities, sleep and some even track the heart rate in order to deliver data in an easy to understand graphical format.
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