Google Now on Apple

An update to the Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad includes Google Now, Google's personal assistant. Google Now uses individually selected interests and info that Google already knows about you from your Google searches. Google now uses your search data to anticipate what you need. For example, Google Now shows you traffic for frequent travel routes. Google Now will display scores for your favorite sport teams and other things it thinks you want to know such as links to the latest blog posts, news sites and entertainment news too.

But iOS devices already come with Apple's personal assistant, Siri. With Siri already built into the iPhone and iPad, is there really a point to having Google Now as well?

Siri

There are a lot of things that make Siri and Google now very similar. They can both show you sports scores and good places to eat near you. They can both get you directions. But the cool thing about Siri is that it can actually do things for you like set up new calendar events or reminders for the future. You can also have Siri text or call people for you, play music for you, and even launch apps or update your Facebook status. Siri is also really easy to access even when you are in another app. All you ever have to do is push a button.

Google Now

Google decided to make something a little bit different from Siri. It has voice search which is built into the Google Search app, but it doesn't really focus on getting information for you on command. The main thing that Google Now has is that is can anticipate what you need before you even ask for it. That is the main difference between Google Now and Siri.

Before you leave for work, Google Now will show you traffic updates for your trip to work. It will show you local news stories and sports scores of all the teams you like. You'll already have all of this waiting for you when you wake up. As long as you have your location on, and you are logged into Google when you search, your life can be this easy. If you don't do either of those things, then Google Now is pretty much useless.

As you may have guessed, it also uses mostly Google apps. It uses the Google Calendar and Gmail, so if you don't use those apps then it will also be a little less useful than it could be.

SEE ALSO: Surface Pro 3 or iPad Air 2?

As far as which one is better, they are actually both really awesome. And the cool thing is that you can use Google Now and Siri at the same time! If you are smart, that is exactly what you will do. Siri is the best at answering questions for you and making hands free calls. It is way easier to do things hands free with Siri.

Google Now is really awesome for having the information you need right when you need it without even trying. It is one of the most convenient things ever. And there is no reason in the world that you can't be taking advantage of both of them!

BONUS: Is Google Now Faster On iPhone Than Android?

Do Apple's "Limitations" Lead You To Other Competitors, Or Does It Even Matter?

If you turn on the TV right now, odds are that you're going to see a commercial at some point about another tech company bashing Apple products. Shots fired. Microsoft is clearly throwing blows at Apple with some of their recent product likes. If you've seen anything involving the Surface Pro 3, the ever-popular tablet-laptop hybrid, you've more than likely seen it taking shots at Apples Macbook and iPad. Apple might not be having the best year in terms of tablets or laptops, and the competition isn't holding back on the ammo they have. Even Microsoft's Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro has its own commercial throwing punches at the Macbook Air. These commercials can be pretty funny to those techies out there (such as yours truly) that know about the devices and brands, but others might actually feed into the commercials. But, that's the point right?

Are you feeding into the hype/lack-there-of? Should you be feeding into it, or not feeding into it?

Is Apple Really "Limited"?
There seems to be some sort of notion that Apple is limited because their products can't "do" as much as products from competitors. Apples Macbook can't bend the way that Microsoft's Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro can, this is completely true. The Yoga and bend to "tent" mode and to "tablet" mode. That's all well and good, but at the end of the day, I'm not looking for a computer that can do gymnastics. I'm looking for a computer that can perform the tasks that I need it to perform, and run the software that I need it to run. Not to mention the new Yoga Pro 3 is starting at $1,300, where as the Macbook Air is $400 cheaper on it's starting price. Unless the competing products actually have better inner workings to perform better, are you actually getting a better product? I guess that would all just be a matter of opinion at that point.

Opinions Do Matter
Everyone has their own opinion on what their favorite products are or what their favorite brand is. There is nothing wrong with this. The deciding factor doesn't need to be based off of how far back your screen can bend or if you can stick a keyboard onto your tablet. The deciding factor should be what you're going to be using the device for the most. Are you going to be performing functions that would be better suited for a laptop? Then get the most powerful laptop that you can. You're only as fast as your computer after all. Maybe your duties would work better with a tablet. Should that be the case, then just get the best tablet on the market. All of these other "gimmicks" are nice, but would the novelty where off? Well, there in lies the "opinion" factor.

Should Apple Be Worried?
This question is both reasonable, and completely laughable, all at the same time. Apple has done a simply amazing job at making a brand that essentially sells itself now. That's not to say that they don't deliver quality products. The new 5K iMac computer performs just as incredibly as the screen looks. Apple's Macbooks and iMacs might be able to bend and turn into Transformers, you might not even be able to utilize any touchscreen functionalities with them, but you do know that you're getting a product that has done so blazingly well, that they don't have to do much with their advertising other than show a small clip of the product itself and then flash their logo. Yes, the competitive market has made their point that they can do a quite a lot physically, that the Apple can't do. Apple is still king of the hill though, so what is that really saying about Apple and the competition?

No matter what your brand or product choice is, laptop, laptop-tablet hybrid, or a laptop that folds out into a couch, remember that quality is what you're looking for. At the end of the day, do you want a device that give you top-notch performance? Or, would you rather a device that could join our U.S. gymnastics team and give you mild performance. The choice should be pretty clear.

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Ashton Kutcher's New Creation Is A Tablet With A Built In Projector

The creation that Lenovo and Ashton Kutcher built together is actually something to get excited about. The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is a 13 inch tablet that is designed for "digitally hungry consumers" according to the company. It has a lot of really cool features that you are not going to find anywhere else. The most notable feature would have to be the build in pico projector. That's right, there is actually a projector built directly into the tablet!

The projector can produce a 16:9 image on any surface you can find. You can get the picture as big as 50 inches while still having a good picture. This is really great for watching Netflix on the go, or really anything. You could watch cat videos on YouTube if you'd like. To go along with the awesome projector feature, they have also decided to give you awesome sound. The tablet has two front speakers and even a built in subwoofer. With a full charge, you can watch projected movies for up to three hours. If you're plugged in to a charger, obviously it can last forever.

Just because it has the really cool projector feature doesn't mean they forgot to give you a nice screen as well. If you choose to watch videos on the screen, you'll be pleased by the QHD 2560 x 1440 display with up to 15 hours of batter life. It also has another cool feature that lets you hang the tablet up on a wall. This would come in handy while watching how to videos or cooking videos.

Other than that, everything else is pretty much standard. It comes with 32GB of storage which is pretty good, and you can always upgrade the storage with the microSD slot. There is also an 8 megapixel camera and the option of adding on 4G connectivity.

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If anyone else thought like me, they probably thought that the whole Ashton Kutcher thing was a big publicity stunt by Lenovo and that nothing that great would ever come out of it. As it turns out, Kutcher's new creation might actually be the most neat tablet to come out yet!

The Huawei Ascend G7 Is A Great Phone That Won't Break The Bank

There are a lot of smartphones coming out right now. It seems like everyone is trying really hard to pack as many gimmicks as they can into their devices so that they can outdo the iPhone. First of all, everyone needs to understand that no one is ever going to beat the iPhone. If it had zero cool features at all, college kids would still make it the hottest phone out. Second of all, sometimes it is in fact enough to be a nice, stylish and reliable smartphone that is priced in a manner that keeps your pockets smiling. This is where the Ascend G7 from Huawei comes into play.

Huawei just recently started making a name for themselves in the Western market. They do have a few smartphones out that aim to kill all the other smartphones in the game, but the new Ascend G7 is made for people who need something that looks great and works great and don't need anything super crazy to worry about. Of course it is still a smartphone that will run any app ever, and it's probably better than most of the budget phones out right now, but still.

The Ascend G7 is super slim and sleek looking. It has narrow bezels and the body is made to be really durable. It also comes in three different attractive colors including gray, silver, and even a gold model. The gold model looks especially sexy.

It is one of the bigger smartphones as far as nicely-priced phones go. It has a 5.5-inch full HD display, which is something you generally only find on more expensive models. It also has a very nice 720p 5-megapixel front facing camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera. It has the ability to take panoramic pictures either horizontally or vertically, which could come in pretty handy. It also has an "all-focus" feature that can adjust a picture's focus even after the photo has been taken. This is one of the phone's coolest features.

If you are also concerned with customization, let it be known that right out of the box you can download 30 different themes for the phone. They are also going to keep putting out different downloadable themes which is cool. You can also change the transparency of each window. You can customize your smartphone experience in just about every way and make it into a phone that is yours and yours alone.

The Ascend G7 is going to launch later this year, probably in time for the holidays. There hasn't been an official word yet on if it will be available in the states or not. But it is a sure thing that the phone is in fact compatible with all US carriers. So, it's safe to assume that there will be plenty to go around here in the USA.

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Are You The Traveling Business Type? Acer Might Have Something Just For You

When you have to take a business trip, or take any type of business on the road, the stress can be overbearing at times. Between making sure that you're travel times are adhered to and making sure you don't mess up your presentation, there's a lot to worry about. The last thing that you want to add to your list of things to deal with is your technology not being able to perform up to the level that you need it to. When you go to start your presentation, you don't want to have a device that can't give you what you need. As good as our technology is today, it still feels impossible to find a device that can actually stay alive for longer than 2 hours. All of the devices are nice when you get them, but as time goes on, they tend to last for about 30 minutes without dying.

Luckily Acer has just given hope to those who need a laptop that can stay alive more than long enough to get the job done.

1 Charge, 13 Hours
While tablets have been the way that technology seems to be headed, you just cant beat the use and responsiveness of a keyboard. Tablets may look sleek and perform very well, but that doesn't mean that the laptop is down for the count, Acer has made sure of that. Recently Acer has been doing very well in the classroom market. The new Acer Chromebook 13 definitely is definitely giving users the power that they need. You need a long lasting laptop? How does 13 hours of battery life sound to you? From just one charge! Now mind you that this claim hasn't been completely proven, but due to the technology that Acer is using under their hood, they just might be able to prove that claim to be true.

Props To Nvidia
For anyone that's a techie, you're probably familiar with the fact that Nvidia definitely has a huge following, especially for graphics cards. Nvidia CPU's and GPU's have been known to put out quite a lot of power. They've lent this power to the new Acer Chromebook 13. The new Chromebook is working with an Nvidia quad core Tegra K-1 CPU. This particular chip can tackle just about any type of gaming graphic you can throw at it and then some. While you may not be using it for gaming purposes, the fact that it can process a lot of graphics programming and effects at one time just shows how power the CPU actually is, and how powerful it makes this new notebook. The fact that the OS on the new laptop is basically the Chrome browser makes it easier on the CPU as well, and will definitely help out with the battery life.

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Lookout MacBook Air
The MacBook Air has been known to not only be powerful, but also be very light and sleek. Well, Acer has made their own version essentially. The Chromebook 13 is only 1 millimeter thicker than the Air, and with a price range geared more towards the cheaper side, definitely affordable. The new Chromebook has the potential to completely outshine the Air in terms of classroom sales. The addition of the powerful CPU from Nvidia coupled with the long battery life and thin design already make for a very nice laptop from Acer. The $297 price tag is just the icing on the cake.

Whether this particular notebook was made for the classroom, or the businessman on the go, this is definitely one of the best, if not the best Chromebook to come out now. To pay such a cheap price and get a sleek design, Nvidia CPU, and long battery life to go with it, this is definitely a perfect asset for business on the go, or the traveling student.


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Make Your Wallet Digital With Google Wallet

If you were not aware until just recently, Google has a new popular app called Google Wallet. Launched in 2011, Google's payment plan solution has just became more aware to many new users while traveling. Similar to Paypal, Google Wallet is an easier way to pay while traveling. But, there are many more different features that Google Wallet has to offer than just owning a Paypal account where you can spend and send money securely over devices. Google Wallet lets you forget about carrying all of your plastic cards on the go and easily makes everything available on your cellphone.

It makes shopping easier and efficient, and also allows users to take advantage of loyalty programs as well as send money to other people. While using Google Wallet, you will never miss out on any loyalty points. Users can store all loyalty programs by adding any existing programs with scanning the cards or have the option of joining new program sin the app and leave cards at home! Some of the programs Google Wallet supports are Walgreens, American Eagle, Avis, Orbitz Rewards and tons more shops to choose from. No worries on staying safe and protected either. Google Wallet comes with 24/7 fraud monitoring as a part of the Google Wallet Fraud Protection. So if your phone/card is lost it can be disabled from your Google Wallet account without a hassle.

But if you are just hearing about Google Wallet, it can be very convenient while traveling. All that is needed is to download the app and also sign up with your Google account online. Doesn't matter what type of cellphone carrier you have because Google supports both Android or iOS. You can add money to your balance from any bank account for free, but be aware of the 2.9% fee you receive if you try to add money from a credit or debit card. The Google Wallet card is accepted at many MasterCard locations already, and you are able to spend a limit of $5,000 every 24 hours; this limit does not include cash withdrawals from ATM machines or banks.

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Samsung Has Just Given Apple Quite The Run For Its Money

America on the go. That is what our technology caters to now. Mobility. Practicality. Performance. We want it all, and many different tech companies have made note of that. Everyone from Asus, to Apple, to Samsung. We've gone from desktops and laptops, to smartphones and tablets. We want mobility. Well, we got it! With many people traveling for business every single day, it would only make sense to cater to the people who may need technology to be as mobile as they are. Businesses understand how to make money. Give the consumers what they want. Apple did that with the iPad. Boom. A more mobile "laptop" essentially. It took off like no one had expected. Competitors took note. The tablet war began.

What better way to cater to the mobile market, both average consumers and business consumers alike, than with the tablet? A touch screen computer display that's sleek and effective. Apple has capitalized on this market, and anyone would agree with that. Having said that, Apple can only stay on top for so long, right? That's what Samsung tends to think anyway.

Most companies attempted to jump on board the tablet bandwagon after they witnessed just how lucrative the iPad was becoming. Many of the tablets from Apple's competitors that you see on the market today tend to fall flat, and there's a reason for that. Not only does Apple have its name going for them (yes, it is a fashion statement, I don't care what anyone says), but they also have had the best hardware and were the first tablet on the mass market. That headstart really did help more than most people think. But Apple's biggest rival, Samsung, has something to throw into the tablet fray now, and it's definitely worth checking out.

Samsung has shown their new new tablet, the Galaxy Tab S. Now, if you're familiar with Samsung and their products, you know that the "S" line is their top tier product line. The Galaxy S5 is their most recent smartphone, and they put just about everything they had into it. Naturally you're going assume the same thing with the Tab S now. Your assumptions would be correct.

Samsung's plan was to "build the best tablet for our consumers". The only thing is that they've modeled this new Tab S to match the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display, almost exactly. The thickness of the new tablet is something to talk about as well. Everyone knows that the iPad Air was designed to be extremely thin and light. The new Tab S is actually thinner. There are currently two models being set up for retail; the 10.5-inch mode,l that happens to weigh just as much as the iPad Air, and the 8.4-inch model that is slightly lighter than the iPad Mini with Retina, coming in at 10 ounces. The dimensions are basically the same as the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina. The hardware on the inside even offers the same type of performance capabilities and is being priced to match the iPad Air and Mini. The new Tab S even has features like SideSync which is basically their version of Apple's Continuity. That Apple feature won't be out until iOS 8 drops later this year. Samsung already has a leg up.

It almost reminds me of how Xbox went ahead and lowered their price of the Xbox One from $500 to $400 in order to compete with the Playstation 4's $400 starting price tag.

The point that I'm trying to make here is that Samsung is finally attacking Apple head on with this new Tab S model, and while Apple may still be able to stay afloat, I'm sure they've definitely taken notice of what has happened and will plan accordingly.

Since today's businessmen and women are constantly on the go, it will be interesting to see just where the consumers will go to for their mobile technology needs.

For Tablet Rentals Contact RentOurTablets.com At 888-736-8301

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How Tablet Rentals Can Help Your Musical Career

Being a touring musician is more than just playing rockstar for a few weeks in your dads van. Your band is your business, your crew are your employees, and we know how seriously you take your work. Some people think it is insane to hit the road in a bus or a 15 passenger van and go play devil music for a month, but you know better. You know that on top of your passion for the music that you play, there is some serious money to be made in touring. If you run your business correctly and use the correct tools, you can always make sure that you will be making a solid profit. It's hard to stay focused on business when you are driving 12 hours every night, getting no sleep, and living off of terrible food. There are a million ways that renting a tablet specifically for your tour can keep you on track and keep you making money while you are on the road.

First of all, you have a huge tour itinerary to keep track of. In the old days, we had to print them off and put them in a binder that we called a "tour book" to make ourselves feel more important with a Wal-mart binder in our hands. Now, tour managers and musicians alike can easily download and keep track of a full itinerary directly on their tablet. You can store it as a PDF, or access it from your Google account at any time. This also makes it super easy to simply copy the address of your next location and paste it into your navigation app on the exact same device. Convenient right? Yes, I know.

Speaking of navigation, people never think about using tablets for it. This rules, because you can keep track of all of your files and use the navigation on the exact same device. The screen is really big, tablets are really easy to mount on your dashboard, and you can also store all of your driving music on it as well so you can listen while you cruise. This is super easy and convenient if you have a 3G tablet, a mobile hotspot, or a tethering app. The possibilities are endless. This also keeps everyone from arguing about who's phone they are going to use for navigation that day, and if you are part of a touring crew or a band, you know that struggle and are probably laughing really hard right now.

I won't go into detail and try and sell you on specific apps, but with a simple Google search or sifting through the app store, there are a TON of absolutely free apps for keeping track of inventory and money from different sources all in the same place. This is completely necessary for keeping track of how much merchandise you have, how much you have sold, how much money you have made, and how much money you have spent. You can also calculate deductions for what you owe your crew, manager, label, and whatever else.

One other neat thing that you can do for absolutely free is accept credit card payments with a tablet. How many times has someone said "I don't carry cash" but they wanted to buy a shirt? Well now, you got the sale anyway. Being able to accept credit card payments will LITERALLY double your merchandise sales every single night. Download the Square Register app. You don't even need to buy the card reader if you don't want to, you can just punch in card numbers instead of swiping.

For zero money at all besides the initial rental of the tablet, you can make your life so much easier and so much more profitable while you are on the road.

For Your Next On The Go Tablet Rental Contact www.RentOurTablets.com Today At 888-736-8301

Mapquest Making A Comeback

At one point, Mapquest was one of the most important tools we had when it came to travel. These days, Mapquest has almost become 100% irrelevant in the modern world. In most cases, it would make you mad if you actually had to use Mapquest instead of your phone.

The mappers at Mapquest know that their product has fallen off, but they have not stopped developing their business. They have continued working and building on their product to make a big return to relevance in the mobile technology world.

Mapquest was intended to help you navigate your travels, but these days most people only use it to get a general idea of how much gas money they are going to spend ahead of time and figure out how long their trips will take. Even if it isn't being used as it was intended, it has still maintained its ranking as one of the top 200 websites in the United States. Recently, they added local discovery and sharing along with a brand new mobile mapping product. They have also gained a lot of partners to enhance the quality of all the listings on its map product.

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They have teamed up with MLB and Hampton Inn. Now users can see all of the Hampton Inns near them on one tab and will also be able to book hotel rooms.

Partnering with MLB has helped them out in several ways. It's nice for users to be able to explore the stadiums on Mapquest and have the ability to download specific team kits. It also benefits Mapquest because now they are the sole mapping partner within the official MLB app.

Now Mapquest results also include all of the listings and information for GrubHub online ordering, SinglePlatform, Booker's schedule for spas, SeatGeek results for event tickets, FAA airport delays, and in the coming months will also include Foursquare's venue tips.

Mapquest is trying to fight to become what they once were. They used to be the go to tool for anyone's travel needs. Now, it's going to take a lot more for them to rise to the top, especially with Google and Apple having their own built in travel tools and fighting every day to overcome each other. The competition is insane, and Mapquest thinks they have what it takes to move beyond simple road mapping and transform into a full-service utility for every day use.

Managing Your Money On The Go With Manilla

When you choose to manage your bills online, it's not always as simple as it sounds. There are different options that banks offer for bill paying, but more times than not, you'll end up more confused than when you started. Manilla is a free service which launched back in 2011, and they are making bill paying and money management easier than ever before.

When you sign up to start using Manilla, you can add any bank account, credit card, utility, health, travel, and subscription accounts to it. Once you get everything situated, you will be automatically updated at all times so that you can stay up to date on your bills and account balances. You will even get alerts automatically whenever a bill is due, so you'll never miss anything. As if that wasn't convenient enough, you can access Manilla through its website, or by using the app for Android or iOS. Perfect for managing all of your money while you're traveling, or if you just live a super busy life.

Another useful feature that Manilla has to offer is its ability to share bills with friends, co-workers, family members, or anyone that you may have to or want to share with. If you are sharing a bill with someone, like a roommate or a business partner, instead of giving them all of your account information, you can simply invite them to Manilla and share it that way.

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There are lots of reasons to use this type of service. It eliminates lots of headaches that you would come across when trying to juggle multiple accounts and having different bills due on different days. What also makes this particular service a little bit better than the others is the fact that Manilla doesn't really have any ads. No one wants to be distracted while managing their money. It also comes off as being a little more professional and lets you know that they take their service seriously.

Managing your money from one place is priceless when you are busy or traveling. It lets you focus on the important things in life and frees up a lot of time that you could spend being productive. Not only that, but once you have everything added to it, you never have to remember any of the passwords to multiple accounts ever again. It's already right there and stored permanently. It removes all the hassle and puts you in control of everything from your smartphone, tablet, pc or laptop.

Artemis Makes A Breakthrough In Wireless Connectivity

Last week, entrepreneur Steve Perlman announced his new company named Artemis, and showed off its new pCell technology. This new technology is designed to deliver consistent, full-speed mobile data to every single mobile device at the same time no matter how many users are connected at the same time in any spot at the time.

The idea behind the technology is pretty amazing, but some people would say that it wouldn't work exactly as planned. Some arguments that have popped up are saying that it would be impossible to run the network at full capacity to an unlimited about of users because the signals would become too complicated. But, that is exactly what Artemis intends on doing.

The way it works is pretty interesting. pCell does not try to suppress any interference, but instead combines radio signals transmitted from different stations. In doing so, it creates a personalized wireless network for each individual mobile device.

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Distributed Input-Output (a.k.a. DIDO) is another technology that Artemis is using. It's capacity has been proven to reach 10 times the limits given by Shannon-Hartley calculations, and has the potential to reach up too 1000 times the capacity. This is because instead of users sharing the same access point, they all get their own personal channel.

DIDO is a cloud-bases technology, and has been tested at every frequency between 1MHz to 1GHz. Indoor DIDO APs have a transmission range of up to a mile, and outdoor DIDO APs use Near-Vertical Incidence Skywave and have a coverage of up to 500 miles.

pCell works in all mobile bands and unlicensed spectrums like 900 MHz in the USA.

There are some huge benefits to pCell. It is compatible with every LTE device like the iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy, or any other LTE smartphone. Throughout all pCell coverage areas, these devices will be able to run at their full speed no matter what. Wireless carriers can set up pCell for way lower costs than traditional cellular, using base stations called pWave radios as opposed to building cell towers. It is currently being tested in San Francisco and will be ready for commercial deployment at the end of this year.

Lost Your Room Key? It's Ok, Just Use Your Smartphone!

 

Traveling of any kind can bring its own set of comforts and worries. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, we can all agree that our homes away from home carry their own stresses. More so for business traveling-- keeping up with all of your belongings can be an issue that you don't really anticipate. Your laptop is in check, you made sure to tip the waiter on your way out of the diner, but when you look for your room key, it's gone. Again, this is a common occurrence for anyone traveling, no matter what the reason may be. But once again, technology comes through for humanity. Don't have your room key on you? Don't worry. There's an app for that.

The new Starwood app for Starwood Hotels & Resorts is now offering an added new feature. Its added functionality of a "virtual room key" has given their customers the opportunity for less headaches when checking in and gaining access to their rooms. The app is set up to have a payment method and check in access directly involved with it. Now, when you book at the hotel, you don't necessarily have to wait in line or ring the bell for service at the front desk. When you arrive, check in and pay on your app, head to your room, and even enter your room via the app!

The access to your room is completely based on the app, should you choose to do it that way. It all works via Bluetooth technology. However, you need to have at least an iPhone 4S or newer for it to work. An Android device using the Android 4.3 OS or newer OS will also work. The locks on the door contain sensors which become active as soon as the Bluetooth connection is detected. One other good note is that the locks are completely battery powered. That means that although the batteries will need to be changed regularly, you will still have complete access to your room should the hotel's systems go down.

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This all seems very well and good, but could it be seen as just another gimmick to attract more customers? The CEO of the Starwood Hotels, Frits van Paasschen, actually addressed that very question. He admitted to seeing how the idea of it could seem to be a bit of a "novelty" when it first comes into use, but also said that he could see it actually being the new standard for checking into your hotel and your hotel room.

So far the only drawback is that this feature will only be available at the Starwood Aloft hotels in Cupertino, CA and Harlem, NY. Since they are the ones piloting the program, they do plan to see how well this new app works for their customers. Should the app and its uses see success, then Starwood plans to move it to all of their hotels by the end of 2015. But should you still want to keep things old school, you can always gain access through the front desk. You are not limited to the app. Just remember that having your key card and your phone become the same thing, essentially, can make life just a little bit easier for your travels.

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Sprint Continues with Unlimited Domination by Adding Unlimited Cloud Storage for Mobile Devices

When it comes to mobile carriers, there are really only four major names that come to mind here in the U.S: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. Out of all of these providers, Sprint is one of the only ones that still offers unlimited packages for data and other things like talk and text. Verizon did away with such things a while back and it seems that most providers are following suit. But that hasn't stopped Sprint from trying its hardest to make everything offered by the carrier unlimited.

With that being said, Sprint has just announced its newest unlimited offering for its wireless customers. In an announcement that went live on Monday, the carrier acknowledged that it now offers unlimited cloud storage in its data packages. The storage, which is provided by Pogoplug, will allow Sprint customers to access as many as 5GB of cloud storage absolutely free. In order to receive unlimited cloud storage customers will be required to shell out a measly $4.99 per month, which can be billed directly through Sprint. 

Getting started is pretty simple. If you're a Sprint customer simply download the Pogoplug app from either the Sprint Zone, Apple App Store or Google Play store depending on your device. Once you've installed the app you can immediately begin storing anything from pics and videos to music and any other type of digital content. This new cloud storage offer allows customers to conserve space on their mobile devices (which is always crucial) with Pogoplug providing automatic backup of all digital content. In addition to that, customers can also manage their own settings to determine if the backup will run over Sprint's data network or only when they are connected to WiFi.

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While this sounds like a fantastic deal for Sprint customers, it's hardly an exclusive one. Anybody using a mobile device, regardless of provider, can download the Pogoplug app for their iPhone or Android with both the free and paid versions of the app working the same way they do over Sprint's network and with the same pricing scheme. The only thing that Sprint says is different with this partnership is that it makes it easier for Sprint customers to discover Pogoplug's app. In addition to that, it is also said to make it easier for Sprint customers to transition into the paid version of the app over the free version since the monthly fee can be directly integrated into Sprint's monthly billing to customers. 

According to Sprint's Director of Product Development Mike McRoberts, this offer "fulfills Sprint's brand promise of unlimited. We now have unlimited storage to go along with our other unlimited offerings."

This new offering is definitely a marketing ploy by Sprint in an attempt to gain back some of the customers it lost in 2013. Sprint is the third largest mobile carrier in the US, behind AT&T and Verizon, and has suffered some major network problems recently that caused a lot of the carrier's customers to jump ship and head for other carriers, primarily T-Mobile. Sprint is definitely trying to set itself apart from the competition without having to undercut its prices or services and this new unlimited cloud storage option is yet another brick in Sprint's road to recovery.