Have you ever gone over your monthly mobile data allowance? If you have, you know how painfully expensive it can be. With many new mobile plans limiting how much data you get, the need to manage how much you use is important. If you are an iPhone user there are a number of ways you can manage your mobile data use to ensure no nasty surprises on your phone bill.

Here are five tips on how to use less mobile data on your iPhone.

1. Turn on Wi-Fi When your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi it does not count against your mobile data usage. If you find yourself using too much data, try looking for open connections at places you frequent. Chances are you already have Wi-Fi at home and maybe even in the office, so be sure to connect to it wherever possible.

While there are many more connections than ever, be careful when using a public unprotected Wi-Fi connection. This can lead to devices being hacked, or data tracked. If you have to send important documents best wait until you can connect to a secure Wi-Fi network.

You can turn Wi-Fi on by: Tapping on the Settings icon. Sliding the tab beside Wi-Fi from Off to On. Selecting the network you want to join and entering the password if necessary.

You can tell whether your Wi-Fi s turned on by looking at the top of the screen for an inverted striped-triangle. If you leave this option on, and are not in range of a Wi-Fi connection, your phone should automatically connect to data, and if you are in range, it should automatically connect to a Wi-Fi connection.

2. Save content for offline reading If you use your phone to read blogs, articles or anything with a large amount of text and pictures this could be an unexpectedly high drain on data. What you could do is download an app like Pocket that allows you to save articles for reading offline. Most of these apps allow users to search for and save articles on their Web browser which then syncs with the mobile app. You can then access these without an Internet connection; cutting down on the amount of data you use.

3. Install a data counter A data counter or tracker is an app that keeps tabs on how much mobile data your phone is using. Your phone has a built in counter, accessed by tapping on Settings, selecting General, followed by Usage and Cellular usage. However, it doesn't tell you if you are going to go over your data this month, or send out warnings when you are close to your quota maximum.

If you want better data usage tracking, an app like DataMan (USD$0.99 on the App Store) could really help. This app is perfect if you have a limited amount of data as it can help really manage data use and alerts you when you are close to your monthly data amount.

4. Cut back on streaming Streaming videos and music has become incredibly popular. Think about how many people you see on a daily basis watching a video on YouTube or listening to Spotify on their phones. It can be great to watch a YouTube video while waiting for a colleague, or listen to an album in the car on the way home. The problem is, streaming is bandwidth intensive, so a five minute video on YouTube can use anywhere from 5 to 10 MB of data.

If you want to cut back on the data you use, try to limit the amount of streaming you do on your phone. You can always email yourself links to watch or listen to when you get home too.

5. Be less social Social media has become a large part of our lives, with many of us constantly checking our feeds for updates, or even posting updates from our phones. While just looking at feeds is fairly light data-wise, clicking on links or posted content can really eat up your data allocation. It is a good idea to limit social activity while using mobile data. One tip is to pick just one social media network and only check that specific one on your phone, letting the others wait.

How do you limit the amount of mobile data you use? Let us know. If you would like to learn more about managing your iPhone, please contact us today.

Email is one of the most important tools in the business owner's arsenal. Often the main communication channel, email has become even better because of the smartphone. If you have an iPhone, you may use Mail, the iPhone's native email app. While it is a good app, there are a few frustrating functions including how it handles attachments.

Below is a brief overview of how iPhone's Mail app's attachments work.

How to open an attachment If you get an email with an attachment, open the message and scroll down to the bottom of the message. You will see the name of the attachment along with the file type and size. If you tap on it, your phone should open it in a new window. You can then zoom in/out and scroll around.

Some attachments can be downloaded by tapping and holding on the attachment. After about a second, a pop-up menu will show, and you should be able to select to save it. Instead of saving the attachment, you can also choose to open it using other apps.

Why won't some attachments open? There may be a time where you get an email with an attachment that can't be opened. You will still be able to see it in the email, but you won't be able to tap on it. This is because the Mail app doesn't support all file and document types.

Don't worry if you can't open an attachment as chances are there's an app in the App store that will open it. The easiest thing to do is look at the file type of the attachment, which is usually indicated by a three letter code at the end of the file name. For example, a Word document will be FILENAME.doc or FILENAME.docx. A quick Internet search for something like, 'iPhone app that can open .ddd' will usually return results with an app that can open your file.

Once you download the app, try pressing and holding on the attachment in Mail and selecting Open in... from the pop-up menu. Look for the app you downloaded and tap on it.

How to add an attachment to emails You can add an attachment to an email by pressing and holding on the body section of a new email. A pop-up menu should come up, if you scroll left you should see the Select/Paste option. Tapping on this will allow you to select either a photo, video or message which you can attach to the email. Unfortunately, there isn't much else you can attach, so if you need to attach a document or other file type, you would be better off doing so on your computer.

If you would like to learn more about the iPhone and how it can help you, please contact us today.

Imagine getting off a plane after a long trip home from an eventful conference. You reach for your trusty iPhone, press the power button hoping to see the comforting glow of your near constant companion, but all you get is a black screen. Your iPhone won't turn on. Do you know what to do if this happens to you?

Here are four things you can try when your iPhone won't turn on.

1. Charge it with a wall charger One of the main reasons your iPhone won't start is because its battery is dead. Before you deem the battery 'dead', you should check if the phone is on. Press and hold the power button for up to five seconds. Chances are, the phone has just gone to sleep. If this is the case, you should see the unlock screen pop-up after a few seconds.

If it doesn't pop up, your phone is likely dead. All you have to do is plug it in, preferably to a wall charger. Your phone should turn on automatically after a few minutes (up to five). If it doesn't, let it charge for around 15 minutes before trying to turn it on. If it does turn on, it would be a good idea to let it fully charge.

2. It's charged but still won't turn on Like all operating systems, the one on the iPhone will crash from time to time. If it does crash, you shouldn't lose any data unless you were in the middle of downloading or uploading files. These will have to be started again.

If pressing the power button doesn't turn the phone on, you should still plug it in and let it charge for 15 minutes. Then conduct what's called a hard reset:

1. Unplug your device.
2. Press the Home and Power buttons for 10-20 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
3. Let the device run for a minute or so and you should be able to use it again.

It would be a good idea to not do this while the phone is connected to your computer.Your computer may recognize your phone's hard drive and start automatically syncing through iTunes. Doing a hard reset when the device is syncing may result in losing information.

3. A hard reset won't work Another good thing to consider at this stage is switching cords. Chances are someone next to you has another iPhone cable. Borrow it and try the first two steps again. These cables aren't the most damage resistant thing in the world and have been known to wear out or fray at weak points rendering them useless. If you were trying to charge your phone through a wall charger, try again but this time connect it to your computer - make sure it's on.

4. It's truly dead If after trying different cables and charging methods, hard resetting and charging for a couple of hours your device still won't turn on, you have one option left. Go to an Apple store, or reseller. They may be able to get your iPhone working, or at the very least will to confirm the problem.

Sometimes the phones display a USB cord with an arrow pointing to the iTunes icon. This is your iPhone's way of telling you that something has gone wrong with the software and it needs to be plugged into your computer and connected to iTunes. If you see this, you will likely have to reset your phone which means you will lose everything stored on the hard drive. If you have been backing up your phone, however, your data loss will be minimal.

Has your iPhone stopped working? Are you unsure if your backup solutions are enough to keep all of your files safe? Contact us today as we may be able to help.

A number of recent studies have shown that the iPhone has become the most popular phone for business users. Take a look around the office and chances are the majority of phones you see are iPhones. One of the reasons for this popularity is ease of use. The iPhone is simple to operate. However, one aspect that is overly-complicated is the transfer of files from the device to your computer. It can prove to be maddening always having to connect to iTunes just to transfer one picture. Luckily, there’s apps that make file transfer much easier.

Here’s two great apps that you can use to make the transferring of files to/from your iPhone onto your computer not only quicker but less taxing too.

Bump
This app started out as a way to share contacts with other iPhone users and has since been updated to include transferring files and pictures. A recent update introduced the capability to move files from your computer to your phone and vice versa.

How this process works is you install Bump on your iPhone, open the app and select a file you would like to transfer. On your computer you can navigate to bu.mp and then bump (hit) the spacebar with your phone. A new window will open with a preview of the file, giving you the option to download it, or share it.

If you would like to transfer a file from your PC or Mac to your iPhone, click on Send files to your device on the bu.mp page and select the files to send. They will be automatically sent to your phone and can be accessed by opening the app.

The app is free from the website, and works on both Mac and PC. There is a 20 mb per file size limit, so for larger files you would be better off saving them to a cloud storage app.

Instashare
If you have a Mac, Instashare is new app that allows you to simply drag and drop files from your computer to transfer them to your iPhone.

Once you have downloaded the app on both your computer and iPhone, you then find the file on your computer that  you would like to share, drag it to the app icon and let it go. As long as your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the file will be transferred in as little as a few seconds. You can also send files from your iPhone through the app, selecting the file and dragging it onto connected computers. Instashare will take care of the rest.

This app is an easy way to transfer files within the Apple environment while not having to physically connect your device to your computer. It’s also free, which could make it an interesting tool for your business. Download it from the website here, or search for it on in the App Store.

There are many other ways to transfer files from your smartphone to your computer, including using cloud storage. What are your favorite ways? Let us know. Or, if you are looking for a more efficient file sharing solution, contact us today.

When it comes to the modern phone systems many organizations and companies use there's a high chance that you will often call a number and have to go through an automated switchboard. This is a waste of time, especially if you already know the extension of the person you want to talk to. iPhone users have a way they can get past these systems and talk to the intended person quicker.

Here's how you can add number extensions to your iPhone contacts:

1. Open Contacts and either press the '+' for a new contact, or select the contact's number you would like to add the extension to and press Edit.
2. Enter the new contact's normal number without the extension under the Mobile, Work or Home field. If you are editing a contact's number, press on the number you would like to edit and tap on the end of the number.
3. Press the '+*#' button located at the bottom-left of the dial pad.
4. Select Wait. You'll notice a ';' at the end of the number.
5. Add the contact's extension. It should look something like this: 123-123-4567;321 (if the contact has a three digit extension).
6. Press Done and the contact's number will be saved or updated.

If the number was entered correctly, you should see a secondary button under the contact information when you call that person. It will say something like Dial-321. Pressing this after the line has engaged will dial the extension and connect you to that person. This is useful if you don't know how long you will have to wait to be able to dial the extension, but you will have to hit the Dial button on your phone to enter the extension.

You can automate this further by replacing the semicolon (;) with a comma (,). The comma tells the switchboard to pause, and then enter the number after the comma. This will often connect you directly to the person without having to press an extra button. The number should look something like this: 123-123-4567,321

If you use an iPhone for your business communication and call clients who are behind switchboards this is a nifty time-saving feature. For more information on how the iPhone can help power your business, please contact us today.

The usefulness of smartphones in modern business settings is undeniable. It's hard to imagine how we would function without these handy devices. While they are great, there are a few common gripes, one of which is the keyboard. iPhone users have noted that the keyboard is solid, but it does take a while for new users to get used to.

Here are four tip to make the typing experience better on your iPhone.

1. Lock caps lock - While the use of capital letters while typing is generally frowned upon, there are times when you need to type more than one letter in a row in caps. Most users will hit the caps button (upward pointing arrow) on the keyboard, type a letter and then hit it again to type another in caps. You can lock the keyboard in caps mode by double tapping the caps lock button. You'll notice the key turns blue, indicating caps lock is on. When you are finished, tap it once to turn it off. 2. Turn off auto-correct - We've all seen the funny and sometimes embarrassing texts blamed on auto-correct. While useful when getting used to typing on the iPhone, it can be more of a hindrance than a help after you've gotten the hang of it. You can turn auto-correct off by selecting Settings, followed by General, Keyboard and finally setting Auto-Correction to Off. 3. Long-press keys for more options - At first glance, the iPhone's keyboard is a little sparse with many of the standard keys beyond the letters and number keys missing. They are still there, however but just not labeled. With many keys, a long-press on the key will bring up a number of different options and other keys. For example: a long-press on the A key will bring up different letters associated with a, or a long press on ? will bring up the option to use an inverted question mark or an exclamation point. Play around with the keys, and you'll soon see a ton of different typing options emerge. 4. Stop typing .com - Did you know that you don't have to always type .com, .net or .org? In certain places, the iPhone will put it in for you. For example, when you are typing a web address on the browser, you can do a long-press on the . to get a pop-up of a whole bunch of dot something endings. This will also work in the email To, CC and BCC: fields.

The above tips are just a few ways to make it easier to type on the iPhone. Do you have another typing tip? Let us know; or, if you would like to learn more, please contact us.

There's a funny commercial in Thailand where a guy walks into an elevator followed closely by a tiger. While the tiger prowls below we see the guy clinging to the roof. His sunglasses fall to the ground and the tiger looks up, in hopes of a tasty snack. The guy pulls his phone out and attempts to make a call, only to have his phone die. Smartphones are like that, they always seem to run out of battery exactly when you need them most. Luckily, most of never too far from a USB port, and so constantly carry the somewhat bulky charging cable. If you have an iPhone though, there's a new gadget that replaces the cord with a card.

Scheduled to release in December 2012, the Charge Card, (no, it's not a new fangled credit card), is a device that will replace the somewhat unwieldy iPhone charging cable. The concept behind the gadget is to replace the charging cable with something you can fit in your wallet.

The Charge Card is a credit card sized charging device which is .1 inches thick and made of a hard plastic. In the middle is a rubber USB connector that pops out and is compatible with any USB port. On the opposite end is a small 30-pin connector - the standard connector used by Apple. The 30-pin connector will work with the iPhone 4s and older; the iPad 3 and older; and any iPod. It is compatible with the new iPhone 5, iPads and iPods if you have the adapter.

How it works is you pop out the flexible USB connector, plug it into a USB port on a computer, TV, airplane seat, etc. and plug the other end into your iDevice. While it isn't a battery, it does allow you to leave the cords at home, and USB ports being pretty much everywhere these days, you can charge your device whenever you need to.

What is interesting about this is that the project was crowdfunded through Kickstarter, meaning people think it's a good enough idea to invest in it. You can learn more about the project here, and if you'd like to learn more about using the iPhone in the office, give us a shout, we'd be happy to chat with you.

There is a near constant debate over iPhones or Android; which has better apps, which has better stability and which is better for the business environment. It’s endless and quite likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Many smartphone users have their preference; it takes a lot to sway it. Apple has recently released the sixth version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5, and some Android users may be tempted to switch platforms.

If you are contemplating jumping the Android ship for the good-ship Apple, here’s how you can do so.

Move those Contacts Android is Google, Google is Android. This means that you're contacts are most likely deeply ingrained in the Googleplex, aka your Google/Gmail account. If they aren’t, they live on your Android device’s internal memory.

The easiest way to migrate your Contacts over from your Android device to your iPhone is by syncing your Contacts with your Google Account.

1. On your Android device go to Settings followed by Accounts and select Google.
2. Tap on the Google account you would like to sync your Contacts/Calendar/Notifications with, and ensure there is a check-mark beside what you would like to sync.
3. Press Sync Now, and sit back and wait.
4. When it’s finished, you can go to Google Contacts to edit view your Contacts.

After your Contacts have synced with your Google account:

1. Turn on your iPhone and press Settings followed by: Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
2. Tap Add Account and select Microsoft Exchange. It may seem odd to select something with Microsoft for a Google service, but, this is how Google pushes emails to your iPhone. The added benefit to this is it allows your iPhone to sync with your Google account.
3. In the related fields put in your full Gmail address and password. Leave the Domain field blank as it’s only used if you have a Microsoft Exchange account.
4. Tap Server and enter: m.google.com and go to the next screen.
5. Select what you would like to sync; most pick Contacts, Calendar and Mail. Feel free to pick all of them if you want everything. Tap Accept and your iPhone will do the rest.

Move important media If you’re like most smartphone users, you probably have a wealth of important media on your phone, and would like to transfer it over. You have a few different options at your disposal to ensure this happens.

The first option is to manually transfer it by plugging your Android phone into your computer using a USB cable and physically copying the files off your device’s hard drive onto your computer. After that, plug in your iPhone and sync via iTunes, selecting what files to sync.

The second option is to sync your pictures and videos with Google. Follow the above instructions for your Contacts, and also ensure that Instant Upload has a checkmark beside it. Your photos and videos will be uploaded to Google+ and also viewable on Picassa. They can then be accessed by the related apps on your iPhone.

The third option is to use a mutual-third-party cloud app like Dropbox. When you install Dropbox on your Android, you will be asked if you want to sync your photos and movies. Agree to the terms and your photos will be uploaded. Just be sure to be connected to Wi-Fi, as it will be quite bandwidth intensive. After your files are synced, install Dropbox on your iPhone and all your pictures will be available.

What about my apps? As you may well know, Apple has a ton of apps available for you to download, most at a fairly decent cost. The good news is, almost all popular Android apps are also available for iPhone. The bad news is, you will likely have to pay to re-download them. You could try contacting customer services at the app developers and asking if they will drop the charge for buying an app you already own, but don’t get your hopes up.

This should cover the majority of your migration, so have fun and enjoy your new iPhone. If you have any questions, please contact us, we are here to help.

Apple is a marketing success, their products, like the iPad and iPhone, have brought lines of dedicated fans willing to spend hours, or days, lining up to get their hands on the latest and greatest. On September 21, the iPhone 5 was released to high expectations. While it has only been out for a short while, many business owners are asking if the phone is a good upgrade.

Here’s an overview of the iPhone 5 and the changes it brings with the new version.

New version of iOS As has become tradition, a new iPhone means an update to the operating system. iOS brings some features like a modified user interface, deeper iCloud integration, a new maps app, a digital wallet and many more. At this time, the maps app is good, but will need a lot of work to compete with Google Maps, while the digital wallet has yet to really be tested. To provide iPhone users information about businesses, Apple integrates Yelp information, so it will help you if you have a presence on Yelp.

Bigger screen The iPhone 5 has a 4-inch screen, when measured from top-left to bottom-right. This extra screen space allows for an extra row of icons and a better landscape view. The retina display makes a comeback and produces some of the highest quality images on any mobile phone. The bigger screen also means you will be able to see more of a document, web page or any new program.

Is the extra screen space worth upgrading from older iPhone models? Yes, ask any Android user who has upgraded to the now standard 4-4.3 inch screen and they will tell you that they don’t know how they coped with a smaller screen. The same can be said for the iPhone.

More battery power An important factor to consider before buying a smartphone is if the battery will last through your whole work day. Many iPhone 4 and 4s users know that their phone could get through a day of minimal use, but make calls or put the phone through it’s paces and a mid-afternoon top-up is needed. The battery for the iPhone 5 is bigger and according to Apple you should be able to get up to eight hours of surfing the web out of the phone.

Actual reports have been mixed from poor to amazing, with most reviews stating battery life is better than the iPhone 4, meaning you should be able to get you through a day of moderate use without needing to recharge.

Faster processor The iPhone 5 has a new processor, called the A6, which is touted as being smaller, but nearly twice as powerful. This means that the phone will run faster, open apps quicker and be able to run more advanced apps. As of the launch, there aren’t a wealth of programs that utilize the new processor’s power, but give it a few months and you’ll see some highly useful programs that parallel those found on the computer.

New connector If you are like any other modern worker, you probably have at least one laptop, two phones, an mp3 player and maybe a tablet. This can amount to a number of cables and cords that can be hard to keep track of. Apple isn’t making your life easier, as they have introduced a new connector. The connector is pretty cool, as it’s smaller and double sided, meaning you don’t have to worry about which way you plug in the device, both sides will work. The downside to this is you have to buy adaptors to use old cords, which cost around USD$30 each.

LTE support LTE is a new form of wireless communication that’s widely thought to be the next version of mobile communication. Most networks in the world use 3G; LTE is commonly known as 4G, and is currently available in, or coming soon to, a large percentage of countries. The iPhone 5 can connect to LTE networks allowing users to benefit from super fast Internet speeds, and supposedly improved connections.

Durability One of the most common complaints about modern phones is that they are somewhat fragile. Most people have dropped their phone at least once, many have had screens replaced. A drop test conducted by the Android Authority has shown that the iPhone 5 is durable, with three drop tests from different heights showing little damage. If you err on the slightly clumsy side you’ll be glad to know that the iPhone 5 appears to be more durable than other models. In general, the iPhone 5 is an evolution more than the proposed revolution, but it’s a development that should be good for businesses users who pick one up. The biggest barrier might be price, which is the same as the iPhone 4s. If you’re looking to upgrade, contact your mobile provider, or let us know, as we may be able to help.

As Internet and data connections become faster and more reliant, many smartphone developers are integrating cloud storage and backup solutions into their operating systems. Apple’s cloud backup is called iCloud and was released last year. It’s an efficient solution to backing up your iPhone, however, users have noted that it often causes their iPhone to run more slowly.

Here’s how to optimize iCloud to ensure your iPhone runs quicker.

What is iCloud? Before optimizing iCloud it’s important to know what exactly iCloud is and how it works. iCloud is Apple’s cloud syncing solution. It’s main purpose is to keep your device’s important information in sync with your Mac, PC and other Apple devices. It works by uploading information like your contacts, installed apps, email, photos, bookmarks and calendars to Apple’s servers, which then make your information available to any device with iCloud installed on it, including your computer. The main purpose of this app is to back up and sync data across multiple devices, not store your data.

Every iPhone owner who has an up-to-date iPhone can sign up for the service and receives 5GB of space for their needs. By default, iCloud constantly syncs in the background without the user noticing. The only problem is syncing can slow your iPhone to a crawl.

Optimize iCloud for iPhone speed If you have iCloud set up and have noticed that your iPhone is slowing down we recommend three different ways to speed it up.

• Set iCloud to only sync when connected to WiFi. Chances are high that you have a data plan for your iPhone. When you set up iCloud, the default setting is to sync even while connected to a data network. This means iCloud is always syncing, using valuable system resources and data. You can set it to only sync when connected to WiFi by going to Settings, selecting Store and scrolling to the bottom and turning Use Cellular Data to Off. This will cause your Internet to slow down slightly however.
• Turn off iCloud sync. You can also disable iCloud until you want to sync. Go to Settings and select iCloud and turn everything to Off. When you add a new contact, or would like to sync something, you can go back to the iCloud and turn on what you want to sync. Another option is to turn it on when you go to sleep at night, then turn it off again when you wake up.
• Select what to sync. With iCloud, you’re in control as to what is synced and backed up. If you take a lot of pictures or are an avid media and app user you’ll find that your iPhone is constantly updating. You can go to iCloud in Settings and turn off non-essential apps and backups. When you need to back up your media, do so by connecting your phone to the computer and using iTunes to transfer your files onto your computer.

iCloud is a great way to back up your phone’s important information, but you shouldn’t rely on it. The optimal solution is to back up your phone using a cloud backup like iCloud as well as backing up your phone on your computer. If you’re interested in learning more about iCloud or other mobile backup solutions, please contact us.