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How to Backup SMS and Contacts on Android

Posted by Vinayak Monday, July 1, 2013 1 comment

Your phone might be very important to you because of all the data stored inside it mainly the SMSs or the contacts. Just in case, if you lose them, you should have their backup ready so you can quickly restore and go on with your work.

And as an Android user, when you flash custom ROMs on your phone and do some experiments with it, it is pretty important to keep your important data safe.

Read the post to know that how can you backup SMS and Contacts on your Android phone.

Backup SMS

So, to backup the SMSs on your Android phone, you need to download an app known as SMS Backup & Restore. It has plenty of features such as XML format backup, SMS restoring facility, Email Backup file, etc.

Here's the guide to backup your SMSs using SMS Backup & Restore:

First of all, install the SMS Backup & Restore app.
Open it. Press the Backup option.
Name the backup file.
Press OK.
Then, wait for some time. The process has began. Once it has been completed, your phone will vibrate and you have your backup.

The backup is saved on the SD card and now you can copy it to any safe place so that you never lose your contacts ever again.

Backup Contacts

Now, to backup the contacts on your Android phone. For this process, you don't need any app. We will follow an internal Android system method.

Here's the guide to backup your Contacts on Android:

Enable Data Synchronization (Settings>Data>Synchronization>Contacts). Select Auto-Sync. Now, the next time, your phone has access to internet, it will automatically sync your contacts to your Gmail account.
Next, open GMail from your computer browser.
At the top left, below the Google logo, there is a GMail logo.
Click it and select Contacts.
Select the contacts which you want to backup.
Next, click on More. Then, click Export.
Click on Google CVS Format option.
Click Export again.
Wait for the download to complete and that's it!

Share your experiences in the comments.

Mobile Phone Dropped in Water or Coffee?: The Phone Saving Guide

Posted by Vinayak Sunday, June 30, 2013 1 comment

There are a lot of times when people drop their mobile phones in water or spill coffee or tea over it. They end up with a non-working phone which they either pay and get it fixed by customer care or just get a new phone.

What if you can yourself fix your water, coffee or tea affected phones? No need of the crappy customer care and no need to spend more for a new phone.

In this post, I'll take you through a small but effective phone saving guide that will help you to fix your mobile if it has been dropped in water or has got coffee spilled over it.

There are two different guides for water and for coffee and tea since coffee and tea have salt sugar in it.

Mobile Phone Dropped in Water: Fix

First of all, DON'T SWITCH ON THE PHONE!
If it is already on, take out the battery and switch it off or if it is off, don't try to switch it on since it will short circuit the phone.
Take out the parts of the phone as quickly as you can.
Now, take a soft cloth and wipe the water off all the parts.
Then, take a rice bowl and cover the parts of your phone in rice. Rice will help in sucking the excess moisture.
Now, the time to wait. Keep it there for at least 1 day.
Take out the parts and assemble them.
Switch on the phone and you'll have a working phone.

Coffee or Tea Spilled on Mobile: Fix

Follow the above points first.
Now, dismantle your phone.
Now, you have to dip the parts in alcohol so that you can get rid of the clogged salt or sugar. Alcohol is hygroscopic as it tends to absorb moisture from the air.
Next, take out the parts and shake them to remove alcohol.
Re-assemble the parts and switch on your phone.

So, do share your experiences in the comments.

Blackberry Q5 Announced and BBM Coming to Android and iOS [Full Details Inside]

Posted by Vinayak Tuesday, May 14, 2013 0 comments

So, the recent Blackberry event, Blackberry Live has come out with some announcements that have managed to get some amazing response from the world. In this post, we will take your through the two important announcements made at the Blackberry Live keynote.

Blackberry Q5

The Blackberry Q5 is the phone with the latest Blackberry OS 10.1. Now, this is one of the trademark phones of Blackberry since it comes with the QWERTY keyboard. But, for the touchscreen fans, it also comes with the 3.1 inch touchscreen. So, it is basically a touch-and-type phone. But its design is totally gorgeous. Coming in four colors, black, white, red and pink, this phone manages to get your eyeballs on it. It is going be available from July in certain markets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Let's move on to its specifications.

It has a 3.1 inch touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard.
The resolution of the LCD screen in 720 x 720 pixels.
It has a dual-core 1.2 Ghz processor.
It runs on Blackberry OS 10.1
It has an internal memory of 8 GB which can be expanded using a microSD card.

The remaining official specifications are not out yet. The price is also not out yet but it is expected to be a budget phone.

Moving on to the next big announcement

Blackberry Messenger (BBM) Coming to Android and iOS

Now, this is definitely one huge announcement. Blackberry Messenger, one of the most successful mobile messengers ever is now going to step into the top two mobile operating systems, Android and iOS. BBM has 60 Million active monthly users.

We all know that BBM is a paid service but if Blackberry had decided to roll out BBM on Android and iOS as a paid service, they would have suffered badly from the competition of WhatsApp. But still, it will be interesting to see that how do they handle their own against the competitors. BBM will be available on Android and iOS in the next few months.

So, this is another good announcement from Blackberry.

Do share you views and opinions about this post in the comments.

How to Use Your License in CollageIt Pro [Giveaway Prize Tutorial]

Posted by Vinayak Saturday, May 11, 2013 0 comments

Recently, TechieKart had started a giveaway of CollageIt Pro licenses. Last night the giveaway ended. The winners of the giveaway are Shivam Koul, Kamal Saluja and Sarvesh Darak.

The licenses have been mailed to them and in case if they may need some help in using their license, I have come up with a very small and simple tutorial.

Go to CollageIt site.
Download the free version of CollageIt for your operating system.
Next, open the software and choose some template to start the software.
Then, click on Help and a drop-down menu will open.
Click on Upgrade, enter your license code and click Upgrade.

As simple as that!

So, get your software upgraded with the license you have earned from TechieKart.

Thank You for taking part in the giveaway.

CollageIt Pro Collage Maker Software Giveaway: 20 Licenses Worth $400

Posted by Vinayak Saturday, May 4, 2013 0 comments

Have your ever wanted to make a collage of your special memories? Today, I bring one such software for you which will make collage making as easier as it could ever be. And what more, I am going to giveaway the professional version which worth $19.99. I am going to giveaway 20 such licenses so there is a huge chance of you winning the giveaway. There are 12 licenses for Windows OS and 8 licenses for Mac OS.

Checkout the features of CollageIt Pro:-

Making collages is very easy now. Just choose template, add photos and customize.
Many layouts and different templates.
Personalize collage by cropping, adjusting photo no., photo space, page margin, rotation, etc.
Save collage as an image file and use it like any normal image.

Link to CollageIt Pro website: Click here

The giveaway would end on 11th May 2013 and results would be posted on 12th May 2013.

So, get started and get as many as entries as you can. Remember, the person with most entries will have most chances to win. There are going to be 20 winners so you have a lot of chance. Keep trying.

Micromax Launches Canvas 3D with Stereoscopic 3D Screen [Features, Price & Availability]

Posted by Vinayak 0 comments

Micromax is all set to get the fourth phone their highly successful Canvas series in the market. And this latest phone comes with a magnificent feature at budget. This phone has a 5-inch 3D screen and what more, the 3D screen in stereoscopic so you don't require 3D glasses to view the 3D content and you can directly view it with your naked eye. Read on for the features and specifications of the phone.

Features and Specifications of Micromax Canvas 3D

It has a 5-inch 3D display and a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels.
It has a 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor and 512 MB RAM.
It has the dual-SIM feature.
It runs on Android v4.1.2 and most probably it will get an update to v4.2 very soon.
It has a 5 megapixels rear camera with dual LED flash and a secondary 0.3 megapixels VGA front facing camera.
It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, 3G, GPS in the connectivity section.
It has a 0.93 GB user available internal memory which is expandable up to 32 GB by using a microSD card.
It has a 2200 mAh battery with a talk time of 4.5 hours and a standby time of 225 hours.
The phone also has a 'Micromax 3D Space' which has 3D videos and games so that you have 3D content for your phone at your fingertips.

Price & Availability of Micromax Canvas 3D

Micromax Canvas 3D is already available at Micromax's official online partner, Snapdeal. It is available at a price of Rs. 9999. And in some weeks, Micromax Canvas 3D will make its way into the stores across the country. Snapdeal Link

I would that Micromax has done great by launching such a phone at such a low cost. I am pretty sure it is going to attract more and more customers once it is promoted a bit. Definitely a great phone.

Do share your views and opinions about this phone in the comments.

Apple App Store 50 Billionth App Contest [What You Need to Know]

Posted by Vinayak Friday, May 3, 2013 0 comments

Apple's app store has always been getting huge number of downloads daily by all the users of the i-devices around the world. Apple has recently published that they are about to reach 50 Billion app downloads and that definitely calls for a celebration. And Apple has again decided to celebrate this by rewarding their users.

They have decided to hold a contest in which the 50 billionth app downloader will get a $10,000 app store gift card. There are more additional prizes.

The top prize is the $10,000 app store gift card for the person who downloads the 50 billionth app.
$500 app store gift cards will be awarded to the 50 customers after the 50 billionth app download.
All the apps in the app store are included in the contest. So, there is no limitation of downloading a free app.
There is a download limit of 25 apps per day.
Your age has to be at least 13 years old to take part in this contest.

Those were the main rules. You can read all the rules from this link.

So, just get your Apple i-device ready and start downloading the apps. Who knows, you may hit a jackpot.

Do share your views and opinions about this post in the comments.

Top 3 Advantages of Jailbreaking Your PlayStation 3

Posted by Vinayak Wednesday, May 1, 2013 1 comment

PlayStation 3, Sony's flagship gaming console for now has been very successful in its long run. But one thing which may have troubled you when buying your PS3 is the price of its games which ranges from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 3000 usually. Because of this price, you will not be able to buy a lot of games for your PS3. Hackers developed a way to fix as they developed a way to jailbreak the PS3. First of all, I would like to clarify that only firmware versions up to 3.55 can be jailbroken.

Note: If you have a PS3 with firmware up to 4.31 and have a date code (located at the back of PS3) from the following, your PS3 can be downgraded and then hacked:
(a) 6A (b) 6B (c) 6C (d) 6D (e) 7A (f) 7B (g) 7C (h) 7D (i) 8A (j) 8B (k) 8C (l) 8D (m) 9A (n) 9B (o) 9C (p) 9D (q) 0A (r) 0B (s) 0C (t) 0D

Moving on, you must be thinking that what are the advantages of jailbreaking your PS3? In this post, I will take you through them:

1) Backup Games

The Blu-Ray disks that you get are somewhat always near the risk. It may get a bit scratched or you may even lose it. For some lazy people, even changing the disks become a problem. Jailbreak your PS3 and you will have all the games at your hand. When you backup games, it minimizes the need of a Blu-ray disk and therefore keeps them safe and sound for whenever you need them. What's more, you can borrow a game from your friend, back up it and return it instantly.

2) Support of MKV Videos

PlayStation 3 also aims to remove the need of a DVD player and since it can be attached to a HD TV, you can watch a lot of HD content out there. You can buy some Blu-Ray disks and try them out on your PS3. But with the jailbreak, you can simply use the MKV files to run high quality HD content on your PS3. This removes the need of a DVD or a Blu-Ray player since PS3 itself helps you to run high quality MKV content on your High Definition TV. You can use the Multiman Showman software in a Jailbroken PS3 to run MKV.

3) Run Third-Party Software

When you jailbreak your PS3, you pave the way for the third-party software which enable you to make your PS3 much better. You can even install Linux. What more, you can add games like Angry Birds, Minesweeper, Sudoku, etc. There are hundreds and thousands of third party software for PS3 and they run only when your PS3 is jailbroken.

Do share your views and opinions about this topic in the comments.

Samsung Galaxy SIV Expected to Launch in India on 26th April 2013! [Price and Availability] [Update: Phone Launched] [Price and Buying Link Inside]

Posted by Vinayak Wednesday, April 24, 2013 0 comments

Samsung created a lot of excitement in the air with the launch of Galaxy SIV a month back with totally new features such as Air Gesture Control which lets you use the phone just by hovering before the screen. The phone has impressed a lot and now it's turn is to come India. All the recent reports have suggested that the phone will be launched in India on 26th April 2013. In this post, the expected price and availability will also be written. But before that, let me list the specifications and features of the Samsung flagship phone.

Specifications of Samsung Galaxy SIV

5-Inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
1080 x 1920 pixels resolution
Available in 3 variants: 16 GB/32GB/64 GB. A microSD card slot (upto 64 GB) is available in 16 GB and 32 GB variants.
GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0, NFC, microUSB v2.0 are available in the connectivity section.
13 megapixel primary camera, 2 megapixel secondary front facing camera and video recording at 1080p@30fps
It runs on Android v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
It has a quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 processor and an Adreno 320 GPU
It has a Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery

Special Features of Samsung Galaxy SIV

S-Voice
Smart Pause
Smart Scroll
Air Gestures
Smart Stay

It is available in two colors as of now: White Frost and Black Mist

Expected Price of Samsung Galaxy SIV in India

The prices of Galaxy SIV in other countries such as US, UK and Portugal are $640 (without contract), £699 and €690 respectively. From this, the internet sources have made out that the price is ₹43,490. This is just an expected price so the official price can be a bit above or below but I personally think, it will be not more than ₹45,000.

Availability of Samsung Galaxy SIV in India

Once it is launched, it will be available in a week in majority Samsung stores in India. As of now, top online shopping portal of India, Flipkart has listed the product with a Coming Soon tag.

So, with that, we can just hope that Samsung Galaxy SIV does launch on 26th April 2013 because the Indians are eagerly waiting to get their hands on it.

Let us knows you views on this awesome device in the comments.

Update: The date has been confirmed and Samsung Galaxy SIV will launch in India on 26th April 2013 at 12:00 PM. You can watch the live webcast here.

Update: Samsung Galaxy SIV has been launched at Rs. 41,500. You can buy it from Flipkart from here.