It’s time again for my monthly tech round-up where I write about items that I might never mention otherwise or provide an update.
In August I visited two relatives in hospital at different locations and spent time with family in the south of England. For me, this meant I was using my mobile devices more.
What is covered:
- Configuring a phone for my Dad
- Giving items to charity
- Listening to audio books via Audible
- Snatch the mobile computer game
- Travelling with tech
Configuring a phone for my Dad
My Dad wanted a phone, so I purchased an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S5 G900F, installed a 128GB microSD card, installed LineageOS and apps, then fitted a silicone case. I created a basic contact list for him.
Then when I saw my Dad, I helped him download a couple of audiobooks, connect to his WiFi network, installed a sim, helped him obtain a mobile data package from his service provider and showed him how to use the phone.
Giving items to charity
I’ve mentioned before on this blog about how I’m having a clear out. Last Saturday my partner and I gave more tech to charity, such as a drone, metal detector, photography film scanner, cables and a monitor. There is more tech we want to give to charity at some stage. I think the current batch of items we gave to charity were worth around £300 GBP.
Listening to audio books via Audible
I’m pretty impressed by the huge selection of audio books available via the Audible service.
I’ve used the service on both android and iOS devices and I’ve found it easy to use. I do prefer reading books, rather than listening, but I found the service useful when traveling. My favourite audio book so far has been Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.
Snatch the mobile computer game
In August I started playing Snatch, the mobile computer game. It’s a location based game and I played it in various parts of England. The main part of the game is to collect parcels, which tends to involve you looking strange whilst moving your phone around you! It’s embarrassing to play at times. I won some Chili movie rentals, which is nice.
I’ve now slowly stopped playing the game and at the time of writing, I’ve not run the game for a few days, but perhaps I will play it again in the future.
Travelling with tech
In August I travelled across parts of England during two trips that each covered a few days at a time. I didn’t take a laptop or tablet, but each time I carried two phones: Apple iPhone 6s and Samsung Galaxy S5 G900T. Along with the phones I took a power bank, USB power adapter, USB memory sticks and cables.
On a coach I listened to an Audible audio book and on a train I watched a movie supplied via the train company’s free WiFi service. I was very impressed by the WiFi service provided by South Western Railway.
In the past I might have taken a laptop to one of these locations and a tablet to the other, along with a mp3 player and a camera. With the quad core mobile phones that I own, I didn’t need to carry a laptop or tablet for my needs.
What’s coming up?
I’m behind with my blog posts, but I’ve got a lot in draft and no plans for travel in September. I’m probably going to post more about the S5 phone, a camera, Amazon Kindle and about a few other items. If I update an old blog post about camera lenses, I will mention the update in next month’s monthly post.