Row.co.uk Blog

Internet-connectivity is coming to an inanimate object near you…

No, this isn’t a voice-over for the latest Hollywood blockbuster, it’s a fact. But you already knew that, maybe from a tweet or Facebook post viewed on your mobile phone.

Putting you in control
With the smartphone becoming a comfortable extension of our hand, it makes perfect sense for it to be the control centre of our universe. Of course we’re referring to our own personal universe, not the universe that attracts the attention of Dr Brian Cox.

Getting smarter
Previously, home appliances that kept our food beautifully chilled or heated it up super fast did only that. But now; or at least in the very near future, fridges and microwaves have and will become smart. Or smarter, thus elevating their status in our worlds.

And with that, we will become master and commander (not in a Russell Crowe way you understand) of said appliances using our trusty smartphones.

The upside
Not only do today’s ultra smart fridges keep our food at the appropriate temperature, they let us know when we’re out of bread, milk and other food items stored in their intelligent interiors. You can even do your food shopping via their touch-screens and schedule it for delivery. Smartphone apps allow you to access your fridge’s food database on the go to check whether you have the correct ingredients for your recipe of choice. If only it could ask your oven to whip up something for dinner. Give it a few years and it will.

Taking it one step further and giving you the flexibility to turn other home appliances into smart devices are digitalSTROM’s connector blocks. These clever smartphone-enabled blocks, that resemble LEGO, attach to your appliance’s power source and significantly up their IQ. Well, allow you to control certain aspects via a smartphone app at least.

The downside
However, with all good things there’s often a downside. Smart appliances benefit from software upgrades just like your laptop and mobile devices, which means they can become sluggish due to the constant barrage of new data.

They’re also hackable and prone to infection courtesy of their connection to the Internet. A fridge, yes a fridge, was part of a gang of home appliances that were hacked and infected by a ‘botnet’ during December 2013 and January 2014. Along with multi-media centres, televisions and home-networking routers, the fridge helped deliver 750,000+ malicious emails, as well as carrying out its daily smart duties.

On another note…
Personally we worry for those who have a tendency to fall in love with inanimate objects. It’s known as object sexuality. With the additional tasks associated with their ‘smart’ status, surely these appliances will be preoccupied? And we all know what happens when a person feels ignored in a relationship.

Smart protection
If your smartphone’s going to play an active role in tomorrow’s world, it’s worth protecting. Mobile phone insurance is available from as little as £1.49 – need we say more?

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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Top 5 Best Free Apps For Your Commute

Row.co.uk Blog

Top 5 Best Free Apps For Your Commute


Whichever way you look at it, commuting is one of life's necessities for many of us; whether you drive to work on a busy motorway, brave the bustling public transport system or hitch a ride with a colleague commuting to and from work can be something you begin to dread.

Though inconvenient, many of us need to commute long distances each and every day to our jobs and this can prove dull, boring and with delays inevitable, time consuming. 

Luckily, there are many helpful free apps for your commute. Some will keep you entertained on delayed trains and others will help you avoid bumper to bumper traffic; either way, they are sure to benefit your commute. 

To help you on your daily slog to and from work, we've collated the top 5 best free apps for your commute! 


Apps For Your Commute

There are hundreds of apps available that will keep you entertained and ahead of the game on your commute to work, however many of them come at a price. These are our top 5 best apps for your commute, and better get, they're free. 


Pocket - Often we will find articles, stories and blogs we are keen to read but when it comes to the time to read them, we have forgotten what it was and where we saw it. Pocket is a great way to store all the material you want to read on your commute home in one place; simply store, click and read! 


Waze - With upwards of 50 million users, Waze is one of the world's most used mapping systems for smartphones. By sourcing data from other road users in real time, it creates an accurate overview of traffic and uses the information to calculate the best possible route for your commute. An interactive layer is available which allows you, as a commuter, to input data to add to the mapping system. 


Citymapper - Citymapper is a city lovers dream. Not only does it help you get from A to B in a number of cities around the world, it also gives you a range of ways to get there; the bus, the train, driving. One novelty feature that provides a light giggle when you're running late is the jetpack option, letting you know how long it would take you if you travel by jetpack; a reminder of how easy commuting could be! A popular feature of this app is the travel suggestion it gives in order for you to stay dry when it's raining. Choose this option to avoid turning up to the office drenched through! 


Digg - Digg is a great app for your commute if you are a keen reader. It collects interesting articles from across the Internet and brings them to you in one simple app, saving you the hassle of finding them and having many web tabs open at once. 


Evernote - Evernote is the perfect free app for those who have one hundred and one things to remember at all times. It is a simple and easy way to store documents, reminders, voice clips and much more! Instead of spending your commute trying to remember everything that needs doing and saving multiple documents in multiple places, use Evernote to simplify this. 


There you have it, our top best free apps for your commute! Being without your phone on a commute can be a daunting prospect, to insure your smartphone get a free quote today Row.co.uk.


*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

Mobile Insurance Free Quote
Comments are closed