Row.co.uk Blog

Can the smartphone get any smarter?

Fiction has always enabled its creators to use amazing technology to enhance plotlines that wow us on screen and make the pages of books come alive. Think The Matrix, Mission Impossible…we could go on.

That is to say, as long as the technology seems plausible within the limits of our imagination, we won’t get too hung up on the reality of it not actually working in practice. And as long as the movie budget is big enough to include convincing CGI, then we’ll swallow anything that’s thrown at us if it makes for engaging content.

Fact not fiction
However, back in the real world, consumers expect technology to actually work. Well, it’s not too much to ask when you’re forking out a pretty penny for a smartphone is it? Therefore developers have to do more than just come up with exciting concepts. They have to take it one step further and deliver reliable, working technology. Okay so that’s simplifying the process somewhat, but for the purposes of this blog, you know what we mean.

Bite-sized technology
As well as the built-in apps your phone already contains, there are all sorts on the market to expand the use of your smartphone. These apps offer access to a huge range of services, from downloading music and films, online banking, payments and shopping, to booking restaurants and hair appointments. Again, we could go on, but you know the drill.

More at your fingertips
Even the NHS and GP surgeries are embracing mobile technology to streamline their services to benefit the user. We can now book appointments and order repeat prescriptions via apps. That certainly suits our busy lifestyles and eliminates the need to do battle with a receptionist in order to see a doctor.

Coming to a smartphone near you?
The Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in South Korea already offers more to its patients in the form of the Patient Guide app. Rolled out last year, the app aims to improve its patients’ hospital experience with a hospital navigation guide and a personalised entertainment system accessible during their stay. It also delivers information on healthcare costs, waiting times and appointments.

Who knows what else is in the pipeline, but as consumers, if it enhances our user-experience we’ll be keen to grab it with both hands. Okay maybe just the one, we’ll be holding our smartphone in the other.

Protect your personal information
It’s great that we can access this technology via our smartphones to simplify otherwise time-consuming tasks. However, on the downside, our personal information is being shared every time we use an app to make life easier or have some fun.

Our reliance on mobile phones and apps to organise our lives may go some way to explaining our total dependence on them. And why we feel so lost without our smartphones. This makes it more important than ever to protect them with mobile phone insurance.

The thought of buying phone insurance may insight yawns, but it’s a necessity to protect what you hold dear. Whether that’s just your must-have smartphone or the data it contains, it definitely makes sense to insure it. And with phone insurance available from as little as £1.49 a day, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, don’t you think?

*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
Want to Speed Up Your Laptop? Here’s How!

Row.co.uk Blog

Want to Speed Up Your Laptop? Here’s How!

If you have ever felt frustrated with your laptop’s slow speed, know that it’s only natural and nearly everyone has been there; you might have faced the same with a newer laptop bought just a few months ago. But before you go about upgrading to a higher performance laptop, try out the following methods to improve the speed and performance of your laptop or notebook.

1.    Scan for Viruses and/or Malware

Malware, adware, and viruses can seriously hamper the performance of your laptop because they run in the background and use up essential system resources. They can even cause certain applications from starting and running properly. Download good antivirus software and an antimalware program to get rid of unwanted viruses, Trojans, and malware. Remember to keep these programs updated on a regular basis. 

2.    Clear Up Excess Data and Clean the Registry

Sometimes all that your laptop needs is spring cleaning; unused programs and tiny bits and pieces of data left over from previous programs can bog down the system speed. In addition, the registry system of Windows-based machines get filled up with chunks of unnecessary data like duplicate entries, information related to uninstalled applications, and undesirable file extensions.

So, what can you do? Download a free cleaning utility like CCleaner which hunts down and removes excessive data and scans and repairs the registry as well.

3.    Defragment Your Hard Drive

You must have heard of it before, right? Well even if you didn’t, that’s fine. Defragmentation refers to the process of searching for the fragments or pieces of data of a certain file and placing them in a single location; think of rearranging your cupboard, so that everything is tidy and neat. Overtime, a hard disk becomes fragmented with data from different files scattered all over the place.

You should perform defragmentation on a weekly basis, or at least once a month. It will not only improve your system performance, but it will also contribute to the battery life as the hard disk has to spin less to retrieve data.

4.    Reduce the Startup Programs

When your operating system such as Windows boots, a number of programs start up in the background. Most of these are important services which are needed by Windows, but some of them are unnecessary and slow down your laptop. You can disable them by typing ‘msconfig’ in the ‘run’ dialog box under the ‘start’ menu in Windows, while in Windows 8 and 10, this list is located in the task manager.

5.    Upgrade RAM

If you want to drastically boost the performance of your laptop, consider upgrading the RAM; more RAM means more data is buffered quickly, and the remaining data doesn’t has to wait for long to be processed.

6.    Install an SSD

SSD or solid-state hard drives are different from conventional hard disks in the sense that they do not contain any moving parts, and because of that, they have higher read/write speeds. Traditional hard disks use a motor to spin a magnetic disc for reading and writing data. SSDs are fairly inexpensive nowadays, so consider getting one. Your laptop will feel as if it is running on NO2.

*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