Browsers

  Good morning, everyone! This week I would like to take a few minutes of your time to write about browsers. I know this is a very personal choice but there are several out there and some basic things you need to do to set them up properly on your US Cellular Android powered phone or tablet.
  If you are lucky enough to have a device with Android 4.04 (ICS) then there is only one logical choice in my opinion and that is Chrome beta. But for the rest of us who are running an older OS like 2.2 (Froyo), 2.3 (Gingerbread) then the choices are many and varied!. Just go to the Google Play Store and type in "browsers for android" and you will find a multitude of choices!
  Now through painful trial and error, I have a limited number of these which I will recommend and for brevity I am only going to mention my top three in this blog post.
 First is my favorite, Opera Mobile, which offers these features. nn
  A new interface looks better on your device and gives Opera Mobile a sleek, modern browser appearance.
  Pinch-to-zoom and smooth panning let you surf in a natural, intuitive way.
  Synchronize bookmarks, Speed Dial and more with your computer or other mobile devices via Opera Link.
  Twitter and Facebook support is built in, so you can easily share Web content with others.
  Games and free apps can be downloaded from the Opera Mobile Store in Opera Mobile's Speed Dial.  Next up is my second choice xScope Browser, which offers the following features.
  Instant Back/forward navigation, True tabs, Numerous settings/options, Import google bookmarks, Import desktop bookmarks (via HTML file), Screenshot, Seamlessly integrated file explorer, Browse, email, and zip your files, Text copy/selection, 3 ways to zoom (multitouch, pin-zoom, and tapping), Theme support, Download most videos (mp4), audios (mp3), and documents (pdf, doc...), Support flash content (froyo and above).
  Last but not least (according to some of my friends) is Dolphin Browser HD which boast the following features.
  Sonar – Dolphin listens and lets you use your voice to search on the Internet, share on your favorite social networks, bookmark your favorite website, navigate and more.
  Gesture - Let your inner artist out and create a personal Gesture (symbol) to access the mobile and desktop websites you use the most.
  Add-on – Beef up your mobile Web/Internet browsing experience by installing the Add-ons for the tasks you need at your fingertips. With more than 60 and counting, Dolphin Add-ons enables any action to be done right within the browser. You can check out the Add-on features with 3 preloaded on your right Sidebar. 
  Webzine - Fast Web page loading, with no ads. Dolphin Webzine simplifies the way you read your favorite mobile content, from news to blogs and websites. Webzine is now available as an Add-on on the Android Market.
  Speed Dial - Visit you favorite mobile and desktop websites on the go with one touch.
  Tabbed browsing - No need to toggle between screens, tabbed browsing lets you open and switch between Web pages fast as lightning.
  Sidebars - Make the best of mobile interface via Dolphin Sidebar.

  If none of these browsers suit you, don't be afraid to try others. These are MY opinions and are recommendations only.

  As always if you have any questions about the contents of this blog or US Cellular in general feel free to message me through Google+ or in the comments of this blog.

John USCC Customer Crew Member

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Google maps

  Hello everyone! This week I want to talk a little about a trip I recently took.
  As some of you may know I work in the aircraft industry, and I had to go to Oklahoma City to spend a week in an FAA seminar, which will allow me to license aircraft. But I digress!
  As always I took my US Cellular Android powered phone. (I don't even go to bed without it)! I was going to a hotel that I was not familiar with, so I took my Garmin GPS. Yes I know my phone has maps! I did this as a test of sorts. I put the address of the hotel into the Garmin and into Google maps navigator on my phone. The GPS wanted to take me a long distance out of my way, so without knowing the area I put my trust in Google maps.
  Amazingly the Google maps got me to the hotel in a very timely manner, even with all of the  construction going on in the city! The Garmin GPS had to keep "re-calculating".
  So if you are taking a trip, my advice to you would be to go to your local US Cellular store and pick up your own Android powered phone and be sure it has the latest version of Google maps loaded!
  Oh by the way, Google maps also now navigates inside many places, like malls! How cool is that!?
  And when you open the Google maps app, don't be afraid to push buttons! There are a lot of "layers" in the app. I set mine on "satellite", and it looked just like Google Earth on the computer! It also has the option of "street view" built into the layers.
  As always just have fun with your Android powered phone from US Cellular!!

  If you have any questions about Google maps, US Cellular or your Android phone in general  feel free to contact me through Google+, or in these comments.

        John USCC Customer Crew Member

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Phone set up

This week I purchased another phone from US Cellular, because my job is taking me out of the country this year and I needed the world phone capabilities. I found a Motorola Electrify, which had been returned within the 30 trial period. US Cellular is the only company who has a 30 trial. How cool is that?!
  This brought me to the topic of this weeks blog, setting up a new phone. And yes your store rep can set up your contacts, photos etc. but not your apps! We all love our Android phones and being highly customizable is a big part of that love affair, but it sure can cause a lot of problems when trying to get the new phone "just right"!
  I wrote a blog a few weeks ago telling how to back up your apps on "File Explorers". Now this is a fine way to back up your apps on any device, but as I found out this method will not transfer from one device to another!
  I tried this on the Electrify and found it didn't work, so I searched Google Play (formally the Android Market) and found an app called "MyBackup". This free app will back up your apps, contacts, sms, mms, photos and more! This works great on your current device so if you have to do a factory reset, just backup, reset, and restore and voila! You are back in business! Painlessly even!!!
  Now if you are in my position you can buy the "Pro" version which will let you transfer all of the a fore mentioned content and data to your new phone!
  While I didn't find this little jewel in time to ease my pain, I did find it before transferring my wife to my GSII, which after some thought did ease my pain!!
  As always thank you for reading this blog, and if you have questions about this blog, US Cellular, or just apps in general please feel free to message me through Google Plus or just ask in the comments.


John USCC Customer Crew and one of the happiest customers in wireless!

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