A glass of water destroyed Joy's smartphone.
It happened during lunch. We don't care if we miss calls; it's the turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps that we miss. So while we're without a smartphone, we're using CoPilot GPS. It gives you turn-by-turn directions even when you can't connect to the Internet.
Using our iPad Mini, we connected to Wi-Fi and downloaded all of North America for free. Well, the roads and roadside attractions, anyway. Restaurants too, of course, and if you tap on anything, CoPilot automatically displays the way there. It's all there, even when we're offline.
The app seems especially useful for those who have limited data plans, which means they pay extra for getting on the Internet when they're out of range of Wi-Fi and have exceeded their monthly limit. Our water-logged phone had unlimited data, but only a mermaid can read it now. When we get a new phone, we might choose limited data and save a few dollars. We're considering the Virgin Mobile Custom phones we wrote about a few weeks ago.
The free version of CoPilot doesn't call out directions as you move along; that's in the pro version, which is $10. But if you don't need the voice to guide you, the directions on the screen are easy to read. If you don't know an address, which is common -- who knows the address of a supermarket, for example? -- tap "points of interest." It quickly found the store we were looking for. When we're in Florida visiting a friend this Christmas, we'll be able to search for all kinds of tourist attractions without having to be online. (Bob doesn't think Florida has any attractions.)
Downloading the maps, directions and all that takes 2.14 gigabytes for the whole United States; regions take up less than half of that.
A Deluxe Phone at Half the Price
The OnePlus One phone, made by Chinese manufacturer OnePlus, is said to have the key features of a $600 Samsung Galaxy S5 phone for half that price. Previously, you could order one only by invitation, but they've recently started selling them to the rest of the world on OnePlus.net. As Bugs Bunny used to say: "You know, of course, that this means war."
It was inevitable that smartphones would start to come under price pressure, and this seems to be the opening salvo.
The 16 gigabyte version in white is $299, while the 64 gigabyte version is black and costs $329. It's getting high marks for call quality, camera, battery life, ease of use, app availability and speed. The website says you can buy them until they run out; it's a small company, but likely to get bigger.
Windows Speaks
If you don't like Windows 8, don't hold your breath waiting for Windows 9. Microsoft is moving ahead with Windows 10, due sometime in 2015.
The newest feature of Windows 10 is a personal assistant called Cortana. Just as with Siri on the iPhone or iPad, or Google Now for Android, Cortana will take orders from you, but this time it's on your Windows desktop computer.
If, for instance, Bob said, "Call Joy," Cortana would fire up the free Skype program and call. This would be a free Internet call no matter where in the world Joy happened to be. If you asked, "What's on my calendar?" Cortana would show it to you; you could also say "put something on my calendar" to add an event. Perhaps most people will use it for reminders, alarms and text messaging. There's a demo of all these features on Mashable.com.
App Happy
• Next Move Quiz is our favorite new iPhone/iPad app, free from educational book publisher Pearson. The app has fun and colorful quizzes for kids and adults in subjects like science, geography, food, sports, culture and history. Joy has a lot to learn about currency but aced the human body quiz. You can retake quizzes. Quiz Up for Android is similar.
• FaceTune is a $5 app that goes way beyond blemish removal in photos. Want a thinner nose, a wider smile and a forehead whose skin tone matches the rest of your face? (Joy's bangs keeps her forehead white; like a baseball cap.) It can also sharpen facial details while blurring the background and adding other effects. This app does it all.
• Story Creator is a free app for writing stories. A drawing tool lets you scribble on the screen. Another button adds your photos. Speak into the microphone to create a talking book. This might also make a nice photo album, with voice recordings for each photo.
If you're in doubt about any of the apps, or need a tutorial, go to YouTube.com and type the name of the app. You'll get a nice video preview and an explanation of the features.
Internuts
• InstantCheckmate.comcan turn a user into a private investigator, like Paul Drake in the old Perry Mason TV shows. Besides a person's address and phone number, it provides police records, which include everything from speeding tickets to sexual offenses; background reports; marriage and divorce info; and a history of lawsuits. Users pay $23 for one month, $59 for six.
• Chromoscope.net displays the Milky Way (our galaxy) in several wavelengths. If you were an alien with X-ray vision, the galaxy would look quite different to you, so probably would we. Wave lengths shown add gamma rays and radio waves. Here's looking at you, kid.
Getting in the Door
Joy's mother once left a note on her door, telling a workman she would be back in half an hour and to come on in. That was enough time for the house to be robbed.
An alternative is the Kwikset Kevo deadbolt.
Type in a code on your iPhone to open the door, and change the code as often as you wish. Hopefully, the people you give the code to have an iPhone, but if they don't, the lock also comes with a key fob; press it to open the door. You can get as many extra fobs as you want for a small charge. If you use the app instead of the fob, however, stand close to the door. The lock is $199 on Amazon.
Bob and Joy can be contacted by email at bobschwab@gmail.com and joy.schwabach@gmail.com.
SundayMonday Business on 12/22/2014