Five Great Money Saving Apps For Your Iphone:
Top Table Restaurant Finding App:If you can’t live without dining out, but are finding all those expensive meals are harder to afford in the current economic climate then you will love this restaurant finding app for your iphone. Top Table not only gives you access to every local restaurant in your city, but it also gives you a rundown of all the best special offers and deals available on the day you want to eat out. The app is free to download and its database of restaurants is massive, meaning you can normally find a great selection no matter where you are in the world.
iXpenselt App:Being able to save your money isn’t just about looking out for good deals. It is also about keeping a close eye on how much you spend day to day, week to week, to ensure that you don’t overspend and get yourself in debt before the end of the month. With an app such as iXpenselt, which charges a nominal fee all of your expenses will be recorded the moment you make them, something which is perfect for business users in addition to those people hoping to just watch the pennies. In addition you are also able to keep all of your receipts on the phone using the in-built camera.
Red Laser App: This ingenious little iphone app basically allows you to turn your iphone into a barcode scanner similar to those you see in supermarkets and retail stores. What this enables you to do is use your phone whilst you shop so you can record the price of the goods you are looking at and then simultaneously go online to check the price and see if you can buy it cheaper online. A brilliant way to save money and free to download.
Voucher Cloud App: Voucher Cloud is a wonderful little free app that allows you to use GPS to both ascertain your location (if you are lost or in a new city or something) and then work out what offers there are in shops and retail outlets near to your location. It covers deals, codes and vouchers for both your local area and nationwide and can save you a small fortune every week on your purchases.
Petrol Prices Pro App: In the current economic climate with petrol prices going through the roof, this app is especially important to the prudent, money saving driver. This app allows you to work out where your nearest petrol stations are and how much they charge for petrol. The combination of these two stats means you get to work out the cheapest petrol in your area taking into account distance as well as price.
Esther is a financial journalist and blogger. She writes about all areas of personal finance from mortgages to credit cards to tax reduction.
Will Your Next Mobile Phone Have Google Wallet?
Google is indeed retaining its supreme reign when it comes to reinventing ways people pay for services and goods. Google Wallet is the proof for this. Google Wallet allows consumers to use virtual credit card information that is stored on a smartphone to pay for services and products. This works by tapping a smartphone against special readers such as PayPass and MasterCard sellers usually installed in their point-of-sale terminals. Here is a list of the benefits of having Google Wallet on your smartphone.
It is better than the plastic credit card. Google Wallet requires a personal identification number (PIN) and automatically locks if it is entered wrong on the fifth time. Meanwhile, if you lose a credit card, the thief can still use it to buy things.- Special offers can be redeemed in an instant. Participating stores use Google Wallet to provide special deals via Google Offers. The app will not charge any transaction fees but it will earn money via advertisements.
- Spending can be tracked with ease. The service keeps record of all your expenses and you can check this from the app any time you want.
- The prepaid card can be used to prevent credit card interest and to control spending. Google Wallet allows you to limit your expenses.
- You do not need to buy a new smartphone. Many models are already equipped with NFC technology but if your phone does not have it yet, you can retrofit it to have contactless payment technology.
Google Wallet also has its fair share of disadvantages. Since it is in the early stages of release, only Citibank MasterCard and Google Prepaid Card are available as the virtual credit cards. If your phlebotomist training store is a partner of the app, you still need to upgrade your point-of-sale at a cost. Subway, Walgreens, Toys R Us and Macy’s are some of the stores that have already supported the app. To add to that, Google Wallet app is only available on Sprint Nexus S 4G.
The search engine giant’s new app does a lot of things and it’s changing the way people buy and sell items in several place already. Google is planning to expand the places where Google Wallet can be used in the near future. Who would have thought that the idea of using the phone to make purchases and make payments would materialize in this time? On top of that, a paperless transaction is a big help to the environment as well, and so Google Wallet is a very promising application. Who knows the next set of smartphones slated to be introduced in the coming year might likely have Google Wallet.
Pros and Cons of Android Devices
Consumers are undeniably having a hard time selecting between Android devices and other famous smartphone providers like Blackberry or iPhone. This is probably because many people do not have sufficient background on each smartphone model and they can see these as one and the same, bearing only different names. Learning the advantages and disadvantages of having Android devices could help if buying one is really a worthy investment.
The Pros:
- Almost all Android models possess removable batteries that allow users to buy extra batteries or swap these out. They also accept SD cards to expand storage and some models also offer physical keyboards.
- You can run a number of various apps all at once on Android. It also has great integration with the apps from Google.
- Downloading and installing non-market apps on Android is simple and easy. One does not have to go through the process of getting approvals for competing phones.
- Android has multiple word-completion options. It also offers seven pages for the home screen.
- The market for Android accessories is huge.
- You can use Android devices to check your mails, browse the net and it can also become an e-reader.
- Android devices provide Bluetooth and USB services that let users connect their phone to their computer.
- Android devices are also Wi-Fi capable so you no longer need to carry your laptop around just to surf the Internet.
The Cons:
- Many Android models have relatively smaller screens than iPhone and not all models have physical keyboards.
- Android models only have 3.0MP camera that does not capture very good pictures.
- You still need to install a syncing app or sync your computer and Android device manually because there is no automatic sync between the computer and the device.
- There are also numerous apps in the market for competitors such as the Apple Online Store.
- Some Android models have limited speeds which may cause typing delays.
- You may also experience some difficulties in searching for the right accessories for your phone model because there are several phones running on Android platform.
- Data on Android devices may cost more.
- Many people select devices operating on Android just to be able to jump into the bandwagon without really knowing the details about the devices and operating systems.
- You may experience a hard time getting yourself familiar with using the device.
- Google could possibly collect more data from you when you use an Android mobile device.