Is the iPhone 6 plus too big

It may be time to upgrade your old iPhone and you may be wondering… iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus? The decision can be a hard one to make. Both have a bigger screen then that of their predecessors, but the real question most people are asking is “is the iPhone 6 plus too big”.

If your coming from an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S the screen size difference on these new devices is substantial! The iPhone 6 screen size is 4.7 in. while the iPhone 6 plus is a massive 5.5 in. This is compared to the 3.5 in size of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s.

One of the perks of working at cell phone repair store in Vancouver is the ability to try out all latest and greatest phones. The first week I spent with the iPhone 6 I noticed one important thing. This phone is the perfect size! It’s just small enough to grip with 1 hand and still allows you to slide it in and out of your front pocket. It is also large enough to watch movies, play games or whatever else you need to do with it. The repositioned lock button made the iPhone 6 comfortable to hold with 1 hand and operate, and its “double tap home button” feature made everything in thumbs reach. All in this iPhone phone seemed perfect to me in all aspects.

Next I spend a week with the iPhone 6 Plus. Right away I was blown away with the size of this mammoth phone. The same feeling I got moving from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6, I got with moving from the 6 to the 6 Plus. No joke, this cell phone is huge! The resolution on this device was superb and every day tasks seemed more exciting. But all that excitement soon started to diminish when the downfalls of the iPhone 6 Plus started to kick in.

My biggest problem with the screen size of the iPhone 6 plus was how much I struggled to use it with one hand. The simple things you take for granted like walking your dog and answering the phone or carrying anything and using your phone went out the window for me. I soon began to realize that this is a 2 handed device and that was that. Once I made this adjustment, the iPhone 6 plus became more enjoyable for me, but I still wanted my iPhone 6 back.

After a week of experimenting with iPhone 6 plus I came to a few conclusions. For me, this device was much too big. As a male, I needed a place to put my phone when I wasn’t using it, and this proved rather difficult. The phone did not fit comfortably in any of my pants pockets, and even if it did, it would look a little awkward. If you are a female this device may work well for you if you keep it in your bag most of the time. Storage problems aside, I still found the size of this screen just a little bit unnecessary. My recommendation to you is to is (if you can) try out the iPhone 6 plus out for a few days before you buy it. You may find it’s just a bit too big for you as I found.

A little information of Cell Phone Batteries

Todays modern cell phones use Lithium batteries to power them. Lithium batteries were invented in the 70’s but were not introduced and used until the 90’s. Today they can be found it almost any electronic device and in every smartphone on the market. The reason for this for this is simple: Lithium batteries store the most energy than any other battery available.

As our battery technology increases, we are able to make smaller batteries that produce the same amount of power. The problem we have is even though batteries are getting smaller, the smartphone that they power are requiring more and more energy.

The heart of the lithium battery is a positively charged “ion of lithium”. Lithium batteries can be charged several hundreds of times over, and last the longest when they are not run completely dead. There are many theories on how to get the most out of your cell phone battery. We have be informed the most ideal way to get the most life out of your cell phone battery is to run it between 40-80 percent. Leaving it charged in all night or letting it run right down will shorten the life of your battery. Lithium batteries also age much quicker when exposed to heat. It is a good idea to avoid leaving your cell phone in direct sunlight, as this will kill the life of your battery.

Why you should unlock your cell phone

When you purchase your phone through a provider like Rogers or Telus, your cell phone is “locked” to that provider. This means unless you get your phone “unlocked”, you will be forced to use this device only with that cell phone network provider.

Unlocking your phone is perfectly legal in Canada, and many stores offer this cell phone unlocking service.  The main benefit you get with unlocking your cellphone is the ability to use it with any service provider you please.

Having an unlocked cell phone is really useful when traveling to another country. When you have an unlocked cell phone, you are able to use it with a sim card in whatever country you visiting. This will save you hundreds of dollars are prevent you from accumulating roaming service fees when traveling abroad.

 An unlocked cell phone can also benefit you finically in your own country. When you unlock your phone, you have the freedom to use any phone carrier you choose. That means if you are no longer happy with the service you are getting at Rogers, you can easily switch to Wind or another carrier and keep the same phone.

Prices for unlocking a cell phone vary based on your model of cell phone and the network it is locked to. If you need a quote on the price and how long it will take just contact Cell Clinic Vancouver.

How does a touch screen actually work

Touchscreens have becoming increasing common in mobile devices, laptops and pretty much every other type of recent technology. But how do they exactly work?

There are 2 basic types of touchscreen (capacitive or resistive). Most cellphone use capacitive touchscreens, as this type accepts multiple touches and responds very quickly. The downfall of these capacitive touchscreen is that they can only be activated by conducting objects, example your fingers. Resistance touchscreens are more durable, can be weatherproof, and are more commonly used with GPS devices. Since we are a cell phone repair company, we only work with capacitive touchscreens.

Today’s smartphones and cellphone screens are made from high strength glass. You have have heard of the term “gorilla glass” in the past. This is a type of chemically tempered glass, which is produced, to stand up against dropping your phone. Although it is still very possible to break your cell phone screen, gorilla glass makes the chances of it breaking a lot less likely. The reason the glass still can break is that the glass is manufactured to less than 1mm to reduce the phones size and weight.

The touch sensors on today’s smartphones are all underneath the glass itself, through capacitive measurements. Capacitance is described as the ability to hold a charge. Your phone screen sense your finger because your finger has the “ability to hold charge”. The device has an electrical grid embedded in its display, allowing it to know exactly where you have touched. This information is transferred quickly back to the phones motherboard to process.

Study warns of using rice to dry out a water damaged cell phone

A Study released by Tek Dry provides information that may put to rest the old myth that placing a wet cell phone in rice can revive the cell phone.

 The study was performed by DTJ, and aimed to uncover if the common belief that putting a wet cell phone in a sealed container of rice could actually remove the water from the device.

 The results of this experiment found that “although rice can effectively remove some moister from a water damaged cell phone, it will not remove the water entirely from the device”

 The study also found the only way to deal with a water damaged cell phone properly, is to have its components cleaned professionally. This should prevent any problems in the future and provide the greatest change of saving your water damaged cell phone. The optimal time to seek professional phone repair assistance is within 2 days of submerging your cellphone in water. This can prevent the water from corroding the cell phones circuits, causing the phone to malfunction.

Below are some tips if to help you deal with a water damaged cell phone.

• If exposed to water, do NOT turn on or charge your cell phone (this can short out the electronic components of your device)

• Remove the cell phone’s battery if possible.  This can help separate the electricity and prevent your cell phone from short-circuiting.

• If dropped in the ocean, rise entirely with clean water. If salt water is left to dry it will corrode and completely damage your cell phone.

• If possible, contact a cell phone repair store within 2 days of exposing it to water. There, professionals will be able to properly clean the device and prevent water from damaging the cell phone’s components

Can your cell phone get cold damaged?

Most cell phone experts warn that exposing your device to extreme temperatures may cause damage, but is it possible for a cell phone to get damaged from extreme cold?

For example, Apple suggests keeping your phone away from any temperatures outside the range of 0 to 35 degrees Celsius, and will not cover warranty claims if this temperate range is broken.

Samsung on the other hand, provides a range of -20 to 50 degrees Celsius, with a similar warranty in place.

According to a study produced MikroPC, most of the higher quality cell phones on the market today, fail at around -30 degrees Celsius.

There are two types of issues cell phones begin to have when going outside the recommended temperate (high or low)

The first being the cell phones display may react slowly. This is more common when exposed to extremely low temperatures.

The other common fault a cell phone may experience when faced with extreme temperatures is battery drainage. This can be a temporary issue, or possibly a permanent issue, causing the battery to never recover from the damage.

Today’s smartphones typically display warnings when the phone is about to enter the breaking point of these extreme temperatures. It is always a good idea to not leave your cell phone exposed to direct sunlight and to keep it bundled up in extreme cold.

If you are from the Vancouver, BC area and you do experiance any problems with your iPhone or any cell phone, Contact Cell Clinic Vancouver

Charging port problems on your iPhone iPad or Samsung mobile?

Have you have ever gone to plug your cellphone in to charge it and nothing happens? You may initially think you have a faulty charger, but it may in fact be your cell phones charging port that’s causing the issue.

Most phones get plugged in hundreds of times throughout their lifespan. As your cellphone gets older, you may experience the charging port starting to wear out. Not to worry, this is a common problem with the iPhone and Samsung cellphones as they start to approach 2-3 years of age.

If you are experiencing this problem we would suggest you first try using your cell phone with another charger. If that does not fix the issue, you may need your iPhone or Samsung charging port to be repaired or replaced. We would suggest you find a professional cell phone repair company that offers a “no fix, no fee” service. This means that if new charging port that is installed does not fix the issue, you will not be charged anything for the service.

Also, we would suggest you find a location that will offer a warranty for the service. The longer the warranty the repair shop offers, typically means the higher quality the repair will be. By getting a warranty you will have the piece of mind your cell phone has been repaired properly, and if it is to break again, you can get a new charging port replaced for free.

At Cell Clinic Vancouver we offer a 1 year warranty on all cell phone and tablet repairs, as well as a “no fix, no fee” policy.

5 Tips on Getting The Most Out of Your Cell Phone Battery Life

With all the new innovation going into smartphones and cell phones these days, the one limitation of them seems to be the life of the batteries used. Most cellphone batteries currently last the user a day at best, with normal use. This constant need to be attached to the wall charger, or use a heavy-duty battery pack case can be extremely annoying. Although here at Cell Clinic Vancouver we do carry a number of products to extend the life of your battery, we cannot physically make your battery more powerful. We can however offer 5 tips to improve the daily life of your battery on your smartphone or cell phone.

 1. Watch your signal strength

 When you have a low signal strength, your phone is constantly working much harder to find the signal it needs to run the cellular components of your cellphone. If you are more concerned about your battery life than staying connected, consider turning your phone on “airplane mode”. This will cut the connection from your cell phone to the cellular tower, and your battery will not be drained.

 2. Turn the phones brightness down

 It may be nice having that bight and glowing screen at first, but our eyes naturally adjust to brightness levels. What may seem dim at first will slowly adjust to a point where you won’t notice that you have turned it down at all. Now don’t turn it all the way down to a point where you are struggling to see the screen. A nice balance of about half way is enough to significantly improve your battery life, and not make you strain to see your cell phone screen.

 3. Reconsider your choice in a live wallpaper

 If may look really neat but maybe the novelty of a live action wallpaper has worn off. By turning this feature off, you will indeed see an improvement of your battery life.

 4. Close your Apps

 You may or may not know that when you switch from one app to another, the other app is still running in the background. Apps like Google Maps can eat up your battery life in minutes. To prevent this, close down your apps when you are done using them. Every cell phone or smartphone does this differently. On the iPhone simply double tap the home button and swipe up on the app to close it. On some Samsung cellphones there is actually a button on the bottom left of the screen that allows you to open all the apps and manually close them.

 5. See if your cell phone has a “power saving mode”

 Some of the newer cellphones and smartphones have a feature called power saving mode. This will limit the phone down to its primary features such as calling and texting. Do doing so, your cell phone will reduce its usage significantly, and result in an overall longer lasting battery.

 If all these tips fail to improve the daily life of your battery and you still cant make it a full day without charging up the phone, you may need a new battery replacement. Batteries for Samsung Cell Phones can be swapped out easily, but for phones such as the iPhone, you may need to take it into a repair shop like Cell Clinic Vancouver to get the replacement done.

 

Saving Money With a BYOP Cell Phone Plan

The lure of a brand new discounted cell phone with a 2-year contact can be tempting, but is it worth it?

We wanted to do the math and report the details back to you!

We decided to look at buying your own iPhone 5S VS getting your iPhone subsidized by Bell in a 2 year contact.

Situation 1: Purchasing a iPhone 5S on a 2 year contact with Bell.

• iPhone 5S 16GB = $300
• 2GB Data Plan $85 per month X 24 Months = $2040
• Activation Fee $15
• Unlocking Fee $50

Total Cost Plus Tax = $2334

Situation 2: Purchasing an unlocked iPhone 5S from Apple and going on a month-to-month contact.

–  Cost of iPhone 5S 16GB from Apple = $719

• Plan 1 $59 Fido Plan with 2GB data x 24 months $53 per month after 10% BYOD discount: $1274

• Plan 2 $49 Fido Plan with 1GB data x 24 months $44 per month after 10% BYOD discount: $1058

• Plan 3 $39 Fido Smart Plan with 400MB data x 24 months $35 Per month after 10% BYOD discount: $842

  Plan 1 total cost: $1993

  Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $341

  Plan 2 total cost: $1774

  Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $560

  Plan 3 total cost: $1561

  Potential savings vs 2 year contract = $773

  As you can see in any situation, it is almost always more cost effective to purchase your own device and not get it subsidized through a provider such as Rogers or Bell.

Always make sure to run the math before getting tempted into that 2-year contact. Not only will you be loosing money in the long run, you may potentially be tied into something for 2 years that you no longer want to be apart of.

Is Wind Mobile Worth The Cell Phone Plan Savings?

If you have recently been in the market for a new cell phone plan, chances are you have come across the plans offered by Wind Mobile. Currently, there are plans offered by Wind Mobile that start at around $30 a month for virtually everything you need in a cell phone plan. It often seems too good to be true, so we decided try out their services and find out for ourselves.

After a month of using Wind Mobile, we have discovered some true benefits of their cell phone plan and also some potential setbacks.

First off, Wind Mobile offers “unlimited” data for some of their plans. When talking with Rogers and Bell I was assured that after reaching 10GB a month the Wind Mobile service would slow down. This was also confirmed by Wind Mobile themself, but our thoughts were even 10GB of data for under $50 is an extremely great deal.

To test this, we attempted to reach the 10GB threshold during the month of using the Wind Mobile service.  Reaching 10GB of data use in a month was not the easiest thing to do, but we managed to reach it. What we found is that when we approached the 10GB threshold the data service DID NOT noticeably slow down.  Keep in mind we are using this Wind Moible in downtown Vancouver.

As far as the other services such as talk and text are concerned, we did not find any difference in coverage compared to providers such as Bell and Rogers.

Everything was looking great for the Wind Mobile case, until we left Vancouver. When leaving Vancouver, the story was completely different. The service was off and on, and when getting out of the Wind Mobile hot spots, we even found ourselves roaming at some points.

Our final conclusion of the Wind Mobile service is as follows:

If you are using Wind Mobile in Vancouver (especially the downtown core) the service is 5 stars in terms of value. If you are a frequent traveler or live outside of the Vancouver area, we would not recommend you go with Wind Mobile. The service may end up costing you more, due to roaming charges, and the frustration of not getting service in some places is not worth it. Maybe in the future Wind Mobile will expand their coverage reach, but currently the service is only worthwhile in the city of Vancouver, as far as British Columbia is concerned.