Galaxy Note 3 Tips & Tricks Ep 42: Heart Rate Monitor for Galaxy Note 2, 3, or Any Android

<div id="tdncontent"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGTI2tm_Byc" target="_blank"><img onload="tdnembed()" onmouseout="tdnout(this)" onmouseover="tdnover(this)" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMPra3Ob0E4/UzLoCgpolPI/AAAAAAAAA6M/kZ4qikQZsqM/s685/342.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /><br /><br /> </a></div> <h3>Free Heart Rate Monitor </h3> The Galaxy S5 was announced and one of the interesting new features was a heart-rate monitor.  But here's the thing, people have measuring their heart-rate for at least the last 3 years on most Android devices.  And you don't really need any special sensor to do it.  You do it through the camera sensor and the flash unit.  And it works remarkably well.  And the great thing is, it's free, and you can do it now.<br /> <br /> App: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=si.modula.android.instantheartrate" target="_blank">Instant Heart Rate Monitor</a><br /> <br /> If you read the comments for this app, there is some skepticism.  In order to put to rest any doubt, we've gone through great lengths to prove in the video above that Instant Heart Rate Monitor works, and works accurately.<br /> <h3> Tips</h3> When you press your finger against the camera, you don't want to restrict blood passing through your finger.  And after your eyes adjust, you should be able to see your finger pulsating provided that you have some descent circulation.  If you flip the phone over while it's detecting your heartrate, you should also see that your screen is a bright red orange, and the color should be pulsating.  So that's all that this app is doing.  It's just measuring the changes in color, graphing it for you, and counting the time between the peaks.  If you do have a weak pulse however, you can try a few things to raise your bloodpressure.<br /> <br /> Is important to cover the entire camera sensor and not move your finger because it's just measuring the brightness of the image.  As for people saying how it gives you a reading when you just place it on the table.  And it's true that it does this, but only because camera sensors pick up noise along with light information, and it's just amplifying the tiniest amount of changes it sees and showing that to you on a graph.  You will see, it looks nothing like a pulse.  It's just static.<br /> <br /> It is important that you measure your resting heart rate by measuring your heart rate first thing in the morning.  Coffee, stress, and level of physical activity will definitely impact the numbers.<br /> <h3> Conclusion</h3> It turns out you don't need a special sensor or the Samsung Galaxy S5 to measure your heart rate.  You can do it virtually on any Android and it works really well.  And the best thing is, it's free.  If you want to keep track of your results, there is a pro version available for purchase for $2.

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Free Heart Rate Monitor  The Galaxy S5 was announced and one of the interesting new features was a heart-rate monitor.  But here's th...

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Samsung Galaxy S5 First Impressions, Does Bigger Mean Better?

<div id="tdncontent"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIU8jQ-smIc" target="_blank"><img onload="tdnembed()" onmouseout="tdnout(this)" onmouseover="tdnover(this)" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bxN1tP1FBj4/UzLoM4Xm8MI/AAAAAAAAA8E/TcRXYlfsFf0/s685/s5.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /><br /><br /> </a></div> The Samsung Galaxy Note S5 was officially announced 2 days ago. I thought I'd share my opinions on the specs of the Galaxy S5, and what this could mean for the future of the GALAXY Note.<br /> <h3> A Sign of Things to Come for the GALAXY Note 4?</h3> The reason I pay close attention is that in the past, when the new model of GALAXY S comes out, it usually offers some insight on what the next version of the Galaxy Note will be like. My first thought when I saw it was, why is it so much bigger? For example, the Galaxy Note 3 is smaller and lighter than the note 2, yet has a bigger screen size and battery than the Note 2. The S5 however is thicker, wider, heavier, and taller. Some of those dimensions grew rather significantly. Yet it has very little gains to show for it.<br /> <br /> <h3>Aesthetics</h3> I also thought it is missing a touch of elegance. I thought the S3 was the best looking Galaxy S so far, the second being the S4, but the S5 looks a little muted. Sure, the Galaxy Note 3 is actually just as minimalistic in design as the S5 is when it comes to the shape of the device, but it has a brushed metal look on the frame, and in such a minimalistic setting, it makes a big difference.<br /> <h3> The Hardware</h3> With that said, the CPU and GPU is absolutely top notch. And the early benchmarks show it is unquestionably the fastest android to date, although it's still only slightly faster than the Galaxy Note 3. The Note 3 having 3 gigs of memory, everyone expected the S5 to of course come with 3GB of memory. But the S5 will only have 2, which is the same amount of ram we even saw on the LTE versions of the S3. But if you understand how memory works on Android, it really isn't too big of a deal. Unlike a PC where an application has access to all the free memory on your computer, an Android app is limited to a small fraction of the memory available on an average smartphone today. The only times where it may be of some convenience is when you are actively switching between many apps while multitasking. Considering that the S5 has a smaller battery, it will probably be a good thing having less applications in memory for battery life of the S5 since Android still doesn't have a complete handle on a runaway background processes that on occasion may drain your battery unexpectedly.<br /> <h3> Where is the 64GB Model?</h3> As for internal storage, I was surprised that 16GB is still even an option being offered for manufacturing. You should know by now that when a smartphone says it's a 16GB phone, you have to factor in that you only really start off with 90% of that. Load all the system software which is around 6GB now on Android 4.4. And you're left with somewhere around 8 GB of usable storage for the apps that "you" want to install. That's significantly less than what you probably envisioned when you decided to buy a 16GB device. So unless you consider yourself to be a very light user of a smartphone and don't treat the Google Play store as a source for entertainment, you should really invest in a 32GB device to avoid having to always tightly manage the storage and the apps your have installed on your smartphone. How about the 64GB option. Well, having been the owner of one of the rare 64GB Korean Galaxy models, I could say the extra space was mostly wasted. I ended up installing 30GB of 3D games that I rarely ever had time for. If it wasn't for games, I would fill it up with days worth of TV shows that never got watched. I still played games and watched videos regularly on my device, but it could have been just as easily handled with a 32GB device with a 64GB external SD card which is on my Note 3 now.<br /> <h3> Most Exciting Feature?  Improved Imaging & HDR Video</h3> For the Galaxy S5, it is obvious that Samsung has invested heavily into their photo and video features of the device. It has gotten the 4K video that we first saw on the Galaxy Note 3. But what's really interesting in my opinion is the HDR video. High resolution video is great, but when it feels like it was shot with a smartphone, you know that look... black shadows and white skies, it really is difficult if not impossible to work with. However, having the option to shoot HDR video may prove to be incredibly useful because it gives you a lot more flexibility for the video to be adjusted. And hopefully the video will be good enough for even semi-professional applications.<br /> <h3> Conclusion</h3> It seems as though the general consensus is that people are underwhelmed by it. I think everyone expects to be wow'd by something that they never expected at these launch events and maybe the S5's launch didn't offer that. But it seems as though the trend has shifted and now Samsung likes saving their best new features when they unveil the next Galaxy Note. Well, we can only hope.<br /> <br /> What are your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S5? Is there a killer feature that you would like to see on the next version of the Samsung Galaxy Note? Please feel free to share those thoughts in the comments below.

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The Samsung Galaxy Note S5 was officially announced 2 days ago. I thought I'd share my opinions on the specs of the Galaxy S5, and wh...

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Special Feature Episode 3: What's New in Android 4.4 Part 3

<div id="tdncontent"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM76qgFhegQ" target="_blank"><img onload="tdnembed()" onmouseout="tdnout(this)" onmouseover="tdnover(this)" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YRaC2VwWcAM/UzLoHeNuJRI/AAAAAAAAA7A/dz61U9X4Qd0/s685/3w3.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /><br /><br /> </a></div> In part 3 of What's New in Android 4.4 KitKat for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, we discuss are about a dozen changes to the notification bar and everything contained inside of it including but not limited to settings, and new features inside the settings panels.<br /> <h3> Changes to Graphic Elements in the UI</h3> You'll notice that all the notification icons have been changed to shades of gray, and a lot of the app developers have jumped on board as well but you'll still see color icons for a lot of 3rd party apps.  Another thing about the notification bar.  When an app is in full screen and you pull down the notification bar, it will now be transparent until you react with it.  If we pull that down, you should be able to see this notification bar has changed color and the clear button has a flat look to it.  The font for the notifications text also seems to be much thinner. <br /> <br />One interesting thing about this brightness control bar.  Now, inside apps that let you control the brightness within the app, when you bring down the notification panel, the volume lever is not shown.  If you go out of such apps, the brightness lever comes back.<br /> <br /> When you have multiple items to open for an action, your last selection is highlighted to quickly guide you with your decision.  Here's something I never knew before.  You can even long tap on the selection and choose to uninstall the app from here if you no longer need that app.  A nice touch that I noticed since the update. <br /> <br /> There's now a popup message when you unplug earphones...which I felt was unnecessary.  You can also see that the default template for popup messages is rounded rectangle.  In my opinion, this rounded rectangle and font choice really looks out of place.<br /> <h3> Other Changes</h3> The Note 3 now vibrates briefly when it's done starting up.  This change definitely complements how the devices vibrate when they are done shutting down.<br /> <br /> In the settings, when you go to "more networks", you can change the default SMS text message app here.  You also have options to disable or enable the print services that came with your note 3.  You might as well turn these off if you don't plan on printing on your mobile device.<br /> <br /> The GPS settings are much more defined.  You can choose whether to use the GPS sensor which does take a lot of battery, or if you would rather just provide your phone with GPS information based on your network or wifi location.  That should be fine for when you don't need pin-point accuracy by the second.  You can also choose which apps have access to your gps location here as well.<br /> <h3> NFC Card Mode</h3> There's a new option in the NFC toggle button called NFC card mode.  Unfortunately, I haven't figured out what this is or how this works.  And it's different from the tap and pay feature, which I believe is also new.  The tap and pay feature can be enabled if you have the google wallet app installed and configured.  I'll try to do an extended video on these features if I can figure out what this does.<br /> <h3> New Process Stats List</h3> Next, here is a really valuable feature in my opinion.  Inside developer options, you will see the new process stats list.  It is different from battery stats which doesn't seem to list much of anything anymore.  Much better information is now provided in the processes stats.  It shows what process is running actively for the duration of the time your phone has been on. <br /> <br /> If you can't see process stats because you don't see developer options, you just need to go to about device and tap on the build number a few times. <br /> <h3> Android 4.4.2 Easter Egg</h3> While inside the Settings -> About Device, click on the Android version about 5 times.  Then you get this rotating K.  You can long tap on that, and get the Android 4.4 KitKat logo.  And you can long tap on that and you get this animated screen saver that you can interact with.  It feels like a game, but it's not.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's another easter egg in here though, but no one has found anything yet.

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In part 3 of What's New in Android 4.4 KitKat for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, we discuss are about a dozen changes to the notification ...

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Special Feature Episode 10: What's New in Android 4.3 Part 9

<div id="tdncontent"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH-lAoF63s0" target="_blank"><img onload="tdnembed()" onmouseout="tdnout(this)" onmouseover="tdnover(this)" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ivWpZtc-JSA/UzLnk87JOLI/AAAAAAAAAz0/qJLmb_dUlMM/s685/2w10.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /><br /><br /> </a></div> Just when we thought we were done discovering every new feature that came with the Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy Note 2, we found a few more interesting things that came with the update.<br /> <h3> Swipe Continuously on Samsung Keyboard</h3> So a while back, we did a video comparing the keyboard of the Galaxy Note 3 to the Galaxy Note 2.  And one thing you couldn't do on the Note 2 keyboard was swipe continuously.  Well, it turns out, now you can after the 4.3 update.  You can type sentences without lifting your finger or stylus off the screen.  Just swipe through the spacebar whenever you need a space in between the words, and just keep swiping along.  One thing that's good about swipe typing is that you can fudge through the letters and it usually does a really good job guessing the words. <br /> <br /> I still think that swiping and lifting your finger off the screen is still more economical, but in one handed mode, it does feel more natural.  One tip though.  You shouldn't type too many words consecutively unless you're really good at it.  You might find out that you've messed up on the last word and it's kind of a pain to correct.  When you hit that backspace button, the entire phrase disappears.  So if you need to correct, instead of hitting backspace, hit somewhere inside the phrase to make that underline disappear, then you can start correcting the words.<br /> <h3> MP3 ID3 Editor in Stock Music App</h3> If you are looking for an ID3 tag editor for your music files such as mp3 files, you can now edit ID3 tags directly inside the stock music player.  If you have a lot of music files and rely on them to be automatically organized via ID3 tags, this feature will come in handy one day when you're looking to do some quick cleanup of how some music files get organized.<br /> <h3> Smart Volume</h3> Inside the music player, there's a new feature called Smart Volume.  It is specifically there to normalize volume differences for your variety of audio tracks that may have been recorded with different levels of volume output.  I'm guessing it is there to assist you during the instances where you have to adjust the volume up or down when you find the audio hard to hear or it's hurting your ears.  That does sound like a nice feature however, during my testing I really couldn't make out any differences.  If you guys know how this feature works, please share the information in the comments below.  Update: It may have to do with limiting the earphone volume for your hearing health.<br /> <div> <br /></div>

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Just when we thought we were done discovering every new feature that came with the Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy Note 2, we found a fe...

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Special Feature Episode 2: What's New in Android 4.4 Part 2, Stock App Updates

<div id="tdncontent"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHPvHnZ0hxY" target="_blank"><img onload="tdnembed()" onmouseout="tdnout(this)" onmouseover="tdnover(this)" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqjT9lNgsGk/UzLoHaiaqEI/AAAAAAAAA7M/nZCbtcqo1d4/s685/3w2.jpg" style="width: 100%;" /><br /><br /> </a></div> The update from Android 4.3 to 4.4 is a relatively minor one, but nevertheless there are some changes to the Samsung software that Samsung provides for the Galaxy Note 3.<br /> <h3> Android 4.4 Update Availability</h3> If you haven't got the Android 4.4 update yet, don't worry.   It is because your carriers are most likely waiting on some important updates to big bugs.  One thing to note is that, VPN seems to be broken.  If you have to connect to a VPN to get your work emails, well, you definitely want to make sure that is working before you update.  The other things I've run into.  It only happens very rarely, but sometimes, it won't let me write to my local or external storage over USB.  After I reboot it though it seems to be fine.  And last, if you were not using a genuine S View cover but a generic one, that won't work at the moment.  Some of these bugs Google needs to fix.  Let's hope they get all that fixed soon and push the updates to everyone.<br /> <h3> Update to S Note</h3> After you update, you'll get a popup message saying that it wants to sync with a previous version of S Note.  What I believe it's looking for are S Note files from your Galaxy Note 2 and maybe even the Galaxy Note 1, if you have any of these files.  When you press OK, it will search through your device and your Samsung Account.  And you can choose to import any files that it has found.<br /> <br /> When you go to Recent notes from the main screen, you'll notice that you get hover previews for up to the first 6 pages for you S Note files.  At the bottom, you'll see the files you've just imported.  But these won't give you the hover previews.  It is because you have to convert them the first time.  Inside the S Note editor, when you are editing a note, you'll notice a new icon for the Magnified notepad feature.<br /> <br /> Have you seen the video where a guy paints Morgan Freeman with his finger on an iPad on YouTube?  He individually drew  each stand of Morgan Freeman's beard with one finger.  Well, I think if he had an S Pen and this feature, it would have been infinitely easier.  You can see a box that will be the area of focus.  You can move it and expand it to focus on the specific area you want.  One last thing about S Note is that is support drag and drop functionality in Multi-Window.  You may also notice the menu's pop up with a little more animation and some minor design changes to labels.<br /> <h3> Update to Pen Window</h3> Pen Windows has got a small update.  When you start pen window, you will notice an edit button to edit apps you want to have access to when you are looking to use the feature.  Unfortunately, it does not change what apps are available overall.  But like multi window, I'm sure the list of supported apps will eventually grow.  Speaking of multi window, when you go to edit, you'll notice that the button on the bottom is now gone to find apps in the google play store.<br /> <h3> Update to Group Play</h3> You now have more apps listed in the Group Play games.  In the video, we demonstrate the Group Play game Air Hockey.  We'll have some more extensive videos on all these games because they are all kinda different and interesting.  One thing we do want to point out is that these games seem to be only compatible with the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4.

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The update from Android 4.3 to 4.4 is a relatively minor one, but nevertheless there are some changes to the Samsung software that Samsung...

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