Recently I was asked if I would pay for an iPhone. Well to start with I’ve not even gotten up close and personal with an iPhone before so I don’t know if I would pay a lot of money for one. In any case, where I come from, the iPhone is exclusively tied to the use of one particular mobile phone service provider. That’s as far as I know for now.

But I’ve heard great and raving reviews of these iPhones from fellow fans of Apple products. So much so that they’ve gotten their hands on these phones way before they made their way onto our shores.

On the other hand, I also have friends who are fans but not willing to pay so much for an iPhone. So what they do is to get their hands on products that are similar in appearance and functionality as the iPhone. Apparently there are lots of these products in the market and they cost a fraction of the cost of an iPhone.

Having heard from both sides, I do hear some differences between the iPhone and the iPhone-wanna-be products. So at the end of the day, I do ask both sets of friends whether they would trade the price for the actual quality and I get quite a mix view from the two groups. I guess it is as expected.

The iPhone fans, on top of simply loving the iPhone itself, are also very happy with the range of iPhone accessories that come with it. Apple fans being Apple fans, they also always up-play the aesthetic value of the Apple products too, from the phone itself down to the smallest of things like the iPhone car charger and even iPhone case look perfectly beautiful. Actually, I can’t agree more. You have to give it up to Apple when it comes to presentation.

But still, when you ask me if I would pay the price for one of these beautiful gadgets, I can’t say for sure. Perhaps it will depend on my impulse when being approached to buy one of these.

Which side of the fence are you on, an Apple-die-hard fan or the one who could do with an Apple alternative? Any tips to share if there’s someone who wants all the benefits of an iPhone but cannot afford the price?

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This post is brought to you by: Useful Tips For Life

To pay for an iPhone or a product that looks like an iPhone?

Earlier I wrote about how smartphone users can use a software called Phone Guardian to protect their phones from unauthorised use should the phone get stolen (read it here). There hasn’t been such a great feature for normal mobile phones, but thankfully there is still something you can do to protect your phone from being used if it gets stolen.

You can disable your phone from being used simply by calling your mobile service operator or service provider. What you need to do beforehand is to jot down your phone’s unique serial number. When you call your service provider to report phone loss, give them your mobile phone’s serial number and they will be able to lock your phone immediately and prevent it from being used. A change of SIM card will not unlock the phone either, thus the phone will be totally useless to whoever who stole it.

To obtain your phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:

* # 0 6 #

 

 

Make sure you keep this serial number safe!

Related Tips

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• Your car can be unlocked by others when you use a remote control locking system
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This post is brought to you by: Useful Tips For Life

How to disable your mobile phone if it gets stolen

If you are using a smartphone, chances are you will want the highest security to protect it since smartphones don’t come cheap. Fortunately, there is a way to protect your device and your SIM card from being potentially misused if it gets stolen. Smartphones can use a software called Phone Guardian to remotely lock and unlock the phone just by sending an SMS. Sounds simple and easy, isn’t it? Read more about this software and how it works in many ways to help protect your phone against unauthorised use.

Phone Guardian helps to secure your mobile against theft in the following ways:

Send an SMS with a specific code and your chosen password (preset beforehand when you install the software) to fully lock or unlock your phone. This will definitely frustrate the culprits as there is no way they are able to make use of your device once it is locked. They can’t even attempt to sell it off to make a profit as no one will be a willing buyer of a non-functioning phone!

Send an SMS with a code and password to turn on or off a siren or alarm. This will probably be a good shock to the culprits when the siren is unexpectedly turned on! It may even alert people around the culprits that they have stolen a phone.

You can also set an auto lock function without sending an SMS. This auto lock will work upon an insertion of a different SIM card into the phone.

You can also set the siren or alarm to go off automatically when the phone is being locked. Setting this function to auto mode seems useful and saves you some work in the event that your phone does get stolen.

There are more functions on how to lock your phone in different ways. You can read more about the Phone Guardian software at this site for more information. On this site, you can also check the compatibility of this software for many smartphone models.

Using this software may not prevent the theft of your phone, but at least it will render your device useless to those who stole it and you will have peace of mind that you are not going to be charged a huge phone bill for calls you did not make.

Related Tips

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• Some health tips in our current lifestyle

This post is brought to you by: Useful Tips For Life

Lock your mobile phone remotely by sending an SMS

I received a very useful tip from an email on how to check where a mobile phone (any brand) is assembled or manufactured in. This is based on looking at the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number that tells you where the phone came from. Whether you choose to believe this, it’s entirely your call. But for fun’s sake, maybe you can do a quick check to see where your phone came from!

Here’s how you do it. Punch in these buttons on your phone:

*#06#

 

Immediately, a series of number will appear on the screen. This is the international mobile equipment identity number referred to above. Now, locate the 7th and 8th numbers. The combination of these two numbers will tell you where your phone is manufactured or assembled in.

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 02 or 20 this means your cell phone was assembled in China which is low quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 08 or 80 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany which is fair quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 01 or 10 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Finland which is very Good

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 00 this means your cell phone was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 13 this means your cell phone was assembled in Azerbaijan which is very Bad quality and also dangerous for your health

Related Tips

• Lock your mobile phone remotely by sending an SMS
• To pay for an iPhone or a product that looks like an iPhone?
• Some health tips in our current lifestyle
• How to disable your mobile phone if it gets stolen
• Your car can be unlocked by others when you use a remote control locking system

This post is brought to you by: Useful Tips For Life

Simple steps to find out where your phone is made from