10 Things You Didn't Know Your Smartphone Could Do

Now with your smartphone you can do everything! Millions of apps are already available for you to choose which can do amazing things making your life easier and more fun. There are many of them which you are already familiar with but also some other apps that maybe you don't even know they exist. Here you will find many interesting things you didn't know your smartphone could do. Most of these Android applications are available both for Android phones and iPhones.

1. Scanner

Things are so much easier when you have a virtual scanner always with you. Now with using only your smartphone you can scan almost everything you want. Start scanning your check to be deposited, a barcode in the store to see the price, keep track of your tax receipts or a business card at work. For doing this there are so many apps you can directly download from your smartphone. These apps are for specific activities so first make sure to know what do you need to scan and then download the relevant app for that.

Applications: TurboScan; ScannerPro; Genius Scan; CamScanner Free; Prizmo; WorldCard

2. Universal Remote Control

With so many electronic devices we have at home it is complicated keeping track of each one of them and all the remotes that control them. To solve all this confusion people started using the Universal Remote. That was the best solution until now! You can use your smartphone as a Universal Remote just by adding a simple infrared device to your smartphone and downloading the relevant application. Now don't be surprised if you come home and see your Dad or Mom pointing their smartphones to some electronic device.

Applications: Griffin Beacon; iRule; RedEye; Zmart; Power A.

3. Car Remote

You can use your smartphone not only as a Universal Remote but, even as a car remote. Forget your keys because now you don't need them for starting your car! For this you would need first to buy a hardware from Viper which is compatible with most vehicles. After downloading that app, later you can start your car, lock and unlock the doors, set the panic alarm etc. Now you can leave your keys at home, but before that make sure your smartphone is fully charged!

Applications: Viper SmartStart; SmartStart; Zipcar

4. Smart measures

You can measure almost everything starting from your heart rate, number of steps, hours of sleep and more than that: recording your snore! If your mom, flatmate, husband or wife snores but they don't accept the fact, the Night Recorder will give you the proofs you want.

Using your smartphone you can even track your sleeping habits and hours. Are you thinking you don't have enough sleep? Do you sleep too much? It is your phone now telling you how many hours did/should you sleep. Another app will keep track of all the steps you take during the day and how active you are. You can later generate these reports and feedback on your activity levels. Your smartphone is now your personal adviser helping you track everything and stay healthy.

Using your smartphone camera monitor you can count your beats per minute (BPM). We don't know how accurate this app is, but it is really cool. You can measure your heartbeat while thinking about your soulmate and share it with him/her on social networks.

Applications: Instant Heart Rate; SleepBot; FitBit One; SnoreClock

5. Identify

With your smartphone things are easier to be identified. If you are traveling somewhere and you see a picture in a museum, a place, an object or anything interesting you can just scan it using apps such as Google Goggles and then this app will take care of searching in Google and giving you more details about that. You can also use this app to translate text from one language to another making it much more useful. There are also other apps which are able to identify the song you are listening to. If you really like a song but you don't know or remember the title of that song, you can just record a small part of it, and let the app do the rest.

Applications: Google Goggles; Shazam; Soundhound; musiXmatch

6. Track your kids

Let's accept it! No one wants to be tracked and kept under surveillance. But this app is very useful for parents and family members specially in such places where going around is not safe. This app gives peace specially to parents and give them comfort as they know where they kids are, or if they arrived safely in their destination. This app is also very good and important to track your phone in case you lost it or it was stolen.

Applications: Find My iPhone; Verizon Family Locator; Where's My Droid; Cerberus

7. Stop phone calls

This app is for avoiding embarrassing phone calls. Did you ever think on calling your ex-boyfriend or your boss telling him what you really think of him? Well, thinking is fine, unless you are drunk and you really do it. If you don't want to lose your job, you better install an app in your smartphone that lock you out of your phone contacts or just some of them. You can unlock the contacts only if you pass a sobriety test.

Applications: Designated Dialer; Smart AppLock

8. Mail a postcard

What if you are on holiday and you want to send pictures to your family as a postcard? Now this can be done only with smartphone and without the need to go anywhere to send it. With only an app you just take a snapshot and transform into a genuine paper postcard that will be mailed to the recipient you want. It is also possible to add a message there. The sending will be realized via U.S postal service and even though the app itself is free, you need to pay for the mailing depending on the destination.

Applications: Postcard on the Run; shoot it!; Postcard Star; Postino

9. Use as Mouse and Keyboard

Now you can even use your smartphone as a mouse and keyboard. The app lets you control your computer by only using your smartphone as a remote mouse and keyboard. To make it work you don't only need to download the application but also to install a special client software on your computer. You can just wave your smartphone in the air and see how the mouse pointer moves in the screen of your computer.

Applications: Mobile Mouse Pro; AndroMouse

10. Detect Speed Traps

Do you need an assistant while you are driving? You don't need any extra equipment but only using your smartphone you can save yourself from the speeding tickets. This app is really interesting because it relies on information gathered from millions of people using this app. Using this massive database you will get mobile alerts about upcoming speed traps, hidden cameras or any other signals. You can check the map continuously and drive according to that.

Applications: Trapster

Sources

· PricePanda Malaysia

· Apple App Store

· Google Play