10 Windows Phone 8.1 Tips and Tricks You Should Know About

Microsoft has a free update to Windows Phone 8 users that will add a notification center, an intelligent Siri-like personal assistant, and new home screen options. The Windows Phone 8.1 update has not been officially released to the public. The exact date when the update will be available will depend on your smartphone manufacturer. As Microsoft stated, "The distribution of these incremental updates may be controlled by the mobile operator or the phone manufacturer from which you purchased your phone, and installation will require that your phone have any prior updates. Update availability will also vary by country, region, and hardware capabilities." However, if you want a sneak peek of the Windows Phone 8.1 update, you can download the developers preview here. For some Windows Phone 8.1 tips and tricks, check out the list below:

10 Windows Phone 8.1 Tips and Tricks You Should Know About

Swipe Down on Action Center for Detailed Status

The Action Center can be accessed by swiping from the top of the screen down. This will provide you with information and functions including recent emails and text messages, updated apps, enable Bluetooth, Airplane mode, and more. It even allows you to view detailed status on your battery, carrier connection, date, and more.

Pin Battery Saver and Storage Sense to the Start Screen

With the Windows Phone 8.1 update, the Battery Saver and Storage Sense features have been included in the App list. Because of this, you can now pin them to your Start screen. Microsoft even made them Live tiles to make them reflect your current battery status and current storage space (both phone and SD card storage).

Tell Cortana What News Topic You Want to Follow

Cortana is Microsoft's equivalent to Apple's Siri and Android's Google Now. It is an intelligent personal assistant that is capable of web searches, hands-free calls, scheduling appointments, identifying current weather, launching apps, and so much more. Cortana's Update me on this news topic is a feature that will track the topic you want and show any news in your Daily Glance. You can tap on the topic to enable notifications if there are new stories, as well as pin it to your Start screen.

Display the Weather Directly on the Calendar

Among the many Calendar enhancements made with the Windows phone 8.1, one of the coolest is its ability to display the weather forecast for each day of the week to help you plan your schedule and appointments more efficiently based on the expected weather bulletin. To display the weather directly on the native Calendar app, go to Calendar > Settings > Preferences, and then tap the Use my location to show the weather and suggested places box.

Capture a Screenshot

To capture a screenshot in Windows Phone 8.1, press the power button and the volume up key simultaneously.

Share Your Wi-Fi Network

Wi-Fi Sense is a new feature introduced in Windows Phone 8.1 that allows you to automatically connect to local, open Wi-Fi networks. In addition, Wi-Fi Sense also allows you to share the Wi-Fi credentials of your trusted networks with your Skype, Outlook, and Facebook friends provided they have Windows Phone 8.1 devices as well. With this, your friends will have access to your Wi-Fi network, but they will not see the actual Wi-Fi password.

Scan Barcodes and QR Codes

Using Cortana will make you lose the ability to scan barcodes through Bing Vision. But, you can still access Bing Vision, although not as conveniently as before, by going to Camera > Lenses > Bing Vision.

Close Apps with a Swipe of a Finger

Windows Phone 8.1 will allow you to close apps with just a swipe of a finger. To do this, access Windows Phone's multitasking menu by long pressing the back button. Once inside, you can quickly go to a previously opened app, or close it by either pressing the x icon or swiping the app downward.

Swipe Down on the Lock Screen to Access Action Center

With Windows Phone 8.1, you will be able to access Action Center without unlocking your screen so you can toggle the Quick action buttons and dismiss alerts. To do this, just swipe down on the Lock screen even if it requires a PIN code. However, if you want to read anything, you will need to enter the PIN code.

Set Quiet Hours

Quiet Hours is Windows Phone's equivalent to the Do Not Disturb feature in iOS. With Quiet Hours, you will be able to set the time between which you do not want to be disturbed. Your Windows Phone will then stop all notifications or any noise during the hours you have specified so as not to bother you. That is unless you have an incoming call from an important person, in which case you will be alerted of the call or the text message.

These are just a few tips and tricks for your Windows Phone 8.1. Surely, more will come out once it is officially released to the public.

Gadgets You'll Still Gonna Love Next Year

When it comes to shopping for tech gadgets, there are times wherein it's worth to wait for a new and improved model of the device you've been eyeing on for a quite a while now.

Here are some tech products that you'll never regret on buying even until next year when its better successor arrives.

SSDs

SSDs or Solid State Drives provide a high-speed, low-power data solution both for personal and enterprise use. Having an SSD is ideal for someone who is willing to pay more for faster performance, and those who don't mind getting limited storage capacity or can just work around that. Though the prices of SSDs may drop over time, new and upcoming models won't be significantly faster than what we have today for a long time.

An SSD-equipped PC will boot in seconds, certainly under a minute. A hard drive requires time to speed up to operating specs, and will continue to be slower than an SSD during normal operation. A PC or Mac with an SSD boots faster, launches apps faster, and has higher overall performance. Whether it's for fun, school, or business, the extra speed may be the difference between finishing on time or failing.

Windows 7 Notebooks

Even though Microsoft's Windows 8 offers better performance and a handful of touch-friendly features, a number of consumers were disappointed by its new Start-button-no-more UI and the high learning curve needed to master its navigation.

New computers are now rolled out with the new Windows 8 OS. Though if you still prefer the traditional look and feel of Windows interface, there may still be a slim chance of finding slightly older models that come with Windows 7. As days go by, stocks of Windows 7-based computers will dwindle and there'll come a day when all you can find is Windows 8. If you buy a Windows 7 notebook and decide later that you want to upgrade to the new OS, you're going to shell out around $40 or less.

Monitors

Even though you use a laptop almost everyday, it's still recommended to have full-size monitors both at home and at work. The more pixels and the larger screen you have, the more productive you'll be. There are lots of affordable 23-inch, 1920 x 1080 screens today that you can get under $150. However, if you can stretch your budget a little bit more, it's better to get an LED-backlit monitor that has 1920 x 1200 resolution. Even if more and more manufacturers are integrating touch screen displays since last year, these monitors can serve you well for many years to come.

Media Tablets

You don't have to wait if you want a low-cost, high-portability media tablet because you can already get tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Google Nexus 7, or Barnes and Noble Nook HD for $199, as well as the iPad Mini. Since none of these companies refreshes their flagship products more than once a year, you'll have no regrets if you buy one now. They'll also be hard pressed to improve the high-res screens, speedy CPUs, and long battery lives even by that time. Prices for these tablets are also not expected to drop its price that much, otherwise manufacturers that sell them would be taking in a huge loss.

Printers

Printers keep getting better like most technologies, however the differences are not much of significance that most of us would hardly notice. If you're going to buy a decent quality printer or an all-in-one right now, it should still be more than adequate five years from now.

The image quality that you can get from a budget printer is good enough when printing your own high-quality color photos. When asked which printer type is better, a laser printer is better than going with an inkjet since laser printers with locking paper drawers have a tendency to suffer from lesser jams.

Set-Top Boxes

Want to have a better content viewing experience? Smart TVs let you view streaming video but can be an extremely expensive solution. Luckily, there are affordable set-top boxes like the Roku box and Apple TV, which allows you to stream your favorite content directly from the Internet to your home theater system.

There will always be new models that will come out eventually, but since the models available on the market today already have a 1080p output, that should be enough to be the main feature that you should need for now and for many years to come. For example, the Roku 2 XS is perfect for streaming content from services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and hundreds of other video channels while offering a USB port for connecting to local storage for just $99.

External Hard Drives and USB Flash Disks

The birth of USB 3.0 has been the biggest advancement in the external storage technology in the past few years. If you buy a USB 3.0-compliant hard drive today, most likely you'll still be happy with it in 2014 and beyond. While external SSDs can possibly get cheaper over the next few years, it still won't reach price parity with external hard drives for a long period of time. Wireless hard drive, which is a relatively new category, will continue to improve over the next few year, however, it still won't match the speed and ease-of-use that you can get from a simple USB 3.0 drive.

eReaders

If you fancy reading on a grayscale eInk screen, then the eReader is just the right gadget for you. You can get quality eReaders such as the Kindle for $69 and the Nook Simple Touch for $99. It's actually hard to imagine what other features you'd want to get from an eBook reader that you won't get now. Well, maybe companies such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon will roll out color eBook readers, but right now that technology is somewhat cost prohibitive and unlikely to be attractive to the consumers.

If you already have most, if not all, of these trending products we showed you, then it's best to take very good care of them. Devices like these can be very useful and can meet all our tech-related needs, now and for the years to come.

5 Recommended External Drives for Your MacBook Air

Just bought a brand new MacBook Air but don't know what to do with your old CDs, CD-ROMS, and DVDs? Don't think about sticking them to your laptop, simply because the MacBook Air doesn't have an optical drive. Don't know what to do next? Calm down and check out these five external optical drives you can plug right in and hear that long-lost whirring sound once again. Forget the Blu-ray or Thunderbolt because those are out of the topic for now. Below are just straightforward USB 2.0 based drives that can be used for disc jockeying, burning and ripping, and installing software.

So, without further ado, let's give it a whir!

Apple SuperDrive

Probably the optical drive that the Apple boss, Steve Jobs himself, used. You must really love Apple product if you still want to buy this one at a price that's pretty hard to be justified. The slot-loading drive measures .47 x 5.47 x 0.67 and measures 0.74 pounds. You can take it anywhere -- only slightly bigger than a CD case, the Apple USB SuperDrive slips easily into your travel bag when you hit the road and takes up little space on your desk or tray table when you're working. This aluminum-plated drive costs around $79.

Samsung Portable Optical Disc Drive

Aside from its eye-candy colors, the Samsung portable optical disc drive features a sleek, rounded design with a curved surface and a metallic center line. With a variety of vibrant colors to choose from -- black, blue, pink, red, silver, white, and yellow, this optical drive is also a winner of the 2010 if product design award. This slot-loading drive measures 6.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches and weighs 0.93 pounds. It costs $49.99.

Targus DVD-ROM External USB 2.0 Drive

With the Targus DVD-ROM External USB 2.0 Drive, you can easily watch movies, listen to music, or view pictures right from your new MacBook Air. The ergonomic, toploading design is easy to use while the clearly marked buttons make it simple to operate. To operate, simply connect to a USB port and the drive is all ready to go; no additional power source needed. The USB cable conveniently attaches and stores under the device, making it a sleek and slim form factor for travel. The price of the Targus external drive is $59.99, with top-loading optical drive measures at 9.2 x 7.8 x 2.1 inches and weighs 0.75 pounds.

ASUS Slim SDRW-08D2S-U

Into diamonds? You'll surely love with ASUS' slick and glossy optical drive -- the Slim SDRW-08D2S-U because of its diamond-cut design. The lattice-like appearance of the drive is inspired by diamonds, making the product unique from every angle. Burn disc with enhanced data protection in just 3 quick steps and intuitive Disc Encryption lets you do this easily. Tray-loading drive measures 5.59 x 6.18 x 0.83 inches, and weighs 0.69 pounds. This gorgeous external drive costs $59.99.

Toshiba Portable SuperMulti Drive

Watch movies, load software and back-up files can’t be easier with the Toshiba Portable DVD SuperMulti Drive. Weighs at only 12 ounces and powered directly from your computer, the drive offers easy portability to burn and play CDs and DVDs anywhere, anytime. Its small, lightweight and cutting-edge design is perfect for your cool MacBook Air. Simply plug in the USB port of your PC and play - there’s no need for an extra power supply. Measures 5.7 x 79 x 5.8 inches, but wicked-light at 0.213 pounds. This SuperMulti drive costs a whopping $99.99.

Which one is your pick? Please feel free to add more on the comments section below.