Technology for Moms

What I Learned at a Fun Sprint Event in Chicago and an LG G4 Smartphone Review

October 1, 2015 by Sandra 10 Comments

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. #SprintMom #MoveForward

Today, I’m going to share about a few of my favorite things: Chicago, LG Smartphones, and Sprint phone plans.

Yes, you read that right. Besides the Windy City and beautiful LG phones, I also love Sprint’s smartphone plans. And I’m not saying that because they’re giving me a special discount or anything. They’re not. My husband and I pay $105 per month for a plan that includes both of our smartphones and absolutely meets our needs. 🙂

The Sprint Chicago Event

As a long time Sprint customer, I was already familiar with their plans and how they work, but I got to learn even more about them, including their new plans, at a recent Sprint event in Chicago. Along with several other bloggers, I had the opportunity to visit Sprint’s Chicago office and talk to some very happy and knowledgeable Sprint team members. It was a lot of fun!

Of everything discussed, I think I enjoyed learning about Sprint’s prepaid plans the most. Maybe that’s because I have two teenagers who’ll need their own phones someday, and the Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile prepaid plans that Sprint offers sound like great options for when Nathan and Breanna finally need phones of their own.

Oh, and I also had no idea that Sprint offers a super convenient program called Direct 2 You. With Sprint Direct 2 You, a Sprint team member will bring your new or upgraded device right to your home, office, or wherever and set it up for you while you wait. Wow! 🙂

LG G4 Smartphone Review

Before we left the event, all the bloggers attending were given a brand new LG G4 smartphone to review. I was particularly excited about this because I love my current LG G2 smartphone (You can read my review of it here.), and I can’t wait to upgrade to the LG G4.

Before I knew I’d be attending the Sprint event, I’d watched a review of the LG G4 on YouTube and knew it was an amazing device. My husband, Ruben, occasionally watches a certain YouTuber that reviews different smartphones and electronics, and he had a lot of great things to say about the G4.

From the stunning display to the genuine leather back, this smartphone is fabulous.

The LG G4 is the first smartphone from Sprint with a total of 24 megapixels. It has a 16MP rear-facing camera and an 8MP front-facing selfie camera. While I’m definitely not a “selfie person,” I did take one with my 3-year-old daughter and was very impressed.

Here’s a picture I took of dinner one night. 🙂

And finally, here’s what the new LG G4 looks like next to my current LG G2 smartphone. As you can see, the G4 is larger and has a super sleek design. I love everything about it.

Making the Switch

The LG G4 smartphone was given to us with three months of free Sprint service, so I’m using it daily, and I can’t wait to try it out as a wireless hot spot during future drives to Chicago. While we live in the suburbs, we visit Chicago regularly. Just watch some of my vlogs, and you’ll see that’s true. 🙂

Then after the complimentary Sprint service is up, I’m looking forward to switching my current phone over to the LG G4 smartphone.

What kinds of features do you look for in a smartphone?

Review and Favorite Features of the Sharp AQUOS Crystal Smartphone

December 17, 2014 by Sandra 2 Comments

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review. #SprintMom

For the past few weeks, I’ve been getting to know the Sharp AQUOS Crystal Smartphone. I carry it around in my purse, use it at home, pull it out in the car (but only when my husband is driving), and today, I took it with me to the movie theater to see the latest Hobbit movie with my husband and kids. 🙂

I wanted to snap some pictures of my kids with the Sharp AQUOS smartphone to test out the picture quality yet again. And while I wouldn’t say the overall picture quality is awesome on this smartphone, I think it’s pretty good.

Woot! It’s finally time to see #TheHobbit Just a little excited! 🙂 #shareAMC #BOTFA pic.twitter.com/seSIg9TzZp

— Sandra Calixto (@thesensiblemom) December 17, 2014

Sharp AQUOS Crystal Smartphone Review

There are a lot of things to love about the Sharp AQUOS. For starters, there’s the fact that you can make calls and exchange text messages over a Wi-Fi signal.

And I love that I can use this smartphone as a mobile hotspot and easily get online when I’m away from home. My kids like it, too, because it means that they can be on the internet during our long car rides to David’s appointments in Chicago.

Another feature that makes this smartphone stand out is that it comes ready with OfficeSuite 8, which allows you to create and/or edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. This could be very hand for working away from home or even for drafting a quick blog post.

In addition to OfficeSuite, the Clip Now feature is great tool, because once you enable it, you can take screenshots of your screen with one quick swipe. Those screenshots are then saved on your Sharp AQUOS smartphone with an embedded URL for easy sharing!

Screen & Sound Quality

My kids watch videos on YouTube just about every day. In fact, we don’t have cable, and the television in our home is mainly used for watching our favorite movies. Instead of watching TV, when my kids have earned some “electronics time,” they get to pick a device and watch pre-approved kid’s videos online. 🙂

And now they can watch their online shows on the Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone’s amazing 5-inch edge-to-edge HD screen! Trust me, streaming video on this smartphone is something you’ll enjoy! It’s feels like you’re watching a small television. Impressive!

The final favorite feature I’ll mention is the fabulous sound quality you get from the Sharp AQUOS smartphone, and it’s because of the built-in Harman Kardon LiveStage with Clari-Fi technology.

I like using the AQUOS smartphone to play music throughout the day, but when I’m using the phone while at my desk and put in earbuds… wow! 🙂

As you can see, there’s much to like about the Sharp AQUOS Crystal smartphone. And if you’re looking for a budget-friendly smartphone for yourself or even to give as a gift, this smartphone is a great option.

What are some of your must-have features in a smartphone?

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized

November 16, 2014 by Sandra 6 Comments

#sponsored: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not REAL.

This is a saying I heard earlier this year, and it made a huge impact on my thinking. How so? Well, now I schedule as much as I can on my Google Calendar. Getting ready for the day, homeschooling, cleaning, blog posts, reminders to schedule blog posts, recipe testing, photo shoots, social media reminders, emails, exercise and on and on.

I schedule it.

I’ve stopped using a paper planner and instead plan out the important and even mundane tasks on my Google Calendar. It’s made a world of difference, and I don’t see myself ever going back to writing out my schedule again. One huge reason is because Google Calendar allows me to block out time for each task, and that makes it easy to see when I’ll have time for something and when I’m over scheduling myself and need to make a change.

How I Stay Organized

I’m not able to sit down at my computer as often as I’d like to (kids, you know 😉 ), so I’ve been relying mostly on my smartphone for Google Calendar reminders throughout the day. I’ve also loved using my smartphone to quickly create short notes or lists that I can come back to when I need them.

Honestly, this way of getting things done works for me.

But… when there’s an opportunity to make staying organized even easier, well, I say try it! And that’s exactly what I did when Intel sent me an Asus MeMO Pad 7 Intel Tablet to review.

As you can see, the Intel tablet is larger than my smartphone, but it’s still small enough to carry around the house and not feel like it’s a burden. It has a 7-inch screen and is quite thin and lightweight which makes it easy to slip into your purse.

The display is AMAZING! Whoa. I wasn’t expecting such a high-quality display from such a budget-friendly tablet! I’m so impressed. 😉

By the way, electronic devices are difficult to photograph well, but trust me, the screen display is crisp and clear.

Asus MeMO Pad Apps and Organization Tools

Besides the great outward features, the Asus Intel tablet is equipped with its own apps. One of my favorites is the “Quick Memo” app. In a flash, this app allows me to create a note or list like the one I made in the picture below.

I can then pin that list to the home screen of the tablet, so that I can see it and tackle whatever it is that needs to be done.

There are a lot more Asus apps on this tablet. I’m personally looking forward to understanding the Asus “Do It Later” app very soon! 🙂

Google Calendar on the Asus Intel Tablet

I still use Google Calendar every single day. I would be a mess without it. But it’s bigger and better on the tablet than it is on my smartphone. It’s so much easier to see my schedule and move things around. And calendar reminders go straight to my tablet as well.

So, for staying on top of everyday life and so much more, I love this Asus Intel tablet! 🙂

What are some of your favorite ways to stay organized?

How I’m Using the Samsung Galaxy S 5 Sport Smartphone to Make Workouts and Eating Healthy Easier

September 1, 2014 by Sandra 4 Comments

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review and a promotional item to thank me for participating. #SprintMom

For the past three years, I’ve been working on losing weight and eating healthy.

It’s been quite the journey…full of failures and successes. I have loved my scale and hated it. I have been at my lowest weight in about 14 years — only to gain 10 stubborn pounds that simply wouldn’t budge.

Sure, I can blame the weight gain on the roller coaster that life has been the past year, but when the roller coaster became a lot less unpredictable, I found myself with no more excuses. It was time to focus on my health again and lay off the unhealthy foods, especially now that I have the time to make good-for-you food at home.

A Tool for Workout and Healthy Eating Success

I’ve said in the past that I’m NOT a fan of counting my calories. When I was a young girl, I enjoyed keeping track of the calories I consumed, and I actually lost 30 pounds doing just that. This was before I had children.

After my first baby was born, I tried to count calories like I had in the past, but I failed. Every time. I’d forget to write down what I ate, or I’d just plain be too busy and let the whole thing fall by the wayside.

Fast forward to today, since Sprint sent me Samsung Galaxy S 5 Sport Smartphone, I feel like I’ve discovered “calorie counting” of the future! It’s true. The features included in this particular smartphone create for me a very powerful lifestyle tool that’s not only helping me to begin losing weight again (after a long plateau), but also motivating me to get back to strength training.

That’s right, the resistance band is out of retirement. 😉

Smartphone Features to Love

There’s so much that I love about the Samsung Galaxy S 5 Sport Smartphone. For instance, there’s the Sprint Fit Live feature that makes it super easy to access your fitness apps or simply get up to date on the latest health news that interests you.

Then there’s S Health, which happens to be the app I use to track what I’m eating and the amount of calories that are in the foods I consume.

It literally takes minutes (or seconds) to record foods in S Health and see how I’m doing as far as my calorie intake for the day. I love the way this particular app does most of the work for me and allows me to save foods that I eat regularly as “frequent” foods.

Super easy.

Now MapMyFitness is an app you may already be familiar with. I’d heard of it but never used it myself. Now that I am using it, however, I can see how helpful it is because of the way it allows you to track workouts and your calories burned. I’ve used it to record some of my walks on the treadmill, and I’m still working on learning more about the good stuff in this app.

DID YOU KNOW? You can have more fun during your workouts when you use the Sprint Framily plan and get 3 months of Spotify premium for free!

So there you have it. I’m using the Samsung Galaxy S 5 Sport Smartphone to get back to a healthier lifestyle.

And it’s working. 🙂

Do you use fitness or healthy living apps?