Technology for Moms

Remarkable Waterproof Smartphone: The Kyocera Hydro Vibe 4G LTE

July 11, 2014 by Sandra 2 Comments

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating. #SprintMom

As a 2014 Sprint Ambassador, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to try out various Sprint devices and services, and then share my experiences with you here on The Sensible Mom.

Today, I’m sharing what I love most about the new Kyocera Hydro Vibe waterproof 4G LTE smartphone.

Without a doubt, my very favorite thing about this phone is that it is waterproof.

A Funny Story

A few years ago, I was driving home from somewhere, and at the time I had a habit of getting into our car and sitting my phone in one of the car’s cup holders. Well, I happened to do that very thing that particular day and much to my surprise, when I looked down at the cup holder after I arrived home, I realized that I had put my phone into a cup holder that was filled with some sort of liquid. It was probably what’s known as “pop” here in Illinois. 😉

Anyway, my phone died, and it never regained consciousness.

That incident would have turned out differently had my phone been a waterproof Kyocera Hydro Vibe, because this phone can handle hanging out in liquid for a while.

The Day I Took a Million Pictures at the Pool

I recently took the Kyocera Hydro Vibe smartphone with me to our local waterpark, and it was fantastic being able to carry it around and snap pictures of my kids without the fear of accidentally dropping it in pool.

Nope. With this phone, I was able to take tons of great quality pictures and videos of my family and even had a little fun dunking it in the water on purpose! 🙂

The Kyocera Hydro Vibe smartphone has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and video camera.

I shared this collage in another post but wanted to post it again, so that you can see the truly high-quality pictures you can take with the Kyocera Hydro Vibe 4G LTE smartphone.

Besides the fact that it’s waterproof and takes high-quality pictures and videos, I love that this smartphone’s battery lasts all day.

Even after using the phone quite a bit on the day we spent seven hours at the waterpark, it didn’t need to be charged at all while we were there.

I’m loving this trusty new waterproof smartphone. Bath time, pool time, or backyard water hose, I can be worry-free with the Kyocera Hydro Vibe.

Have you ever thought about choosing a waterproof smartphone? Do you have a funny smartphone water mishap story? 🙂

Review and Fave Features of the HTC One (M8) Harman/Kardon Edition Smartphone

May 29, 2014 by Sandra 2 Comments

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating. #SprintMom

I mentioned in a previous post that I’m a 2014 Sprint Ambassador. This means that over the course of a year, I’ll have the amazing opportunity to try out various Sprint devices and service options and then share my experience with you here on The Sensible Mom.

Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on the beautifully crafted all-metal HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon Edition smartphone.

This phone is awesome.

What really sets it apart from other smartphones is the high-caliber design inside and out that provides you with a music experience unlike any other. No joke. The sound quality coming from this phone is superb. The HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon Edition smartphone even includes headphones that are not only comfortable, but they also help to create a marvelous listening experience.

3 Favorite Features

Besides the listening experience, here are the other features that I love about this smartphone:

1. I love the 5-inch Full HD screen. My regular smartphone is the Moto X, which has a smaller screen than the HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon Edition, but I instantly fell in love with how my site and other websites displayed on the larger screen.

2. With Sprint Sound Sessions, I love having access to Spotify’s catalogue of more than 20 million songs! My favorite music to listen to is Christian music, and I was pleased to see that after getting the Spotify app set up on my phone, I could immediately start listening to the music I enjoy most.

My husband and kids will confirm that I’m the type of girl that likes music playing all day long. I’ll turn it on in the morning and then let it encourage us until late in the evening. Dancing and singing throughout the day with my baby girl isn’t optional. 😉

3. I love the camera. It actually takes better pictures than my current smartphone.

Here’s one of the pictures I took during one of our playtimes outside:

And here’s a picture I snapped at the NRA Show in Chicago:

Harman Kardon Onyx Studio

Along with the smartphone, I was able to try out the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio. And just — wow. This little speaker is unbelievable.

Let’s just say that we watched the movie FROZEN during a recent family night, and the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio has been blasting out Elisabeth’s new favorite songs, “Let It Go” and “In Summer.”

We don’t own the FROZEN soundtrack, but because of the bluetooth technology in the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio, we can listen to anything we want to from YouTube and make it sound awesome with this speaker.

Oh, and we also used the speaker when we celebrated Nathan’s 14th birthday last weekend. It definitely took our little family party up a notch!

And Finally…Who’s Keeping the Smartphone

Sprint’s website talks about the type of person who will love the HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon Edition smartphone. They say this phone will be adored by “creative changemakers.” I guess that’s me. But I also hope that it’s my husband, because he’s going to keep it.

I’m calling it an “Early Father’s Day” gift. 😉

Sprint’s Creative New Framily Plan and a Giveaway for an HTC One max Smartphone!

May 2, 2014 by Sandra 29 Comments

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I will receive product samples to facilitate reviews and to thank me for participating. #SprintMom

Oh, you guys.

I have some fun news and an exciting giveaway to share today. 🙂

First, I’m incredibly humbled to have been chosen to be a Sprint Ambassador for the next year or so. This means that I’ll get to test various Sprint devices and service options and then share my experience with you here on The Sensible Mom.

I promise to create fun and engaging posts!

This is the first post in this series. And I love that it includes an amazing giveaway!

But wait — let’s talk about Sprint’s Framily Plan

Before I get into the details of the fantastic giveaway Sprint’s offering one of my readers, I want to talk a little about Sprint’s Framily plan. And, yes, that’s “Framily” not “family,” because the people on your plan don’t have to be family members or even live in the same household.

In fact, your Framily can include you and up to 9 other friends, family members, co-workers, virtual assistants, neighbors, or just about anyone else in your life.

You’ll all get unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data each, while on the Sprint network. Each of the members on the Framily plan receives a separate bill with no annual service contracts or early termination fees (hello!), all for as little as $25 a month per line when you have 7 – 10 members in the Framily group.

At the moment, only my husband and I are on a plan together, and we pay way more than $25 each month (or $50 for the both of us if we were on a Framily plan) on our current phone bill. It would be great if we could put a Framily together and enjoy the benefits of this plan while paying less for reliable Sprint service.

Who would you consider teaming up with for a Sprint Framily plan?

Okay, It’s Giveaway Time!

Now that you know more about the Framily plan, let’s talk about this fabulous giveaway! Sprint has generously offered to give one of my readers an HTC One max Smartphone! 🙂

The HTC One max smartphone offers users a massive screen with a 5.9-inch display and amped speakers for watching videos or viewing pictures on the go. The feature-rich camera offers users the ability to take photos with a fun, artistic flair, and much more!

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until – May 5th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Great Deal for You:

For a limited time, new customers who bring their number to Sprint and sign up for a Sprint Framily Plan can receive up to $300 in credit for their current phone and a Visa Prepaid Card worth up to $350 to cover switching fees! This offer will be available exclusively at Sprint stores and online at Sprint.com from April 4 through May 8.

The LG G2 Smartphone: A Great Gift for the On-the-Go Mom and Beyond

December 22, 2013 by Sandra 2 Comments

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint.
I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Are you still Christmas shopping for someone special in your life?

Me? To be completely honest, this year I’m pretty much ‘allergic’ to Christmas shopping. My four year old son is in the hospital, and I’m fighting depression. I haven’t left the hospital in nearly three weeks, and life is hard right now. I can’t shop.

BUT I know that most of you who are reading my blog ARE shopping, and I’d love to share a fantastic new phone with you. Perhaps you’re shopping for a new phone for someone on your Christmas list or maybe you’re a busy mom who needs a super fast phone to keep up with family, work, and social media.

Allow me to introduce you to the LG G2 smartphone.

What Makes the LG G2 Smartphone a Great Choice
This phone is amazing. For me, the best features have to be the lightening fast speed and the fantastic 13-megapixel camera. The LG G2 truly takes beautiful photos.

I’ve taken a bunch of pictures here inside of David’s hospital room, and I’m looking forward to snapping many more from the outside of this place.

Other cool features of the G2:

KnockON – With this feature, instead of pushing the power button, you simply tap twice on the display to ‘wake’ the phone from its slumber.
Answer Me – Automatically answers calls when you put the phone to your ear. No need to swipe or even push a button. Nice!
Slide Aside – This allows you to do a three-finger gesture to slide open apps off the screen and then bring them back quickly when you need them. This is a great feature for multitasking.
Text Link – This isn’t what you might think. It’s very helpful, and it’s where the phone takes relevant text and inserts embeddable links to them in other apps. For example, if someone texts you a date or an address, with Text Link, you can quickly add that information to a calendar or get directions. Love this feature.
Guest Mode – This is GREAT for when your kids want to use your phone and you don’t want them to have access to all of your installed apps. Guest Mode allows another user to access the phone by drawing a gesture on the lock screen with a secondary unlock pattern, and then they only have access to the apps you’ve allowed.

And Finally…We Love our Smartphones
Sprint recently conducted a mobile survey that served up some interesting results. Apparently, most of us check our phones at least once an hour, and ninety-seven percent of us even check it when we’re with family and friends.

Judging by those results, I’d say we definitely love our smartphones.

Visit Sprint’s website to read more more eye-opening survey results!

What’s on your family’s wish list this year?