5 ways to upgrade your gadgets for free
It seems there’s a new gadget on the market every other week, but keeping up with the latest technology doesn’t have to be expensive. There are ways to upgrade and update your current devices to make them faster, better and “like new” again. Here are five ways to upgrade your devices without paying a cent.
1. Get a faster camera
We’re used to updating software on our smartphones or tablets but few people ever think to update their camera’s software. Most digital camera makers will have current software versions on their website, which can usually fix minor faults and boost camera speed
Check out the websites for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic to see if there are any upgrades for your camera.
2. Upgrade computer’s operating system
It’s always a good idea to upgrade your computer’s operating system as the update will often fix bugs and problems, give you access to new and improved features, and help keep your computer running smoothly. If your computer has the update system turned on automatically, next time your computer asks you should click yes.
If not, manually check if there are updates to your computer system. For PC, visit the Microsoft website here. For Mac, open the Mac App store on your computer and click the tab for updates, or visit their website here.
3. Extend your web browser
For desktop users, an easy way to make your web browser more useful for you is to install extensions. Like apps on phones, there’s a plethora of extensions that cater to every need you can think of – such as shortcuts to save articles to read offline later or to share articles on various social media.
For a full list of the available extensions, click here for Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
4. Get rid of double-ups
Most smartphones have duplicate contacts and photos on them. Cleaning your phone will free up space and stop any potential confusion. These free apps can find the duplicates and streamline your smartphone.
Apple users can use CleanUp Duplicates, which will analyse a contact book, find duplicates, and merge them, or Space Saver which finds double-up photos and deletes them.
Andorid users can use apps like Duplicate Media Remover that looks for duplicate videos, photos and audio, and DupPhoto Cleaner that looks for duplicate photos.
5. Automate your computer or phone’s tasks
Gadgets can be trained to do your every bidding with the help of automation apps. These apps let you create rules that your phone follows automatically. The most popular automatic app is IFTTT that stands for If This Then That. Find more information on their website here.