Did You Leave Your Phone in a Hot Car?

I know you love your dog and would never leave her in a hot car. But maybe you haven’t admitted that you love your phone? Okay, fine. But denial, is no excuse for cruelty. Smart phones are getting more durable all the time but heat is still bad for them. And a hot car could kill your phone or your dog. So bring them both with you.

I’m told that the very new Galaxy S4 Active is water and dust resistant. I’ve been using the Galaxy 4 (standard issue) for the past week and I have no problem admitting I love it. But every time I go kayaking, I leave it behind. I’d love to take photos from the Intracoastal waterway and post them to my social networks. I’d love to be able to call for help if something bad happened out there. So ever since I heard about the Active, I’ve been giving my not-Active Galaxy S4 a look of disapproval whenever I hit the water.

If, like me, you don’t have a phone (yet) that can go for a swim and not leave you cut off from your social network, check out these tips from my Geek Girlfriends over at Qualcomm.  These will keep you Tweeting all summer.

Qualcomm’s Mobile Summer Safety Alert

Tip 1: How To Avoid An Overheated Phone

Turning up the summer heat is good for your soul, but not for your devices. Thermal efficiency is a major concern with modern smartphones and tablets (remember when we melted butter on an array of devices?). As you’ll see from the video, Qualcomm’s engineers put a lot of work into ensuring that devices running on Snapdragon processors stay cool while delivering all the performance and features you expect from a smartphone. Mobile cool-down tip: throw your phone in the freezer for a quick cool-down or be proactive and keep it out of direct sunlight by always keeping it tucked under your beach towel or cover-up.

Tip 2: How To Save A Water-Submerged Phone

Water and technology are a lethal combination. If you happen to drop your phone into the pool or lake this summer, a quick save it to put your phone in a bowl of uncooked oatmeal or rice!

Tip 3: How To Do More and Recharge Less

When it’s summertime, you are always out and about. Your days start at the beach and end at an outdoor concert, with no time to stop at home and recharge. Your whole day can be sidetracked if your battery dies. Qualcomm has created Snapdragon™ BatteryGuru, a free Android app for Snapdragon-powered devices that uses both software and hardware to improve battery life. The app works by learning users’ behavior and intelligently adjusting smartphone settings to minimize background activities without disabling smartphone features.

Tip 4: How to Find a Lost Phone

Losing a smartphone is the pits.  Luckily most smartphone OS’ offer free built-in services to help track a missing phone.  The only catch is you have to not be lazy—take a few minutes to make sure your phone is all set up to be found in an emergency! Click the links below for more info: (iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10, Android – no native service available.  However, try the free app from Lookout)

Tip 5: How to Avoid a Scratched Phone

Your smartphone slipping out of your hand is already a common occurrence. Add sunscreen, water and cocktails – and your smartphone is bound to slip and scratch this summer. Add “scratch protection”. There’s many simple inexpensive protectors you can slap on your display to protect it from scratches.  Screen protectors like ZAGG invisibleSHIELD and Armortech can shield your smartphone display from permanent damage caused by accidents.