7 Ways Your Smartphone Can Improve Your Festival Experience
Festival season is here and millions of music lovers are getting ready to head to their favourite festivals this summer. Smartphones are on the list to bring to be able to capture all the fun moments. However, they also top the list of items most at risk of getting lost, damaged or stolen whilst at a festival. In conjunction with 4gadgets, we share our tips on how to ensure your festival fun isn’t dampened.
Prolong the battery life
Bring a portable charger or power bank to ensure you have enough battery throughout the day. Turning on battery saver mode and closing any unnecessary apps on the day will make the battery last longer. You’ll be tempted to use the vibration feature if you’re unable to hear the phone ringing. However, batteries need to put more effort into vibrating than just ringing. If you’re not going to be on your phone for a longer period, no need for the screen to be at full brightness. Reducing your brightness is a great way of preserving your phone battery.
Backup important data
If your smartphone is your only camera and you store many photos on it, then this feature will be important for you. If you have an iPhone, you can back-up your photos on your free Cloud account. To turn the Cloud account on you’ll need your Apple ID. If the Cloud account is on, the backup will be done automatically. The backup is allowed for your 1000 most recent photos clicked over the past 30 days. In case of the Android phones, you’ll have Google+ built in, which can back up your photos to Google Drive. You get 15GB of free storage, which is good for a lot of photos. You can turn on the auto back up on using the settings of your Google+ account.
Prepare for all weathers
Check the weather forecast and prepare accordingly. Bring a waterproof case should it rain, and if it’s really warm, looks for a heat-resistant phone case. Exposing your phone to direct sunlight for prolonged periods can cause it to overheat and potentially damage its internal components. Keep your phone in the shade, a bag, or a pocket to protect it from direct sunlight.
Enable safety features
Turn on “Find my iPhone” or “Google Find my Device” for Android phones. With these apps, you will be able to locate your phone should you lose it, or if it gets stolen. The app features also play a sound on the device allowing you to find it (if close by), and you can even erase all the data on the device to ensure your data is kept safe.
Clear storage space
That dreaded “Storage Full” notification always pops up at the wrong moment. Thankfully, you can click on the camera option in your Facebook or Twitter app instead. By starting a new tweet or post using the camera icon, and then taking your photo, the resulting picture will be saved to your camera roll.
Capture the moments
Once at the festival, enjoy yourself and capture the moments on your phone.
Use your pocket mirror or a plastic glass to create photography effects like prism or lens distortion. The curves and shapes of the plastic can work similarly to a prism when held in front of your camera lens, refracting the light sources in unique ways. You can also use a compact makeup mirror or two – the type that folds out with two mirror panels. Hold these angled against each other in front of your lens to potentially create kaleidoscopic prism-inspired refractions from the stage lighting.
Invest in a festival phone
If you don’t want to risk taking your shiny, new phone, check if you have a spare older device lying around that will survive a festival. Or alternatively, buy a second-hand phone. These can be bought SIM-free for a low cost.
