Daily Tip: How to configure VPN access on your iPhone, iPad

Curious how to configure access to a VPN client on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? L2TP, PPTP, and IPSec VPN support are all built right into iOS and we'll show you how to set them up after the break!

One thing to note is that you'll need to make sure you have all the settings and information about your VPN service handy. Some companies will not allow mobile access to a VPN, and some carriers limit 3G VPN access to business accounts, so that's another thing you'll need to check on before attempting to add one.

These screenshots show iPhone setup but iPod touch and iPad are similar.

First you'll need to configure your VPN by adding the settings for your VPN (in most cases, these are provided by the system administrator or IT person at your company).

To configure your VPN, do the follow:

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap Network
4. Tap VPN
5. Tap Add VPN Configuration

6. Along the top you will see some tabs, you'll need to select which type of configuration you need. In most cases, you'll choose IPSec (unless your system administrator has told you different). For this example, I've used IPSec.
7. Enter the information for your VPN in the corresponding fields. If you used a proxy, make sure to enable it towards the bottom of the settings page.

8. Tap Save

You've now configured your VPN for use. Now you'll need to turn it on.

1. From your homescreen, tap Settings

2. Under the main settings page, you'll now see a VPN option, this only appears when you have a VPN configured. Toggle the switch to On

3. Your phone should connect to the VPN. If an error message pops up, go back into your VPN settings and make sure all your settings are input correctly.

That's it! If you guys have ever used this, let us know your input too. Have any issues setting up a VPN? Check out our TiPb Forums to get helpful from many of our awesome community members.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to . (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

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Apple’s iPhone Continues To Show Strong Growth In The U.S., Samsung And Android Adoption Slow

Apple’s trajectory in the U.S. smartphone market over the past little while has been an upwards one, with the company gaining more and more iPhone subscribers every month. During the three-month period covering November 2012 to February 2013, Apple added 8.9 million new iPhone subscribers according to comScore, while Android as a platform in total added only 2.9 million. That means Apple’s share of the total smartphone subscriber base in the U.S. grew to 38.9 percent from 35 percent, while Android’s dropped from 53.7 to 51.7 percent.

ComScore’s figures also show that in terms of smartphone manufacturers, Apple also continues to lead the pack. Its share among OEMs rose 3.9 percentage points during the three month period, while Samsung gained only 1 percent percentage point, rising from 20.3 percent of the U.S. market to 21.3 percent. That means Apple and the iPhone continue to enjoy almost double the smartphone manufacturer share of its next closest rival.

The loser in this case wasn’t either Apple or Samsung, however, both of whom gained subscribers and share, but BlackBerry, which as a platform shed 1.7 million subscribers in the U.S. between November and February. These numbers predate the launch of BB10, however, so we’ll have to watch to see if that helps BlackBerry stem the tide of users leaving.

Of course, both Google and Samsung stand to reap the benefits of upcoming device launches, which could help swing the pendulum back in their favor over the coming months. Samsung is on the verge of debuting its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, with pre-orders beginning in just a couple of weeks. The HTC One is also coming to the U.S. market in mid-April, which could give Android as a platform additional firepower in terms of competing with iOS and the iPhone.

Apple’s success to date has been based on the strong performance of the iPhone 5 since launch, and that device seems to continue to be an attractive choice for U.S. subscribers. There still doesn’t appear to be much in the way of a true race for a third platform, however, with Microsoft and BlackBerry either actively losing share or seeing only insignificant gains. The market is now at a crucial juncture in terms of product releases, but the fight looks likely to continue to remain a two-party affair for the foreseeable future.

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ZTE Rolls Out Geek Atom Smartphone

At the IDF 2013 event in Beijing, smartphone maker ZTE unveiled the not so cleverly named ZTE Geek. An IDF launch naturally hints at the device being Intel x86-driven, which it is. An Intel Atom Z2580 "Clover Trail+" SoC clocked at 2.00 GHz, the same chip that drives Lenovo K900. The chip is backed by 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB internal storage that's expandable with micro-SDHC.

The 5-inch smartphone features an unspectacular yet acceptable 1280 x 720-pixel display resolution, with its display being accented by a curvy Gorilla Glass panel. In the imaging department, you get an 8-megapixel primary camera with LED flash, and a respectable 1-megapixel front-facing one.

Intel's XMM 6260 soft-modem is in-charge of connectivity, which includes UMTS 900/2100, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and AGPS. Android "Jelly Bean" (not sure if 4.1 or 4.2), is at the helm. Looks-wise, the Geek looks similar to the ZTE Grand S, which the company unveiled at this year's International CES.

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A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone

A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone

It has been a while since I have written a review about an entry-level smartphone.Budget smartphones are particularly one of the subjects that caught my interest because they are affordable and still deliver some of the features shared with its big brothers, the expensive, high-end smartphones. My subject on interest in this post is theSamsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570. (Also known as T-Mobile Move and Samsung Galaxy Pop for India market) This model is released in February 2011.

Design:

It is a full touch bar design, compact with flashy colour stripe along the side. It is a “mini” so it has to be small, although with its compact size still appeals to both sexes. It also great for an entry-level smartphone especially for teenagers or adults that don’t really want a bulky phone. It is also perfect for a second phone. The dimension is 110.6 X 60.6 X 12.1mm and weigh only about 106.6g.

Performance and Display:

The display is slightly larger than its cousin –the Galaxy Young. It has a 3.14-inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 256K colours and 240X320 pixels  (~127 ppi pixel density) PPI  stands for “pixel per inch”. The Mini is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU clocked at 600 MHz which is a little slower than the Galaxy Young’s 832MHz.

It runs on Android OS Froyo V2.2  and upgradable to V2.3 . It is also equipped witj Samsung’s own TouchWiz v3.0 UI.

Applications:

I think the highlight for this phone is its Predictive text input or SWYPE functionality. With this function, a user can write a message quickly by connecting the dots instead of pushing the virtual buttons. Apart from that, the phone also features the following:

• Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
• Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
• Browser: HTML
• Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
• GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support
• Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
• Colors: Black
  • SNS integration
  • MP4/H.264/H.263 player
  • MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
  • Organizer
  • Document viewer/editor
  • Image/video editor
  • Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
  • YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
  • Voice memo/dial

Connectivity:

You can connect to the internet either through Wi-Fi or 3G networks. Full data specifications are as follow:

• GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
• EDGE: Yes
• Speed: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth: Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
• USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0

Battery:

The battery is a standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh with a stand-by time up to 570 hours and talk time up to 9 hours 30 minutes. The battery life is quite efficient for normal operation but running multitasking and graphics intensive programmes would decrease the talk time estimates.

Audio:

The audio is fine as long as you don’t expect too much from it. It has sound alert types of – vibration, MP3 and WAV ringtones. It is also equipped with a decent loudspeaker and as well as a DNSe sound enhancement, that may improve music quality compared to ordinary phones. It also has a 3.5MM jack that you can use to plug in your favourite earphones, headphones or even portable speakers.

Camera:

The camera is 3.15 MP (2048 X 1536 pixels) which is better than the Galaxy Young’s 2.0 MP. It is able to record videos at QVGA@15fps and fitted with Geo-tagging functionality. Picture quality is decent enough if taken in daylight conditions. Do not try to compare it with its big brother – the Galaxy S II’s 8MP camera! However, pictures are good enough for posting on Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Ergonomics:

The compact design will suit both sexes, easy to carry around and can slip comfortably in your pocket.  Those with larger fingers might find it a bit difficult to touch on the virtual keyboard but with enough practice, you might get used to it and eventually love it.

Price:

Advertised price (AP) is around RM520 (US$167) to RM535 (US$174) but if you shop around you might be able to get it at a much lower prices. A quick check on local stores gave me a range of price from RM450 (US$147) to RM530 (US$173).

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Samsung to produce Samsung Galaxy Mega

Samsung to produce Samsung Galaxy Mega

The giant Korean phone maker Samsung is rumoured to be producing yet another “massive” 6.3-inch Android smartphone. The new device will be larger than the current Galaxy Note.

According to a Korean website ETNews, Samsung is perhaps experimenting with the 6.3-inch device if it is acceptable by users. ETNews termed it as a “smartpad” or a phone cum tablet combination (phablet).

The news apparently was leaked by an unknown Samsung official as stating, “As of now, smartphones and smart pads are separate gadgets, but the two will converge into one product under Project Möbius.” The massive device is rumoured to be launched as the Samsung Galaxy Mega.

The rumour also indicated that the Samsung Galaxy Mega will debut in June and will feature Google’s latest operating system – Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

Other specs rumoured is a dual-core Exynos processor, an 8MP main camera, a 2MP front-facing camera and available in both black and white colour models only. The humongous phone is likely to be aimed at a mid-range market.

There is no news as regard to pricing or availability yet, and Samsung said it does not comment on rumour and speculation.

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Sony Brings DualShock 3 Controller Support To Xperia Phones

Sony is trying hard this year and with already impressive Xperia Z smartphone things just got even better. With increasing gaming accessories for smartphones and tablets, Sony announced today that it has added support for the Play Station 3 DualShock 3 controllers to Xperia smartphones.

This means that users can use the popular game pad to navigate, automatically improving gaming experience. With HDMI support in some Xperia handsets, it is time to connect the device to a television and try some Android games on a big screen.

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Best Android Smartphones (April 2013 edition)

Introduction

Looking to replace your aging Android companion with something newer and with a little more oomph? Here are five excellent Android-powered smartphones from Google, Motorola, and Samsung.

No matter whether you are looking for a consumer handset, or something that will be suited to a BYOD role, you're bound to find something of interest here.

The handsets are arranged in no particular order, but my current favorite is the Nexus 4. It's a powerful package that delivers what I believe to be the best, purest Android experience possible.

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