How can you remain productive and connected while traveling for business?

Because you're never without your smartphone, inexpensive apps can help make a road warrior's life a lot easier while away from the office (and home).

There are many thousands of downloads available – regardless of your preference in smartphone platform -- and so the following are a few suggestions for those traveling for business or pleasure.

One handy app for keeping track of all your travel itineraries is the free TripIt for Android, iPhone/iPad, Windows Phone and BlackBerrys (not BB10 devices, though). Forward all your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, rental cars, and such, and TripIt will “automagically” organize them into detailed summaries with confirmation codes and other info. Once it's on your phone you can get instant access to all the trip info you need – including links, phone numbers and maps with directions to airlines, hotels, rental places and restaurants -- directly from your itinerary.

Another great app for travelers is Kayak Pro ($0.99 cents) for Android, iPhone/iPad and Windows Phone devices. Easily manage your trip itinerary; compare flight, hotel and car rental deals; track your flight status (with contact info for airlines); look up baggage fees so there are no surprises; and access airport terminal maps for over 100 airports. A free version is also available, but has advertisements and doesn’t contain the airport terminal maps. Or consider the free TripAdvisor app for Android, iPhone/iPad and Windows Phone.

A gem for those seeking good rates on hotels, the official and free Hotels.com mobile app can be used to find and book at nearly 200,000 hotels worldwide, plus you can access your reservations at any time (even when offline), manage your account (or book as a guest user), track and redeem "Welcome Rewards" credits to get free nights in hotels, and more. Available on iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone (and in more than 80 languages and countries), the Hotels.com app also offers mobile GPS functionality to help you find the closest hotels with the best deals based on your current location.

Craving a steak while vacationing? Need to find a gift or the relative you’re staying with? Car almost out of gas while on your road trip? Available for free on Android and iPhone/iPad, Yelp helps you find businesses near you, via your device's GPS, and lets you read reviews from others before you go. Narrow your searches by neighborhood, distance and price; make restaurant reservations on OpenTable from within the app; find great deals offered by local establishments; and check-in to let friends or Twitter followers know where you are. An "augmented reality" feature lets you hold up your smartphone's camera to see business info overlaid on top of the real world around you.

Speaking of local business search, Google Maps is also a must-have app for travelers. Along with getting accurate turn-by-turn directions to a destination, the new Google Maps – also on Google’s Android devices (of course), as well as Windows Phone and older BlackBerrys – also offers human-like voice guidance, smart local searches (with reviews and ratings), a 360-degree Street View and the option to sync your searches and directions between your computer and your phone.

If you’re a stranger in a strange land and need help with the local language, the free Google Translate for Android and iPhone/iPad instantly translates between over 50 languages, with many supporting spoken words and phrases (let the taxi driver speak into your phone and you’ll see and hear the translation in English!). Samsung has a similar app bundled on its Galaxy S4 smartphone -- dubbed S Translate -- which can translate your typed or spoken text from one language to another.

If you're in search of some “fun” apps, perhaps to help keep the kids entertained, consider these awesome freebies: Toontastic (iPad) to create your own animated cartoons; “chase” games like Subway Surfers, Temple Run 2, Iron Man 3 and Rail Rush (Android and iPhone/iPad); Skype (all major platforms) for video calling with friends over the hotel’s free Wi-Fi; and Instagram (Android and iPhone/iPad) to spice up and share holiday photos.

While the demand for Samsung’s next phone has outpaced supply, those who’ve managed to get their hands on the new Galaxy S4 – from $199 on select 3-year TELUS plans -- already know about its attractive 5-inch screen, smart cameras and much-hyped S Health feature that allows you to track your workouts, calorie intake and weight levels.

Those who use it for work are also likely aware of the device's tough security offerings -- like SAFE (Samsung for Enterprise) and KNOX -- that make this Android device suitable for businesses.

But there’s a lot more to Galaxy S4.

After playing around with the phone for more than a week, the following are five cool features you probably didn’t know the new phone was capable of -- and how to enable them.

Read with head tracking

Leading up to the Galaxy S4 unveiling in March, a rumour predicted you’ll be able to use your eyes to scroll up and down content on a website thanks to a sensor on the front of the phone. Then, at the launch event, it was announced you can tilt instead of swipe the device to move words around – but no word on the eyes feature.

Well, it turns out you can in fact tilt your head – instead of the device – to scroll up and down a long website, hands-free. It's not based on your eye movement, but close enough; the sensor knows when you’re slightly nodding up or down and the content will flow in that direction. I’ve blown away some people by demonstrating this feature, which is activated in the Settings tab by tapping on “Smart Scroll.”

You can imagine this feature would also be ideal for those with physical challenges, perhaps with limited arm, hand or finger dexterity.

Waving for info

On a related note, the Galaxy S 4 uses a new infrared sensor to detect gestures near the phone -- without touching the screen. Turn it on or off by swiping down from the top of the phone (start at the Samsung logo) and tapping the “Air Gesture” icon represented by a waving hand. Green means it’s on, grey is off.

Now you can press and hold the icon to open up specific Air Gesture features, such as if you want to answer the phone by waving your hand in front of the screen. Or flip through photos or music tracks by swiping left or right. The same action can advance through web pages if multiple sites are open as browser tabs.

My favourite feature isn’t commonly known: Enabling “Quick Glance” under the Air Gesture tab allows you to wave over the top of your sleeping phone (say, on a table) and you’ll immediately see the time, text and phone message info, battery power, and more.

Two fingers are better than one

This one is pretty simple, but a real time saver.

Most Android users know you can swipe down from the top of the phone (start over the Samsung logo) to open up the Settings at the top of the screen, so you can toggle things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, and so on.

But there are so many icons accessible on the Galaxy S4 – 20, in fact – you’ll need to swipe across, horizontally, to find what you need.

There is a faster way, but it only works on the Galaxy S4 at this point. Instead of swiping down with one finger from the top of the screen to open up the Settings, use two fingers and it’ll show all 20 icons for you (a grid of 5 x 4 icons) instead of having to scroll left or right to find and tap the one you want.

Peek using air gestures

One of the more advanced features of the Galaxy S4 is the ability to access content without even touching the screen – similar to what you can do with the S Pen on the new Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet.

With the phone, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap “Air View.” With this activated you can hover your finger over the screen when inside various apps to see additional information.

For example, place your finger over the screen in Flipboard and you’ll see headlines for each section (e.g. News, Technology, etc.). Or place your finger over a list of emails in your inbox to read a brief preview of what’s inside. Or hover over a photo gallery folder and you’ll see thumbnails of what’s inside.

One of my favourites is a web magnifier: place your finger over the text on a website to enlarge the words in that particular spot.

To access the various options within the Air View settings, press and hold the icon and you’ll see a few features you can enable or disable.

Speech-to-text and text-to-speech

You’ve probably heard about this one, but here I’ll explain how to activate and use it.

With a fingertip, swipe down from the top of the smartphone (start over the Samsung logo) and in the pull-down options, tap “Driving Mode” to enable it. The icon will turn green.

You can have S Voice Drive turn on automatically when paired with your car’s Bluetooth system – so you won’t need to turn it on manually. Select this option if you like.

Still in the “Driving Mode” options, you can tap to hear notifications read aloud, such as incoming calls (reads out caller’s name), text messages, how many new emails are waiting for you, alarms and scheduling info, and more. Check off the desired options. Too bad the phone can’t read your emails to you, but there are apps for that.

When you get a new text message, your phone will tell you who it’s from and you can say “Read Out” to hear the message. Now you can say “Read,” “Reply” or “Cancel.”

To perform a function using your voice, double-tap the Home button, say “Hi Galaxy” and say one of the key words to start: “Call,” “Text,” “Navigate,” “Play” or “Weather.”

What’s that? You missed the annual Clean Out Your Computer Day, which takes place on the second Monday in February?

No worries, as it’s never too late to spring clean your computer so it runs faster and smoother.

In fact, there are a handful of free ways to clean out your aging PC or Mac, which might help you put off buying a new computer for a while.

The following are five simple tips to pull it off properly.

1. Back it up

Before you start cleaning up your PC or Mac, the first step is to back-up all your important files. Consider your documents, irreplaceable photos and camcorder footage, important emails, address book and calendar entries, web bookmarks, and so on.

There are a number of free cloud services you can upload these files to – stored on a password-protected website -- such as Dropbox, SkyDrive, iCloud, Google Drive, Box.Net and SugarSync, to name a few. Typically, these services let you upload between 2 gigabytes (GB) and 7GB of data, per account.

Also back-up your information locally (i.e. not online), be it on an external hard drive, USB thumbdrive or recordable DVD – but don’t keep your back-up solution in the same room as your PC or Mac in case of fire, flood or theft.

2. Start cleaning

The next step is deciding what programs you no longer need. In Windows, click on (or search for) “Control Panel,” and then choose Add/Remove programs, to select and delete what you no longer use. It’s even easier on a Mac: open LaunchPad and drag and drop the app icon into Trash.

How to tell what you no longer need? If you’ve never used a DVD burning program that shipped with your computer or a 4 year-old game you forgot about, it’s time to purge. Not only will this clear up a lot of hard drive space, but will usually delete the icons from your desktop, too, so you can see your wallpaper again.

Also, right mouse-click on your C: drive (in Windows Explorer) and click Properties, followed by Disk Cleanup. Now check off the desired boxes -- such as "Temporary Internet Files," "Recycle Bin" and "Downloaded Program Files" -- and it will tell you how much space it can free up. For Macs, the program is called Finder.

3. Run built-in utilities

The third step is an important one: take advantage of built-in software, or perhaps download some third-party programs, to comb through your computer and optimize performance.

Built into Windows is a "degfragging" tool, for example, that can help your computer operate faster and with more stability. In Windows 8, search the word “defrag,” under Files, while older Windows users can click on Accessories (under Program Files) and then select System Tools. Run the Disk Defragmenter on your hard drive, but be aware it might take a while and don’t use your PC in the meantime (tip: start the process before you leave your home or go to bed).

Also consider free tools like System Mechanic Free from iolo technologies, which contains seven individual tools: Registry Tuner, Startup Optimizer, RAM Leak Repair, Disk Defragmenter, Junk File Cleanup, Internet Repair and Program Link Repair.

Mac users, on the other hand, can run Disk Utility, a free app included with the OS X operating system that serves as an easy-to-use tool for cleaning up hard drives, and more. To reduce future performance problems, another bundled Mac app called Gatekeeper provides three security options for downloading and installing apps; for optimal security, choose to allow only apps from the Mac App Store to be installed, instead of anywhere on the Internet.

If your computer is really acting up and you've tried anti-malware software (see below), you might consider formatting the hard drive and re-installing Windows from scratch – and there are many online articles and videos on how to do this. Some technical savoir-faire is required, however.

4. Update software

It’s also important to download the latest free software updates for your operating system. Called “Windows Update” for Windows and “Software Update” for Macs (click on Apple logo in the top left corner), these updates plug security holes, zap bugs and add functionality. You can choose to download and install new updates whenever they become available, which might be ideal for forgetful types.

On a related note, be sure to download all the updates to your favorite programs – such as a web browser, media player and computer games – as they usually fix issues (like technical bugs) or add new features. A quick way to see if there's an update is to go to the About, Help or Settings section of your software and you should see an option to check for updates.

There are often new updates for hardware accessories, too, such as a printer, monitor and webcam.

5. Use anti-malware tools

Finally, it's critical to have good antivirus and antispyware programs installed on your personal computer. The former refers to software that can detect and remove online threats (such as viruses or worms that can propagate through your address book), while the latter are tools that can protect your PC from sneaky programs that hide on your hard drive, monitor your web surfing behavior, hijack your browser home page and slow down your computer's performance.

Collectively, these threats are called "malware" (malicious software).

While many premium security suites cost upwards of $40 to $50 a year, such as the offerings from Symantec and McAfee, there are many free and powerful alternatives, many of which are available at Download.com; check out the Top 20 downloads on the right side of the main page.

For many, springtime means stepping out to get some fresh air, and hopefully shedding some of that weight gained while hibernating over the winter.

Sound daunting? At least tech is on your side, as there are hundreds of gadgets and apps that can help you get fit and remain motivated.

The following are a few notable suggestions:

Fitness watches, bands

Consider it your workout companion: the Nike+ SportWatch ($169.99) tracks time, distance, pace, heart rate and even the number of calories you've burned. It does this with a little GPS help from TomTom, built behind the watch’s face, and a Nike+ Shoe Sensor (included) that helps you track speed and distance indoors, too. The SportWatch can record up to 50 runs, plus it’ll alert you when you’ve beaten your personal bests. You can also pair it with the Polar WearLink+ ($79.99) transmitter (sold separately) to monitor heart rate via the chest strap. Plug this watch into your PC to offload all the data to NikePlus.com.

Also consider the Timex Ironman Men's Sport Watch ($199.99), while other great fitness accessories for your wrist include the Nike+ FuelBand ($189.99), Jawbone Up ($129.99) and FitBit Flex ($99.99), which track information thanks to internal sensors and then wirelessly syncs the info with a nearby smartphone, tablet or and computer.

Scales, monitors

When you get home, consider stepping onto the Withings WS-30 ($169.99), a bathroom scale with a couple of twists. For one, along with your weight it can also show your BMI (body mass index), a measure of body fat based on height and weight. This info can be read on the scale’s bright screen but built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity means the info can also be immediately uploaded to a password-protected app or website.

This Withings scale is ideal for those who want to chart their weight loss, which can be posted to Facebook if you’re daring enough, or for those training for an event.

Also from the same company is the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor ($129.99) that snaps underneath an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (with 30-pin connector), and when paired with a free app, can reveal your blood pressure and heart rate info.

Smart pedometers, phones

A fun way to stay motivated, Striiv Play ($59.99) is a tiny pedometer that not only counts steps, stairs and calories burned, but you earn virtual gold to use in an embedded fantasy game, when paired with a free iOS app. To earn points you’ll also complete daily missions – such as walk 1 mile or climb 50 steps -- and track your progress by synchronizing the Striiv with a personal computer (USB cable included).

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone also has some fitness and health features. Called “S Health,” this feature allows the device to monitor and provide info on your activity, including a pedometer that tracks how many steps per day you’re walking, running, and going upstairs and downstairs. You can also input what you’re eating during and in between meals and you’ll get caloric info and more.

The phone also works with some health-related Bluetooth accessories including an S Band pedometer (syncs with your device), body scale and heart rate monitor.

Apps, too

A number of apps can help you remain focused and motivated while exercising:

Zombies, Run! ($7.99), for example, is a clever role-playing app that scares you into getting fit. While walking, jogging or running with your smartphone, you'll hear a terrifying tale in your headphones about a zombie-infested future. Available for Android, iPhone and Windows Phone devices, you play as a "runner" who must keep away from the flesh-eating undead and collect ammo and medicine for other human survivors. After you've amassed items throughout your narrated exercise, you can choose what to do with your items, what part of this fictional city to help first and unlock additional content. Sure, there are many other good running apps (check out mapmyfitness.com), but this creepy one features include more than 30 missions, the ability to run with your own music and optional synchronization with a password-protected website to track your progress on a map.

If you prefer something a little less, er, visceral, the free Lose It! app for Android or iPhone is a handy tool to help you achieve your weight loss goals. Use your fingertip to set a goal -- such as "Lose 5 pounds in one month" -- and then the program will calculate what should be your caloric intake each day. Tap in what you've been eating (by food, such as "one medium apple," or even by brand, like one bowl of "Kraft Macaroni and Cheese") and it will calculate the calories for you (and even fat, sodium, sugar, and so on). Exercise is also factored into your daily routine, which allows you to consume more calories as a reward.

Finally, the Toronto-made iFitness Pro (from $0.99 cents, for iOS) is a full-featured workout companion that includes hundreds of exercises to master, each with clear text instructions, illustrations, photos and videos. Exercises are divided by body region (arms, abdominals, legs, etc.), primary target areas (e.g. biceps, quadriceps, glutes, and so on) and equipment needed (such as dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, machines or none). Add your own exercise or create a custom routine in the “My Workouts” area, add photos and notes, and then share your exercise with others.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a Windows Phone user looking for some recommended downloads to help you stay productive and organized while on the go.

In fact, there are now more than 130,000 apps available – not bad at all given the fact it’s a fairly young platform – and many of them focus on getting your work done whenever and wherever. That, and only Windows Phone devices have bundled Microsoft Office apps, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, One Note and Outlook (with native support for Exchange ActiveSync).

Before we dive into a handful of recommendations, just a reminder TELUS is now offering the Nokia 620, an affordable 3.8-inch Windows Phone 8 device on sale for $0 on select 3-year plans (or $250 without). (Telus also has the newly-launched Samsung ATIV S).

Without further ado, check out these recommended Windows Phone 8 apps for business:

Maluuba

Consider this free virtual assistant an alternative to Apple’s Siri. Using your voice, ask Maluuba to dictate emails and text messages, search the web, make calls, find nearby businesses (such as restaurants, gas stations and stores), provide directions, schedule calendar appointments, create alarms and reminders, find weather information, and much more. Maluuba can also be used for fun, be it searching for movie showtimes, playing a particular song or pulling up pop culture facts.

SkyDrive

Securely access all of your files in the cloud with the free SkyDrive app. This small (2 megabytes) download lets you view and edit your password-protected documents, photos, presentations and other content, plus there’s native support for SkyDrive right from within the Office and Pictures hubs. SkyDrive can also automatically upload photos that you take on your Windows Phone device. Those new to SkyDrive will get 7 gigabytes of storage per account, while those who signed up before this year has a whopping 25GB of storage.

CamCard

Long gone are the days of manually typing in business card information. Instead, CamCard ($3.99) is a fast and accurate business card reader. Simply launch the app, scan the card with your phone’s camera and the contact information will be analyzed and imported into the right fields (or you can tweak them if you like). Once the OCR (optical character recognition) technology does its thing you can then search and sort through your newly added contacts. Another good pick is ScanBizCards ($3.49).

Yellow Pages Canada

If you’re looking for a person or a business, Yellow Pages Group’s official Windows Phone 8 app lets you easily search from your device, with support for GPS location data, Big Maps integration and if needed, reverse phone look-up (in case someone called and didn’t leave a message). If you’re client says they feel like sushi, you can immediately search for highly-rated Japanese restaurants, view videos and then save and/or share results with others via email or text message.

Translator

Perfect for travelers, Translator (free) lets you use your Windows Phone camera to translate from one language to another in three ways: by speaking into the phone, scanning text or typing words or phrases on the keyboard. Specifically, the camera can translate newspaper articles, signs, menus and other text into your mother tongue, while spoken words or phrases will be heard in another language – complete with accent -- though audio translations require an Internet connection.

Network Dashboard

Conserve your phone’s battery by easily toggling radios on and off. The $0.99-cent Network Dashboard from Purity Consulting gives you a quick view into the status of your phone’s wireless connections – something the Windows Phone 8 platform doesn’t do very well – so you can enable or disable things like Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and more. Colour-coded icons can show you what radios are active with a quick glance: red for off and green for on.

Google for Windows Phone

Yes, we all know Bing is the default search and map provider in Windows devices but those who want Google – and there are many – should download the official and free Google app for Windows Phone 8. Find fast and accurate results by typing keywords or talking into the microphone, including location-based information and autocomplete which guesses what you’re asking for (even if misspelled) and recalls previous searches (by default) for added convenience and relevancy.

Password Padlock

As the name suggests, the free Password Padlock is an app that serves as a lock for all the passwords you probably have to remember on a daily basis, be it for online banking, ATM and credit card PINs, home alarm codes, shopping sites, media accounts (Netflix, iTunes, etc.), and so on. You're required to create a strong, single master password, which is then used to encrypt all the other passwords in the collection using AES encryption; the master password is never stored on the phone itself.

Scan

The Windows Store has no shortage of QR Code and barcode scanner apps, but one simply called Scan (by Scan, Inc.) is one of the fastest, easiest to use and most accurate. Launch the free app scan a code with your phone’s camera by simply holding it up to it -- no need to tap a button or take a photo first. If a QR Code links to a website the URL will be immediately opened by the default browser (probably Internet Explorer), while text will be immediately displayed inside the app.

getHired

Would you spend $0.99 cents for an app that provides job listings in your field? With an average score or 4.5 stars out of 5, there seem to be a number of satisfied customers of the getHired app from Busams. Simply enter what you’re looking for and you’ll see relevant job listings from six different job search engines in one consolidated review. The app includes easy-to-access tiles including Search, Job Summary and Recent Search, which you can pin to your Start screen for one-tap access to your listings.

According to a recent survey commissioned by Amex Canada, we’re becoming more comfortable with online shopping.

But just as there are security issues associated with shopping on your personal computer, risks exist for smartphones and tablets – in fact, there are more of them.

And so the following are some assorted tips to ensure a safe mobile shopping experience.

Use an app: Rather than using your browser to shop a store’s mobile website, use the store's app if they have one. Properly designed mobile apps are far more secure than mobile websites, say some experts. Why? Since apps don't need a web browser they're less susceptible to attacks from incorrectly typed URLs and packet sniffing (the Internet version of wire-tapping) from unsecured networks.

Don't use free Wi-Fi hotspots: When you log onto open and unsecured networks, like at your local coffee shop, you put your personal identity at risk because tech-savvy thieves might be able to see your data, activity and passwords. Using a free hotspot to read the news is one thing, but try to resist online shopping and online banking until you're on a private and secured network (such as your own cellular data connection).

Consider a 'VPN' service: Incorporating a Virtual Private Networking (VPN) service hides your identity while spending time online. This includes masking your personal information and credit card number from prying eyes. These VPN solutions work over both Wi-Fi and cellular networks to keep your web browsing and data private and secure. Some VPN services are free, while others cost a few dollars per month.

Download legitimate apps: A number of Android apps have been known to lift data off smartphones and tablets, unbeknownst to the user. Yes, they’ve been identified and removed by Google, and developers banned from the Google Play store, but in some cases, after it’s too late. Therefore, stick with well-known developers when selecting apps because you never know what nasty surprises are in store.

Mobile security software: Security companies, such as Norton (Symantec) and McAfee, offer solutions for multiple smartphone and tablet platforms -- be it Android, Apple's iOS, Windows and BlackBerry OS. Because these digital devices are growing in popularity and used for messaging, web browsing, online shopping and app downloading, you can expect more instances of fraud, viruses and other mobile malware ("malicious software").

A secure connection: If you're going to shop on the mobile web instead of an app, look at the browser's URL (address bar) before you type in your credit card information. The web address should begin with https, which means the site has SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed, opposed to the regular http. On unsecured http sites, a hacker can easily steal personal information such as usernames, passwords and credit card numbers.

Pay securely, too: Only shop on sites that take secure payment methods, such as credit cards, as you’ve got buyer protection – just in case there’s a dispute. Another option is PayPal, which is electronically linked to your credit card or bank account, but never send cash or a check (the only exception is if you use online classifieds, like Craigslist or Kijiji, and meet with the person to conduct the transaction).

Scans, swipes and NFC: It’s hardly mainstream yet, some Canadians are using their mobile devices as digital wallets. It can be as simply as Starbucks scanning a code on your phone or as high-tech as tapping your NFC (Near Field Communication)-enabled device on a terminal to purchase something. Either way, ensure you lock your device with a password (see below) in case it’s post or missing, and if you can, ensure the app you use to shop also has a password to launch or one to confirm it’s you during the transaction.

And a few more suggestions: Don't dismiss the importance of passwords; while it's tad inconvenient, lock your smartphone and tablet with a password, PIN number or pattern, and set the maximum number of incorrect password submissions to three. Also, check your wireless statements – be it online or if you get an itemized paper statement in the mail each month -- and look for any suspicious charges. If anything appears odd, contact your credit card company immediately.

Like the B-52's song says "roam if you want to.” But just be aware it might cost you or your company a pretty penny if you don’t plan ahead.

Roaming on your mobile device refers to using it outside of Canada and thus operating on another cellular carrier.

When you roam on one these partner networks – for voice, text and data – you'll want to take heed to these following 10 tips to reduce the odds of returning home to statement shock.

Travel plans

Carriers will often offer travelers the option to purchase a roaming Travel Passes to save you money off the standard rates for voice, text or data usage for that month. For added convenience, you'll be notified how many minutes and/or megabytes you can use while away.

Text alert

Many carriers, such as TELUS, will send you a free text message when you turn on your device in another country that tells you the standard voice, text and data roaming rates for that particular country. Be sure to read this.

Pull, don’t push

When roaming, choose to manually check for new email instead of having the data pushed to your phone automatically. iPhone users, for example, should turn off “Fetch New Data."

Be app-savvy

On a related note, limit the usage of data-intensive applications when roaming, plus you should explicitly close the apps and don’t leave them running in the background. This includes Google Maps, YouTube, social feeds and other apps that might stay on in the background and check for updates, which eats up data.

Sync or swim

Turn off the option to synchronize data and apps automatically. For Android, turn the "Sync" option to off, to avoid surprising roaming charges. apps like news, weather and stock quotes are usually set to automatically sync using your data connection. iPhone, Windows Phone and BlackBerry also have auto-sync options you might want to temporarily disable while traveling.

Incoming!

Be aware roaming charges apply for making local calls in another country or calling back to Canada (or international calls). Roaming also applies to receiving calls, as well as text messages, picture and video messages and data (email, web surfing, video streaming, visiting Facebook, and so on).

Wild about Wi-Fi

While away, you could turn off data roaming on your mobile device and only pick up email, surf the web or check Facebook when in a free Wi-Fi network, such as at a local café, hotel lobby or airport.

Keep it short

Use text messaging opposed to making a voice call as the cost will be a lot less. BlackBerry users should consider the data-efficient BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) as your primary means of communication.

You’ve got mail

If you're a heavy email user, go into your email settings and choose not to download the entire email from lengthy messages (for BlackBerry, disable "Auto More"). On a related note, see if your email preferences give you the option to uncheck "Download Images Automatically."

Slow and steady

While transmission speeds will be slower, switching from 4G LTE to 3G/H+ or 2G can conserve battery and reduce data costs. Go into your phone’s settings and make the switch under "Network Mode" or “Cellular.”

Want to get more out of your new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone? Of course you do.

BlackBerry’s latest platform is already designed to help you get more done in less time – from gestures and shortcuts to the predictive keyboard and multitasking features – but we can help you get to know your snazzy new device even further.

Even if you missed this week’s TELUS virtual learning session on the Z10 (Google+ hangout), or missed my hands-on review on the device, we’ve got more tips and tricks for you to impress friends, intimidate colleagues and make your parents proud they raised such a tech-savvy individual.

Ready to start? The following are 10 random tips to mastering your new BlackBerry Z10.

1. Keyboard tips

You already know BlackBerry Z10’s virtual keyboard will conveniently guess the words you’re typing and if you agree with what’s suggested on your screen, simply swipe up with your thumb.

But that’s just the beginning.

To show the keyboard, swipe up from the bottom of the screen with two fingers or swipe down with two fingers to hide the keyboard (or tap and hold on the spacebar).

To delete a word, swipe one finger quickly from the right side of the keyboard to the left – but if you type in a right-to-left language, swipe from left to right instead.

To quickly switch between Text, Symbol and Number input, swipe down from the top of the keyboard using one finger.

To type an accented character, perhaps for French words, touch and hold the letter you want to add the accent to and when the accented characters appear just above the letter, slide your finger onto the one you want to type and lift your finger.

2. Master BB10 gestures

Some people new to BlackBerry Z10 have some issues peeking in on your unified inbox (BlackBerry Hub), usually because they don’t swipe up first (starting on the BlackBerry logo at the base of the phone) before swiping to the right.

To return to what you were doing originally, slide your finger back to the left.

To see what apps are running in the background, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Your phone’s Settings and Help menus can be found by swiping down from the top bezel of the smartphone. If you do this from within an app, you’ll see the Settings for that particular app.

As with other smartphones, zooming in and out on a webpage or photo is as easy as placing your forefinger and thumb on the screen at the same time and then spreading them slowly. To zoom back out, slide your fingers back together.

To move app icons around, touch and hold the icon you want to move and when the item starts to pulsate, slide your finger to where you want move the icon.

To wake up the BB Z10, swipe up from the BlackBerry logo at the bottom of the phone or press the power button on top of it.

3. Adding email, contacts, calendar and social networking accounts

Not sure how to start making your new smartphone your own? It’s a cinch.

From your Home screen, simply swipe down from the top bezel and tap Settings, followed by Accounts. Now tap Add Accounts at the bottom of the screen and fill in your information, such as username, password, and any other account login credentials.

If desired, you can tap Settings for each new account you set up for other options, such as synchronization preferences, default email account (the one you’ll always be writing from when starting a new message), and so on.

To remove an account, swipe down from the top of the phone when in the Home screen and select Settings, followed by Accounts. Tap on the account you’d like removed and tap Delete.

4. Browser basics

Greatly improved over your old BlackBerry’s browser, the Z10 gives you a full-screen view of the web, smart gesture and shortcut support, and the option to enable Adobe Flash sites (Settings>Display>Actions).

Here’s a few tips surrounding the browser you might not be aware of:

If you want to change the default search engine in your browser, tap the search engine icon in the top right corner of the search window and select another provider.

To clear your browser history, cookies, and other personal data, tap the action menu, followed by Settings and finally, Privacy and Security. Here you can also turn on Private Browsing to prevent your history from being saved.

If you want to customize your browser’s homepage, tap the action menu, then Settings and select Display and Actions. For one-click access to your favourite site(s) from your Home screen, tap the action menu and select Add to Home screen.

There’s an easier way to read text from a webpage. Similar to iPhone’s Safari browser, tap the action menu in the BB Z10 browser and select Reader.

5. Hot on the Hub

The BlackBerry Hub is more than just a place to read all your incoming correspondence.

For example, you don’t need to leave the Hub to view upcoming events: Simply drag your finger down on Today's date to see what’s next on your agenda.

But perhaps you want some messaging tips? No problem. If you need to change which email address you're using to send a message, swipe down from the top and select the desired email account.

Jump the top or bottom of your message list quickly by tapping the action key and select To Top or To Bottom.

To BCC (blind carbon copy) someone when sending an email, tap the action key while composing your message and select Add BCC.

Finally, to see what arrived in your inbox while composing an email, slide your finger in from the left to view the Hub.

6. Quickly capture a screenshot, give audio commands

OK, this one’s a short tip, but one you’ll like.

If you see something on your Z10 you want to capture, press both Volume Up and Down keys simultaneously on the right side of the phone to capture a screenshot.

All screenshots are saved in the Camera folder.

In between the Up and Down volume buttons, by the way, is the Play/Pause button, which can also be pressed and held to launch the BlackBerry Voice Command feature. Now you can speak to send a text, email or BBM message, call a contact, search the Internet, schedule an appointment or make a note.

It’s no Siri, but very convenient as it’s faster than typing.

7. Search me

BlackBerry has made things much easier to find what you’re looking for on your device or online.

For example, see that magnifying glass at the bottom of your Home screen? That’s called Universal Search, and for good reason. Tap the icon and type (or speak) what you want to search for and the Z10 will search through your messages, contacts, apps and even media (music, pictures, video, and documents) you have loaded on the smartphone.

Plus, it’ll extend your search to the Maps application, the phone’s Help menu, the BlackBerry World store, and of course, the Internet using your default search provider, be it Google, Yahoo! or Bing.

You can also perform a search for particular messages from within the BlackBerry Hub.

And for added convenience, Universal Search will keep a history of your recent searches.

8. How to copy and paste text

Unlike Windows Phone devices when it first launched, you can easily copy and paste text on your Z10.

To highlight a word, tap and hold it with your finger. Once it’s selected, lift your finger and double-tap on the word again to invoke the Copy/Paste menu.

Tapping and holding on a word for an extended period of time will select the entire sentence the word is in. Holding on further will highlight the entire paragraph, and holding on further adds the next paragraph to your selection, and so on. You can also expand your selection by dragging on either of the two anchor points.

To paste, place your finger at the point where you want to insert and hold it there until the paste menu appears. To make it easier for you to set the cursor at the exact insertion point you want, a large circle will appear, which you can drag to the insertion point.

9. Share and share alike

Another key feature of BlackBerry 10 is the ability to quickly and easily share content with any of your contacts.

Regardless of the app you’re in, you can tap to share info with those who matter – without having to leave the app.

For example, if you want to share a picture or website, tap the Share icon, which looks like three connected dots, and select how to share it – BBM, BBM Group, text, email, Facebook, Twitter, Bluetooth, NFC, and so on – and to whom you wish to receive it. You can always edit this list, if you prefer to add your own favourite apps, such as foursquare, Pinterest, and so forth.

Sending out info or media is a consistent experience across the BlackBerry 10.

10. Time Shift is a cinch

Finally, using the camera is easy enough, but some might be unsure how to use Time Shift, the feature that lets you select the best shit from a number of ones taken in quick succession.

When you’re about to take the photo, you’ll see three icons in the top right corner: a camera (still photo), video camera (movies) and a face with a circle around it (Time Shift). Select Time Shift and snap your picture.

If the subject is blinking for example, tap the face and it’ll show up in a small ring in the centre of the screen. Use your fingertip to move the dial back and forth to select the best shot and tap in the centre to zoom back out to the entire photo.

Time Shift is also a great feature for group shots – as it lets you adjust each subject’s face individually to capture the most ideal picture.