Three Apps For First-Time Investors

Investing, whether in the stock market, real estate, or tech, can be intimidating if you’re not intimately familiar with the inner goings of such activity. Fortunately, with the advancements in technology come a plethora of apps that can help us in this endeavor. Here are three of them.

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Robinhood

One of the biggest draws of Robinhood among new investors is its $0-commission brokerage firm that makes it easy for anyone to invest without having to pay the typical fee of $10 for every trade you make. Investors make money through their Robinhood Gold membership and earning revenue from interest gained from cash in their accounts much like a bank.

Hello Money

Hello Money’s idea is centered on letting you choose different funds and stocks to create your ultimate portfolio one piece at a time. It allows you to pick from over 24,000 different funds and stocks.

Wealthfront

Perfect for those who can’t watch over their investments by the minute, this automated management service maximizes the “net-of-fee, after-tax, real investment return for each client’s particular tolerance for risk.”

Hi, I’m Taihwa Terry Ho. I’m a capital investor by trade. I’m a technophile so I focus my investments in apps that I see a lot of promise. Visit my blog for more investing tips.

Gadget Tech Explained: How Gorilla Glass Works

If you own a smartphone, then you’ve probably heard of the material, Gorilla Glass. It’s the screen tech used by most smartphone companies. Gorilla Glass is produced by the company Corning. The glass is the made to be smooth, crystal-clear, resilient, and scratch-proof. So how is this glass fabricated, and what makes it so strong?

Image source : macrumors.com

A little history, the Corning glass’s discovery is actually a superhero origin story. In 1952, a scientist at Corning placed a piece of photosensitive glass in a furnace for testing. At some point, the furnace’s temperature suddenly increased from 600 degrees Celsius to 900 degrees. Expecting a failure, the scientist removed the sample and was shocked to find an opaque sheet of material rather than a melted blob of molten mess. He accidentally dropped the sample and instead of shattering, it bounced.
Scientist Don Stookey, accidentally created a glass-ceramic Hybrid.
Here’s Corning’s explanation from its Gorilla Glass website:

Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are “stuffed” into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior. The glass is placed in a hot bath of molten salt at a temperature of approximately 400°C. Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. These larger ions take up more room and are pressed together when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. Gorilla Glass’s special composition enables the potassium ions to diffuse far into the surface, creating high compressive stress deep into the glass. This layer of compression creates a surface that is more resistant to damage from everyday use.

Image source : ytmigh.com

Joshua Hunt here. I’m a gadget technician from Texas. I enter rodeos during my free time. Follow me on Twitter to get more updates.

Essential Android Apps To Get In 2017

Choosing from tons of apps for your Android phone depends mainly on their suitability for your lifestyle. A lot of sites offer a master list of sorts, but it might be better to base your downloading decisions on your specific interests or hobbies. Hereunder are several must-have apps (meaning those you would most likely use) for your smartphone.

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Gmail

Everybody should have a Google email account, if only as backup email. It makes everything more centralized and synchronized with other Google apps, and the interface is a lot more user-friendly than, say, Yahoo or most company-specific accounts.

Amazon

For an important alternative to the Google Appstore (which often comes pre-installed in Android phones), get Amazon and its premium version Amazon Prime, which offers cool features like grocery shopping online and fast delivery. It can in the long run save you more money to have both app stores installed.

Twitter and Facebook

Social media users will most likely have accounts in these, and having them will allow you to keep in touch with family and friends. News often break and spread faster in social media, too, so for 24/7 awareness of what’s happening, FB and Twitter are a must.

Trip Advisor

If you’re planning on traveling, this app offers heaps of ease and convenience including booking options, lowest airfare, hotel rates, and offers a huge database of must-visit landmarks and suggested itinerary in your destination.

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My name is Taihwa Terry Ho, a capital investor and technophile.  I frequently invest in app development and other tech innovations.  Read more about my adventures in the app industry via my Facebook page.

Should We Fear Self-Driving Cars?

You can almost hear the hackles raised and the impending write-offs of self-driving cars. It’s still too sci-fi for the public. It also raises valid questions, such as 1) Are they safe? and 2) Are machines better drivers than humans? Lastly, the concept triggers social anxieties, such as possibilities of large-scale unemployment for truckers and cab drivers who will ineluctably be replaced by such vehicles.

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Currently, self-driving cars aren’t too far from being mainstreamed. We are looking at around 4.7 million self-driving vehicles plying the roads by 2030, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group. As a matter of consequence, another think tank, International Transport Forum, also predicts a loss of 50 to 70 percent of demand for drivers in the U.S. and Europe by 2030.

This is the sort of panic truly disruptive technology sows. However, experience tells us not to fear machines as we did on the eve of the Industrial Revolution and the many encounters mankind has had with artificial intelligence after that. Some technology analysts actually argue the opposite: The dawn of new technology will generate exponentially more jobs, but different kinds.

Driving jobs will take a hit, but the normalization of self-driving vehicles will also spur complementary industries. Manufacturing these vehicles will demand more warm bodies. As will industries directly expedited by the service of such technology. Retail, energy, construction, and other sectors will be faster and bigger, and their expansion will necessitate a more sizable workforce.

Image source: Huffpostmaghreb.com

To be sure, there is still a lot to fear, foremost of which is getting the technology safe and on point. In fact, one of the primary goals of this technology is to reduce road accidents, which are largely attributed to human error.

We must not suppress self-driving cars if they’re the direction toward which innovation wants to go.

I am Taihwa Terry Ho and I believe in disruptive, serviceable innovations. For more similar reads, visit my blog.

The Most Expensive Smartphones Today

Technology has come a long way, hasn’t it? Seems only like yesterday when the first of the Nokias were released. Nowadays, there are hundreds of different smartphones out in the market with varying prices. Here are some of the most expensive smartphones on the market today.

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Vertu Signature Touch for Bentley

The cheapest Signature Touch for Bentley is around $9,000. Vertu created the luxury smartphone to commemorate five years of working alongside the legendary automobile manufacturer. The $9,000 Signature Touch is in plain leather. The most expensive model is almost $20,000. Several features tie the phone up with Bentley apps. The specs are top-of-the-line Android specs.

Tonino Lamborghini 88 Tauri

The Lamborghini 88 Tauri is a smartphone developed by supercar maker Lamborghini. It costs around $5,250 and features only the best materials. Buyers have nine different colors of calfskin leather to choose from, with black silver and genuine gold plate. What’s more is that the screen itself cannot be shattered or scratched.

Image source: luxatic.com

Mobiado Grand Touch EM Marble

The makers of the Grand Touch EM Marble claim that this $3,100 smartphone is crafted from stone, with finish options that include cocobolo, ebony, granite, and burl. With impressive specs, it’s no wonder that this smartphone is in a class all its own.

I’m Taihwa Terry Ho, and my passion is innovative technology. Yes, I suppose you can call me a technophile. For more tech reads, visit this site.

iOS 11 Rumors: What We Know So Far

The tech world is so caught up with iPhone 8 reports that it almost forgot its most important feature: its OS. iOS is the compelling reason Apple has a solid user base. It’s integrated deeply into the hardware, it’s regularly updated, and the apps are superb. So here are some key features that might be added to the next update.

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1. Group FaceTime calls

FaceTime is secure and flawless; its missing feature is group calls, though. We have Skype, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Messenger for that. But iPhone users will be delighted to have this feature in the next update.

2. Dark Mode

This feature has been one of the most demanded features of iOS. It’s perfect for the black-faced iPhones – it makes it look sleeker, and for reading at night (night mode just isn’t cutting it out for me). Apple has been hinting at this feature for some time now by integrating it into its native apps like the Clock app.

Image source : pcadvisor.co.uk

3. Siri to sound more natural

We all love Siri’s pleasant voice. In fact, Siri even made her first movie debut in the “Lego Batman Movie.” Rumors have it that Siri may have a more “natural sounding voice.” It may also start integrating into social apps. It would just be a matter of time when you ask Siri to “Post status update: ‘Hello world!’”

Hi there! Taihwa Terry Ho here, and I’m heavily invested into app development. Tech is my interest and I write about them here.

Two Considerations To Note Before Developing An App

More companies are transferring a portion of their business online. This has created a yet-untapped market for app developers. These companies often require an app that will help them process their accounts in a seamless and easy-to-do manner. It is tempting to immediately jump unto the bandwagon and begin developing an app. Nonetheless, it is still important that these two considerations be noted.

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Promotion or business?: Money is an important factor in any decision-making process. App development is the same. Developers should consider their end-goal and take it from there. The first question to ask is whether the app is to promote an existing business or to be a revenue-generating source. Promoting a business does not require too much technicalities. These apps are usually applied for companies that have a physical store so the goal is to encourage viewers or users to visit the location itself. When the app is meant to earn money, it should have more features and be targeted for a specific market. A good rule of thumb is to create an app the developer himself would use.

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The platform: Should the app be in iOS or Android? This is a personal consideration as both operating systems each have their own pros and cons. In general, iPhone apps are known for their money-making characteristics. Android apps, on the other hand, are downloaded more often although expect to be giving the app for free. The process in development for both operating systems are also different so novice developers should stick with what they know.

Remember that the end product should be worthy of attention and praise. Whatever the reason for building an app can be, consumers always appreciate a well-thought-of app.

Taihwa Terry Ho helps app developers start their careers. He is a capital investor who focuses on technological advances. For more information, like this Facebook page.