Comparing MAC to Windows Operating Systems

windows systems
Acquiring a computer or a laptop can be a tough decision as both MAC and Windows have different pros and cons. In the end, it all boils down to the user preference and other devices owned. The software constantly used is also a major factor in selecting a PC.

For example, if you own a Surface tablet, or the other devices in your home have the Windows Operating System, then it might be convenient for you to continue using a Windows computer.

For people with Xbox One, Windows is also the preferred choice. On the other hand, if the majority of your devices are all Apple products such as iPads, Apple TV or AirPrint enabled printer, then a MAC computer will really fit well with these products.

Depends On The Purpose

For hardcore gamers, it is more preferable to stick to Windows, particularly because the user can adapt his or her own hardware to suit his specific needs. Which mean anybody with a Windows system can upgrade the graphics card if they wish to improve their gaming experience.

On the flip side, Windows is more vulnerable to malware and viruses. However, this doesn’t mean that MAC is completely immune from these two threats. The latter is just a less frequent target, all because Windows has so much of the market share that it becomes an easy target.

Pre-Installed Software

Whichever you choose, all computers come with loads of pre-installed software. For Windows, this bloatware can cause your computer to slow down. Because of this, it can be a major nuisance for non-tech savvy users.

As for MAC, they also have pre-installed software from Apple, but they will not slow the computer’s system down. So this might be a better option for people who only use computers for simple tasks.

Siri or Cortana

Running a virtual assistant on your computer is all the rage today. So if this is one of the features that you are looking for, both MAC and Windows computers have voice assistants. MAC has Siri, while Windows has Cortana.

While they can be helpful at times, they are generally used more on hand-held devices and people usually do not use them as much as they do on their smartphones. On top of this, only Windows 10 has a voice assistant. Other older versions of it do not have this feature.

Range of Use

The biggest difference between the two systems is really the hardware you might want to use. Apple computers are famed for their relatively golden standard, well-designed, and study computers, fit for daily use. But if you want a high-end MAC, then you need to shell out more money for it.

Windows by comparison, is definitely designed to work on a wide range of hardware. You see this at almost every Tech store nearby – every brand of computer uses Windows. This means if you have a limited budget, you can purchase a low-end Windows laptop.

However, there are also high-end hardware products like those sold by Dell and Sony. A computer running on Windows is typically used for intensive applications like if you want to build your own rig for online gaming at home. MAC, however, does not provide you with this option.

Most of the time, people select their computer based on the other existing devices they own. But setting your other devices aside, both MAC and Windows have evolved so many times over the years – to the point where there isn’t much rivalry between the two anymore.

Today, both systems are feature-congruent and most people would be fine to use either. If you have no issues using either, then your decision will depend on how much money you are willing to spend.

The Secret Ingredients For Local Business Success

small businessThere are so many websites advising small business owners how to build their start-up business online. Unfortunately, some of these articles are merely to-do lists. They do not exactly tell you what makes a start-up business successful.

In this article you will findsome suggestions to develop your business and improve the chances of your startup success on the Internet. So read on.

1. Know your goals and the amount of money you are willing to risk.

Establishing a business requires money and time. You have to plan how much cash, checks or loans you are willing to shell out, and how long are you able to work in a day. Many startups require more than 40 hours a week. On top of that, to make sure that your personal life does not get jeopardized, you have to keep your business plans in line with your family goals and resources.

2. Find the right business and the right market for it.

If you are still unsure what kind of business to venture in, you can always find the needs of people that require filling in. The old formula “find a need and fill it” still works in business. This will generate enough income to build a profitable business. For example, if you live in a small town with very little access to certain items, you can start selling and marketing them either in your store or on your website.

3. Research your idea further to make sure there is an existing market for it.

One mistake a startup business can make is to assume that people will want to buy your product or service just because you like the idea, or you have a few friends who like it too. To minimize the risk of loss, research your idea first. If possible, conduct a feasibility study. Talk to real potential prospects to determine if your business idea has potential.

4. Have a clever name and logo.

Since recognition starts with your business name, arranging these two will make your brand more recognizable to people. The name and logo will appear in your marketing campaigns, website, social media channels, promotional material, and print. Alongside your business name, your logo keeps your products inside your target market’s mind. Use a top digital marketing agency to help you with your marketing. You can easily relate this to companies like Google, Target, Apple and even Amazon.

5. Hire the right people.

Another mistake many budding entrepreneurs make is hiring people who duplicate their skills. Although arranging this has its own perks, having a team with skills that compliment one another constitutes a better output. If you are operating an online business on a tight budget, you can outsource your employees to cut costs. For example, the duties of coders, SEO specialists, website creators and marketing supervisors can be outsourced. The salary of a single regular employee can pay two outsourced employees, sometimes even more.

6. Deliver the best value.

Delivering the best value does not automatically mean going for the lowest price. Instead, you can focus on aspects of producing elite products, great operational services, or exceptional customer service. As soon as your business brings in some traction, you can start targeting a combination of these three characteristics. Whenever you think of value, ask yourself what sets you apart from your competitors? How does the value of your products, or services differ from those provided by the rest in the market?

7. Do not fixate on mistakes.

Successful people know how to learn from their mistakes and move on. This is an admirable trait to possess once you get your hands on your business. Do not dwell on failures, pinpoint faults, or blame the economy. If you go through some blocks, find an alternative way. All successful people have gone through many ups and downs. It is their perseverance to move forward and to continue to work that makes them successful to this day.

8. Learn from other people’s successes.

Join groups with like-minded people. Better yet, find a mentor who can train you the ropes of the industry. Find out how they overcame difficulties and how they attained success. You can also join training courses offered by experts in the field. You will spare yourself from the extensive process of trial and error by learning from people who have gone through there before.

Remember, whether you are founding a physical business or an e-commerce website, there are numerous reasons why a product or service is successful. Often times, the brands that are marketed well sold more successfully. So make sure to incorporate the marketing aspects of the business as well. After all, after establishing your business, you should look into marketing your brand and products or services next.

Can I cure type 2 diabetes by losing weight

obesity and diabetesApproximately 8 out of 10 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese. Among these people, their bodies need two to three times as much insulin compared to a person with an average and healthy weight.

When the pancreas tries to make that much insulin, it pushes beyond capacity and insulin-producing cells start to slow down and eventually die. This makes the situation worse because this leaves the pancreas with fewer cells to produce insulin.

Compounding the problem, recent research has also shown that visceral fat, especially the abdominal fat releases molecules that can be harmful to the pancreas. This means the more visceral fat you have in your belly, the higher risk of damage to your pancreas.

The relationship between weight and type 2 diabetes can be tricky. But there are some patients who have completely reversed diabetes by simply losing weight.

Dr. William Bornstein, an endocrinologist at the Emory Clinic in Atlanta said that a lot of folks who are sedentary and are overweight do not develop diabetes. So there is definitely an important genetic contribution when one develops insulin resistance.

While it may feel like the deck is stacked against you, it is particularly crucial that you make an effort to lose the excess weight. Sometimes, a dramatic weight loss can completely reverse type 2 diabetes. This is most effective on patients who make the efforts of weight loss right after receiving their diagnosis.

How do we know that weight loss is an effective form of treating diabetes?

Dr. Peter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a general internist at Cambridge Health Alliance said that it is important that patients regulate their blood glucose levels properly and they should regulate their weight as well. Cohen also said that when people try to make the efforts to shed the extra pounds, the blood sugar goes down with it.

There was a four-year study recorded in the December issue of Journal of the American Medical Association wherein 4,500 obese adults within the age of 45 to 76 were involved. These patients all suffered from diabetes.

Basically, half of these participants were randomly assigned to complete an intensive lifestyle program that included a weekly counseling session for 6 months. These participants were given physical activity and weight loss goals while the rest of the participants were merely offered three sessions on diet and physical activity per year. Unlike the other group, the latter did not have any goals to meet.

People in the first group who have received counseling sessions lost 8.6% of their weight after 12 months. The non-counseling group on the other hand lost 0.7% of their weight. After four years, the first group lost 4.7% while the other group only lost 0.8%.

According to this study, the rates of remission were about 15% to 20% higher compared to the other group who lost less weight.

In the editorial section of this study, Dr. Patrick O’Connor, of the HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research in Minneapolis and Dr. David Arterburn, of the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle said that the results of the study only proves that people should be more concerned about preventing rather than treating diabetes. When you weigh less, your pancreas can better perform its job and keep up your body’s need for insulin.

In some cases, getting back to your healthy weight is enough to reverse diabetes. Even if it does not get your blood glucose completely back to normal, it lowers your body’s need for insulin medication and other diabetes care treatments. Losing weight also reduces your risk of diabetes complications like heart problems, kidney diseases and nerve damage.

Teeth Whitening: Go To The Dentist or Bleach At Home

nice teethWhen your work involves meeting people, it is important that you face them with a sparkling white smile. After all, first impressions truly make an impact on how people see you.

Teeth whitening is actually one of the least expensive cosmetic dental procedure that could enhance your smile. It is performed at the dentist’s clinic using a variety of equipment, products and techniques.

Even if you find and use the most expensive and presumably the most effective at-home teeth whitening kit out there, it is still best to get a dental exam first before applying any chemical treatment in your teeth.

Your dentist will identify if the discoloration is merely due to food and beverage stains or caused by a condition that needs dental treatment.

2 Major Causes of Teeth Discoloration

Intrinsic Discoloration

Teeth discoloration brought about by enamel loss or aging is an example of intrinsic discoloration. Another cause of it is excessive fluoride or antibiotic exposure during teeth formation. Developmental disorder like experiencing jaundice from childhood is also another possibility.

Teeth that have gone through tooth canal, decay or developmental trauma can also cause teeth to discolor.

Extrinsic Stains

These stains are caused by substances that usually come in contact with your teeth. Common examples are chewed tobacco, smoking, wine, tea and coffee.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic discoloration can happen at the same time.

If you are wondering whether teeth bleaching is safe or not, it is.

The chemicals used in this procedure are composed of organic molecules that do not materially destroy or affect the mineral structure of your teeth. However, there are still minor side effects that you will temporarily encounter. Teeth sensitivity is one.

Teeth Whitening Options

Whitening procedures range from the use of gels that can only be applied by a professional to the use of at-home products that you can buy at your local pharmacy. In general, the teeth whitening procedures you get from the dentist are more expensive but produce faster results.

If you are still thinking about getting that pearly white smile, here are your options:

Professional Teeth Bleaching

It involves using concentrated whitening get that are not available in any pharmacy. Though the chemicals used in this procedure are stronger and are more potent, they can be safely handled by certified dental practitioners.

In-Clinic Whitening System – This is a teeth whitening procedure performed inside the dentist’s office. They involve a state of the art light source and laser that intensifies the bleaching action in the process.

At-Home Whitening Kit – These are thin and flexible custom made mouth trays that you can fill with whitening gel. You need to leave this on your teeth for a prescribed amount of time.

Over-The-Counter Teeth Whitening Products

These products can still whiten your teeth. But as they go in lower concentrations, it will take time for you to see real results.

If you prefer to use this type of process, you can ask your dentist for product recommendations. These are usually sold as whitening toothpaste, teeth strips, brush-on or chewing gums.

The Top Three Most Common Side Effects

As teeth whitening involves chemicals, bright lights and laser, you can expect that there will be some form of side effect after the procedure.

The most common side effect that many patients experience is teeth sensitivity. This usually occurs 24 hours post procedure. For patients with lower tolerance to teeth sensitivity, this can come across as pain. But taking some pain reliever every 6 to 8 hours can remedy this problem.

Another common side effect of teeth whitening is soft tissue irritation. This problem occurs when strong at-home whitening solutions get in contact with the gums. If you experience irritation, it is best to see your dentist right away.

Lastly, nausea or vomiting is also a side effect when you accidentally ingest the bleaching gel from whitening kits.

If you are currently pregnant, it is advisable to hold off this procedure until you stop breastfeeding. Patients with peroxide sensitivity and allergies should also take teeth whitening with precaution.

There are some people who think that teeth whitening masks the carelessness they had with their dental health. However, dentists say that when you regularly brush your teeth, flossed and have kept up with your dental appointments, teeth whitening shows even better results.

The Health Benefits Of Turmeric Curcumin Supplements

turmeric roots
While turmeric is typically associated with the flavoring and coloring of curry, it should be noted that this compound does have many other uses.

Medical research has found that turmeric can in fact be one of the most effective nutritional supplements currently available. Many individuals use this substance as a natural treatment for ailments providing benefits for both the brain and the body.

Of course, while it is the turmeric powder that is applied or utilized as the treatment for ailments, it is the curcumin compounds within the turmeric that provide the medicinal properties, as was discovered by scientists quite a while back.

Curcumin is the primary active ingredient in the turmeric powder and it operates as an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory effects as well. However the content of the curcumin compounds are not high within turmeric itself; therefore if you wish to experience the full benefits of the treatment, it is recommended that you use an extract of the turmeric containing high levels of curcumin. This article will discuss the health benefits of using such turmeric curcumin supplements.

1/ Anti-Inflammatory Compounds

As mentioned above the curcumin within turmeric has natural anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammation is an important factor to consider when dealing with health issues, because it can be both beneficial and detrimental to recovery from medical conditions.

Short-term inflammation can help the body repair cell damage, but chronic or long-term inflammation can easily damage the body’s tissues for good. Unfortunately inflammation is now seen in the majority of chronic diseases and contributes to various degenerative effects in of the body.

Several published studies have shown that the potency of turmeric curcumin supplements is so powerful that they can compare to the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory medication. The key to this healing effect is that curcumin acts as a bioactive substance removing inflammation at a molecular level. This is beneficial as it helps in the reduction of swelling in the patient without the side effects of the usual anti-inflammatory medication.

2/ Increasing Antioxidant Capacity

One of the core mechanisms contributing to aging and several Western diseases is the so-called oxidative damage.

Oxidative damage involves the reaction of free radicals with organic substances, such as proteins or fatty acids. As an antioxidant, curcumin is able to neutralize the free radicals based on its chemical structure; thereby protecting the body against the activity by free radicals.

Furthermore, the curcumin supplement is able to boost the activity of antioxidant enzymes within the body. This improves stimulation of antioxidants in the body and prevents future interaction with free radicals.

3/ Improves Brain Functioning And Reduces Risk Of Brain Diseases

In previous years, it was thought that neurons were unable to divide and multiply except only within early childhood. But nowadays due to advanced technology and research, this belief has been removed and it is seen that neurons are able of multiplying but only in certain areas of the brain.

The primary driver of this process is known as the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, also known as BDNF – a type of growth hormone operating in the brain. Unfortunately individuals who suffer from brain disorders will see a reduction in the functioning of this hormone.

Turmeric curcumin supplements are beneficial in this area because they can increase the functioning of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. By increasing levels of this hormone, a reversal of brain disorders can be seen and an improvement in brain functioning.

4/ Reduction Of Heart Disease Risks

One of the most common health conditions affecting people across the globe is heart disease. This illness has been studied for decades, but the disease remains complicated with several contributors to its cause.

While there are several treatments, including pharmaceutical medication, it is seen that curcumin can be beneficial to reverse steps in the disease process. The most beneficial aspect is the improvement in functioning of the blood vessels.

As you can see from above turmeric curcumin supplements can have numerous medical benefits to your health, and they should be added to your stack for a longer life.

The Best Womens Mobile Apps

online shoppingGreat applications change the way you interact with the world on a daily basis. They can make your life easier in the simplest of ways. Many apps are dedicating themselves towards improving the lives of women all over the world. As a result, the market for female driven and targeted applications has increased exponentially in the past several years.

Some of the top applications feature help moms dealing with parenting issues. Others give women fashion and beauty advice. If there is any kind of problem a woman encounters, chances are she can find help via an application.

The following apps have proven themselves when it comes to popularity amongst women. Some provide entertainment while others offer more serious help. Most are available on both Android and iOS operating systems. Take a look at them, and you might find exactly what you needed to make life easier.

Cozi

Cozi is one of the best family organizers on the market. It is a free application that helps moms keep everything you need to run the household in one location. Cozi keeps any kind of list readily available from grocery necessities to spelling words. The app even lets you enter journal entries to mark your progress and goals on its built in calendar.

This is an easy application to use and follow thanks to a streamlined interface. Cozi even integrates with other devices via email, social media, texting and more. This keeps the whole family abreast of everything that is going on. Cozi is a must for any woman with a busy schedule full of family activities. This application is available on Android, and it is in the Apple store.

Stylebook

There are hundreds of fashion related apps across the mobile app marketplace. However, this one is easily one of the most popular thanks to its user friendly layout and large following. Stylebook is a virtual closet that lets you keep track of all your pieces from shoes to accessories. Think of this app a modern version of Chers expansive closet from Clueless.

You have access to all your clothes in one location without the need to riffle through drawers or garment bags. Instead, pop open Stylebook and create a killer outfit. It will be like shopping only with things you already own! Chances are you forgot about some of the items in your closet, and this application help remind you that there is still plenty to choose from.

Pose

Pose is another great style app that keeps your informed of all the latest trends and pulls inspiration from looks across the globe. This application lets you share pictures of your outfits with other users. You can follow and like your favorite trendsetters as you discover the personal style of other fashionistas from Paris to Sydney.

It is also possible to shop with Pose thanks to tagged items that feature links to online stores. Pose is the ultimate style application for women who love to show off their wardrobe.

Retail Me Not

Retail Me Not offers a collection of daily coupons and sale summaries of all your favorite stores. If you are looking for a coupon to patriotic store, then you can easily search Retail Me Not. This is the ultimate shopping tool for women who love a good bargain. The app updates daily, and you will always have access to the latest codes and promotion.

Pocket

This brilliant app lets you save any online page to read later when not connected to a network. If you need detailed directions or a read a cool recipe, but you do not have the time to look over it, then just save it for later! This app is perfect for people who like to save articles to read during commutes or while traveling. You will never be without the information you need when you download pages to Pocket. Reading offline has never been so easy.

Evernote

This is another great mobile organizer. In fact, it is so popular that many consider it to be the only organizer worth downloading. Evernote is ideal for helping you remember everything from websites to dates. It lets you store pictures, voice notes, and even scribbles.

This is like the ultimate sticky note, but on the go and with unlimited memory. This application is a must for anyone who likes organized clutter. Evernote keeps everything in one place no matter what the idea, thought, or picture.

Five Food Items Healthy For Your Heart

healthy dish
We all know that your coronary heart is the main timber!

Nevertheless some people decide to neglect this kind of simple, nevertheless considerable reality any time identifying precisely what meals to enjoy.

Heart related illnesses are quite prevalent at the present time sadly. Note as well they lead to numerous deaths each day on our land!

That is why today we are presenting five meals that will be nutritious, and also perfect for your existing heart.

The initial most recommended food items for a healthy heart are usually blueberries. Blueberries are normally delicious and easy to find. They may be acquired fresh or frozen from a regional food store or by means of suppliers at a farmer’s market.

They are truly full of anti-oxidants, which leaves us with no concern of consuming them. These types of anti-oxidants help to reduce the unhealthy bad LDL cholesterol.

They are also known as blood fruit, so much so that their juice looks so much like the blood that runs in our arteries. But their action may trigger the end of many coronary illnesses. In addition these fruits will cope with the dangerous effects of free radicals within our body, which could result in particular disorders, for example cancer. A brand new one-cup offering every day including blueberries is enough for great health!

Your second dish is actually fish!

This can be bought fresh or maybe chilled. Along with other ingredients, it could be cooked using several techniques like broiled, grilled, or perhaps smoked. When choosing trout, stay away from farm-raised large mouth bass. Artificially raised seafood is usually regarded a lot much less safe since inorganic pesticides are overused in such operations, and you do not want some of that to end up in your dish.

Trout is undoubtedly heart nutritious as a result of it rich content of omega-3! Omega-3 essential fatty acids are believed to help lessen triglycerides levels in the human body, which is often regarded as being among the main factors generating heart difficulties. 4 ounce of fish two times every week is believed to be sufficient to get the main good benefits from omega-3.

The third dietary component for some heart healthy diet is actually scented soy meats!

Soya healthy proteins come with a great deal for your health and your heart: vitamin supplements, nutritional supplements omega-3, as well as wellness meats. It could be viewed as a fantastic substitute red-colored food as it is low-fat and high fiber. The United States of America Coronary Heart Association suggests having a single oz. associated with soy products healthy proteins every day. Soy healthy meats are found in soybeans, soya dairy food, delicious tofu and more.

Oats would be the next food item. Great, old-fashioned oatmeal. It is simple and inexpensive! One half-cup is about one hundred thirty healthy calories, mostly soluble fiber. It’s an ingredient that will add nothing to your body fat! This will help you lower your LDL cholesterol and may help out with lowering your entire body mass.

The normal grownup must take some every single day to live a long life. In fact whenever an individual wants some, he can merge some with the other items in our list to obtain an extremely balanced, delicious breakfast every day. One could combine a serving associated with clean blueberries, a portion with vanilla flavor scented soy protein, plus a supply of oat meal for the correct coronary heart healthful breakfast time.

The 6th as well as greatest food in out list is actually kale. It truly is chock full of nutritional vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, along with omega-3 fatty acids! Like oat meal it is really multipurpose. It can be appreciated mixed with some vegetables, or boiled in a soup. Oats is a superb alternative to lettuce when creating any veggies dish. And it is affordable. It can be bought frozen or fresh, the results will be the same.

To summarize, an effective heart is a delighted cardio machine that needs care to function well. It is super easy to create small improvements in an individual’s diet program, and generally at a low cost. Perfumed scented soy healthy proteins, oatmeal, bass, oats, and blueberries can be a great addition for your cardiovascular system proper diet!

Capture and Measure Success Metrics with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools you can use to measure and monitor the success metrics of your website.

It provides the information you need about who visits your site, what they are looking for, how they got there and what search terms they used. Any person who want to monitor their website performance should use this free tool.

Many website owners have already heard about how Google Analytics can be helpful in understanding what they should work on to fulfill the needs of their readers, and at the same time try to capitalize on it to boost sales. The data extracted are extremely important and it might just give you the answer on how to increase the efficiency of your website.

This is a free tool and anybody can use it. As soon as you have set up your account, Google will immediately start to pull in useful data about your website that you can use to your advantage.

What does Google Analytics measure?

  1. Dimensions – These are the attributes of your website data, such as the town or city where the traffic came from, the social media you are evaluating or the page you are measuring.
  2. Metrics – These are the quantitative element of the dimensions. An example would be the number of traffic from New York City or Atlanta, Georgia.

While dimensions and metrics are the building blocks of Google Analytics, below is a list of the important data that Google Analytics can gather for you.

Average Time On Website – Gathering the data on how long visitors stay on your website will give you a small window of what they are looking for and if they have found what they need. This also determines the pages that are popularly visited by users.

Unique Visitors – If you often wonder how many people exactly visit your website daily, Google Analytics can help you determine the exact number of unique visitors everyday. There are parameters that you can set so that you can view the trends over a certain period of time.

Keywords Used – Using relevant and niche-appropriate keywords definitely helps boost traffic. If you want to know the keywords that are pulling traffic for you, Google Analytics can also give you with this data. Having this information at hand will help you understand what the users are looking for and help you strategize your keyword use in the future.

Sources of Traffic – In the event that you want to track or put a return of investment figure on your SEO efforts, you can definitely use Google Analytics to predict the future growth of your business. Using this tool will allow you to see where all of your traffic comes from and you can also visit the referring links used by your visitors.

Conversions – The conversion data from Google Analytics tell you how people convert on your website and which part of it needs some improvement to increase your conversion rate.

Now that you know the importance of installing Google Analytics, there are some pointers you need to work on to proceed to the next step.

  1. Make sure that the tool is implemented properly. If you are using WordPress, you can easily use the analytics plugin to implement the tool correctly.
  2. Once you have determined the performance of your website, you can dive into further information that will help you improve on your weak points. For example, if people cannot find you through organic search, try to check if you can pull up the data you need to learn why.
  3. Outline the dimension and metric that will show the questions you have regarding your website. For example, if you want to know how many of your visitors dropped by to your website through organic search, you can simply look at the organic traffic of one of the pages.

Think of Google Analytics as a handy tool that can resolve problems. But try not to see it as a solution, but rather a place where you can see problems. Once you identify them, you can dive into the cause of the problem by analyzing the data you have gathered and formulate a plan on how to fix them.

Best Mobile Phones of 2013

Mobile phones are constantly evolving. At one time, people only used them to make calls, but now, consumers have access to lots of additional features. That evolution took a powerful leap forward in 2013. Companies unleashed some of their best offerings yet, giving consumers the chance to do more with their phones than ever before.

Nokia Lumia 1020

In previous years, experts did not think cell phones would ever be able to replace cameras. That changed when Nokia released the Lumia 1020. The phone comes with a 41 megapixel camera sensor. It also has optical image stabilization and super high-resolution zoom. On top of that, it has something called “lossless zoom.”

This feature allows users to zoom in on something after a shot and then reframe the image while maintaining the image’s original quality. The Nokia Lumia isn’t just about pictures, though. It also has voice-guided navigation, Microsoft Office and a maximum talk time of 12.5 hours in 3G. All of these features make it a solid choice for consumers.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is currently the best phone on the market for people who work and play outdoors. The phone is dust proof so users can work outside or go hiking without worrying about damaging the phone. The design also includes liquid protection. The protection is so powerful that users can actually snap pictures underwater.

Sticking with the outdoor theme, the touchscreen was designed to be used with or without gloves. This makes the phone perfect for all types of weather and all environments.

Motorola Moto X

The Motorola Moto X is a good option for people who like phones that offer a great deal of control and are easy to use. In regards to control, users can actually build their own Moto X phones using the Moto Maker website. They can use the site to choose colors and accents for their phones. They can also choose between 16G and 32G phones.

While 32 GB is the maximum internal storage Motorola offers for the phone, users can also store up to 65GB for free on Google Drive. When it comes to ease of use, owners can access the voice and hand control features provided by the phone. Users can set alarms, create notes and more with the sound of their voices. They do not have to touch the phone to activate the voice control. They simply have to speak the command and the phone will comply.

In regards to hand controls, users can activate the camera by simply twisting their wrists. Then, they can touch the screen to take a picture. It’s even easy to upgrade to the Motorola Moto X, thanks to the Motorola Migrate feature. This feature allows users to wirelessly transfer call histories, texts, videos, photos, music, and SIM contacts from the old cell phone to the Motorola Moto X.

At one time, Apple ruled and everyone else was rushing to catch up, but now, the hottest phones are Android devices. With companies like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola throwing their hats in the ring, the competition is steeper and the choices are more exciting than ever before.