Keeping Up with Blogs

{Screenshot of the Feedly News Reader}

How do you keep up with the blogs you love? Originally, I just bookmarked my favorites and visited them every week. Then I downloaded a free reader on my laptop. Now, I have the easy and convenient Feedly News Reader on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, and I love it!

The photos on blog posts are gorgeous and clear on the tablet's screen, and the news reader is a wonderful way for me to keep up with the blogs I love. It's really easy to scroll through previews of posts and then open up the ones I want to the read in more detail. The previews are fantastic because I can view several blogs in one screen, and it saves time from having to open up each post and decide whether or not I want to read the full story.

I can also save posts for later within the reader. I like to save recipes for us to make as well as my favorite DIY projects. We use this feature all the time! My husband and I both love using the tablet for cooking. It's easy to find recipes and easy to prop the tablet up on the table or counter. My husband also loves that he can now watch his favorite shows on his laptop while using the tablet for recipes instead of having to use his laptop for everything and pause his show every time he had to check the recipe again. 

It's a really fantastic way to get the latest updates from my favorite blogs and keep track of our favorite recipes. I don't think we could ever go back!

#IntelTablets

Tablet Selfies

We were challenged recently to take selfies with our tablets. The first thing that popped into my head was taking selfies of my tablet. Now, my husband and I had a great time posing these photos and found them pretty hilarious. Hopefully you'll feel the same way...

Here's our tablet relaxing and watching some TV. Now, the remote is not really necessary since the tablet itself can change the channels, but sometimes our tablet wants to do things the old fashioned way.

Next our tablet enjoyed reading a book. It could read itself since we can get books from the library on the Overdrive App, but the beret was covering its screen, which made that a bit tricky.

After all that reading, our tablet wanted to do some restorative yoga. Here it is relaxing in savasana. Our tablet can also be used to watch yoga videos and check out new poses! 

Our tablet ended the day by checking up on some of its friends - other awesome Intel tablets! We like to keep up with our friends through Instagram and Twitter on it as well.

So what do you think of our tablet selfies?

#IntelTablets #selfie

Tablet Photo Album

{Our wedding gallery on the tablet!}

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is our new photo album!! Our wedding photos are in a private Dropbox folder that we can access seamlessly on the tablet. I logged on to Dropbox from the tablet, and our photos were automatically put into the Gallery. We love using our tablet as a photo album! It's a fantastic way to share our photos with friends and family. The colors and photos look absolutely gorgeous on the tablet, and it's fantastic to have a light and portable way to bring our photos anywhere. We also used it to browse through all of our photos and pick out the ones we wanted to print for our wedding frames. We were able to download our favorites from Dropbox onto the tablet so that we knew which ones we wanted to order. Now, if only we'd had a tablet prior to the wedding, I can't imagine how useful it would have been as a wedding planner.

{Framed wedding photos}

#IntelTablets

Traveling Tablets

{Taken on the flight with my tablet!}

A few weeks ago, I took a one day trip for a face-to-face meeting. I stayed over with friends so that I would be closer to the airport. I flew out early in the morning and came back late in the evening. On that trip, I wanted to be able to check my personal email and social media accounts at my friends' place as well as have entertainment on the flights. Enter my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3!!!

With the Overdrive App for Android, I could download and read a book from the library. I have the Brain Yoga App, so I could play some fun games to break up the reading. And I could check Twitter, email, and Instagram without having to pull out my cumbersome work laptop. Plus I could easily share some of our wedding photos with my friends! The screen is gorgeous and displays all of the colors in the photos wonderfully. 

Tablets are fantastic for traveling! I am really looking forward to bringing mine with me when we head back to the east coast to visit our families for the holidays. No heavy laptop for me! I can check everything I need and more on my light little tablet. I won't need a laptop bag - my tablet fits nicely in its case in my purse. Plus, it's so much easier to use in small spaces like an airplane seat. My Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is my new favorite travel accessory! What's yours?

#IntelTablets

Smart Remote

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 comes with the Smart Remote App, which I mentioned a couple of posts ago. It's a really neat app, and one of you awesome readers asked for some screenshots and more details, so here we go!

You can view what's on TV through the app - you can see shows by category/genre and overall. Then you can select a show you like, press 'Watch on TV' and get it onto your TV!! You can also watch trailers through the app, and it tells you which episodes are airing for the first time.

The Smart Remote is really easy to set up - you just select your TV brand in the app, set up your location and let it all sync. You can turn the TV on and off using the Smart Remote, change channels, and find your shows! It's pretty great!

Have you tried the Smart Remote or something similar? What are your thoughts? What would you like to know more about?

#IntelTablets

Make Your Own Tablet Case for $9!

Inspired by this tutorial on One Shabby Chick that I pinned awhile ago, I decided to make my own case for my tablet. I followed the tutorial pretty closely, but I used only two pieces of fabric instead of sewing scraps together, and I did less quilting. Here's how I made it:

First, I measured my tablet and figured out how much fabric I'd need. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, measures about 9 in x 7 in, so I knew I needed two pieces of fabric that were at least 11 in x 17 in to make the pouch, flap and allow for the seams.

Luckily for me, fat quarters (used in quilting) measure 18 in x 21 in, and they were on sale for $1 each at Joann Fabrics!! I also picked up some batting and velcro squares for this project. So for $9.06, I got everything I needed to make this case!

I used the whole 21 inches on the long side of the fat quarters, and then I cut the width down to just over 11 inches (to allow for an inch on each side of my tablet). So I cut the two fat quarters and the batting into 21 in x 11 in rectangles.

The first sewing step required attaching the batting to the outside fabric. I sewed three straight lines to quilt the outside fabric of the case. I made a line about once every three inches.

Then I sewed on the lining by putting right sides together and sewing around the edges, leaving a 2 inch opening to turn it out. One thing that One Shabby Chick suggests (and I forgot to do, regrettably, so don't follow my lead...) is to reinforce the beginning and ending of the opening so that the stitching doesn't tear as you turn it out.

After sewing around the edges and leaving that opening, I trimmed the corners and then turned the piece right side out. The next step is to iron on both sides and then pin and sew around the entire piece with a very small seam.

Once I'd sewn around the edge, I measured how far I should fold up the bottom. Here I used the tablet to measure it, but it was about 7 inches, maybe a little bit more. Then I should have placed the velcro squares for the closure of the case. Instead, I sewed up the sides right away and then struggled to sew on the squares. So, if you're making this yourself, measure where the velcro should go by folding down the flap and sew around the velcro first, then sew up the sides of the case to finish the pouch :)

This was a pretty simple project, and I am so pleased with the way it turn out! I had wanted a case for my tablet - I wanted something cute and simple and not too expensive. I'm so glad I remembered the tutorial I pinned waaay back, and that I could adjust it to make my own case!

#IntelTablets

The First Few Days with My Very Own Tablet!

I've been sharing a ton of awesome information about the new #IntelTablets, and now it's time to share my own experiences! Look for upcoming posts about my day-to-day interactions with and uses for my very own tablet - the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1!

On Wednesday my husband left a message for me while I was at work telling me that a package had arrived with the words "Samsung Galaxy Tab 3" on the outside of the box!! Well, imagine how hard that made getting through the rest of the day! When I finally got home, I could hardly wait to unwrap my new toy.

I've never had a tablet before, so I was excited to try it out. The quick start guide was really helpful in getting me onto the tablet. The entire interface is very intuitive, so even though I've never used one before, I haven't had any trouble figuring out what to do.

I have really enjoyed getting to know the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 in the past few days. First, I set it up as a remote for our TV! What!? It was really simple, and now we can see exactly what's on, watch previews, and then set the TV to that channel all from the tablet - I know, so cool!

I also really love the Feedly App for reading blogs. I like to keep up with several different blogs, and in the past I've used NetNewsWire on my laptop. The Feedly reader is an awesome way to get new blog posts on my tablet. I really like the interface - it gives you photos from the post and a preview and then you can open the whole link if you're interested. You can also save posts for later, which is exactly what I did with this recipe for Chai Spice Sugar Cookies. Then I used a little creativity to make a tablet stand from our fruit bowl and used my tablet and the Feedly reader as my cookbook!

The cookies are delicious, I would highly recommend them, and it was a breeze the follow the recipe on my tablet. Cookbook tablet for the win! :)

What would you do first with your own tablet?

Independent Filmmaker + #IntelTablets

How does an independent filmmaker use #IntelTablets?? Check it out!

#IntelTablets for cat entertainment? How about procrastination eliminator?

Check it out!! What can you get out of #IntelTablets?

Fujitsu introduces Stylistic Q704 12.5 inch tablet with optional keyboard dock

Check out another update on new #IntelTablets!! 

Intel Bay Trail benchmarks show serious competitor to Nvidia and Qualcomm

Check out how competitive the new #IntelTablets are in this new benchmarking!



Intel Bay Trail benchmarks show serious competitor to Nvidia and Qualcomm

10 Ways to Get the Most from Your Tablet

Maximize your @Dell and #IntelTablets capabilities... from cash register to home security. Here's how: http://www.techpageone.com/technology/10-ways-to-get-the-most-from-your-tablet/#.Ujj89cafg-J

10 Ways to Get the Most from Your Tablet

The most life-altering modern conveniences are just a download away for the savvy user — and they can turn your handheld device into everything from a cash register to a home security system.

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The Intel VIP Community

Can't Wait for the Newest Intel Tablets? What's...

Excited about @Intel latest innovations but can't wait for the new releases. Check out the #IntelTablets showcase to see what's on the market now!

Can't Wait for the Newest Intel Tablets? What's...

Intel is rapidly moving forward with tablets and mobile computing, and it is certainly exciting to hear about what is coming out in the future! But if you want to get your hands-on what's available now, check out the current product offerings!

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The Intel VIP Community