There are a lot of instances where we find ourselves typing virtually the same phrase that we've typed many times before. Whether it's the standard spousal reply of "I'll be home in a few", or a work-related phrase like "I'll have that to you by the end of the day", typing phrases like these can feel very redundant at times.
Facebook rolled out a new feature that lets your friends ask you about your current relationship status. This is great feature if you use Facebook for finding hookups, but if you use it mostly to connect with family and friends, a bunch of questions about your dating status can get annoying real quick.
Sense 6 is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I start to miss the vanilla Android experience that comes with Nexus devices. You can always convert your M8 to the Google Play Edition, but then you'd have to ditch all the Sense exclusive features, and we wouldn't want that.
There really isn't any custom manufacturer skin, like Sense, that can match the clean look and fluidity that comes with stock Android. HTC knows this, and they, just like Samsung, include a Google Play Edition version in their flagship lineup.
Whether it's spotty data coverage, bad customer service, or a high monthly bill, at some point many of us consider changing carriers. The problem is, we often don't want or need to change our devices. Since it's now legal to unlock devices to bring to new carriers, getting devices switched over is doable, but it's pain going into carrier stores and dealing with their constant upselling.
The international hit Xperia Z2 may be headed to Verizon if a posted, and quickly erased, image is any indication. Take this information with a grain of salt—I certainly am—but this could be Sony's entrance into the non-GSM realm. The image above was posted to Sony's Xperia Google+ page, and very quickly removed. Compared to the Z2 that's currently on the international market (below), we can see that not only has the Sony logo shifted to the bottom, but a Verizon logo rests squarely along the...
It's been rumored ever since the 2012 release of the Kindle Fire, and now Amazon's first smartphone is set to debut a little later this year.
I'm a textaholic, as I've said many times before, but even textaholics forget to respond sometimes. When I'm watching a YouTube clip or devouring delicious snacks in Candy Crush Saga, I'll often ignore incoming texts and forget to respond later.
Out of the box, your Android device can be customized in many different ways, and a ton more with root access, but adjusting the actual interface of the system is a little bit more challenging. Changing the status bar size, icon width/length, and positioning of toast notifications are things that require a little bit more know-how—until now.
One of the down-sides of international long-haul travel is layovers between flights in unfamiliar places. We have a flight to Europe this year via Guangzhou, China, and I've been putting together my notes on how to make the best use of 7 hours between flights, which I'd like to share.
Samsung's TouchWiz skin gets a lot of flak for its appearance, namely the garish colors on the quick settings toggles. The bright green on dark blue scheme is definitely an eyesore compared to the ones in stock Android, and even other manufacturer skins like HTC's Sense.
By this point, you've definitely come across an app or two that wasn't designed with the HTC One in mind. Either the resolution is too small, the status bar stays active when it shouldn't, or the font isn't the ideal size. There are ways out there to get that changed, but up until now it wouldn't just change one app—it would change all of them.
Let's face it, finding your remote, let alone finding something to watch, can take more time out of our days than we'd care to admit. There are remote locators and channel guides out there, but why use those when you have a perfectly good remote always on you—your HTC One. HTC put an IR blaster into their One and when it's coupled with their Sense TV app, it can make for one hell of a smart remote.
If you've ever used IFTTT, you know how well it can automate your online world. The premise is simple—If This, Then That—but the results are powerful. From automatically printing images based on hashtags to getting around Twitter bans, the service is quite useful with a wealth of possibilities.
Slide to left, slide to the right, one hop this time. Okay, so maybe those are some of the dance instructions for the "Cha Cha Slide", but sliding and swiping on your Samsung Galaxy S3 can become so much more than just a simple gesture.
WhatsApp may be one of the most popular mobile messaging services around since it's multi-platform, but if most of your family and friends use iPads and iPhones, there's no need to go beyond the stock Messages app.
There are plenty of ways to customize your stock HTC One (or any Android device), from playing retro games to adding rotating live wallpapers. But to get the most out of your device, you need root access.
Once you jailbreak, there are hundreds of options available for you to fully customize your boring stock iPhone into something more efficient and fun. We've already shown you a bunch, like how to beautify app icons and change battery icons, but now it's time for a badge alert makeover.
Sometimes it's the little things that make our days better, like finding a dollar in our recently washed jeans or a box of donuts in the lunch room. But your Nexus 7 tablet's lock screen isn't typically one of those things—it's just a lock screen after all.
The status bar is where we get all of the important need-to-know information for our phones. At a quick glance, you can see what time it is on your Samsung Galaxy S3, how much battery power you have remaining, your current signal strength, and more. But after a while, things can feel a little stale up there.
Midway through 2013, a popular custom ROM called Paranoid Android introduced their multitasking feature "Halo." Bubble-style notifications inspired by Facebook chat heads pop up near the top of the screen, and you simply tap on them to bring up the app in a floating window.
One of the most frustrating things about full touchscreen phones, especially for those coming from one with a physical keyboard, is typing and editing text. Whether it's a quick text message, or Swyping out a full e-mail, it sucks realizing you've messed up a few words and have to go back and fix them.
When you were younger, you probably had your parents bugging you not to have your cassette player headphones up too loud. For all you younger readers out there, it was probably a CD player. The even younger readers likely had an iPod or other MP3 player. Either way, your parents didn't want you to mess up your hearing, blasting that Limp Bizkit in your ears (wow, I'm showing my age here).
Your smartphone has a ton of ringtone options built in, but ringtones haven't really changed much in the past decade, and it's definitely not cool to hear someone in the supermarket with the same lame ringer. While replacing the stock sounds with a song of your choosing is the best way to keep your phone personalized, why not go a step further using a video?
Ever since the early days of their existence, cell phones have been reducing the common wristwatch to nothing more than a fashion accessory. I'm not exactly a watch aficionado, but I do own a few that I wear on a daily basis. Since I have family in different parts of the world, I love my watches that have a second time zone, allowing me to see what time it is where they are.
Not particularly good looking, TouchWiz's lock screen adequately supplements the clunky and almost cartoonish-look of the infamous user interface on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. While there are hundreds of lock screen options in the Google Play Store, I've never quite discovered one that I've thoroughly enjoyed, due to the obfuscation from so many options.
In spite of the degree of difficulty it is to install, CyanogenMod has steadily climbed the ladder to become one of the most popular third-party firmwares for Android devices.
Like the buttons on your computer's mouse and keyboard, the Home key on your Samsung Galaxy S4 serves a vital function in navigating through your device. It can get pressed dozens of times a day, going through hours of use and abuse.
The design of iOS 7 has its lovers and haters, and if you're an Android user who just happens to love it, there are plenty of ways to make your device feel more Apple-y.
Most hardcore Android fans loathe carrier or manufacturer additions to the Android operating system. Whether it's bloatware or changes to the user interface, many enthusiasts prefer the clean look of stock Android.
One of the things I hate most about Android's alarm clock is that you get the alarm icon in your status bar way ahead of time. Regardless of whether the alarm is in five minutes, five hours, or five days, that icon just sits in your status bar.
Customization is one of Android's popular selling points, and going hand-in-hand with that is being able to set default apps for different actions. Whether you want to play a song, navigate somewhere, or send a text, you can set a go-to app for each of those tasks.
If you've had the pleasure of owning both an iOS and Android device, you may have noticed one subtle difference on each one's PIN unlock screen. Android's lock screen requires you to press "OK" after entering the PIN, whereas iOS's simply unlocks the screen right after the last digit.
Tony Stark is a smooth talking, genius billionaire playboy that occasionally saves the world... what's not to like? The Marvel films starring Robert Downey, Jr. have grossed well over a billion dollars in the U.S. alone, so it's needless to say that Iron Man is a very popular superhero.
Starting on Android 4.2, a new feature called Quick Settings was integrated into the Notification tray, which allows you to quickly turn on and off certain device features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. These toggles also provides a shortcut to the feature's more advanced settings by long-pressing on the icon.
It's that time of the year again when scores of students are flocking to stores for school supplies. Pens, pencils, books, and for math students, calculators.
Apple may have unabashedly lifted their upcoming "Control Center" from Android devices, but visually speaking, it's an awesome take on Quick Settings that would look pretty good on a Samsung Galaxy S3.
Are you a messy burger eater? Ants and fruit flies invading your home? Hate drinking warm drinks? Find out the quick and easy DIY solutions to these problems with these 10 amazing tips and tricks for the summer.
My standard text greeting to friends is something along the lines of "Wazzup biznitch?"—but apparently the auto-correct function on my Samsung Galaxy S3 has a problem with that. Time after time I have to retype it or just add all my made-up words to the word list—and I use a lot of made-up words, because that's what bosses do. But texting isn't the only way I communicate. I also use email, chat, and social media on a daily basis—and I don't always use my phone. So, wouldn't it be awesome if m...
There are a ton of options available to Android users when it come to messaging, but the problem is that with all of these options, where is the go-to app? The one used by most people? The one that can offer a more unified approach?
