One of the most feature-packed camera suites out there resides on the Sony Xperia Z2. Along with the regular camera and video modes, it comes with Motiongraph, AR Effect, and Social Live.
Whether it's a chaotic family day meetup at the beach, barhopping with buddies, or getting stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead car battery, being able to share your exact location with others using your smartphone makes life easier and less stressful.
We got a fairly extensive look at the newest version of Android at Google I/O yesterday. The "L" version, which we're betting stands for "Lollipop", brings Google's new design philosophy to Android, and one of the main aspects of that design are new "heads up" notifications. Allowing you to continue using whatever app you're currently in without interuption, this new type of alert borrows from Apple's iOS, but does it the Android way. These notifications can be dismissed with a swipe away, ex...
While their merger with Microsoft has lead to a seemingly complete halt of new device development, some Nokia employees are still hard at work to bring new software to the table.
I'll freely admit that I'm a SwiftKey diehard. I've used the keyboard since its inception in 2010, and it was one of the first apps I ever paid for back in the days of my beloved Sprint Evo 4G. Since then, I've kept up with all its beta iterations, and have unabashedly installed it on various friend's devices.
As a parent, navigating smartphone usage with your children can be a perilous journey as you hand them that new device they've always wanted, or even your older hand-me-down phone or tablet.
Autocorrect, a common feature available on most Android keyboards, helps fix fat-finger typos and even predicts the words you want to write. Without this feature, it'd take me about 5 minutes to write a sentence, and even then, it'd probably still be intelligible.
Update: May 7, 2014: Google's Camera has seen its first update, with a small yet important addition baked into the app—the ability to take pictures while recording a video. Now, when in video mode, simply tap on the screen to take a picture, while your recording continues as normal. The update to version 2.1.042 is set to hit today, but if you haven't yet received it, apply it manually by downloading the apk here.
While you may suck at Instagram, it's likely that you manage multiple Instagram accounts, whether strictly for personal use or for managing blog and business pages.
The Google Now Launcher that was introduced with the Nexus 5 seems to have a lot of folks torn. On the one hand, having a home screen page dedicated to Google Now, as well as the always-listening voice search, are killer features. On the other hand, its lack of customization options like home screen gestures and variable grid sizes has some people considering switching to third-party launchers.
To say that there are a lot of app switchers and launchers available is an understatement. We've covered a few ourselves, including Loopr and Switchr. But why not check out one more?
As far as lock screens go, your Samsung Galaxy S4 and other Android phones offer quite a few options. You can use the classic PIN unlock, the novelty facial recognition, or the reliable pattern lock. But what if you get tired of entering the same old PIN or pattern every day?
Initially introduced as an Easter egg deep within Android's operating system, the Daydream screensaver feature turned official in the release of 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Now, it's been out for a few months, which means developers have already figured out how to take advantage of it in their own ways.
There are a ton of cool things you can do with your iPhone's camera in iOS 7, from taking burst photos to bouncing the camera open and taking nice parallax-friendly wallpapers. However, nothing tops the camera's super secret hidden feature—turning you into a spy photographer.
Old people are usually perceived as wise and enduring, whereas an old smartphone, like my iPhone 4, becomes the butt of a joke every time I take it out of my pocket. I mean, come on, it's not like I'm still rocking one of these... And if I was, I guarantee you wouldn't beat my score on Snake.
Converting from iOS to Android doesn't have to be a particularly difficult process, but people make it that way anyways. Transferring contacts becomes a big deal, dimensions and hardware become an issue, and most importantly, features that were once loved become sorely missed.
Now that iOS 7 is out, what can you do that you couldn't do before? In this softModder guide, I'm going to cover all that's new and noteworthy about iOS 7. I've been playing around with it on my iPhone 5 since the first beta came out, so I'm excited to show you some of the secrets that are lurking within Apple's newest mobile operating system.
Big bad Apple recently announced its next iterations of iPhones and the world went crazy—as usual. Displaying an array of cool colors and futuristic features, the new iPhone 5S and 5C will both be rocking iOS 7, a sleek, modern operating system that gets rid of the old icons and glossy finish for a more flat and contemporary design.
Back when I was a kid, I didn't get many awards or trophies, aside from perfect attendance three years in a row. If only there was an award for procrastination. While there are apps out there for my iPhone like Clear and even the stock Reminders app, they still don't push me hard enough to get things done on time—or at all.
You probably know Lenovo from their low-cost Windows PCs here in the states, but something you may not be aware of is that they also make smartphones. Right now, their biggest market is in China, but a rumored merger with BlackBerry could make Lenovo a contender in North America, not to mention one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world.
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.
For me, YouTube on my Samsung Galaxy S3 is more of a music player, not a video player. I have tons of YouTube playlists for music, but since I'm mostly only interested in listening, it'd be nice if YouTube would continue to play in the background while I use other apps.
There's two things I'm always looking for in my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Efficiency and quickness. So, like any other softModder, I tend to download a bunch of apps and tweaks that help speed up my device's overall performance. In doing so, I often come across the "Complete action using" popup, which is oddly enough, one of the most inefficient features ever. You'll see this popup whenever you click on something that can be opened with more than one option. If you click on a link in Google sear...
You'd think the ability to block calls from certain numbers would be built in to most phones by now, but that's certainly not the case with the iPhone.
As mentioned before, the Home button is one of the most important keys on your Samsung Galaxy S3, and pretty much all Android devices for that matter. However, when it comes to customization, it's rather tame.
If you're anything like me, you'd like the ability to fully exit your iPhone apps to help free up memory, improve battery life, stop background processes, and fix unresponsive apps. The thing is, you can, with the help of the app switcher. Force-closing apps also helps keep your app switch clean and organized.
How do you know if the Beats By Dre Studio headphones that you are about to buy online are genuine? Always ask the seller to use the youVerify app before you buy. Smarter Selling, Safer Shopping.
Written news was first delivered by an elaborate courier service used by the Pharaohs nearly 4,500 years ago. About 2,300 years later, Romans would post public announcements via bulletins carved in metal or stone. Fast forward 1,600 years to the first monthly handwritten gazette published in Venice, the forefather of modern newspapers, which didn't become commonplace until the early 17th century.
According to WitsView, 8-inch displays will rule the tablet scene this year at 11.9% market share, compared to yesteryear's 2.6% market share. By year's end, it'll be almost 18%.
One of the coolest things for readers using the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the stock Smart Rotation feature. While most smartphones use the accelerometer to adjust the screen orientation, Smart Rotation actually uses the camera to detect your face-to-screen angle and adjusts accordingly. Now, if only there was a way that all Android users can continue reading an article or text without sporadic and unexpected 90-degree turns of their screen. Wait, there is!
Yes, you read that right—you can now get Google Maps back on your iPhone again. It may not be officially replacing Apple's notorious Maps app, but it sure is a sight for sore eyes.
Hiding apps that you don't want or don't use is a no-brainer, but with Apple's mobile iOS, they try to make it virtually impossible without a jailbreak. Now, with a few downloads and clicks, you can finally get rid of that pesky Newsstand or Stocks app without jailbreaking!
This clip presents a general overview of what's new to the latest version of the iOS SDK. If you're interested in writing apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, you'll need to know how to use the iOS SDK. If you're entirely new to the dev kit, however, never fear: the web is awash in high-quality, free tutorials like this one, which will teach you everything you'll need to know. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started writing your own apps and...
Did you hear about the latest Facebook feature? It's called Facebook Places, and it works like any location-sharing app, with one big difference. You can check yourself into a location, and others can also check you in as well. Feeling a little freaked out? No worries; in this video, you'll be shown how to disable Facebook Places and preserve your privacy a bit.
If you want to get more apps for you iPhone than those offered by the standard store, but are still intimidated by jailbreaking despite the fact that it has recently become legal, this video offers a solution for you. It will show you how to get and use an app called OpenAppMkt to get more apps for you iPhone or iPod Touch without needing to jailbreak it and access the Cydia app store!
One of iCloud's most exciting features is automatic download. It means that when you download something from the App Store on one device, it downloads onto all of your devices. No more going back and forth between iPad and iPhone, all of your music, movies, and ebooks in the same place.
In this clip, you'll learn how to get started using SEPATON's S2100 virtual tape library. It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this helpful how-to can present a complete overview of the app in just over five minutes. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
The iPhone 4 is unique because it comes with not one, but two cameras. The front facing camera on your phone can be used to take your own picture, for games or to use the new FaceTime app to video call your buddies. This tutorial will walk you through how to use this fun new feature and how to make the most of it.
It's not hard to let your iPhone's home screen get cluttered. Apps pile up one after another, and while you don't use every app every single day, you can't quite seem to part ways with even those one-use apps you've collected over the years. But you can apply the KonMari method to your home screen, getting rid of apps you don't love — without actually trashing any of them.
If you keep your iPhone's home screen obsessively tidy, new apps are the bane of your existence. Hyperbole aside, they automatically fill the first available space on your home screen, starting on the second page, which can wreak havoc on your carefully planned layouts. With iOS 14, however, you can auto-hide new apps so that you never see them until you want to.
