Accessing notifications and quick settings from the lock screen just makes things move quicker and more efficiently, unless of course we're using a secure lock screen. It makes sense that if we have face, pattern, or pin security enabled, we may not want notifications accessible, but really, that should be something we decide for ourselves—and now we can.
Android is all about the fine details. You can make a little tweak here and a little tweak there and completely customize your experience to be exactly how you want it to be. Sure, you don't need to customize LED colors or screen record, but it's nice to know you can.
Privacy features have become quite the hot commodity, emerging from the aftermath of the NSA scandals that rocked the United States this past year. While the NSA has the means to gather information on all of us (regardless of any security software we implement), it doesn't mean that they're the only ones looking.
I love getting notifications for every email received on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and whenever a download finishes, but there are some alerts I could definitely do without.
The app formerly known as Google Experience Launcher is now officially called the Google Now Launcher in honor of its most prominent feature, Google Now. Only problem is, this launcher is still exclusive to the Nexus 5 smartphone.
Changing the look and feel of an app's user interface can really make it more pleasurable. Popular apps like Facebook or Twitter may take for granted the importance of a clean UI, since the companies have hundreds of millions of users no matter what their apps look like.
The iPhone 5S may be the most popular Apple phone to date, but I'm still rocking my iPhone 4. No disrespect to the 5S, but I'm not upgrading until I can unlock with a retina scan or get Siri to sound like Scarlett Johansson.
The status bar is an omnipresent force on our Samsung Galaxy S3s; always there to give us that vital information about battery life, date and time, Wi-Fi access, and much more. But there's just something about that default black bar that's so...boring.
There are plenty of apps on Google Play for customizing your Samsung Galaxy S3 with wallpapers and new lock screens, but to be honest, you're not really customizing until you root.
While browsing the internet on your Samsung Galaxy S4, you've probably scrolled to the bottom of a very long webpage, Twitter feed, or down into the abyss of some other app. Depending just how far down you've scrolled, it can be a test of your patience (and fingertips) scrolling back up to the top.
The launch of Android 4.4 KitKat alongside the Nexus 5 was met with much fanfare from Android enthusiasts. Unfortunately, if you don't have a Nexus device or are still awaiting the 4.4 update, you may feel a bit left behind.
Update 1: Evad3ers have released a statement to the jailbreak community, claiming that the safety and security of their users is the most important thing to them and that all speculations about malware being encoded into the jailbreak is simply not true. You can read the full letter over at Evasi0n's site.
I've said it before, but there are few things quite as annoying (or embarrassing) as having your smartphone go off at a time where it just shouldn't happen. Imagine a nice, intimate evening with your significant other; you dim the lights, snuggle up, and "this classic" comes on. Or, your phone goes off in a meeting, and your boss gives you that look.
If you're like me, then you were a little disappointed after updating your Nexus 7 to KitKat and realizing that not much has changed. The old Jelly Bean look still occupied your home screen, and there wasn't really anything noticeably new overall. All of that waiting and anticipation only to be left high and dry.
Keeping your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 clean and neat can become a hassle, especially if you're an app whore. As the amount of applications on your device goes up, so do your notifications, which will clog up your Status bar with icons alerting of recent news and tasks.
The newest Android operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat, has been unleashed with the arrival of the Nexus 5, and soon to be rolled out to other Nexus devices and Google Play Edition smartphones any day now. Only problem is, the Samsung Galaxy S3 isn't getting 4.4 for a very long time. It doesn't even have 4.3 Jelly Bean yet.
Phone interruptions are commonplace, as is evident by my historically epic missed phone call list, ranging from annoying sales people to my mom checking in every five minutes to see if I'm still alive.
Customization of our Android devices, outside of what Google and mobile carriers allow us to do, used to mandate that our devices were rooted and running a custom ROM.
While Siri came up on the scene with hardly any competition back in 2011, Google Now has not only caught up to Apple's intelligent personal assistant, but also excelled in certain areas—with its ability to quickly answer questions, give recommendation, and even deliver information that it predicts a user will want.
With the Android 4.4 KitKat update slated for release sometime in October (according to Nestle), I'm sure you're excited to get your hands on and test out all of the new features of Google's latest mobile operating system.
If you're a self-described multitasker, Samsung has a feature that's perfect for you called Multi-Window, which lets you display two apps on your Galaxy S4's screen simultaneously.
Xposed, by XDA developer rovo89, is a framework for your Samsung Galaxy S4 (or other Android device) that lets you add tweaks and customizations to your ROM (either stock or custom) without any real hassle.
Learning to make giant bubbles for this video has been the most fun I've had with a project in a long time. It's addicting to try to get them to grow bigger and bigger than the ones before. Since filming this video, my skill has improved tremendously and the bubbles you're about to see, though spectacularly big, are dwarfed by what I've made since. Everyone loves to watch. This is definitely one project that will draw a crowd!
The thermal fuse in your dryer is a safety device designed to prevent the dryer from overheating. The fuse is heat sensitive and when the dryer becomes too hot it will blow. If the fuse has blown then the dryer will either stop working or there will be no heat when the drum is turning. A blown thermal fuse is simple to replace. With a few tools, a do it yourself warrior can save valuable money from being wasted on a service call. Here is a detailed set of instructions on how to replace a ther...
For someone used to the old-style HTC Sense, upgrading to an HTC One with Sense 5 is a pretty intuitive experience, but there's one thing that some users find obtrusively different. Blinkfeed, an app which aggregates newsworthy articles from various sources and pins them in a scrolling feed on your home screen. If you don't like staying current on news, or don't like how much RAM it eats up, you probably want to get rid of it. There's been some questions about removing Blinkfeed in our forum,...
The stock Android app icons that come with your Samsung Galaxy S4 can vary wildly in shape and size, as they will with any out-of-the-box Android device.
"What's the point of having a Nexus 7 for drawing if all of the drawing apps suck?" That's what my girlfriend said after buying her new Nexus 7 tablet. She draws a lot and was hoping to hone her doodling skills on it, but she's right—most of the drawing apps available on Google Play aren't that great.
While the legality of secretly recording phone calls varies in each country, sometimes it's useful to have audio documentation of conversations you have on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
If your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has been feeling sluggish lately, or you've noticed the battery not lasting as long as usual, the problem could be that you have too many applications running in the background.
In a previous softModder tutorial, we installed CyanogenMod on our HTC Ones to approximate the look and feel of the Google Edition HTC One. Unfortunately, this rendered Beats and HTC's ImageChip (among other things) useless.
This homemade hairspray-powered PVC rocket takes less than an hour to construct and only costs about 20 dollars to make. Check out my video below for the step-by-step instructions on building your own backyard rocket, and follow the written guide below for reference.
Facebook and HTC's First was a complete disaster. Soon after its release, carriers were literally giving them away with a two-year contract—or just trying to send them back. It was supposed to be the flagship device for Facebook Home, an Android launcher for Facebook fiends.
Snapchat's self-destructing nature is the perfect way to send funny and potentially embarrassing photos and videos (something Anthony Weiner wishes he knew about). That's why there are currently 150 million Snapchats sent each day. While it may be used for fun, many fail to recognize that there's a dark side to every good thing. While Snapchat claims that the pictures and videos on their application are completely obliterated—not only from the phone, but from the Snapchat server—there are oth...
I'm still amazed by all the things some people just don't know. Script-kiddies often refer to Metasploit if someone asks them how to hack a computer because they think there's simply no other way. Well here I am today trying to increase your set of tools and -of course- skills.
Facebook Home was just released in the Google Play Store a couple days ago, and for those of you eagerly waiting to get it on your Nexus 7, you'll unfortunately be stuck with this message: The new Facebook Home launcher app is blocked on the Nexus 7, because Facebook only released it for a few select Android phones. Home for tablets probably won't appear for months, but that's okay, because you don't have to wait that long! In this article, I'm going to show you how to get Facebook Home insta...
You've probably see this a million times on your Nexus 7 tablet: On some streaming sites it's "You need to upgrade your Adobe Flash Player to watch this video," and on others it may be "You need to install the Adobe Flash plugin." Whatever it is, you have the same problem—Flash does not work on your Nexus 7.
You know that moment when you finally figure out something, but you figured it out years after you really needed it? Don't you freaking hate that?!
While Siri may be the cream of the crop when it comes to smartphone personal assistants, there is always room to grow bigger and better (that's what she said). Siri, although recently expanded, is still lacking in the amount of commands and actions she can currently perform. While looking up directions and restaurants is fairly easy for Siri, asking her to gain access to third-party programs or browsers is a little more difficult.
In most states, it's completely legal to record a telephone conversation that you're a part of without the other parties knowing. You can even record a conversation that you're not a part of, as long as you have consent from at least one person involved in the call.
Have you ever had scrambled eggs covered in chocolate syrup? If you have—you need some help. Seriously. If you haven't, it's probably because it sounds absolutely repulsive. I know there's the whole salty and sweet thing, but that can only go so far.
