There are few things more annoying in life than getting interrupted—especially when you're in a groove, jamming out to your favorite song. If we can all agree on that sentiment, then why is it that our phones mute the music we're listening to for a few seconds whenever a notification comes in?
Smartphone displays are getting bigger every year, and Samsung devices are at the forefront of that trend. But, from a software standpoint, the icons, buttons, and other on-screen elements seem to stay at the same scale. So while phones are getting bigger, their interfaces are getting bigger as well.
Android's flexible operating system allows for lots of customization, and one of the most common ways to add personal flair to your smartphone is to set your own ringtones and notification sounds.
Using a technology we like to call "Hive Computing," several Android apps allow you to contribute idle processing power to help further scientific research. This basically means that when you're not using your phone or tablet, it can join forces with other idle devices to form a supercomputer that scientists can use to potentially make a world-changing breakthrough.
One of the best uses for an old Android device is to turn it into a security webcam that can be accessed over the internet. But most of the time, this is a rather difficult process, because existing apps usually require you to mess around with network settings and configure a personal web server.
For many people, the two main advantages of buying a Nexus device are prompt updates and the ability to root without much hassle. But in a cruel twist of fate, these two features are almost mutually exclusive, since OTA updates will refuse to run on rooted devices.
Sony's Xperia smartphones are some of the most beautiful Android devices out there—but unfortunately, they're rarely promoted in the U.S. and are seldom available through major carriers (aside from the new Xperia Z5 devices), so not many Americans are aware of how awesome these devices really are.
There's a good chance that your iOS device has become unresponsive at least once. It's usually at this point that you start thinking your device can no longer pass muster. You could upgrade to a newer model, but that's not always feasible, and often times, unnecessary.
The Creative Lab at Samsung, also known as their C Lab, is trying to make wearable fitness devices more inconspicuous with its wearable smart belt, the WELT, but that might not be all.
As one of only three hardware buttons on an iPhone, the Sleep/Wake button gets a lot of use day in and day out. If you've had your iPhone for a considerable length of time, this button—which is also used to power down the device, as well as turn it on—may begin to malfunction or stop working completely, leaving you confused on how to now turn on/off your iPhone.
When you're in a bind and need an internet connection for your laptop, look no further than your iPhone. Using the Personal Hotspot feature in iOS, you can share your iPhone's internet connection with other devices by way of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or even USB.
If your smartphone is ever lost or stolen, it's a terrible experience. If you file a police report, chances are the responding officer will need your device's IMEI or MEID number if you want to stand a chance of getting it back. Same goes for making an insurance claim on a lost or broken phone, so it's definitely important to have this unique identifier handy.
If you somehow forgot the pattern, PIN, or password that locks your Android device, you might think you're out of luck and are destined to be locked out forever. These security methods are hard to crack by design, but in many cases, it's not entirely impossible to break into a locked device.
For a lot of would-be cord cutters, the lack of streaming local sports is the only hurdle that needs to be cleared before they can sever all ties with big cable. This is why it was a huge victory for us anti-cable folks when Yahoo announced that they would be hosting the first ever live-streaming NFL game this Sunday at 9:30 AM Eastern.
If your iPhone can't last a full day without being recharged multiple times, something's wrong—but it might just be working harder than it needs to.
Thanks to Smart Switch, it's easier than ever now to ditch your iPhone for a brand new Samsung device, like the Galaxy S6 Edge+ or Galaxy Note 5.
There are many reasons to keep adult websites off your iOS device. They can pop up accidentally at the least opportune moments, can give your device malware, and are not welcome in a kid-friendly home.
Hackers have stolen over 225,000 Apple user's account information from countries all over the world—including the United States, China, and France—in what many are reporting to be the biggest known Apple hack in history.
Smartphones have otherworldly specs these days, so it's relatively uncommon that you hear someone complaining about display resolution, build quality, or general speed and performance. At best, these are secondary concerns, with the number 1 issue almost unilaterally being battery life.
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! As all you know by now, I'm loving this new show, Mr. Robot. Among the many things going for this innovative and captivating program is the realism of the hacking. I am using this series titled "The Hacks of Mr. Robot" to demonstrate the hacks that are used on this program.
One of the first orders of business after purchasing a new smartphone is to load up your shiny new toy with phone numbers, email addresses, and general contact information for all the important people in your life.
Returning your device to stock, whether it is because you need to sell it or just want to receive OTAs again, is not always a simple process. Since HTC has released countless variations of both the M7 and M8 HTC One, it can be a pain in the ass finding the right files and tools to get your phone back to stock settings.
Welcome back, my novice hackers! Episode 6 of Mr. Robot has come and gone and, as usual, it did not disappoint. Once again, our hero, Elliot, has used his extraordinary intellect and hacking skills to awe and inspire us.
Microsoft has invested years and countless man-hours in an effort to get their cloud storage service on par with competitors like Dropbox and Google Drive, who have long resided at the top of this market. Their hard work has definitely paid off, as OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) has finally reached a point in its development where it can stand toe to toe with any comparable service in almost any measurable regard.
Although iOS 8.4 was just released, the team behind the iOS 8.3 jailbreak have updated their tool for the latest operating system, and will work on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. So if you've been wanting to get all your tweaks back, or want to start exploring all of Cydia's options, now's the time to jailbreak.
If you're a rooted user, you've probably heard the term "BusyBox" by now. Many mods require these powerful root commands, but the process of installing BusyBox can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated.
It's hard to not to like the look of iOS emojis. Sure, Samsung and other Android phones have emojis, but they're all kind of goofy-looking. And since iPhone emojis continue to be viewed as the standard, it comes as no surprise that you can actually get them on Android—and without root!
Many of Google's stock Android apps are some of the best options out there—especially now that they've all been made over with Material Design. But generally, as these are pre-installed system apps, they cannot be used on non-Nexus devices.
Modern medicine utilizes cutting-edge technology more than ever, so it would only make sense that the powerful handheld computers we all carry around these days could play a big role in wellness.
A set of cool new Android-related Google Search functions made their debut this week, which will allow you to locate your phone, send directions to your mobile device, set alarms and reminders, and send notes from any web browser.
They might be a little late to the party, but the Cyanogen team has finally released their newest ROM for the OnePlus One, Cyanogen OS 12. The launch had to be pushed back a few times due to some technical issues, but now we finally get to see what the Cyanogen team has cooked up for Android Lollipop.
One of the many additions that appear on Android 5.0 Lollipop is a handy menu that lets users correct for or simulate different types of color blindness. While Google didn't flip the switch on this new feature until Lollipop was released, it turns out they had been working on it for quite some time.
CyanogenMod has been building upon open-source AOSP apps for many years now. They've made improvements to apps like the stock SMS client, the stock Audio Mixer, and a whole slew of others.
Not too long ago I showcased ReCam, a free app that lets you schedule recordings and use your Android device as a security or spy camera of sorts. While useful, this app required you to schedule when to record in advance, resulting in you possibly missing the footage you intended to record (assuming your scheduling wasn't as on-point as you wished).
I know where I bought my phone, and I definitely know who I'm paying money to every month for cellular service, so there's absolutely no need to see my carrier's name draped all over my device. Fortunately, with Android Lollipop, the carrier label is only present on the lock screen. Nevertheless, that label can keep your phone from feeling just right, so let's go ahead and show you how to get rid of it.
If you've ever used a custom ROM on one of your devices, chances are it had a built-in feature that allowed you to kill any app by long-pressing the back button. This function comes in handy quite often, especially in situations where an app is acting up, since it stops all associated processes and clears the app from memory.
When opening a link or sharing a photo, your Android device will bring up a list of possible applications that you can complete the action with. However, some of the apps included you never use or didn't even know existed, and this leads to unnecessary clutter. Fortunately, if you're rooted, there's an easy way to remove apps from the "Open with" and "Share via" lists.
With wearable tech becoming the latest trend in electronics, it's a shame that most smartwatches are locked down to one ecosystem. If you purchase a smartwatch, you can expect that it will not work with devices from competing manufacturers. That will be the case for the Apple Watch when the product finally hits shelves, and it has been the case for Android Wear devices like the Moto 360 for quite some time now.
By default, whenever you plug your iPhone into your Mac computer, iPhoto automatically launches alongside iTunes. While this can be useful for those who like syncing their photos with iPhoto, it's annoying to those who don't. Even if you do sync with iPhoto, chances are you don't want it popping up every time you want to charge your iPhone or sync with iTunes.
Spotlight makes finding apps, contacts, emails, songs, and old messages extremely easy on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You can even search for Wikipedia articles online, as well as perform general web searches.
