Data visualization has many applications in virtual and mixed reality, since a third dimension literally adds important depth to the represented information. A new app called HoloFlight is a good example of this, combining flight-tracking data and the Microsoft HoloLens to surround you with a look at every plane in the sky.
We can't be in two places at once, but with virtual touch interfaces we can theoretically use a machine to act as our second body in a remote location. Over at MIT, Daniel Leithinger and Sean Follmer, with the advisement of Hiroshi Ishii, created an interface that makes this possible.
Virtual and mixed reality experiences feel immersive because they take over your senses in various ways, but they still lack tactile feedback. Haptic gloves can change that, and you can make a pair yourself.
Most newer Android devices manufactured in 2014 or later have a built-in pedometer for tracking your fitness activity. This step counter is a great way to keep yourself in shape and motivated, but developer Leonardo Cavaletti has come up with an even better way to put it to use.
Pong, one of the simplest video games ever created, has managed to evolve in some crazy ways over time, from the original basic 2D version and colorful Breakout sequel, to the PlayStation game with power-ups and 3D graphics, and now Cyberpong VR—a virtual reality game on the HTC Vive—where you act as the paddle instead of just moving it into place with a controller.
Microsoft's HoloLens has two gestures: bloom and air tap. While the two might not seem like much to learn, some people struggle with the air tap because the headset can be a bit particular. The easiest way to learn the proper form is to look through someone else's eyes while they do it, so we've captured that for you.
When you wear a holographic computer on your face, you gain some things and lose others. That's certainly the case when using Skype in Microsoft's HoloLens. Some video chats will work better because your caller can see what you see, rather than your face—but others just feel weird.
Since the days of flip clocks, alarms have always had one function—make a bunch of annoying racket early in the morning to ensure that you wake up in time. And this simple MO has stayed in place while technology advances at a breakneck pace, almost in spite of the fact that today's devices are capable of doing far more than beeping at 7 in the morning.
Facebook Messenger has another secret game for you to play in both the Android and iOS versions of its app. This time it's a soccer-themed game to tie in with the Copa America and Euro 2016 tournaments currently underway.
Even with today's high-powered devices, battery life is still an issue. We, as users, have to almost habitually check the current battery percentage, because otherwise, we might end up draining too much in the morning, then get stuck with a dead phone at night.
Microsoft's enjoyed being the only mixed reality headset on the block for a little while, but the Meta 2 intends to join the party very soon. According to UploadVR, in a couple of weeks they'll begin shipping alpha versions of their headset with improved hand tracking.
Augmented reality (AR) generally exists through the lens of our smartphones as information layered on top of what the camera sees, but it doesn't have to. Developer Jon Cheng worked with an indoor climbing facility in Somerville, Massachussetts, called Brooklyn Boulders, to turn rock climbing into a real-world video game where participants compete in a time trial to hit virtual markers on the wall.
If you've been keeping tabs on the rumor mill for the iPhone 7, one of the most discussed elements of Apple's upcoming device is the possible elimination of the headphone jack in favor of a Lightning connection.
When you think of all the fun and games smartphones have to offer, it's easy to forget that they also make a great tool for getting things done. With utilities like document scanners, calendars, to-do lists, office apps, and password managers, that little computer you carry around in your pocket has the potential to increase your productivity levels in all aspects of life.
If we go by the timeline set forth in Back to the Future Part II, Nike's new HyperAdapt 1.0 with adaptable lacing is at least a year late. But HyperAdapt will do more than just automatically tighten your laces—sensors in the sole of the shoe will provide a "tailored-to-the-moment" custom fit to maximize comfort and function while you jog, play sports, or navigate through hordes of aloof morons clogging the lanes at your local Trader Joe's.
Android's personal assistant is more than just a sassy backtalker—it's a full-on suite of all the information you could need at a given time. Google Now, as it's called, uses data from various sources to predict what you'll want to know before you even search for it, and it's an amazing experience once you've got everything set up.
Samy Kamkar, the security researcher known for the MySpace Worm and his combination lock cracking skills (using an online calculator), is back—and this time, he's after your credit cards!
In the wake of Apple Music making its debut on Android devices, Google has finally released its highly anticipated YouTube Music app. With these two tech heavyweights throwing their hats into the ring, the streaming music world is about to get rocked.
YouTube, the popular video streaming website owned by Google, announced on October 21st that it will be launching a new subscription service titled "YouTube Red" for $9.99 a month. Under the membership, subscribers will be able to watch videos without ads. Yup, all videos—from music to trailers to gaming and everything in-between—completely ad-free. Additionally, individuals can save videos to watch offline on their mobile devices as well as play videos in the background.
Google Now is great for looking up movie times or finding your parking spot, but if you need to track down a file you downloaded, you're relegated to using a file explorer and, depending on your organizational skills, this can either be extremely easy or a huge pain in the ass. Unfortunately I land in the latter category, which is why I started using Fast Search by developer Mohamad Amin.
The options for finding random or specific music to listen to are vast. Spotify is excellent for streaming popular music and new releases, while SoundCloud provides a healthy dose of user-generated remixes and originals. And then there's YouTube for everything else.
When you think about it, YouTube may actually have one of the largest music collections on the planet. This is why, at $10 per month, Google's new YouTube Music Key subscription is a solid value for many users, especially with its inclusion of Google Play Music.
In a study attempting to observe virality in real time, two Microsoft engineers, Corom Thompson and Santosh Balasubramanian, used Microsoft's recently released Face detection API to create How-Old.net and track its usage in real time.
Your Apple Watch is a fantastic tool that can help you perform daily tasks on your iPhone. Notifications get filtered through it, you can respond to messages on it, and you can even use Apple Pay to purchase goods and services. Your Apple Watch is also a valuable asset when it comes to finding your lost iPhone, too.
How many times have you thrown out the remaining cardboard tube from an empty roll of toilet paper? Most of the time, they don't even make it to the recycling bin, and with the average American using over 20 rolls each per year, that's over 6.4 trillion tubes being wasted each year. Yet these small tubes are particularly valuable helpers around the home, especially when it comes to cleaning, so why toss them out?
Apple's iOS 8 ushered in a new way of typing with the addition of third-party keyboard compatibility. We've seen everything from keyboards with swipe gestures, customizable themes, different sizes, and even embedded GIFs. Now we've got one for all of you music lovers called AudioShot, which allows for easy sharing of music directly from the keyboard.
Applications like Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze save every location you visit or search for as a way to speed up future searches and to find commonly-frequented places. But what if you go somewhere unsavory and don't want anyone knowing?
Location Services, a native feature on iPhones since iOS 6, is used to pinpoint your approximate location using a combination of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cell tower information. Apple uses this on their smartphones for many useful reasons: so that you can tag locations in Instagram, get better directions in Maps, and check for matches based on your location in Tinder.
It's late and dark, I'm playing Dying Light, and, admittedly, I'm a little creeped out. Working as a grown man's night-light, this is one instance where I actually appreciate the light bar on my PlayStation 4's DualShock controller. But outside of a few particular instances, I generally find it to be quite a nuisance.
There is no built-in way, or any options in the iOS App Store, to customize the vacant top half of the screen that appears when the newer Reachability feature is triggered in iOS 8. However, there are many Reachability tweaks for jailbroken iPhones, one of which lets you use the feature on devices other than an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
Google Play Music is one of the best streaming services out there. It allows users to upload as many as 20,000 of their own songs for free, then stream them all to any device without ever paying a dime. If you upgrade to their All Access subscription, you get these features in addition to an expansive on-demand library of songs (and beta-access to YouTube Music Key).
Animal lovers, especially dog owners, know that pets are a part of the family, but it's often incredibly frustrating to know if and when something just isn't right with our furry companions. If you're out and about most of the day, your dog will be so happy to see you when you come home that you may have no idea they were tired and listless all day long, which can be a sign of health problems for your pup. This is where FitBark comes in.
The upcoming W3D gaming smartphone by Snail isn't like anything you've ever seen before. It's pretty much a cross between an Android phone, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. It runs on Android, has a 3D screen similar to the 3DS, and gamepad controls like the Vita, making it one hell of a portable gaming device (that's also a phone).
Since Apple released iOS 8, many third-party apps have taken advantage of one of its more resourceful features: Notification Center widgets. These widgets have made it easier to interact with features and settings that would otherwise require launching an app itself, instead offering functionality through the native pull-down Notification Center.
After utilizing Spotify's My Year in Music tool, I came to realize that I listened to over 30,000 minutes of music in 2014. Most of that was played while working from my Mac using the desktop version of the service.
Confirmation numbers, grocery lists, addresses, and phone numbers are all things we need to quickly jot down on our phones, but the thing is, they're never extremely easy to access later. You have to figure out which app you wrote them in, meaning lots of needless searching and scrolling. Even if you use a dedicated note-taking app, those extra steps of actually opening the app to find a UPS tracking number can be an unnecessary pain.
The hardware running your One is nothing short of powerful, but the people at OnePlus can't control how developers choose to utilize that power—or rather, not utilize it. Most popular developers have removed all signs of lag from their apps, but others still have archaic lines of code that can make your shiny, new device feel like a first-generation smartphone.
The first thing most of us noticed after Apple announced plans for its wearable—the Apple Watch—was the importance and focus they placed on its interface. Starkly different from their Android Wear counterparts, the Apple Watch's interface has applications scattered around the screen and relies on the device's dial to zoom in and out.
More and more devices are using iOS 8 over iOS 7, and that means more and more developers are adding iOS 8-friendly features to their apps, especially widgets. However, not every widget available for your Notification Center right now is awesome. Take for example the Dropbox widget—it's essentially nothing more than a real-time notification, as the only action it performs is opening a recently updated file within the app.
