Battery life is extremely unpredictable on an Android. Finding the right ROM and kernel combo can make or break having the kind of battery that will last you all day long. Even if you do find the perfect pair, you then have to worry about apps, widgets, and other processes constantly waking your phone and draining your juice. While your media scanner isn't the biggest battery hog out there, it can definitely take a chunk out of it.
With the new version of Android due out very soon, Android 5.0 "Lollipop" has received a ton of press lately. It's all well-deserved, of course, because the new "Material Design" interface is absolutely beautiful.
Increased battery life is easily one of the most sought after improvements to a device and often drives intrepid users to root their phones, flash new ROMs, and try out experimental kernels.
Fact: we live in a world where social media dictates our behaviors and shapes our perceptions. Maybe some of us are addicted more than others, but most of society uses some type of social media, whether it's Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat , or something new that I've never heard of.
Your status bar is a hub of essential information, displaying things like battery life, signal strength, and missed calls and texts.
Remember TwtRoulette? TwtRoulette was an online app that turned you into a so-called Twitter spy, letting you peruse someone's own timeline feed exactly how they saw it themselves. So, if you wanted to see what tweets Ashton Kutcher was seeing in his home timeline from the 700+ people he follows, you could.
The mighty Arduino microcontroller can be used to show children how robots work, it can be used to hack into hotel rooms, or it can be used to let you know when you've got a new job opportunity!
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a somersaulting robot. You will need: a gear box, 1.5 v DC motor, battery holder for AA, and a few gem clips. First, glue the gear box onto the battery holder and then glue the motor shaft in. Next, glue the gem clip on the pistons of the gear box. From here, add a broken eraser to the gem clips. Next, add another jumbo gem clip to the motor and you will get to play with it! This is a fun little robot to play with, enjoy using it and making it do tricks!
In this tutorial, we learn how to make Splinter Cell prop goggles. You will need: goggles, a saw, pipe, a brush, black paint, duct tape, batteries, chop sticks, glue, a ruler, and a pen. First, mark three cuts on the pipe to 3 cm and 5.5 cm. Now, use the saw to cut these. Then, use sandpaper to smooth all the edges. Next, place these onto the goggles and glue them with a hot glue gun. Next, grab two batteries and wrap them in duct tape. Place these with them and then paint these all black. Af...
This video tutorial belongs to the Electronics category which is going to show you how to reset the Blackberry Bold 9000 / 9700 with three methods. In the first method you hold down the Alt key, the Caps lock key and hit Delete. Your Blackberry will start resetting. This process will take about 2 minutes to complete. The second method is the double reset. Hold down the Alt key, the Caps lock key and hit Delete twice. This method is helpful if your Blackberry is frozen. The third method is cal...
Want to make a simple electric motor at home? Andy and Mike show you how in just a few easy steps, using a block of wood, two paperclips, a AA battery, some insulated copper wire, and a magnet. This is a fun and simple science experiment that anyone can do at home. Wrap the wire seven times into a circular coil, with the enamel stripped off at both ends. Place the battery between the two paperclips, which serve as conductors and also hold the coil in place. Place the magnet below and between ...
Alishanmao demonstrates on a Honey Bee King 3, how to change the pitch and speed. Using the radio knob in the controller you can change the pitch of the main rotor. Make sure your 3D switch is off, that your throttle is at zero, and after connecting the battery, do not move the battery until you here it beep to confirm it is ready. When pitch is at its minimum you will have less rotation speed and at its maximum you will have a higher rotation speed. The best thing to do is to try and find a ...
Ever wanted to know how to make a fire with your cell phone? All you need is a cell phone, a brillo pad, and material for tinder. First take the battery out of your phone and find the positive and negative contacts on the bottom of it. Next tear off a chunk of the brillo pad, roll it up until you have a twisted piece about an inch long. Bend the steel wool over and touch an end to the positive and the other end to the negative contacts on the battery. That causes the steel wool to smolder--no...
This video shows the correct procedure to dismantle a first generation iPod Nano. The presenter starts by using a putty knife (aka the iPod take apart tool) and separates the casing. Next, the presenter removes the battery from the internal circuit board by using a soldering iron to melt the soldered battery connections. A small Phillips head screw driver is then used to remove three screws from the logic board. Finally removing two small ribbon cables will free the logic board from the plast...
This video from Powerbook Medic teaches us how to take apart a 3rd generation iPod. First step is to use a putty knife or a flat head screwdriver to break apart the two pieces. After that remove the headphone cable and set the bottom pan aside. After this, you disconnect the hard drive, and battery cable form the board. Then use a T6 screwdriver to unscrew the T6 screws which are holding the board in place. Then take the last cable away. Now you can take the board out as well as the battery. ...
Opps! Left my lights on again. Luckily watching this video by Eric the Car Guy will help you learn how to jump start you car and get you ready to get back on the road without waiting for AAA. This video with clear instructions show you the safe way to jump start a car from another car. You'll learn how to attach the jumper cables and get the battery to recharge the right way. Eric will help you get your car running and back out on the road in no time!
Austin from 'Best Buy Tips and Tricks' give out a mobile tip on how to extend the battery life of your Blackberry by using the Blackberry's built-in function called the automatic black light dimmer. This function changes the brightness of the back light automatically depending on the light intensity of the environment you use the phone. Activate this function as shown in the video so that your phone changes the brightness of your Blackberry screen to an optimal level depending on the environm...
Picture this: the infrared sensor on your TV is not working and you are blaming it on your remote control batteries. Well, to make sure exactly what is going on, try testing TV remote to be sure. To the naked eye, you might not be able to see the infrared light, so you could think it's dead, but try filming with your camera phone or digital camera, which could pick up the IR signal.
MAKE and Collin Cunningham brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Make Magazine celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.
This video will help you diagnose and troubleshoot on a basic level, your electric kit. I get asked alot "please fix my rc" and the main issue is that people do not understand how their rc works. While using a multimeter, I will show you how to diagnose battery batteries bars, esc, receiver, antenna, radio on crystals 2.4ghz synthesized modulation motor brushless bl brush less brushed transmission slipper gears pinions cvd dogbones dog bone wheels pins hex and other aspects that will not allo...
Watch this video tutorial to see how to make extremely simple scales. This scale is useful when you want to weigh small portions of a substance (like a few grams of powder). It is difficult to get real weight using these scales though. To make this homemade scale, you'll need a plastic bottle cap, a plastic bottle or box, a 9v battery, clear sticky tape, glue for the plastic (epoxy or fast-hardeneing), scissors and a screwdriver.
This is a short video tutorial of how to correctly remove the SIM card from the Palm Centro Smartphone. First thing you will have to do is remove the battery cover on your cell phone. Then, take the battery out. Right there is your SIM card access. You will need to remove the Stylus before attempting to remove the SIM card on the Palm Centro Smartphone. Just watch and learn to see how easy it is.
To make a glowing ice bulb, like the one in this how-to video, you need LEDs, batteries, wire, a balloon, and electrical tape. First, you connect the led to the wires. Then, you put the LED in the balloon, fill the balloon with water and freeze it. Once frozen, remove the balloon and attach batteries. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to make a glowing ice bulb from a balloon.
The new Android enabled phones can take up a bit of power, so knowing the best way to manage your power settings is crucial in having a fully-charged cell phone all the time. The biggest key is making sure your screen brightness isn't more than it should be. Best Buy has answers. The Best Buy Mobile team explains how simple it is to adjust screen brightness to save battery life on an Android cell phone.
Repairs Universe demonstrates how to replace the battery on an Apple 3G iPhone. First, remove the SIM card and remove the two screws from the bottom of the phone. Next, use a safe pry tool and run it along the phone between the bevel and the glass to pop out the screen. Then, slowly lift the glass. It will still be connected to the phone body with three ribbon cables. Popup the connectors on the cables one and two. Pop out the three connector from its jaw connector. Remove the digitizer glass...
Create lasting memories by organizing a well-planned family reunion. This video will show you how to organize a family reunion.
With the rise of OLED displays, Android users have been begging Google for a true system-wide dark mode for years. While a system-wide solution is still somewhat unlikely, Google has given in by providing a dark mode for certain apps, including Contacts.
Last week, Magic Leap gave us an additional peek at its Lumin OS and more tutorials that show how its device works with virtual content. But details about the hardware wasn't included in the array of new information.
As awesome as the 2017 Galaxy lineup may be, few can forget the monstrous disaster that was the Note 7's exploding battery. Needless to say, the last thing Samsung wanted was another news story about a problem with the Note 8's battery. Unfortunately, that's exactly where we find ourselves today.
Coinbase has become the most popular mobile wallet app due in large part to its user-friendliness. The app takes the hassle out of buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), letting Android and iPhone users alike trade their favorite cryptocurrency in a few easy steps.
One of Android 8.0's central themes was battery improvements. Google implemented background restrictions and a few other under-the-hood changes, but the biggest battery-saving measure was almost user-hostile: A static notification that tells you when any of your apps are running in the background.
Wegmans recently partnered with Instacart, an online grocery-delivery app, to bring your groceries right to you. The collaboration will begin in the suburbs around Washington, DC, and Wegmans plans to expand to other areas later on.
One of the biggest causes of smartphone battery drain is the mobile data connection—particularly if you live in an area with poor reception. But, chances are, you don't actually need this connection most of the time, because you're probably connected to Wi-Fi for a good chunk of the day, which uses far less battery life.
Lenovo unveiled the latest Motorola smartphones, Moto Z and Moto Z Force, today at Tech World '16. As expected, both models include strong magnets on the back that allow users to snap on various Moto Mods attachments such as a battery pack, projector, or JBL speakers.
Samsung's latest flagship devices—the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge—both sport an interesting new feature called Always On Display, or simply AOD. When enabled, this feature keeps the clock, date, and other bits of information visible at all times—even when the screen is off.
Modern smartphones are packed to the brim with low-power sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes, which means they're capable of precisely measuring almost any type of movement. So why is it that when you just want to get walking directions somewhere, your device still uses its battery-sucking GPS connection to track your progress?
LG is set to launch its G5 handset on February 21st at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise, but images of the G5 have now been leaked ahead of the event by Evan Blass (@evleaks). This image shows that the handset will indeed have two lenses on its rear-facing camera so that you can shoot wide-angle 135º photos.
Of all the new features in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, an automatic battery-saving function called "Doze" might just be the most interesting. What it all boils down to is that if you set your phone down on a flat surface, the device uses internal sensors to detect that it's motionless and not in use, then responds by drastically scaling back battery-sucking services until the next time you pick your phone up.
Samsung has a long-standing reputation for packing their devices with lots of added functionality, and the Galaxy S6 Edge is no exception. It comes with a nifty feature called "Information stream," which allows you to get quick, at-a-glance information by swiping the edge of your screen back and forth while the display is off.
Contrary to what you may think, clearing or swiping away apps in the Recent Apps view on your Android device does not necessarily stop app activity or running tasks—and these running processes can actually be eating away at your battery life. Depending on the app or process, it may only be a small percentage, but every little bit helps these days.
