One of the main talking points at the Google I/O was Android Wear, an there are actually two smartwatches already available, the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. While these watches are very reasonably priced, you'll want to make sure your phone can work with them prior to making an investment.
For a long time, Apple has had Remote—an app that can be used on any iOS device in order to remotely control iTunes. Remote allows users to walk around their home and change the music by simply going through their phone. And now, Android has released its own version of the Apple Remote app! Retune is a free app found on Google Play that has the capability to control iTunes—change songs, TV shows, and movies—using your Android device. You can view the entire iTunes library on your Android devi...
Thanks to online music services like eMusic and iTunes, compact discs are becoming a far distant memory, turning local music shops around the country into desolate wastelands. The once mighty movie rental store Blockbuster is now bankrupt because of online streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. And Borders and Barnes & Noble are closing stores left and right thanks to eBooks available on eReaders, like the Amazon Kindle. Everything is moving to the digital world, and everything is finding ...
Anytime you want, you can long-press the home button on an Android phone to bring up the Google Assistant. Or if you're using Android 10, you can swipe in from one of the bottom corners. But if you don't use Google Assistant that often, you can change the app that opens with these gestures and get a lot more usage out of it.
If you have a Chromecast or Android TV, you can mirror your phone's display to the big screen. It's helpful for showing off something you found interesting without having to pass your phone around the living room, but the actual process of casting your screen is a bit clunky. Thankfully, there's a better way.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow is due out later this fall, but Google has already released three preview builds of the upcoming version. So if you really wanted to give Marshmallow a try, you could install the preview on your Nexus device right now. But if you just wanted to get a little taste of what's to come, we went ahead and pulled all of the brand new wallpapers out of the latest release.
Good news, everyone! If you own a Nexus 5, then you know your main camera shooter is just north of "meh." Luckily, Google has been on the case, and has just released an Android update that is designed to improve overall camera performance.
At Google I/O this morning, Google finally announced the launch of its much awaited Google Music service. It's currently in invite-only beta mode, but they claim it will open up to the masses soon enough. To start syncing your music library with Google's Cloud now, you need make sure you're signed into your Google Account, then click here for a personal invite. It's currently free for a limited, undisclosed amount time.
Flash video. It's what all smartphone users have been waiting for. Why has it taken sooo long? And why is Apple still resistant?
Whether it's the new iPad Killer or not, one thing's for sure—the Motorola XOOM is hackable. Just hours after its release last week, Verizon's new Android-based tablet (running Honeycomb) was rooted by hacker Koushik Dutta, which seems easy enough.
Google's much anticipated eBook Store has finally opened. As of today, the digital bookselling enterprise is awaiting your needs, with over 3 million eBooks to read directly on the web or on other platforms, like Android, iPhone, iPad, Sony and Nook devices.
For me, the idea of a smartphone with internet access was overkill for a cell phone. Wasn't that what my computer was for? Do I really need immediate access to the web? Must I update my Facebook every hour, from the palm of my hand? Do I need turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps when I have an actual map in my glove box?
Google has produced millions of low-end Cardboard VR headsets, but now it's upping its game with virtual reality phone packaging. Yep, you heard that right. A patent application published in February would suggest that the tech giant has developed phone packaging that doubles as a VR headset.
We're set to see the actual debut of Google Daydream on October 4, and it'll hopefully serve as a significant step up from Cardboard—their current virtual reality smartphone platform. If you want to get an early taste, you can set up a development kit—you just need two phones to do it.
Say you're out and about when suddenly you get the urge to write a strongly-worded email. You get the words down, but still feel like you could really hammer home the message with the right point of emphasis. Or maybe you just want to make absolutely sure that your recipient catches a certain detail. If you were on the mobile app, ALL CAPS was pretty much your only option other than crossing your fingers really hard.
You no longer need two fingers to take screenshots on Android. As long as you have Android 6.0 or higher on your phone or tablet, you can use Now on Tap to take screenshots for you without pressing any hardware buttons.
Google Play continues to grow faster than the iOS App Store and may even hit the million app mark before Apple does. In the Android market, you'll find apps for everything, ranging from augmented reality multiplayer games like Ingress to wireless computer mouse apps like WiFi Mouse.
Gizmodo has compiled a list of the 8 best free texting apps for a variety of smartphones. Their favorite pick? Google Voice. No charges, no ads, and doubles as a second phone line.
Smartphones have made us all photographers in a sense, and with the sheer amount of pictures we take, it's become too easy for memorable moments to be overlooked. Thankfully, a feature in Google Photos makes it easy to revisit forgotten images and recordings.
Between school, work, and your personal life, there's a good chance you have multiple Google accounts. Most Google apps let you log into all of them simultaneously to receive applicable alerts when they arrive. Well, there's a dead-simple way to switch between these accounts, and it just takes one swipe
Galley Go is a new lightweight app made by Google that provides a simpler alternative to Google Photos. While it's a lighter app, it still includes dark mode. You just have to turn it on to help boost battery life and save your eyes at night.
BlackBerry announced in April that they included a beta of their video messaging service in BBM for Android and BBM for iOS for users in the United States and Canada. Well, it's finally spread to other parts of the world. Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region all have access to BBM video calls.
The final preview build of Android Lollipop is out (which you can install right now if you have a Nexus 5 or 7), and it's a great look at what the official release will look like when it's out in early November.
Many companies were disappointed when Google+ rolled out and banned the creation of accounts specifically for businesses and brands. Fortunately, today, Google began rolling out Google+ pages, for them to start connecting with customers and followers. For an example of what a Google+ Page looks like, check out the one for the +The Muppets:
In a gesture to bring the social qualities of Google+ into the real world, photographer +Trey Ratcliff invited his Google+ followers to join him on a photowalk this past Thursday, held on the Stanford University campus. Over 150 people showed up to take pictures with fellow Googlers and Google+ users, and to socialize in "real life". This group photo was taken by professional photographer +Peter Adams.
Nowadays, there's a mobile app for just about everything—but that doesn't mean it should be on your smartphone. Not diggin' what SPB Shell 3D did to your home screen? Accidentally purchased Angry Sperms instead of Angry Birds? Want to try out the upcoming Smuggle Truck without committing? You may have to fork out the funds for those paid apps, but by no means should you be willing to just throw your money away. This guide will tell you how to get it back.
Finally out of the beta-only invites, Google Voice is now officially out for the USA. Google Voice can link multiple numbers together and customize the way calls are received and sent to.
Android's de facto document scanner is Google Drive, but it's far from the most intuitive method. With One UI 2, your Samsung Galaxy device now has a document scanner built-in, with the ability to automatically detect documents like letters, business cards, and notes that you can scan with just a tap.
The Nextbit Robin, the world's first cloud-oriented smartphone, is on sale at Amazon for $299 plus tax, a savings of $100. You'll have to act quick though, as the deal only runs through May 10th while supplies last. Nextbit Robin, an unlocked SIM phone, was just updated last week, and now runs Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. It also has a unique storage system, with 100 GB of cloud space, as well as 32 GB of built-in storage. You can snag it in midnight or mint colors. Amazon Prime members will al...
The main developer behind the Xposed Framework just teased Android 5.0 compatibility for his popular mod. Rovo89 posted a screenshot on XDA that shows the framework running on a Lollipop-powered Nexus 5. Android Lollipop's switch from Dalvik runtime to Android runtime—better known as ART—made Xposed compatibility a problem for the OS. But alas, our favorite modding platform is just about ready for primetime.
Christmas is only a few days away with New Year's right around the corner. If you're like me, you count down the days until Christmas for family and presents like a little kid, and then count down the days until New Year's like an adult that can't wait to have their first cocktail.
The last of the major Google apps has finally received a much needed update to Android's new Material Design aesthetic, and it's a big one—YouTube. While the update will hit the Play Store and your device soon enough, you can download the APK right now, courtesy of our friends at Android Police, from this link.
Google has updated the MyGlass application for Android, fixing several bugs, redesigning the user interface, and including a feature to allow Explorers to share Google Maps locations from their device to their Glass. If you haven't updated yet, do so now, then follow along as we go through it. Redesigned User Interface
Google announced that they are selling Motorola to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, seemingly marking the end of their partnership that began 19 months ago.
Love the look of Metro's live tiles, but can't see yourself ever owning a Windows Phone device? Then fear not—you don't have to subject yourself to Windows Phone in order to experience those sweet live tiles. You can simply use Tile Launcher, a new launcher app for Android devices that simulates the Metro interface pretty well. Tile Launcher, which is in beta for Android 4.0 and above, allows users to style their homescreen with customizable tiles à la the Metro user interface! Some of the fe...
If you work in the film industry, are currently in film school, or have aspirations of being involved in the movie making process in some way, shape or form, you're probably very familiar with a certain set of books published by 411 Publishing that are commonly referred to as the "production bibles". If you live in the Los Angeles area, LA 411 is a valuable source of information when it comes to fulfilling your production needs. And if you're in New York, the NY 411 book is just as crucial fo...
Google recently unveiled the start of their new social network Google+, which is set to compete with Facebook and fix the awkward, broken aspects on online sharing they claim exist. It's currently only open to a limited number of Googlers during its "field trial," and if you weren't one of the lucky ones given an invitation, you can still sign up to be notified when Google+ is available in your area. You can also stay up to date on its Twitter page, GooglePlus.
David Wang of the iPhone Dev Team has achieved what is considered quite a jaw-dropping hacking feat. Yesterday Wang posted a video of Google's Android operating system up and running on an iPhone. Via CNET:
You've seen it in action before, but now it's finally got a solid release date, well... release month.
Android 11 has a new power menu. When you long-press the power button to shut down or restart your device, you'll see the usual buttons in addition to payment cards and a set of toggles for any smart home devices you've added to Google Home. It's a cool feature, but it does make the menu pretty cluttered.
