The new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 models will be shipping with Android 5.0 Lollipop preinstalled, and the Nexus 4, 5, 7, and 10 will be getting the new OS update from Google very soon. But where does that leave the rest of us?
It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update.
Silencing my phone always gives me mild anxiety; while my Android is muted, my girlfriend or boss may be trying to reach me with some urgent news or task. On the one hand, I want to enjoy some peace and quiet, but on the other, I don't want to come back to a phone with 100 missed calls and countless exclamatory texts.
A shady practice in place by AT&T and Verizon Wireless—and possibly more wireless carriers—was recently uncovered. Outgoing data requests sent from devices on these service providers are being injected with a Unique Identifier Header (UIDH) that allows websites, the carriers, and potentially even government agencies to track your online activity.
I think it's safe to assume that most of us appreciate a little privacy and security when it comes to our mobile devices, which is exactly why we have lock screens that require unique passwords, patterns, or PINs. Although someone can discretely peer over your shoulder to see what your password is, it's much more difficult for them to duplicate your face to unlock the device.
Getting things done isn't easy when you're bombarded with alert sounds and notifications all day long on your Mac. Here's how you can quickly remove those distractions with just a single click.
The problem with striving to be on the bleeding edge of what's new for your smartphone, or really anything else in life, is having to constantly check websites and forums for new content. And with lots of that browsing happening on our phones, the aimless page loading and refreshing is not just annoying when there isn't new content, but can lead to wasted data usage, not to mention time.
Casting Angelina Jolie as Maleficent was a no-brainer on Disney's part. No one else could project beauty, elegance, and fear simultaneously just like the animated villain in Sleeping Beauty did. But what sets the character apart from other evil witches, or any other Disney character for that matter, is the sinister, yet gorgeous-looking horns and headdress. And with news that a Maleficent sequel is currently in the works, this will surely be a great Halloween costume this year.
With all of the cool new animations and features in the upcoming Android 5.0 Lollipop release, some pretty awesome system apps may have been overlooked amidst the fanfare. Most noticeably, a new Messenger app was added to the OS, containing many touches of Material Design.
Google has a practice known as dogfooding, where they use their employees to test new and upcoming features for their various services. Back in March, they accidentally released a dogfood version of YouTube on Google Play, and many Android users got their first behind-the-scenes glance at the internal testing features.
One of the best ways to free up space on your iPhone is to use iCloud storage, and one of the best uses for iCloud is music. If you're using iCloud for music, you can choose which songs and albums to upload, and then you can download them to your device later for offline use if need be.
App switchers are a great way to conveniently access your favorite applications from any screen, but most limit the number of apps you can use. That means that whenever you want to switch over to another app, you have to leave your current one, and either find the one you want in recents, on your home screen, or in your app drawer.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Michigan announced recently that they have developed a hack that works 92% of the time on Google's Gmail system on Android, as well as with the H&R Block app.
There's nothing better than gathering up all the cushions, pillows, and blankets in your home and having a good ol' fashion movie night. But if you're still rocking the old 19-inch TV your parents gave you in college, you may want to upgrade to something bigger.
Unlike the suave 007 that Daniel Craig portrayed, I am not a spy, nor am I that charming, but I do occasionally enjoy taking a stealthy video. Maybe I'm a jerk, but I often catch people doing ridiculous things and just think, "Aren't you embarrassed?"
Lock screen apps are a dime a dozen, but every now and then one pops up that defies expectations. We've already covered some good ones for the Samsung Galaxy S4, including Picture Password Lockscreen (which gives you secret unlock gestures), SlideLock (which improves notifications), and TimePIN (which gives you a more clever PIN).
What happens when you accidentally delete a photo or video from your iPad or iPhone? How do you get it back?
Staying on the move while managing email is a priority for many of us, from parents to students to business professionals. Seems that Apple had this in mind when improving the stock Mail application in iOS 8, which now includes swipe gestures that make marking messages as read/unread, as well as flagging and deleting, a whole lot quicker.
When theming Android, it's the little touches that complete the look, making your device yours. If you're rooted, you probably know by now that there's virtually nothing you can't change the look of on Android.
If you have Android KitKat, you're fortunate enough to be able to use the new Google Camera, which has tons of great features, including Photo Sphere, Tiny Planet, Panorama, and Fisheye. With so many photo options and no additional hardware needed, it's hard to not to like this camera.
When I'm showing off my HTC One, the first thing I do is unlock my device and say, "OK Google". It may earn me a weird look or two, but in the end people are amazed by the voice recognition and automation of the Google Now Launcher.
Many of our everyday apps include a menu tab or search bar, like Chrome and Twitter. In fact, a lot of times those are the first things we go for, as search is universal in most apps, and app settings are just about always accessible through the menu.
The folks behind StumbleUpon have created a video service that is just as awesome at introducing you to new content as their website service is.
Unless you've been living under a rock with no internet connection, it's safe to say that you've heard of the Heartbleed flaw that allows practically anyone with the right knowledge to steal your personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and e-mail addresses using OpenSSL.
Battery life is precious to all mobile device users, and nothing is worse than running out of it. The only thing that can save a device from the dreaded low battery warning is the charger, but who carries those around?
The recently released HTC One M8 and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 are both boasting selective focus features for their camera apps, but with a 13 megapixel camera, the GS4 can take some pretty stellar pictures, too.
Allowing us to easily get features that would otherwise be available only through flashing mods and custom ROMs, Xposed Installer has been a godsend since its development, simplifying the sometimes tasking and potentially harmful process of changing the core components of Android's operating system.
The ability to see the world around you and instantly share that "vision" is something that makes Google Glass great for everyday use. No reason to pull out your phone to show off the amazing sushi plate you were just served—look at it, give a couple of quick taps and voice commands, and boom, your social network is salivating in jealousy.
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.
Normal wear and tear, combined with unfortunate accidents, can take a toll on any smartphone leading to scratches, cracks, and breaks that can leave physical buttons useless. One of the first buttons to usually go is the power button, since it's the main way to turn your phone (and screen) off and on.
There are a ton of great mods and tweaks available in Cydia, but occasionally there will be one you want to install that hasn't quite made it into one of the main repositories yet. If you're not patient, it can be still be installed by manually placing the .deb file directly onto your device and installing it with iFile.
I don't know many meat eaters who don't appreciate a good burger, but unless you eat it plain, it usually gets pretty messy. Toppings falling off and sauce running down your arms seems like it's all just part of the process.
The inclusion of the parallax effect caused a shitstorm amongst iPhone users when it was released in iOS 7, especially when it came to creating custom wallpapers. It was hard to control, and even disabling it didn't fully get rid of it, making it one of the most hated new features in Apple's latest mobile OS.
Whether you're on the john or sitting quietly on the bus to work, there's always time for a little video. And thanks to my favorite high school procrastination site, I'm going to be turning that little into a lot.
A while back, Facebook released a killer feature called "Chat Heads" to its Facebook Messenger app. Messages from users would "pop up" in small bubbles that floated on the screen that could be seen, accessed, and moved around from within most apps.
If you ever find yourself in a car that's submerged under water, your first instinct should be to try and open either the window or the door in the first few seconds of touching water. Unfortunately, if you wait any longer than that, the lopsided ambient water pressure subjected to the car will make it impossible to open the car door, and the now ubiquitous power windows will likely short out. Sure, you could wait until the pressure has equalized on both sides of the car, but this usually hap...
KitKats? Toast? Sorry if that headline made you hungry, but no I'm not talking about Nestlé's chocolatey wafer treat, nor the crunchy slices of bread you have with your eggs in the morning.
There are a gazillion lock screen apps available on Google Play, but the majority of them are subpar and not worth your time. However, in my opinion, there is definitely one out there worth your time—one that constantly learns and adapts to what apps you use when and where to determine which shortcuts to give you.
There are a lot of great music apps available on Google Play for your Android device, each usually specializing in one feature or another, and we’ve shown a bunch of them. There's everything from floating controls to equalizers to deeply integrated streaming, but what if you want all of those features jam-packed into a single app?
Don't be greedy, sharing is caring. If you have a brand new Xbox One, let some friends and family in on the action by getting a few extra controllers. You can connect up to eight controllers on one Xbox One console. Now that's a gamer party waiting to happen.
