Android Lollipop promises tons of new features and functionality when it comes to a device near you, but as we wait, it's almost painful to see the screenshots and demo videos from Nexus devices and how downright pretty the new operating system looks.
In an effort to make things simple and more secure, Google decided to slim down the power menu in Android 5.0. What once provided a quick link to shut your device down, turn on Airplane mode, and toggle volume states, has now been relegated to a simple power switch. Lucky for us, developer Gar Ynych has created a flashable ZIP that will revert these changes and restore functionality to the Nexus 5's power menu. In a few simple steps, you can add the volume toggles and Airplane mode switch rig...
Getting caught using your iPhone at school or work (when you're using it for personal reasons) can be a little bit embarrassing. Even worse, it can be detrimental to how you're perceived by your teacher or boss. But sometimes you just have to beat that next level of Candy Crush, view a risqué photo on Snapchat, or send an important WhatsApp message.
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.
By default, any app that requests a certain permission can run automatically as soon as you start your device. Since Android doesn't offer a granular permission control system like iOS, this gets lumped in with all of the other permissions that you have to accept when you're installing an app from the Google Play Store, and you effectively have no choice in the matter.
When you're on a limited data plan, bumping up against your monthly cap is a major concern. Overage fees are incredibly high these days, and being throttled down to 2G coverage almost renders a smartphone completely useless.
If you own multiple Android devices, you're surely familiar with the struggle of keeping apps and games in sync. While games with proper Google Play Games support will indeed sync progress across your phone and tablet, many developers neglect to include this feature in their wares.
This is finding some of your vulnerability using Lynis. This tool Lynis is used on Unix and Linux type operating systems (sorry windows). So lets get started
Android has plenty of features that provide multitasking support, which are especially useful on smartphones with larger screens. One such feature that I loved on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was the popup browser, which brought up a floating window whenever I opened a link inside of third-party apps like Facebook and Twitter.
If you like free stuff and own a Samsung Galaxy device, then you're entitled to two free popular movies in the Google Play Store—but you better hurry fast, because there's only a certain number of free downloads available.
So you just bought a fancy new Nexus 6 complete with its gorgeous and gigantic display—now what? Unlike Samsung's TouchWiz, stock Android doesn't sport any cool split-screen features, so how do you really take advantage of all that screen real estate?
Just in time for the holiday festivities, iOS developer Tristan Kennedy has created a snowy HTML widget for your jailbroken iPhone's home screen called SnowScreen. Simply apply the widget and you'll have a falling snow animation layered over whatever wallpaper you already have. Without further adieu, let's show you how to apply this tweak.
Android "Lollipop" introduced a ton of cool new functionality. Unfortunately, the Nexus 5 didn't get all of these features, as some were exclusive to other devices. For example, the Ambient Display function on the Nexus 6 that shows new notifications as they come in with a black-and-white lock screen. Sure, the new Nexus phablet has an AMOLED display that doesn't waste any battery to power black pixels, but it would be nice to have this feature as an option on the Nexus 5, wouldn't it?
One feature that the majority of iPhone owners utilize is the device's passcode security lock. And while iOS 8 ushered in device customizations that add a whole new level of personalization on the Apple's mobile devices, the lock screen passcode page remains frustratingly the same.
At $349 off contract, the Nexus 5 has always been one of the best bang-for-your-buck smartphones on the market. In order to keep the price that low, however, Google had to pass up on some of the minor features that other flagship phones offer.
With countless images and messages packed into one small device, security is always a high priority amongst iPhone users. For this reason, we've previously shown you how to make your iPhone's passcode match the current time, which made figuring out your passcode a lot more difficult for wandering eyes.
If you're like me, things just seem to look better when they're symmetrical. While Android's status bar icons are indeed weighted against the notifications that show up on the left side of this area, the balance still seems skewed to the right.
If you're someone who likes to customize their user experience, stock Android is a lot like a blank canvas. The firmware that comes preinstalled on Nexus devices is just Android—no manufacturer skins or carrier bloat involved. This simplicity opens up the door for many root mods and flashable ZIPs that can be installed in a custom recovery.
After a few unforeseen delays, the Android Lollipop update is finally here for Google Play Edition HTC Ones. This means that if you have an official GPE M7 or M8, or if you have simply converted your HTC One from a carrier-specific, Sense-based model to a Google Play Edition, you should be receiving an OTA notification shortly indicating an update.
There were over 1.2 million changes made to Android when the OS got updated from KitKat to Lollipop, but a minor front-facing modification has many users in an uproar.
The attention to detail and build quality that Motorola put into the new Nexus 6 is amazing. Its curved backplate fits the hand like a glove, and fingers slide effortlessly across the rounded edge of its glass front, making the swipe gesture for side navigation menus feel more natural than ever—even for its huge, nearly six inch display.
With Nexus devices already enjoying Android 5.0 Lollipop, most other manufacturers are scrambling to get their flagships updated to Google's latest operating system. While HTC has promised Lollipop by the end of 2015, OEMs such as Motorola and Sony have already issued updates to their latest models. Then there's Samsung.
Unlocking our iPhones with Touch ID isn't something most of us pay any mind to; it's quick, simple, and gets the job done. Today, I'll be slowing things down for a second and showing you how to add the Apple Pay checkmark animation to your Touch ID-enabled lock screen. It looks awesome and doesn't add any additional unlocking time than normal.
Podcasts are back. The Rich Eisen Show, The Joe Rogan Experience and StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson make up just a tiny fraction of what's become an incredibly dense market, with these being some of the most popular available right now.
How many times do you think you press the Home button on your iPhone? You probably can't place a number on it, but you know it's a lot.
When playing a game or using an app, incoming call alerts can be extremely irritating on my Galaxy S4 because they insist on taking over the entire screen. The alert is a little different on other Android phones, depending on the manufacturer's skin, but all are fairly intrusive in one way or another.
The vague 90-day release window for CyanogenMod 12 has done nothing to stop my craving for Lollipop on my OnePlus One. Luckily, there are other "unofficial" means of getting my hands on it. Since CyanogenMod still gives users a way of building their own variants of their ROM, we can install user-compiled versions of CM 12 pretty easily.
It's not the additions Apple brought to iOS 8 that irk me, but what they didn't add that breaks my heart. We did get some cool new features, like battery stats and interactive notifications, but what about a simple customization feature that most—the option to have a transparent dock background?
Instagram is all about sharing and interacting with others, but sometimes we hide in the shadows and lurk. Whether their ex-lovers, current crushes, former high school classmates, or future coworkers, we silently view their content without them knowing. You can deny it all you want, but we've all lurked at one time or another.
Amazon is currently offering over $80 in free Android apps in the Amazon Appstore, but only for Friday and Saturday, so make sure to grab them quick before they all go back to normal price. Highlights include the Fleksy Keyboard (normally $3.99), Oxford Dictionary of English with Audio (normally $24.99), and EasyTether (normally $9.99).
We're a little butter-obsessed here, and that includes topics on why butter should always be browned, the rationale behind clarifying butter, and even how to make a DIY butter candle. And while some may consider the problem strictly one for the first world, we're always very interested in ways to spread cold butter on toast without ripping the bread to shreds. If you read that post, you know the ingenious solutions are many and range from grating your butter to buying a heated butter knife.
As far as customization goes, there's nothing you can do to change the look and function of the Control Center on your iPhone. By default, you can't alter the system toggles, but if your device is jailbroken, it's a completely different story. With the help of a tweak from developer plipala, called CCSettings for iOS 8, you can add, remove, and rearrange your Control Center toggles.
While change is good, it isn't always welcomed. All software updates with radical redesigns and brand-new features bring at least a few complaints from those accustomed to previous versions. iOS 7 got a lot of flak from iOS 6 users, as did iOS 8 from iOS 7 users.
Practically every kid in the '80s would rush home after school to put in some time on the first-gen Nintendo before their parents got home. Games like Super Mario Bros. and Super Smash Bros. were synonymous with fun times, and to this day, call up a wave of nostalgia amongst Generation-Xers.
I'm sure you've been here before: sitting on an airplane, bored out of your mind, and you forgot to install a few games or download a movie before your flight departed. No worries, though. If you have the latest Chrome Beta installed on your Android, there's a fun little mini-game baked right into the "You are offline" screen.
Lollipop's imminent release should be cause for excitement with Google bringing out new features, a huge redesign, and under-the-hood changes. Unfortunately, the Nexus line of devices will be the first to receive the Android 5.0 update, leaving the rest of us to wait on manufacturers and carriers to release their skinned, bloatware-packed builds.
The Google Calendar app hasn't really changed much over the years. As a pre-installed staple on most Android devices, the interface is definitely lacking in some areas. Google knows this, and has plans in the pipeline to completely revamp Calendar's UI alongside Android 5.0's official release.
Many reminder apps offer various bells and whistles that make them overly complicated to use when all you want to do is one or two things. If the only things you care about doing are setting quick reminders and adding timers, you probably don't care about cloud syncing or calendar integration features.
The release of iOS version 8.1.1 brought some much needed bug fixes to Apple's mobile operating system, but with it came a patch for Pangu's jailbreak method, which worked on iOS 8.0 to iOS 8.1 using a Mac or Windows computer. Luckily, it didn't take very long for a new team of developers to come up with a method for jailbreaking iOS 8.1.1 devices, and much like its predecessor, the process is a cinch.
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.
