When Google first introduced Android 4.4, the most glaring user-facing change was a new trend towards transparency. The stock launcher, originally exclusive to the Nexus 5, had transparent status and navigation bars and its app drawer added a touch of transparency.
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.
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.
These days, our smartphones carry some very sensitive data. From banking app passwords to personal photos, there are many things on your Nexus 5 that you might not want other people to have access to.
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.
With rumors of the Active and Prime versions on the immensely popular Galaxy S5 circling the web for the past few weeks, today, we've got some clear proof of the upcoming Active variant.
Over the years, we've probably all complained at some point about Android's lack of an "Undo" feature. When you're typing something out, there are times when you might want to go back a step.
Ever since Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google has been trying to push phone manufacturers to do away with physical menu buttons. Samsung has been one of the lone holdouts, retaining the menu key up until the Galaxy S5, where they finally replaced it with a "recent apps" multitasking button.
The new HTC One and Nexus series devices have already replaced their physical navigation keys with soft keys, and it's inevitable that we'll see more and more of this on future mobiles. Samsung continues to buck the trend entirely, but no manufacturer as gone as far as to remove the volume rockers.
There's been a lot of discussion lately about the practical uses of Google Glass. Sure, you can use them for translating text instantly or further engraining yourself in social media, but how about saving someone's life? That's precisely what Dr. Steven Horng of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has says happened with a recent patient of his. After launching a Google Glass pilot program late last year, the device was seen as a critical factor in saving the life of a patient in January.
Multi Window, a feature that was greatly improved with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, is still quite limited on the older Note 2, allowing only the use of a few stock applications to multitask with.
Google released its long-awaited Google Now launcher a couple months ago, allowing users to access Google Now with the simple command of the voice. As great as the feature is, it requires that our screens be on, unlike the Moto X's "active listening" service that operates with Google Now, activating through a screen-off state.
Doritos Locos Tacos were the brilliant concoction of a man named Todd Mills who never worked for Taco Bell, and never made any money from his creation. He originally pitched the idea to Frito-Lay, and when they said no, he took matters into his own hands by creating a Facebook page.
Amazon just announced its entry into the set-top streaming content marketplace with its new Fire TV box. Competing directly against Apple TV, Google's Chromecast, and Roku, Amazon is betting on big processing power and voice controls to stand out from the competition. Features include the following.
After all the leaks and peeks of the HTC One M8, it has finally been officially introduced to the public, available for purchase at most U.S. carriers. HTC also unveiled Sense 6 during the launch event, the newest iteration of its operating system, and thanks to their new Advantage Program, the update shouldn't be too far behind for the older One (M7).
I never really cared much for the clock widget on my Nexus 7, mainly because it only gave me two styles—analog and digital. There are many different styles of clock widgets available on Google Play, but the majority of them just don't look good enough for me.
After much hype and even more leaks, the HTC One M8 has finally been unveiled at the company's New York release announcement.
Some of my favorites hacks are the ones that speed up the process of accessing my favorite and most-used apps. So, in this softModder guide, I'll be showing you a super fast way to open those apps straight from your Samsung Galaxy Note 3's lock screen.
In today's dog-eat-dog world, every minute matters. Whether you're in school or working for the Man, a huge amount of your day is consumed by tasks, assignments, and other kinds of work. Then there's the time you spend playing video games, watching TV, or screwing around on your Samsung Galaxy S3.
I still remember when I had to get up from my comfy spot on the couch to change the channel on my old television. So for me, the remote control may be one of the most underrated inventions of the last century. These days, remotes take on all sorts of shapes, not just the typical brick, but also in the form of watches and cell phones.
Google Glass is all about transforming the world around us with little to zero interaction from the wearer. Much of this is done using augmented reality—a live view of physical, real-world environments that are augmented by computer-generated input in the form of graphics, sights, and sounds.
Watch out Samsung (and you too, Pebble, Sony and the still unrealized Apple), your hold on the smartwatch market is about to get a lot less firm. Announced today, Google has released Android Wear, their platform for developing smartwatches, along with a preview of the Moto 360 smartwatch from Motorola.
If you use your Nexus 7 like me, then you're constantly downloading APKs, installing new games from Google Play, taking a million photos, and using multiple apps at the same time.
In direct competition with Pandora, iTunes Radio, and Spotify, Samsung has just launched Milk Music—a strangely named, yet completely free music streaming service for Android.
Recently, I offered a guide detailing how to run two separate windows on a Nexus 7 tablets for better multitasking. While extremely useful, that mod was limited to only two windows, and you also needed root access to use it.
Both professional and home cooks have been rinsing raw chicken and turkey before cooking it for what seems like forever. It's one of those divisive practices—either you do it or you don't, and people tend to be rather opinionated on their stances.
I can be pretty forgetful. If there's something important to remember, I need to jot it down right away or risk losing it forever.
The app formerly known as Google Experience Launcher is now officially called the Google Now Launcher in honor of its most prominent feature, Google Now. Only problem is, this launcher is still exclusive to the Nexus 5 smartphone.
The status bar is an omnipresent force on our Samsung Galaxy S3s; always there to give us that vital information about battery life, date and time, Wi-Fi access, and much more. But there's just something about that default black bar that's so...boring.
One of the best things about iOS 7 is the Control Center, which gives you quick access from anywhere on your iPhone to turning on or off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more. It also makes it very easy to adjust the brightness of your display, and gives app shortcuts for your Flashlight, Calculator, Timer, and Camera.
Streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video have been available on game consoles for a while, but if you're in a country where they're blocked, it can be hard to find a way around. There are apps and extensions like Hola Unblocker and Media Hint and that to bypass location restrictions on your computer, but what about your Xbox?
There are several ways to get around location restrictions on subscription sites like Netflix and Hulu using apps, extensions and proxies, but they tend to only work on laptops and computers. Users who want to access content from mobile devices and gaming consoles are usually out of luck.
In a world where more features are king, sometimes it's a good thing to breathe, take a step backwards and keep it simple. With home launchers, this isn't often the case, as developers add a galore of features to their apps in order to be at the top of the game.
Many people are bored of the typical square-ish icons arranged in a uniform grid on their Android homescreen. I dislike looking at grids of buttons and sometimes I would like to have some really HUGE buttons for the applications that matter the most at any given time.
There have been hundreds of reports of users hearing a grinding noise when they place a disc into their brand new Xbox One video game consoles. To prove it, here is an awesomely sad compilation of Xbox One owners having the issue.
Unless you like paying exorbitant prices for out-of-contract phones, most of us are stuck with the one we already have for two or more years. The tech industry moves fast, and as new phones are released seemingly every month, your Samsung Galaxy S4 might start looking older by the week.
I read, walk, and do lunges all at once. Time is money, and I'm all for multitasking whenever I can. Thankfully, my Samsung Galaxy S3 is extremely good at it, but extremely good could still be extremely better.
While Siri came up on the scene with hardly any competition back in 2011, Google Now has not only caught up to Apple's intelligent personal assistant, but also excelled in certain areas—with its ability to quickly answer questions, give recommendation, and even deliver information that it predicts a user will want.
I'm constantly browsing the web, taking pictures, and playing games on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but there's one thing that I'm always doing—playing music. No matter what I'm doing on my smartphone, I'm always playing my music in the background at the same time.
Even if you have the fastest internet connection in the world, it's not going to be fast if your Android device isn't optimized to use all of the bandwidth. I have pretty fast speeds at home, but every now and then my web surfing on my Nexus 7 tablet is halted in its tracks—for seemingly no reason.
