Every phone powered by a Qualcomm processor has a built-in WCD9xx Audio DAC, but it's rarely configured to be used to its full potential by OEMs. This might not seem like a problem to some people, but if you're a music lover, or you simply enjoy high-quality sound, it's an issue you'll definitely want to fix.
YouTube won't let you play videos in the background on Android without paying for YouTube Red, so if it's your primary source for streaming music, and you don't want to shell out $9.99/month, you'll just have to take matters into your own hands. The simplest solution to this problem would be to download MP3s straight from YouTube for offline playback, but in the past, this hasn't exactly been easy on a mobile device.
Google's YouTube Red is an awesome service, particularly in the United States where it comes bundled with a subscription to Google Play Music. You don't have to worry about ever seeing ads again on any videos, you can continue playback after you exit the YouTube app or even when you turn your screen off, you can download videos for offline playback, and you'll have access to YouTube Music.
Now is the time to act if you've been in the market for some must-have Android apps but felt like the price was a little out of your range. The Google Play Store is running a sale so you can pick up some high-quality paid apps—including the popular Nova Launcher Prime and Poweramp Music Player, among many others—for just $0.99 each. While there are quite a few solid apps here you should try—and with a two-hour refund window, why not try them all—here are our favorites you should seriously con...
In general, smartphones and cars don't mix—but this is mainly because you have to take your eyes off the road to poke around on your handheld gadget. In reality, the only difference between your smartphone and your car's FHWA-approved infotainment system is that the latter is mounted in a fixed position and has an oversized interface that makes it easy to use without looking away from the road.
Although I know it will never happen due to Apple and Google's tempestuous relationship, I sometimes wish I could cast iTunes or Apple Music from my Mac to Google's Chromecast. When you don't have speakers to blast your music, the television is a great alternative to amplify your music.
Cortana, Microsoft's voice-activated personal assistant, originally launch on Windows Phone, but is now built directly into Windows 10 complete with "Hey Cortana" voice search (take that, Apple). It can help you locate files, set up reminders, control music.
You can capture some pretty amazing videos using the slo-mo and time-lapse capabilities in the stock Camera app for iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus, or iPad Air 2, but there's no way to really combine them unless you shoot different videos and splice them together with a separate video editing app.
With floating song lyrics displayed over the screen, apps like musiXmatch and Floating Lyrics are perfect for people who want to go beyond just the tunes and delve into a song's message and meaning. And while these floating windows can be convenient, they're not always necessary.
As technology continues to advance, we as consumers are privileged enough to be able to take higher quality photos and videos and listen to clearer and better-sounding music on our mobile devices. But sometimes we forget that there's a price to pay for that awesome content—enormous file sizes.
I just about always have iTunes running in the background when using my Mac, but switching in and out of the app to change songs and albums can make focusing on my main task difficult. To help keep my mind on track, I have a few extensions enabled to take control of my music playback.
The volume is maxed out, but that doesn't stop me from hitting the volume key on my Nexus 7 in hopes that it will magically get louder. This happens to me everyday as I watch videos or play music. The simple fact is that a Nexus 7 tablet just doesn't get very loud. At least, not loud enough for me.
No matter whether you're a seasoned Android veteran, or just starting to get into the scene, you have probably heard of Tasker, the king amongst all the various automation tools available.
I love finding new artists on SoundCloud and listening to the tracks they put up. While some artists allow fans to download their tracks, others don't, leaving you to constantly load up their webpage to have a listen.
Whether it's embarrassing pictures and videos on your smartphone, or files you just don't want anyone reading, there are plenty of ways to hide them. For most devices, that means installing third-party apps like Gallery Plus - Hide Pictures, Sectos - Photo & Video Vault, TimeLock, or Hi App Lock.
One draw that Samsung's Galaxy S line has had over the Google Nexus 4 and 5 and the HTC One (though the M8 appears to be following suit) is expandable storage. Pop a microSD card into the slot and you have extra storage for music, photos, and even apps themselves in some cases.
The lock screen music player in iOS 7 has all the controls you'd ever need from a lock screen, but it's not as visually appealing as I hoped it would be. Yes, it does show you the album cover art, but the way everything is presented makes it feel cluttered.
Last week, we covered a new, open-source live wallpaper (LWP) called Muzei, and less than a week later we have no less than twenty beautiful add-on extensions to the app.
The Xperia Z1, Sony's flagship device, has been extremely popular overseas, so much so that it has made its way into the U.S. market as the Xperia Z1S, a modified version of the original. Known more commonly as the "waterproof smartphone," the Xperia Z1 packs one of the most powerful cameras on the market, with an impressive 20.7 megapixels. Since the device is only available for T-Mobile here in the States, unless you currently have that carrier, the chances of you getting your hands on Sony...
Your smartphone has a ton of ringtone options built in, but ringtones haven't really changed much in the past decade, and it's definitely not cool to hear someone in the supermarket with the same lame ringer. While replacing the stock sounds with a song of your choosing is the best way to keep your phone personalized, why not go a step further using a video?
You may not notice it when you're intoxicated and banging your head to the music, but when you're at a club or concert, your ears are getting seriously damaged. The noise level is usually above most people's pain threshold for sound, which begins around 120 to 140 decibels. At that level, it only takes a few minutes to damage your hearing. For me, there's something even worse than long-term hearing loss in a loud environment—not being able to hear or talk to your friends.
If you've ever listened to your loved ones sing in the shower or watched a few minutes of American Idol, you would think that the majority of the population is tone deaf. In reality, only about 4 percent of the world's population suffers from tone deafness, or the inability to distinguish between different pitches. Che Guerava, Charles Darwin, and Ulysses S. Grant were all tone deaf.
Got a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phablet? Sure, it has its problems like any other mobile device, but it's still one of the hottest phablets on the market right now, because, well... it's awesome, right?
Lightning has struck, but not everyone is excited. Apple's new 8-pin Lightning connector for the iPhone 5 has replaced the aging 30-pin connector. Many users have concerns that their current third-party devices will no longer operate properly with the smaller all-digital design, not to mention the expensive price tag for each adapter. What Does This Mean for the User?
The HTC Desire Z continues the HTC hit parade of awesome smart phones. It offers some awesome standard features that used to be hard to make on older Android phones, like flip-to-speaker and flip-to-silence. This video will show you how to use these features and take full advantage of your phone.
This tutorial goes over a few of the advanced features offered in the special effects and video editing software WAX 2.0. Specifically, you'll learn how to add particle effects (like snow) and create a picture warp for transitions to add to your films and projects.
Tutting has taken the art of walking like an Egyptian to a whole new level. If you've already got some basic moves down and you're looking to improve the creativity and smoothness of your tutting, check this video out. It offers tips on positions, transitions, and improving you style to make your tuts more epic than ever before.
Krump is one of the most unconventional hip-hop dances, and there is a special emphasis on achieving a nasty sort of style while you're doing it. This video will teach you the basics of krumping, including stomps, arm swings, and buck ups. It also offers tips on achieving that nasty attitude you're going for when you krump.
When cars start to get older, their many fragile moving parts start to make noises they never made before. Sometimes, when your car starts making a new noise, it can be very difficult to identify what is causing the noise and what you need to do to repair it. This video offers some great tips for finding the source of different kinds of car noises, from engine noises to suspension noises.
Gmail is the incredibly popular, powerful, and free email program that Google offers, and stock, it works really well. It has all kinds of setting that you can change to make it work better though. This video features veteran Google video maker Matt Cutts walking you through his Gmail settings, explaining ways in which he has optimized it to work for him in order to give you ideas for improving your own Gmail experience.
Google is one of the most powerful forces on the Internet, and their technology can be the key to helping you find success in whatever your online endeavor might be, from web design to filmmaking. This video is a part of their Google Webmaster Series, offering help to webmasters the world over on how to best utilize Google in their work. This video will show you how to ensure that your Wordpress blog is safe from the hacker attacks that are so common for Wordpress users.
Google is one of the most powerful forces on the Internet, and their technology can be the key to helping you find success in whatever your online endeavor might be, from web design to filmmaking. This video is a part of their Google Webmaster Series, offering help to webmasters the world over on how to best utilize Google in their work. This video will show you how to optimize your deep web content, like databases and forms, to be crawled by Google using a few simple tricks.
Killzone 2 is the latest iteration of one of the Playstation 3's only reputable exclusive series. It's a great shooter, and has many guns that are well-balanced and each offer distinct advantages. If you want to master the game, you'd better know how to use each one properly. This video will teach you everything you need to know about the Helghast StA-14 rifle, a semi-automatic but powerful rifle for medium-range combat.
The browser on your Android-powered cell phone offers numerous features that enhance your overall web experience. Some of the great features include double-tapping to zoom in, searching for text on webpages, sharing websites with friends, and copying and pasting. There's a lot more, so watch this video tip from Google to see how to fully enjoy your web browser.
Half-Life 2 and it's brilliantly creative baby Portal refuse to die, offering the same great gameplay today that they did when they were released in 2004. This video will show you how to mimic, in After Effects, a very cool effect from the game called a portal storm. It basically looks like lightning on steroids, and will give any movie that you are compositing in After Effects some really legit sci-fi flair.
Motion tracking a movie scene in After Effects is a royal pain in the butt. It takes a long time, depends largely on the suitability of the footage you are working with, and is rather confusing. This video is here to shed some light on the subject, offering many tips and tricks for basic motion tracking in After Effects. If you're having trouble getting your own scum-sucking monster to wander the desert realistically, watch this video!
Interested in taking professional-caliber portraits but haven't time (or money) for a bulky light rig? Great results can be had by taking advantage of the available light from windows. This photographer's guide offers a number of pointers for you shooters out there. For more information, and to get started taking your own beautifully lit photos, take a look.
This penny pincher's guide offers advice on how to take advantage of CVS coupon match ups to score free and near-free goods from CVS. While such savings require a little bit of legwork, the underyling process is simple enough that this tutorial can present an overview of it in just over six and a half minutes.
In this video, producer and actress Kathleen Cooke, offers advice on how to find a fantastic agent in LA. You won't find much success in Hollywood without representation, so listen to Kathleen's advice and make sure you choose the right one and how to impress them so that they sign you.
In this tutorial, learn how to access your phone's data network to enable free tethering on your new HTC EVO 4G. By tethering with your EVO you can connect up to eight other devices to your phone and use it as a wireless modem. This hack works with any EVO and will allow you to connect regardless of whether your city offers 3G or 4G signals.
