It won't come as a surprise to hear that your cell phone, tablet, and laptop are loaded with bacteria and other organic material. While most of these bacteria are harmless, there are good reasons to reduce the capability of your mobile devices to infect you—or other people.
In my days as a hardware tech, I often came across motivated do-it-yourselfers who watched a video or two on how to repair a phone and thought that they'd give it a go. More often than not, they failed miserably and damaged their phones (and wallets) even more in the process.
Google's new Pixel phones are shaking things up in the world of Android, as the Nexus line is no more, and the Mountain View tech giant has now become a smartphone OEM. The long-term impact of these moves remains to be seen, but we already know that Google, the manufacturer, will be adding extra software and UI features to the version of Android that ships with its Pixels.
Smartphones have been around for nearly a decade now, so we've had plenty of time to develop preconceptions and bias. People that have never owned an iPhone will tell you that Apple devices are restrictive and bland, while others might say that stock Android is boring compared to manufacturer skins like HTC's Sense, despite never having owned a Nexus or Pixel.
Lenovo is teaming up with Google to debut the first Project Tango smartphone, which uses 3D sensors to map the world around it. The Tango phone will be able to give directions without the need for GPS, and it can augment reality to bring things like dinosaurs and cars into your environment.
Samsung has been on a tear with its flagship devices since the release of the Galaxy S6; The S6 edge, the Note 5, and this year's Galaxy S7 models have all been met with universal acclaim, and even the staunchest of critics have almost nothing negative to say. Almost.
I don't know about you, but when I shoot a slow-mo video on my iPhone, I'd also like to have a regular speed copy of it, just in case slow motion doesn't fit the video right.
Although lots of the bigger hotel chains are lessening the restrictions they put on their room TVs, some smaller ones are still taking measures to prevent you from plugging in computers or streaming devices into an HDMI port. However, there are a few steps you can take to bypass these restrictions and watch your own media in a hotel that has restricted TVs.
Android has a built-in browser called WebView that any app can use, which makes it easy for developers to display webpages without actually having to build an internet browser into their apps. But WebView is a stripped-down, bare bones browser with no ties to Android's default browser, Chrome, so none of your synced data like bookmarks, passwords, and history is available when an app is using WebView to display a page.
If your smartphone is ever lost or stolen, it's a terrible experience. If you file a police report, chances are the responding officer will need your device's IMEI or MEID number if you want to stand a chance of getting it back. Same goes for making an insurance claim on a lost or broken phone, so it's definitely important to have this unique identifier handy.
A set of cool new Android-related Google Search functions made their debut this week, which will allow you to locate your phone, send directions to your mobile device, set alarms and reminders, and send notes from any web browser.
The vast majority of Android apps use background services to sync data, check for location updates, and perform various silent tasks. These background services can start up whenever they'd like, and they continue to run in the background even when you're not actively using the app that they originated from.
Deep down at the core of Android lies the system kernel, which serves as a bridge between software and hardware. Custom kernels can be installed in place of the stock offering, and these are generally optimized for better performance or increased battery efficiency.
While you can do a lot of things on your smartphone that were once only done on a computer, having a laptop is still necessary and critical for many tasks. Often times, the two devices work very well together.
While your iPhone may have a built-in time-lapse feature, it's nowhere near as smooth as Instagram's newish Hyperlapse app, and it doesn't give you any speed control like the latter does. If you haven't tested out Hyperlapse yet, check out the short promo video to see just how well its stabilization algorithm works.
As much as it pains me to say it, without my phone, I would pretty much be useless. I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone all of the hundreds of numbers in my contact list. That's why whenever I forget my phone at home, I am pretty much stuck having to choose whether I want to be late to wherever I'm going, or feeling completely lost and disconnected for the rest of the day.
There is a question that has haunted man since the dawn of time: What if you could combine your tablet and your smartphone? Historians around the world have documented wars on the subject, and philosophers and kings who dared ask the question went down in the annals of history.
A boring work meeting. A conversation with someone you don't like. A date that's going horribly. A run-in with an aggressive and intimidating stranger. These are all situations where you want to flee—and fast.
With a 5-inch screen, it's possible that the Samsung Galaxy S4 can be a bit large for our hands. While my grubby hands let me navigate the phone pretty easily, the same can't be said for everyone. A lot of us use two hands to type on the phone, play games, and perform tap or swipe gestures.
Why unlock your Samsung Galaxy S3 to use with a different SIM card? One possible reason is that you love your phone, but not your cellular provider because of the poor service or an unreliable connection. If you purchased a Samsung GS3 with AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. on a contract, it might be locked for a specific amount of time called the contract period.
"Ahoy-hoy." If telephone titan Alexander Graham Bell had his way, we'd all be answering phones like Mr. Burns. Thankfully, frienemy Thomas Edison had enough sense to realize we weren't always on the briny. He preferred "hello" as our standard telephone greeting, which he is credited with coining in 1877. Fellow American pioneer Davy Crockett actually used it as a greeting first in 1833 (as compared to an exclamation)—but in print, not over the phone.
There is no such thing as too much space when it comes to our smartphones. Space is the great equalizer of all things. No matter how many awesome features a device has, the amount of storage space available will always be a determining factor. Be it music, apps or photos, it's easy to fill up your phone's memory fast.
Megaupload was one of the very first file-sharing sites I ever used. But since 2005, the beloved (and pretty gangster) Kim Dotcom, has been in a legal battle with the U.S. Justice Department over copyright infringement.
There are plenty of ways to speed up your wireless network at home, some as simple as changing the placement of your router. While you can always buy equipment to boost your signal, there are plenty of cheap or free DIY solutions you can try as well.
We use smartphones for just about everything, and while that may be beneficial to us in our day-to-day lives, it can also be used against us in the court of law.
Many Minecrafters think that Minecart Traveling with many rails is the fastest (most efficient) way of travel. They are wrong. There is one other way of traveling with carts on rails, Forward, Backward, and Upward. And it can take you places up to 6X Faster than the traditional Minecart Design, and, its just as simple to make.
Verizon Wireless has a data cap on the 4G LTE connection that the Motorola Droid Bionic uses to connect to the internet and download information from its apps. If you want to stop your phone from hitting these caps and causing you overage fees, you can turn off the 4G connection by looking at this guide. It will save your smartphone's battery life as well!
If you've found alternatives that you prefer to the stock apps on your Android phone, delete the ones you don't use. It's easy, just watch this video and learn how to use root explorer to delete stock apps from your Android device.
If you're looking for an easy way to manage your AT&T phone bill and cut down on paper usage, this how-to is for you. Using AT&T Online Account Management portal for small business customers, you can manage your account and billing prefrences.
The makers of Call of Duty Black Ops clearly had a bit of a sense of humor about their work, as easter eggs are liberally scattered throughout the game's many maps. This video will teach you how to find the red phone easter egg in the Five map in Black Ops Zombies.
Organize your contacts list by merging duplicate entries. Learn how with this quick, official guide from HTC.
Spice up your digital photos with filters and effects. See how with this quick, official guide from HTC.
Get turn-by-turn directions and find places of interest with the Locations app on your HTC Desire HD. See how with this quick, official guide from HTC.
Need a hand figuring out how the FaceTime video phone call application works? This home-computing how-to from the folks at MacMost will help sort you out. To learn more, and to get started making video calls to iPhones and other FaceTime-enabled iOS devices from your Mac, watch this video guide.
A slingbox takes content from your TV or cable box and then 'slings' it to another location - such as your smartphone or computer. This tutorial shows you how to set up a slingbox for your home entertainment network and then start using it!
Access your favorite FM radio station with your Motorola Q! This tutorial also shows you how to load your favorite music onto your cell phone, and then choose segments to turn into ringtones, which you can personalize further by assigning them to individual callers.
In this clip, you'll learn how to use Google's new VOIP (voice over IP) feature to make domestic and international phone calls from your Gmail inbox. For more information, including a complete demonstration of the process and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started making calls from your own Gmail account, take a look.
In this clip, you'll learn how to make VOIP (or voice over IP) phone calls over your Windows PC. For more information, including a complete demonstration and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started making phone calls over your own Internet connection, watch this handy home-computing how-to from the folks at CNET TV.
The HTC Eris is one of the many smart-looking smartphones the company has released in it's short tenure in the US market, but it's a good one and you can get it for free from Sprint with many service plans. If you've got one, why not root it and start taking full advantage of its abilities! This video will show you how to do it quickly and easily, teaching your cute little phone some new tricks.
If you've rooted your Motorola Droid chances are that you are enjoying the results, but are concerned about the consequences if you phone updates or in any way become incapacitated since your phone manufacturer will not be pleased with what you've done to the phone. One way to ameliorate these fears is to back up your phone. This video will show you how to use Nandroid to make a backup of your rooted phone.
