Confirming a lot of what we already knew, now we have a physical walkthrough video on HTC's new flagship, the M8. Or, maybe the "New HTC One", but let's hope that's not the name of the final product. Before we get to the video, here's what we already know:
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was just officially announced at Mobile World Congress. The new flagship device will be available worldwide beginning April 11, 2014, including all major U.S. and international carriers. With over 200 million Galaxy devices sold to date, the S5 doesn't stray too far from the trend, at least not aesthetically. We've still got a high-grade plastic shell with perforated back covers, and four color choices at launch. Our highlights of the release event are as follows.
Recently, Google unleashed the Chromecast development kit, which lets developers add Chromecast streaming functionality to their own apps. However, there aren't many apps with Chromecast capabilities yet, and big companies and devs are still working on polishing their final products.
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.
With the Samsung Galaxy S5 all but assured to be showcased in a just a few weeks, we've got our hands on some fresh details of the upcoming flagship device.
We softModders come from all walks of life, and sooner or later, our devices begin to reflect who we are. Maybe you've followed one of our guides on customizing your Nexus 7, such as getting the exclusive Google Experience Launcher or hiding the navigation buttons for more screen space, or maybe you used one of the various Xposed mods we've covered.
There are plenty of apps on Google Play for customizing your Samsung Galaxy S3 with wallpapers and new lock screens, but to be honest, you're not really customizing until you root.
More and more, our phones are becoming an expression of us. Whether it's the device we choose, the case it dons, or the ringer it bellows, we like to personalize. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do beyond cases and ringers on your iPhone, unless you jailbreak.
Having quick and immediate access to your notifications is one of the most important features for any modern day phone, but these alerts can be easily missed when your device isn't in the palm of your hand.
The in-fighting between the major US carriers just got a little more interesting. In July of last year, T-Mobile introduced their JUMP! plan, letting customers upgrade their devices after just six months, up to twice a year. Buy a device, split up the price into monthly payments, and pay an additional $10/month to enroll in the service.
The sensors in your mobile device are integral for gaming (try to beat my Temple Run 2 score), as well as many of the basic Galaxy S3 features like Smart Stay and other fancy additions. But sometimes those sensors can become overly sensitive or just downright unusable.
The Chromecast may be slowly weaving its way into the smartphone ecosystem, but the amount of supported Android apps that are available for the streaming media player are still severely limited.
Apple is extremely strict when it comes to modifying your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. For example, let's look at the dock on iOS 7 devices. You've only really got two options for the dock background, either the default frosty translucent one, or the dark gray version. That's it, and the dark one will also change the look of other things on your device.
Update 1: Evad3ers have released a statement to the jailbreak community, claiming that the safety and security of their users is the most important thing to them and that all speculations about malware being encoded into the jailbreak is simply not true. You can read the full letter over at Evasi0n's site.
Android's deeply customizable platform has long been the attraction for those of us looking to make our smartphones more unique, but that doesn't mean that it's always easy. Flashing mods and installing custom ROMs can be difficult at times, as well as dangerous.
A certain selection of applications on your Android device (both system and downloaded) start running as soon as your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turns on, laboriously hammering away at whatever tasks they have to do.
Probably the most favorite custom ROM among softModders is CyanogenMod, a theme-friendly take on stock Android that not only makes it easier to customize your device, but also increases performance using a variety of system tweaks and enhancements.
If you want to play games that aren't in the iOS App Store, Apple makes it pretty tough for you. Usually, the only solution is to jailbreak your iPad or iPhone, but that's something most avoid because it will void the warranty and may cause potential bricking issues.
If smartphone video games have a weakness, it's probably their inability to emulate the riveting and immersive experience that consoles offer.
There are a lot of apps in Google Play for your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that let you create, edit, and view Microsoft Office files on the go, but none match up to the power of an app called Polaris Office for Samsung Galaxy devices.
Recently, I wanted to share a large video file from my Nexus 7 to my friend's Samsung Galaxy S3, and even though he was standing right next to me, it was an extremely difficult and frustrating thing to do. Every single Nexus 7 tablet comes NFC equipped, so it can share files with other NFC-equipped devices just by tapping and holding them together. With both NFC and Android Beam enabled, sharing a small file between two devices should be fairly simple.
An average of 140,000 hard drives crash in the United States each week, according to online backup service Mozy. Additionally, 70 percent of Americans have lost a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, and the average person now loses 1.24 devices each year—less than half of which are ever recovered.
There's something missing on your brand new Samsung Galaxy S4, and if you're a softModder like me, you know exactly what it is already. If you don't know, keep reading, because you should—anyone who wants a better Android experience should.
As we all use our smartphones for more and more things, we constantly want to share and view those items on a larger screen, especially when it comes to media. While phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and tablets like the iPad do make watching Netflix on a portable device pretty legit, bigger is always better. Newer iPhones may have Retina displays, but watching Avatar on your phone is like being forced to drink a delicious mango tango smoothie with a coffee straw. Plus, if you want to sho...
Having your phone ring loudly in a quiet environment could be potentially embarrassing for you, but also quite annoying for everyone else that didn't forget to put their smartphone on silent. Whether it's in class, at work during a meeting, at the library, or a movie screening—you can bet that someone's phone is going to ring loudly, pissing some people off. You don't really want to be that douchebag that interrupts a movie or the middle of a lecture with their annoying ringtone just because ...
Now that the Surface Pro is out, you can game your heart out and get down with some serious Minecrafting. You're not just limited to downloading apps in the Windows Store anymore, like with the Surface RT. You can install a lot of Windows-compatible programs on the Surface Pro, but still, with this being a mobile device, it'd be nice to have some more mobile-feeling apps. And thanks to BlueStacks, you can. BlueStacks has helped people without Androids and iPhones get popular apps on their dev...
Inverting colors on your mobile device not only saves battery life, but also helps prevent straining your eyes, especially during the nighttime. Bright white screens interfere not only with your eyes, but with your sleeping patterns, as well. The bright lights greatly reduce your melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that helps you go to sleep. Thus, the onset of sleep is delayed and the possibility of deep sleep is reduced greatly.
Google Now is an extremely intelligent personal assistant that automatically updates and prepares the most pertinent information for you on your Android device. Traffic updates, alternatives routes, weather conditions, and other important data is constantly being monitored and updated for you.
Having the ability to decipher any song that plays over the radio or during a commercial is a must for any music-loving fiend. That's what made Shazam so popular.
MAC addresses (not to be confused with Macs) are unique identifiers assigned to network devices in order to access the internet. Hotels use these Mac addresses in order to check if a registered patron has agreed to their terms and conditions, how much bandwidth is being consumed, and of course, whether they've paid or not.
Monitoring your storage space is always a nuisance, whether you have a desktop, tablet, or smartphone; having enough space for all of your files, music, and videos is a constant battle. One movie file can take upwards of 1GB of memory, and for people who travel a lot, it becomes extremely impractical to have those huge files on your portable device.
Thousands of Android users have been disappointed to learn that getting the latest firmware update isn't as easy as it sounds. Some really popular phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III just started getting the Jelly Bean upgrade, with the update continuing to roll out over the next couple of weeks overseas. All of the stateside S3 users will have to wait even longer for Android 4.1.
One of the more innovative features about the new Windows 8 operating system is the ability to unlock the screen via a picture password. This new feature allows the user to select any photo they would like and use taps, circles or straight lines to unlock the device. The video below shows the picture unlock in action.
Want to take advantage of your neighbor's super fast Wi-Fi connection? If they're smart, they probably have it password protected (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this, would you?). But if you have an Android phone, you can get back at them for always parking in your spot and slamming the door when they get home at 2 a.m.—by stealing...er, borrowing, their connection.
Some of us use our smartphones for almost everything. Manufacturers know this, so they try to make their devices as convenient as possible to use, but sometimes that convenience comes with a cost to security. The very same technology that allows you to easily share music with friends and make purchases can also put you at risk. Photo by sam_churchill
Okay, just because the new Verizon Wireless Droid X comes with an HDMI-out port doesn't mean you're limited to just that. Motorola has made it possible for you to play video, music, and pictures to your television without any wires at all. With the Droid X's DLNA media sharing application, you can easily stream to an PS3 or Xbox, send pics to your PC, and stream videos to your TV. Check out this video walkthrough to learn how to use the DLNA services to connect your Droid X to the PlayStation 3!
There are so many different devices today that have Wi-Fi capabilities--notebooks, handheld gaming devices, tablets, and more. Why not share some of the 3G and 4G internet that streams into your Motorola Droid 3 with the other electronics you carry with you? You can turn your Verizon Wireless Droid 3 smartphone into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot using the mobile hotspot menu on the android phone.
So you want to go home eh? Just can't seem to get there? Well, if you're dealing with a broken home button on an iPod touch this can be a frustrating challenge that can leave you wanting to hurl your device across the room. Well, worry no more. This video will get you home quicker than you can click your ruby slippers together. It's easy too, and doesn't require you pulling your device apart, soldering wires or buying replcement parts. Fortunately, the problem is a software one, so fixing it ...
If you're looking to expand your viewing space, and haven an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can follow this how-to and learn how to do it. You'll need to get an app from the Apple App Store called SideMonitor. With this little app, you'll be able to connect your Mac or PC to your hand held device to get a bit more viewing room. It seems like you can never have enough viewing space, so don't poo poo the idea of hooking up some smaller devices.
