Early last year, Google purchased Quest Visual, acquiring the immensely popular augmented reality translator app Word Lens in the process. While Google did put the feature on the Google Glass, they spoke more about implementing Word Lens into their Translate app sometime in the future.
These last few months have been a Lollipop lovefest, and I'm not talking about the candy. Android's latest OS has been exalted for its embrace of Material Design, and we've certainly given Lollipop its fair share of coverage as well; check out all its new features and ways to make older devices get some of the new look and feel of Android 5.0.
WhatsApp is the go-to application for sending a message (or 100) to friends at home and abroad. And the best thing is, the service has remained true to its roots after Facebook acquired the company for $19 billion.
Navigating through the darkness—literal darkness, not the existential variety—is always a difficult task on its own, and my Android doesn't necessarily make it any easier. Many manufacturers offer quick access to a flashlight or torch feature, but my Galaxy S4 doesn't have an easily accessible toggle or button available to turn it on.
Surely you're aware of the Sony hacking scandal by now (here's a quick primer if you're not), as well as the multi-billion dollar company initially bowing to threats by canceling the Christmas release of the The Interview, the film at the center of the whole debacle.
Android 5.0 has a cool new feature called Priority Mode that allows you to silence your phone's ringer except for when certain people call you. It's something you'd enable right before bedtime, for instance, if you don't want to be disturbed unless it's someone important trying to reach you.
Pretty much my only gripe with computer-side messaging clients like Mighty Text is that they don't allow you to send and receive messages shared through WhatsApp, the popular third-party messaging application, which was purchased earlier this year for $19 billion by Facebook.
We all have apps that we use most frequently, or system preferences that we're regularly adjusting. Whether it's Netflix or a new game that you're hooked on, there are times when you want quick and easy access versus searching for them, even if they're on your home screen.
You can find hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints about Wi-Fi performance issues with iOS 8 across all Apple devices. Even I had the issue on my iPhone 5S. The Wi-Fi connection on my router was strong, but I was getting extremely slow speeds. So slow, that I would resort to using LTE instead of Wi-Fi, which in turn led to going over my monthly data allotment.
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.
Every so often, we come across an app that makes us wonder "Why didn't someone think of this before?" This is definitely the case with developer Dor Sakal's latest offering, FloatNote.
Google's latest mobile operating system, Android 5.0 Lollipop, is coming out very soon for Nexus devices, but it will be some time before any other devices get to experience it. However, there are other ways to get the Lollipop feel on non-Nexus devices right now.
Animal masks are always a popular option for Halloween, not just because you can pair them with practically any outfit, but because they never go out of date. They've been a staple of Halloween costumes starting from the 1900's, but possibly even prior to that. George Takei, of Star Trek popularity, even left a hilarious comment on Accoutrements' Horse Head Mask Amazon page, making puns left and right about the animal mask—a testament to how trendy these faux mammalian skins really are.
If you hold your phone upright while taking a video, you've surely seen the horrific end results. When you try to play the video back on any other display, roughly 70 percent of the screen is occupied by black bars.
App switchers are a great way to conveniently access your favorite applications from any screen, but most limit the number of apps you can use. That means that whenever you want to switch over to another app, you have to leave your current one, and either find the one you want in recents, on your home screen, or in your app drawer.
The most anticipated of the Android Wear devices—the Mote 360—was not only officially unveiled, it's also available to buy right now, for the low price of $249.99.
Rooting is a great way to unleash your device's full potential, but not everyone's comfortable with it. Rooting can void a warranty, cause issues with certain apps, and the process itself can be tricky for older devices. Alas, most of the great apps or mods out there require root access, like the ability to utilize a built-in KitKat feature known as Immersive Mode.
While screenshotting a received Snapchat has never been a hard thing to do, saving one without being noticed is a completely different story. Previously, you would have to have either a rooted Android or jailbroken iOS device to save one of those self-destructing messages undetected, but one particular app has opened this trick up to the masses.
Only scumbags hide their call and message history, right? Wrong. While it may seem like a tactic for the unfaithful, it's still a good thing to do for certain contacts on your phone that you don't want to block outright.
Keeping prying eyes off your device isn't always the easiest thing to do, especially once you lend somebody your phone to make a call. Seems that whenever someone is scrolling through your pictures or checking out your new phone, they always end up somewhere you don't want them be. You could always hover over their shoulder to make sure they're not getting into your texts or photos, but that isn't always possible.
There are countless lock screens you can apply to your Android device, but very few offer more than just quick access to apps or advanced security functionality. Since you probably unlock your device a gazillion times every day, why not use this to your advantage and let it teach you something new?
It's time for another mobile prank. The classic pranks and practical jokes are always great, but let's hit your friends where it really hurts—their precious (and expensive) smartphones. And what better way to scare the shit out of them than making them believe their phone's been infected by malware?
It's time to enjoy one of America's longest lasting favorite pastimes. No, not baseball—pranking our friends! With the internet currently overrun with countless pictures and memes of cats, there's no way for your feline-hating friends to surf the web without coming across a kitten or two. But things can get worse for them. Way worse...
Extremely important calls have a way of coming at the most inopportune moments: when you're in class during an important lecture, at a big business meeting for work, or even when you're just enjoying a day at the movies.
When Yahoo! purchased the home screen replacement app Aviate back in January, many were wondering if the internet giant intended to continue development of the launcher or if the transaction was just another acqui-hire.
Unlike the Galaxy S4 and other Samsung devices, the Nexus 7 doesn't have a Clear All option in the recent apps menu. It's a highly requested feature, as it cuts down the time required to go one-by-one swiping each individual app (you can't swipe away multiple ones at the same time).
Amazon's Fire TV set-top box has been out for over a month now, and the hacks are starting to come together. Sure you can play your Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, and Netflix content without any issue, but what about your personal media, like movies and music?
If you have Android KitKat, you're fortunate enough to be able to use the new Google Camera, which has tons of great features, including Photo Sphere, Tiny Planet, Panorama, and Fisheye. With so many photo options and no additional hardware needed, it's hard to not to like this camera.
When looking at weather applications and widgets, one major characteristic I look for is efficiency; something that will separate it from the rest of the herd. The stock weather widget looks great on my home screen, but I have to exit whatever app or game I'm in when someone asks me about the weather.
Video games have come a long way over the last 30 years. In the late-'80s, Atari, Nintendo, and Sega were taking gaming from arcades to living rooms. Back in 1994, the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were in bedrooms everywhere, and over the next couple of years, were slowly being replaced by Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, and the first ever Sony PlayStation.
Videos are great for catching fleeting moments, and photos are insanely easy to share with anyone, but how can you get the best of both worlds?
Netflix has received a lot of publicity lately, and not because of its impressive worldwide library. From blog wars with Comcast to streaming deals with Verizon, it's easy to forget that the company exists for our entertainment, but sometimes that entertainment has drawbacks.
Apple has acknowledged a problem with the sleep/wake key, better known as the power button, on a certain number of iPhone 5's manufactured through March 2013. As a result, the company has announced the iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program, which will replace the power button mechanism, free of charge, for certain iPhone 5 models.
Let's say you're watching a video and everything's going great, but you feel the need to raise the volume a tiny bit. You hit the volume button on your Nexus 5, and all of a sudden, a giant volume slider appears that obscures half of your video for 3 seconds.
A new coat of paint is an easy, cheap way to make your home look instantly better, but dealing with paint fumes for days afterward isn't so fun, especially if you have kids or pets.
When it comes to blocking unwanted calls, your Android device comes stocked with a native blocking feature that allows you to reject certain phone numbers. That being said, the native blocking feature on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 isn't the prettiest or the smartest, with its non-obvious setup and lack of features.
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.
Google I/O may still be a couple of months away, and although we don't expect anything groundbreaking—no new Android versions, just fixes to KitKat—we could be treated to some new apps. No, not Pokémon inspired Maps, rather new versions of Google's Calendar and Gmail apps.
There were some pretty amazing things included in the Android 4.4 KitKat update, but unfortunately, most of them were left inactive on our Nexus 7 tablets. Some, like full-screen immersive mode and the hidden battery percentage status bar icon, could be enabled on rooted devices, but not everyone wants to root.
Ah, the art of the April Fool's prank. If you're a dedicated prankster, you probably already know who you're going to get on the big day. But if you're still searching for a prank to pull, never fear—we've got one that's pretty easy to execute and is guaranteed to get reactions. Those Oreo cookies look irresistible, right? Unless you're on a strict no-chocolate diet, you wouldn't be able to help yourself from shoving those in your mouth—and that's where the fun comes in.
