Build a Battery Powered Fan

It probably doesn't happen much, but occasionally you'll run into a frozen or bugged-out app on your iPhone or other iOS device. That's where force-closing comes in, allowing you to close any app manually through a few clicks and swipes. While the process of force-closing an ...more

Live wallpapers, like the classic Mario-themed one we previously covered, is a great way to spruce up your device and get some simple amusement. Unfortunately, they also drain more battery than conventional wallpapers. Which brings me to ASUS LiveOcean. With their ocean-theme ...more

Before you head to class, work, or sleep, you're probably doing the same thing over and over again—toggling off system settings like Wi-Fi, sound, data, or brightness, depending on the circumstances. Schedules and routines can help increase efficiency, so while you abide to a ...more

While texting and driving may get you a ticket, there are still a ton of uses for your phone in your car, music and navigation just to name a couple. Every Android device comes with access to GPS and traffic updates, but none of those apps really have your back in real-time. ...more

Battery life is and most likely always will be an issue with iPhones and other smartphones and tablets, but Apple is making it easier for us to save juice when we need to. To help monitor per-app battery usage, iOS 8 now lets us view battery usage stats for individual apps. A ...more

If you've seen any videos of aurora borealis, star trails, or a solar eclipse, then you're probably well familiar with time-lapse photography. Whether it's a beautiful moving landscape or a deadly natural disaster, time-lapses show us what would otherwise be hour-long recordin ...more

After leaks and rollouts from rival carriers, AT&T has finally released their official Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for the Galaxy Note 3. If you haven't received your update notification, force a manual check by going to Settings -> More -> About Device -> Software Update -> C ...more

Good battery life is one of the most important things any phone or tablet should have, but iOS 7 isn't always that great at handling power consumption. That leads to tunnel vision on the status bar's battery meter. After all, you don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowh ...more

Candles can be pretty expensive, which is why most of you probably resort to flashlights during a power outage. But when your batteries run out, you're out of luck, unless you know one of these methods for making a DIY emergency candle out of household junk. In this video, I ...more

Obviously, millionaires like me don't really have to worry about an empty wallet, but for the rest of you out there, having no cash when it comes time to paying a bill can be excruciatingly embarrassing. There is nothing worse than going up to a register thinking you've got s ...more

Not having power sucks. It can be fun for the first few hours, but if it lasts any longer than that, most people run out of things to do pretty quickly (i.e. the batteries in all their devices die). One thing that's awesome about outages is they're a great excuse to light a b ...more

Newer smartphones are more power hungry than ever before, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a mighty appetite for amps that only Jenny Craig could possibly curb. On average, your Note 2 (or other Android device) lasts for what, a day, maybe two days before dying. Mine barely l ...more

Having to read a bunch of articles and tweets everyday can be tiresome, but if you can have a sweet-ass personal assistant read them for you, you're pretty golden. While Siri gets a lot of love for her virtual assistance, she doesn't have the power to read social feeds or art ...more

Warm water is an essential part of life that we sometimes tend to take for granted. Over one billion people, or roughly one-seventh of the world's population, have no access to hot water. Warm water is not only comforting when showering and bathing, but also helps the body ge ...more

There are plenty of ways to create time-lapse photos and videos, but most of them are taken over the course of several hours. If you want to do a longer term shoot over several weeks or months, you'll need a battery that can last that long, and you probably don't want to leave ...more

Eavesdropping from a distance can be tricky because it usually requires some sort of bug or transmitter. It's easy to transmit audio through lasers, but you can also use lasers to build a microphone that picks up audio from a distance. LucidScience built the Laser Spy System f ...more

Whether it's using precious data or wasting battery power, switching between Wi-Fi and cellular service on your Android device can be a hassle. If your Wi-Fi is off, you may not know about free hotspot networks in the area you're in, leading you to waste network data (which mo ...more

As if Samsung's Galaxy series isn't already ruling the smartphone and tablet world, they've now moved on to digital point-and-shoots with their new Samsung Galaxy Camera. The smartphone/tablet/camera hybrid comes equipped with a 16-megapixel image sensor and a touchscreen equi ...more

A couple of months ago at the Black Hat security conference, hacker Cody Brocious gave the hotel industry a nasty surprise when he figured out how to hack the locks made by Onity that are used in millions of hotels worldwide. The reason his hack is so impressive is because it ...more

Since most devices these days are mobile and wireless, a lot of people have a bunch of old hardware from a decade or two ago sitting around unused, just wasting away in dusty boxes. Look familiar? If you have an old mouse (or several) lying around, you can turn it into a wire ...more

Riding your bicycle at night is dangerous on busy streets, especially if you've got no bike lights. In most states, it's illegal to ride your bike at night without any lights because drivers on the road won't be able to see you until it's too late. Plus, how is anybody going t ...more

Last year, many were caught off guard when Google released a midrange Pixel device. It was quickly crowned the best value-buy phone on the market, as it brought most of the camera tech people loved in the flagship Pixel for almost half the cost. Google's 2020 entry in this ser ...more

Recovery mode and download mode are useful for modding and they can come in handy in a pinch. Booting into recovery mode to do a factory reset or wipe cache fan save your Galaxy S20 from a soft brick, and entering download mode lets you install firmware with utilities like Odi ...more

Alternate US history is the go-to move for hot new cable and streaming shows, from HBO's Watchmen to Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, reimagining how things might have turned out is an endless well of narrative inspiration. The latest show to delve into this genre comes from Disne ...more

The entire wireless industry is working overtime to convince the world that 5G, and the higher prices associated with the faster speeds it affords, will not only be worth it but will deliver never-before-seen wonders. But few companies have produced such a stunningly well-done ...more

There may be questions from some about the future of Magic Leap, but in Japan, The Force is with the augmented reality startup. Japan's arm of fashion retailer H&M and Disney are using the device to promote a special promotion of customized Star Wars apparel. Don't Miss: Mag ...more

Another major retailer is putting all its chips in on the relentless rise of selfie culture. Sally Beauty is rolling out kiosks to try-on "some of its best" hair dyes in 500 of its stores throughout the US. The in-store augmented reality-powered kiosks invite you to view your ...more

The landscape of augmented reality marketing is growing by leaps and bounds nearly every month, with Hollywood and the cosmetics industry leading the way. But increasingly, the alcohol industry is coming up with interesting ways to ply its liquid wares in virtual space, the l ...more

Sure, Tony Stark was able to build the original Iron Man suit in a cave with a box of scraps, but can the average do-it-yourselfer replicate the EDITH smartglasses from Spider-Man: Far From Home in a similar fashion? Evidently, the answer is yes, as YouTuber Jake Laser, whose ...more

Norway-based production tools company Vizrt is putting the real into augmented reality with its broadcast AR solution that's designed to keep sports fans (and other audiences) watching. A couple of weeks ago, Chris Black, the head of content and communications at Vizrt, demoe ...more

The natural marriage between fashion and augmented reality is charging onward, but not just from the major brands we already know about. A new Los Angeles-based startup called Kollectin has decided to harness the power of AR to power its entry into the fashion accessories mar ...more

When the titular hero of your superhero movie activates his powers with a catchphrase, it would be pretty neat if your augmented reality promotion for that film could react to the user's voice. Luckily for Warner Bros., Snapchat happens to have relatively new voice recognitio ...more

Occipital's initial augmented reality module, the Structure Sensor, gave iPhones and iPads the depth-sensing abilities of the HoloLens. Now, the company's latest product promises to do the same for Android devices, as well as augmented reality and virtual reality headsets and ...more

You can mod every aspect of your phone's software with root, but if you want to make changes at the hardware level, you'll need a custom kernel. If you've looked into custom kernels before, one name undoubtedly kept coming up: ElementalX. It's easily the best custom kernel out ...more

If two hands are better than one, then two hand-tracking SDKs must be better than one as well. After uSens announced its Hand Tracking SDK at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara on Thursday, ManoMotion unveiled the latest version of its own SDK. Both technologies give app ...more

While some in the augmented reality space are tweeting about future amazing immersive experiences and others are showing off cool experiments, Microsoft continues to move forward with tangible business solutions right now that show how the HoloLens can improve business. In th ...more

Contrary to popular belief, augmented reality apps have been available for a while now. I remember using the Layar app (still available for iOS and Android) to explore nearby businesses and landmarks with varying success via an early-generation Android handset. It would be ha ...more

Ever since the announcement of The Walking Dead: Our World game last fall, publisher AMC and developer Next Games have been quiet about the title. Almost too quiet. That silence has now been shattered with the release of a gameplay trailer (see bottom of this page) for the ga ...more

In the midst of outlining plans to release Pokémon Go in China and debut its new Harry Potter game during the back half of 2018, Niantic CEO John Hanke turned to the dark arts by taking a swipe at the company's AR gaming competition. During an interview with The Financial Tim ...more

The Force was awakened in many a household on Christmas morning this year, as evidenced by numerous recipients of newly unwrapped Star Wars: Jedi Challenges systems sharing their first lightsaber battles in augmented reality on social media. In case you've been exiled on Dago ...more

For every cool new thing Android Oreo brought to the table, Android 8.1 adds a bit of polish. After a brief but successful beta period, Google started rolling out the official 8.1 update to its Pixel and Nexus devices today, and it's everything Android 8.0 should have been. T ...more

Snapchat has broken new ground in its augmented reality advertising efforts, as BMW has opted to show off its new X2 model in AR with the Augmented Trial Lens. Users who opt in to the experience via ads running between user or publisher stories (or scan the corresponding Snap ...more

With so many Chromecast-powered devices available, chances are, you're near something with casting abilities right now. Whether it's Android TV, Google Home, or any one of the various gadgets with Chromecast built-in, you can use a more powerful speaker to play media from your ...more

If you're not a fan of your iPhone's ability to adjust screen brightness by itself, you've probably turned off auto-brightness on multiple occasions in the past. All you would do is go to your "Display & Brightness" settings and toggle it off, but that's no longer the case in ...more

A Norwegian carrier's launch of a pilotless container ship next year could lead the way to a new era in sea transportation and shipping if successful. Norway-based Yara International ASA, a self-touted "Tesla of the seas," claims the eletric-powered vessel will be the world's ...more

If it's not official by now, it really should be: if you're going to sell cosmetics, you need an augmented reality app. Of course, that's not all augmented reality is good for. It can be used to animate medical models and engage sports fans. Read on below… Meitu Launches Look ...more

M — Facebook's AI-powered assistant unveiled to the public in April — is now better than ever. The latest update to M now allows it to provide three more suggestions: a function to save content to view later, birthday wishes, and call initiation. Don't Miss: Facebook Messenge ...more

Do you know what your smartphone is made of? I've had smartphones for years, but if you asked me that question I'd probably respond with "Wi-Fi." For uninformed consumers like myself, it may shock you to know just how much goes into creating a smartphone. Materials must be co ...more

A Norwegian shipping company says it will launch an unmanned container ship within four years, as the shipping industry begins to apply driverless technology to commercial sea transportation. Norway-based Yara International ASA claims the vessel will be the world's first auto ...more

Though its necessity is less frequent compared to Android devices, iPhones still need to be shut down from time to time. Whether it's to help correct a buggy app, prevent overheating on a hot day, or conserve battery life in a pinch, the power button on any device is an indisp ...more

At the 2017 Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara today, smartglasses maker Epson introduced two new augmented reality headsets from its Moverio line of products. The Epson Moverio BT-350 augmented reality smartglasses are aimed to be shared among multiple users. It can p ...more

Someone out there is testing an unknown mid-range phone codenamed "Heart," and it has a 16% lead in speed on the Oppo F3 Plus and is just 15% shy of the Samsung Galaxy S8+, according to GSM Arena. The unknown device contains Qualcomm's mid-range Snapdragon 660. The SoC uses e ...more

Three variants of the Pixel 2 have appeared in Google's Android Open Source Project (AOSP) code, confirming various suspicions about which processor will power the Pixel 2. The AOSP code mentions that the devices will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which makes sense, as Goo ...more

The Broadway musical War Paint is teaming with augmented reality cosmetics app YouCam Makeup to promote the show on iOS and Android devices. The musical, which centers on the famous rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, two cosmetics industry pioneers, has bee ...more

If you've played the game Portal by Valve before, you've most likely popped one portal onto the ceiling and another directly below it on the floor, dropped your Companion Cube in, and then watched it fall forever. Well, now it has been done in real life, in an actual hallway, ...more

This week has been quite a successful one for Google, thanks to non-stop news coverage of their developer-focused I/O conference. Now, there's even more reason for the buzz as they've just announced that Project Ara, their modular smartphone that could revolutionize the indus ...more

Out of all the new functionality introduced alongside Android 6.0 Marshmallow, a battery-saving feature called Doze Mode has been the biggest hit. Essentially, Doze waits until your device is laying flat and still, at which point it triggers an aggressive battery-saving mode t ...more

A growing trend for many artists (most recently Kanye West) is to offer exclusive or experimental tracks on music streaming sites like SoundCloud or YouTube before releasing them anywhere else. On rare occasions, some of these great songs never make their way onto an official ...more

The king of all Xposed modules is alive and kicking on Android Lollipop. GravityBox received an update over the weekend that will bring its bevy of UI tweaks to folks who have installed the framework on their Android 5.0+ devices. Most of the tweaks that helped GravityBox ris ...more

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 ...more