One of Android's biggest strengths relative to iOS is how simple it is to sideload apps that aren't on the official app store. Rather than having to sign IPA files or tell your phone you trust a developer every two weeks, you can just enable a setting and be done with it. Jum ...more
Starting Nov. 1, 2018, Google got a lot tougher with Android app developers. New apps being uploaded to the Play Store already had to target Android 8.0 Oreo or higher as of August, but now, every update to existing apps has to do the same. It may seem like a simple rule, but ...more
If you've ever wondered why the pictures and videos you share with Snapchat on your Android device seem to look grainy with low resolution, you're not alone. We all know it, and we've come to accept it as a plain fact: Snapchat image quality sucks on Android. The reason behin ...more
Android clearly wasn't made with bilingual users in mind. When you set a default system locale, every app on your phone uses that region's language—and there's no granular control here. This really becomes an issue if you use social media or news apps that are primarily in a d ...more
Android 7.0 Nougat brought a lot of multitasking improvements along with it, but the most notable addition is a unified multi-window mode (which shines bright in Google's Pixel phones). This means that every Android device can now use the same split-screen interface, and the d ...more
When opening a link or sharing a photo, your Android device will bring up a list of possible applications that you can complete the action with. However, some of the apps included you never use or didn't even know existed, and this leads to unnecessary clutter. Fortunately, if ...more
Ever tried using Android's split screen mode only to find the app you wanted to split doesn't support it? Even big-name apps like ESPN still don't support the feature despite the majority of Android devices having split screen. So instead of waiting for the developers, how abo ...more
If your Android phone was made by Samsung, LG, HTC, or any other manufacturer that likes to apply skins on top of stock Android, then your camera app is tied to the custom gallery app that was preinstalled on your device. In other words, when you tap that little image preview ...more
Traditional root ad-blockers like AdAway and AdBlock Plus have no effect on YouTube anymore. Until now, if you wanted to get rid of the commercials that play before your favorite videos, there have only been two ways—either by paying for a YouTube Red subscription, or by using ...more
The default screen timeout on most Android devices is 30 seconds. This usually offers a good balance of usability and battery savings, but sometimes, you need the screen to stay on longer. For instance, practically every time I try to show something on my phone to someone else ...more
Over the course of the past year, a lot of Android apps have added pull-to-refresh functionality. It's a very useful and intuitive gesture, because all you have to do to refresh the page you're viewing is scroll to the top of the screen, then slide your finger down one more ti ...more
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If a person makes calls but doesn't have a Facebook account, are they even really a person? Yes, of course they are, but it just makes life easier when you're part of the world's biggest social ...more
You gotta love Android—not only can you replace your default home screen entirely, but there are tons of options that provide alternative methods for launching apps with ease. We've covered some of these options in the past, including an app called Bar Launcher that lets you l ...more
The basic clock app on Android devices is functional and has a few nice features. One of these is a "World Clock" view, which lets you see the current time in different cities across the world, and shows the time in your location at the top. But of course, the local time in y ...more
Since its debut in 2004, Gmail has become the go-to email service for the internet at large. Over 1.2 billion people use it, so Google has wisely continued to add features that address the needs and wants of its diverse user base. For US and UK users, one of these new features ...more
Cuphead may have taken the indie gaming scene by storm, but its "introduction" to the iOS App Store is what everyone in the smartphone world is talking about. There is no official Cuphead game available for iPhone, and that's what is so surprising — a fake version was approved ...more
Trying to get the look of a Windows7 phone on your Android device? This video will show you three apps that allow you to customize your phone's appearance to mimic Windows7. These apps will help you organize your Android device the way you want it.
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
When the topic of Pokémon Go comes up, the typical response is, "Do people still play it?" The answer is a resounding yes! While the game doesn't command the zeitgeist as it did at launch, it has sustained a community of players who have stuck with it over the years. Pokémon ...more
Microsoft finally unveiled dedicated iPad apps for their Office suite earlier this year, but it seems that that was just a preview of things to come. Once a must-have for students and businesses alike, Office has lost a good bit of its dominance to Google and its Docs apps. I ...more
Sony's Xperia line of smartphones are beautifully crafted and have many great features. But considering the fact that Sony has evolved into a media company over the last two decades, it's their media-related apps that stand out the most. Just recently, they've updated their s ...more
There have been concerns with how much personal information Google tracks and all the things they know about us. Of course, that's what makes Google services so useful, they can use that information to cater to each of us individually. So yes, it serves a purpose, but it's not ...more
Smartphones like the Nexus 6 and those in the Samsung Galaxy Note series border on being called tablets due to the sheer size of their displays. They are essentially "phablets," i.e., devices too large to be a typical smartphone, yet too small to be a tablet. While phablets d ...more
The lock screen is your friend. It shows you the most basic information (time, date, battery life) and hides your apps and contacts until you wish to access them. But the lock screen is also a great place to open up commonly used apps very quickly. And that's where Shipoopi co ...more
When we think of search it's usually in regards to the internet. But when you are using a smartphone, searching your device itself can be just as important and useful. The default search function on the iPhone is pretty great. You can type in any query and it searches through ...more
Using the overview screen (aka recent apps) is a simple way to jump back to a previous task to continue where you left off, but as you use more and more apps, jumping back to that initial task isn't really that "recent" with all of those new tasks stacked on top of it. Now, th ...more
There are many different applications available on the Android market today, and if you want to download and use a lot of them on your Droid Bionic smartphone, you'll need a great way to organize them. Thankfully, Motorola has provided this guide on creating "app groups" which ...more
This video represent a bit of a digression for the Google Webmaster series of videos, spotlighting a cool Google-designed Android app and how to use it. The app in question is My Tracks, a free app that allows runner, bikers, and other distance exercisers to keep track of thei ...more
There are over 250,000 apps in the Android Market, ranging from free productivity programs to a ridiculous $200 for a vuvuzela horn effect. But chances are you don't have the vuvuzela app on your Android smartphones right now, but you are likely to have one of the ten most pop ...more
Here's a quick tip for Android phone users! You can use the App Launcher (the icon is at the bottom of your phone, near the center) to open up your app screen, listing all your apps. From there, run all your favorite Android apps!
Fed up with the standard Android home screen, but don't want to root your smartphone? Then a launcher app is what you're looking for. It's nothing new, with past home screen launcher apps like LauncherPro, HelixLauncher and any from ADW Things, which transform your home screen ...more
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 frequently test new ROMs on your Android phone, you'll love this app that backs up the apps and setting on your Android, allowing you to restore them later. This video explains how to download and use Titanium Backup.
There's a quick and easy way to create an Android app for your website, and you can do it yourself. Watch this video to learn how to use AppYet.com to create an Android app for your website in less than five minutes.
If you're the proud owner of a Canon EOS DSLR, then you'll be glad to know that you no longer have to use EOS Utility on your computer to enable remote live view shooting with your camera. Now, all you need is your Android equipped smartphone (sorry iPhone users) and a new mob ...more
Dealing with insomnia? Just can't fall asleep at night? Well, there's a few things you can do to escape those restless nights. You can take a hot bath (unless you're a shower person), do some yoga (granted you can do the downward-facing dog), or try a little tapping (if you do ...more
For those who need security on their Android devices, the standard swipe lock screen just isn't enough, so it's necessary to install applications like GOTO and WidgetLocker to enable either pattern, password or PIN protection. This protection is great overall, but when you're ...more
The Android Megaminxer is mind-bogglingly elaborate, impressively combining multiple geeky mediums to solve an incredibly complex puzzle. ARM, the genius behind the stunt, uses LEGOs (a Mindstorms NXT kit to be exact) to build a robot responsible for the mechanics; they then e ...more
There's a new way to shop, and it's called your phone! On an Android mobile device, there'a handy shopping application called Shop Savvy, found in the Google Marketplace. Okay, so you can't actually buy things with it, but you can scan barcodes of products to get more informat ...more
Staying in tune with the digital age doesn't mean you have to sacrifice personal health. In fact, new technology only makes it easier to workout and keep track of your progress. On any Android mobile phone, there's an application called Cardio Trainer that could help you out s ...more
Now Bounce Energy has made mananging your MyAccount even easier by designing an app available to Android Phone owners! Download it from the market today- for free!
You need an app to be competitive, but you don't know any code. Don't let that stop you. Watch this video and learn about buzztouch a website that will make your app for you. Expand your presence with an app in the App Store or Android Market.
Shake it like a Polaroid picture is out. Shake it for a screenshot on an Android phone is in. Watch this video to learn how to download and install the screenshot app for your Android phone that takes a screenshot when you shake the phone.
If you have an Android device, you have an enormous music library at your fingertips. Learn how to use the Amazon Cloud Player app to stream music to your Android smartphone and you'll be able to play any song you like anywhere, anytime.
In this video tutorial, we learn how to free up internal flash space by moving apps to your phone's SD card. Whether you own a Google Android smartphone or are merely curious to see how they work, you're sure to enjoy this brief how-to. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, ...more
In this video tutorial, we learn how to use make use of the camera app on a Motorola Google Android cell phone. Whether you own a Google Android smartphone or are merely curious to see how they work, you're sure to enjoy this brief how-to. For detailed, step-by-step instructio ...more
Interested in using your Google Android cell phone to read your eBooks when away from your Amazon Kindle eReader? With the free Amazon Kindle app, it's easy. And this brief video tutorial from the folks at Butterscotch will teach you everything you need to know. For more infor ...more
Want to get started using the free Nook eReader app to read digital books on your Google Android smartphone? It's easy. And this brief video tutorial from the folks at Butterscotch will teach you everything you need to know. For more information, including detailed, step-by-st ...more
Minecraft may seem like a game for just hardcore gamers and computer nerds, but it's totally not. It can hook anyone and everyone, from casual gamers to online addicts to total newbies—it can even turn its users into serial killers. And now, Notch and his Mojang crew have made ...more
Security awareness seems to be a hot topic these days on the web, with developers making apps and devices that can hack networks and machines with just a few clicks. But these applications aren't only exploiting security flaws in systems and networks, they're being used by ama ...more
Have a new app that you want to pin to your home screen on your Android enabled mobile device? Slapping the application on the home screen is simple on any Android phone. Best Buy has answers. The Best Buy Mobile team explains how simple it is to add apps to your home screen o ...more
Hi, I'm excited to share with you a professional android application for Photographers and cinematographers called "SunPhos" helps users to get lucky with sunlight and enhancing their photographs' quality and sensation through predicting the location of the sun before the phot ...more
The Friend Stream widget makes it easy to keep up with all of your friends' Twitter and Facebook status updates. Learn how to use it with this quick, official video guide from HTC. Whether you're the proud owner of an HTC Desire HD Google Android smartphone, or merely interes ...more
Your Android phone is a computer not unlike a laptop or desktop PC and it shares the same vulnerabilities. This clip presents a quick overview of how to safeguard against viruses and data loss. With the Lookout app, it's easy! So easy, in fact, that this video guide can presen ...more
Firesheep caused quite a stir when it was released last October, giving both hackers and non-hackers instant access to people's account information when on a public Wi-Fi connection. When logged into an insecure website on the same network as someone with Firesheep, you're giv ...more
Developers have created many tools for testing the strength of passwords (1, 2); there are also plenty of tips for coming up with a strong password in the first place. But why do the grunt work when an app could generate a perfectly secure one for you? There are plenty of pas ...more
Owning a smartphone can be costly. But, then again, not owning a smartphone can be costly too! Take, for example, the tale of Sahas Katta, a driver ticketed by police for exceeding the posted speed limit by 15 miles per hour. Katta, for his part, was confident that he had bee ...more
Get the most out of your T-Mobie myTouch 4G! This guide offers a software tour of the myTouch 4G Google Android smartphone. Android novice? Not a problem. This exhaustive, eleven-minute guide will teach you everything you need to know. Become an Android pro with this video guide.
Get the most out of your HTC Desire HD! This guide offers a software tour of the Desire HD Google Android smartphone, which features a 4.3" display. Android novice? Not a problem. This exhaustive, eleven-minute guide will teach you everything you need to know. Become an Androi ...more
What's the quickest way to get to an application on your Android phone? It's a shortcut icon, much like on your Windows and Mac computers that take you to the application quick without having to dig in your applications folder. So how do you add a shortcut on your phone? Best ...more