T-Mobile continues to make waves in the U.S. wireless market behind CEO John Legere's UnCarrier program. At the latest installment in a series of industry-challenging announcements, Uncarrier 5.0 unveiled Test Drive. The new program is set to allow would-be customers to try ou ...more
Rooting your Nexus 7 tablet is now easier than ever. Previous rooting methods required connecting your tablet to a computer and using any one of a number of programs and/or ADB commands. Now, it's as easy as downloading an app on your phone and tapping one button. Who can we ...more
AT&T and Verizon customers, it's finally happened. After many long months of waiting, and a fairly significant bounty up for grabs, your Galaxy Note 3s can finally be rooted! Best of all, it may be the simplest method for achieving root we've ever encountered. Towelroot is th ...more
Samsung's TouchWiz interface comes with tons of small features that can increase your productivity and user experience. From Mulit-Window Mode to Stress Level Monitoring, there are so many functions that some even go unnoticed. One such under-the-radar feature is called Toolb ...more
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 ...more
A recent security risk exposed by software engineer Szymon Sidor has raised a few eyebrows amongst the Android community. Work outlined in a blog post by Sidor depicts an ultra-secretive exploit that apps can utilize to film you without showing any indication on your device—e ...more
With the Galaxy S5's root bounty over $18,000 and climbing, there's still no Superuser in sight. That doesn't mean we can't tweak and personalize our shiny new toys, though. Several customization options are available just by virtue of the S5's Android base, and installing a c ...more
Many of our everyday apps include a menu tab or search bar, like Chrome and Twitter. In fact, a lot of times those are the first things we go for, as search is universal in most apps, and app settings are just about always accessible through the menu. Like the Back, Home, and ...more
The folks behind StumbleUpon have created a video service that is just as awesome at introducing you to new content as their website service is. Dubbed 5by, this app uses a brief questionnaire and contexts like day of the week to tailor-make a set of video playlists for you. ...more
While Snapchat's latest update brought messaging and video chatting, it also ruined something for us softModders—KeepChat. With KeepChat, we were able to save pictures and videos sent to us without the other person being notified. It was pretty slick, and I was beginning to mi ...more
In a world where mobile devices are the new norm for interacting and staying in contact with one another, it's important to make the experience as smooth as possible, and typing is the biggest problem for me. I'm a sloppy typer and constantly have to correct my errors, whethe ...more
If you've followed our guide on unlocking KitKat's real full screen capability using the immersive mode mod, then your status and navigation bars will be hidden when not in use, giving you a more expansive full screen experience. As great as that is, immersive mode can be fru ...more
Transparent status bars and new lock screens weren't the only new additions that came with the Galaxy S3 KitKat update. Along with better battery life and a smoother user experience, we got a new toggles design and recent apps menu. Of course, Samsung's infinite wisdom left th ...more
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. ...more
There are a lot of mods for your Nexus 7 when it comes to improving and streamlining its overall functionality. You could add custom swipe gestures, conserve battery power, and even run multiple apps at the same time. However, efficiency and performance aren't the only reason ...more
As an added functionality to the S Pen, the Pen Window enables you to create floating application windows on your Samsung Galaxy Note 3—a tool that's extremely useful when it comes to multitasking. However, there's always room for improvement. In today's softModder guide, I' ...more
The new HTC One and Nexus series devices have already replaced their physical navigation keys with soft keys, and it's inevitable that we'll see more and more of this on future mobiles. Samsung continues to buck the trend entirely, but no manufacturer as gone as far as to remo ...more
The "Knock Knock" features on LG's G2 phone have proven popular and useful enough to spawn various apps and mods cloning these abilities for other devices. Porting the "Knock On" feature to our Samsung Galaxy S3 isn't as easily doable, since developers would need to create a m ...more
The recently released HTC One M8 and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5 are both boasting selective focus features for their camera apps, but with a 13 megapixel camera, the GS4 can take some pretty stellar pictures, too. To get that nice blurred background effect being showcased ...more
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 devic ...more
One draw that Samsung's Galaxy S line has had over the Google Nexus 4 and 5 and the HTC One (though the M8 appears to be following suit) is expandable storage. Pop a microSD card into the slot and you have extra storage for music, photos, and even apps themselves in some cases ...more
Some of my favorites hacks are the ones that speed up the process of accessing my favorite and most-used apps. So, in this softModder guide, I'll be showing you a super fast way to open those apps straight from your Samsung Galaxy Note 3's lock screen. In order to bypass the ...more
You've seen it a million times. You try to do something on your Android device and a box pops up asking you which app you'd like to use. You could try Photos, Gallery, Drive, Picasa Web Albums...the list is fairly extensive sometimes. And what's worse, after that you have to s ...more
The more you use your device, the more you'll download and install apps. These apps range from helpful to fun to simple distractions, but after a while, you may notice slow down on your device or a marked reduction in battery life. One potential cause can be that plenty of ap ...more
In direct competition with Pandora, iTunes Radio, and Spotify, Samsung has just launched Milk Music—a strangely named, yet completely free music streaming service for Android. Currently exclusive to Samsung owners (unless you're rooted), Milk Music is similar to much of its c ...more
If you have a limited or restricted data plan, monitoring your usage can be the difference between escaping the month without overage fees or emptying out your wallet. Android dev Richard Lucas created NetLive to help Android users monitor the transfer rates and usage of thei ...more
Update (March 18, 2014): Skype has issued an update to their Android app, and among other things, has "fixed" the runaway camera process issue by creating a workaround...and that's about all we know. No details were provided, but with the considerable uproar over the bug, let ...more
Privacy features have become quite the hot commodity, emerging from the aftermath of the NSA scandals that rocked the United States this past year. While the NSA has the means to gather information on all of us (regardless of any security software we implement), it doesn't mea ...more
Efficiency is one integral attribute that I need from my Android device. I want to be able to multitask like a maniac and do things on the fly. While multitasking itself is nothing new, actually being able to watch Netflix while scrolling through IMDB at the same damn time was ...more
Leaving your Wi-Fi radio "on" allows your smartphone to auto-connect to trusted wireless networks in lieu of using cellular data, but it also consumes battery power while it's constantly network hunting. If you forget to turn Wi-Fi off when you're on the go, expect a quick ba ...more
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. Thankfully, "exclusive" in the world of Andro ...more
There's one reason why most of us have a Samsung Galaxy S3—because we don't want an iPhone. Yes, there are some pretty cool things about the iPhone aesthetically, but looks aren't everything. Anyway, with the nearly unlimited customizations options we have available for Androi ...more
Changing the look and feel of an app's user interface can really make it more pleasurable. Popular apps like Facebook or Twitter may take for granted the importance of a clean UI, since the companies have hundreds of millions of users no matter what their apps look like. Howe ...more
My friends can be pretty shitty sometimes, but they're my friends nonetheless. On various occasions, they've secretly taken my device and made me look foolish by posting crude and embarrassing posts to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. With friends like these, who needs enemies ...more
There wasn't really anything too special about the S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, with its limited capabilities and finicky sensitivity. Luckily, the S Pen was greatly improved on the Note 3, the biggest enhancement being Air Command, a floating menu that appears when the ...more
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. Once you're rooted, you have unlimited mods and hacks to choose from to make your device run be ...more
Ever since its introduction back in iOS 6, AirPlay has been helping us iOS and Mac users stream content over to an Apple TV or third-party speaker system. It's an incredibly useful feature. However, it's also severely limiting. The few compatible products out there are extreme ...more
Oversleeping isn't just an epidemic that affects millions of hungover college students every year, we all want that extra minute or two of sleep. Unfortunately, oversleeping and showing up late to work or class isn't something we can generally afford to do. If you're struggli ...more
I know all of you softModders love these little modifications, like enabling the hidden battery percentage on the Nexus 7 or getting the exclusive Google Launcher on your Nexus, so here's an easy one that lets you hide the soft-keys from your tablet, which will actually expand ...more
I miss the days where my hardest assignment was drawing a Thanksgiving turkey using the outline of my hand and trying to stay in between the lines. It seems that there is some unwritten rule that adults shouldn't feel the need to draw. Well, not anymore. Drawing is not only a ...more
You have an abundance (or scarcity) of alcohol, liqueurs, and chasers, but don't know how to combine or mix them together to produce some kind of enjoyable concoction for friends. What do you do? Mix things you think will taste good together? They probably won't. There's rules ...more
I've said it before, but there are few things quite as annoying (or embarrassing) as having your smartphone go off at a time where it just shouldn't happen. Imagine a nice, intimate evening with your significant other; you dim the lights, snuggle up, and "this classic" comes o ...more
Sometimes, taking a picture of your friend doing a crazy stunt just doesn't suffice. Getting the progression of the stunt in one image does! Regular pictures can lack depth sometimes. Not only are they sometimes boring, but capturing someone midair or mid-anything is hard! Ba ...more
For those of you who have (or had) and iPhone, one of the cooler photo apps for iOS was VSCO Cam, an extremely popular camera with pro-quality filters and effects. Now this app is available for Android on Google Play for your Nexus 7 tablet and any other devices running Androi ...more
Change is something everyone needs every now and then. President Obama used it as his campaign slogan and adult movie stars use it to hide their real identifies. Change is in itself versatile. You never want to have the same thing day in and day out, and that's why us Android ...more
The Xbox One is the quintessential jack of all trades. It can be your browser, music player, gaming system, and cable box, but in order to benefit from all of these goodies, you're going to have to set it all up. The below instructions are for setting up your TV and cable box ...more
If you're like me, then you were a little disappointed after updating your Nexus 7 to KitKat and realizing that not much has changed. The old Jelly Bean look still occupied your home screen, and there wasn't really anything noticeably new overall. All of that waiting and antic ...more
I can't say that my handwriting skills are the best, and my cursive is even worse. I mean, I still don't know how to write a capital L in cursive, but who really cares when I do all my everyday writing with a keyboard now. I've gotten pretty fast at typing on my computer, but ...more
I could write about a new launcher everyday, because there are so many options out there for Android users, but one of my favorites it Everything Home. You probably have your own favorite, but what if you could actually use two launchers together, taking advantage of each one' ...more
If you're not acquainted with 500px, you should be. One of the more preeminent photography communities out there, 500px takes you through a journey of incredible shots—anything from nature and urban explorations to cities and architecture to the abstract. Whatever your prefere ...more
While the new Android 4.4 KitKat is only available on one device at the moment (damn you Nexus 5), it doesn't mean that we can't enjoy some of the features it has to offer on our non-KitKat devices right now. We can already get the KitKat launcher and Google Now on our Samsun ...more
Normally, "restricted access" is something you despise. No one likes to be told they can't do something, especially when it comes to the Internet. Unfortunately, having web access at all times can not only eat away at your wallet, but make your day less productive overall, so ...more
When we're dead tired but need to stay awake, we humans can do many things to make the drowsiness go away, from taking a cold shower to downing energy drinks or coffee to acupressure. Unfortunately, our Android devices don't have as many options for staying awake, or the luxu ...more
We've all been in a similar situation before—you set your phone's ringer to silent before heading into class, and when you check your phone hours later, you find that your silenced phone didn't alert you to 8 missed calls and 17 text messages. Well, I don't actually get that ...more
You don't need to be a robot to be overly concerned with battery life, especially if we're talking about Terminators, which have nuclear or hydrogen fuel cells that keep them running for years straight. It will be a long time before smartphones get that upgrade, so in the mean ...more
Ringing and vibrating alerts on your smartphone can be a bit distracting when you're at work or school, but silent alerts can be a little too subtle if you want to know when you get a notification. Even the tiny LED alerts can be easily missed. So, is there's something in-betw ...more
If you're new to Android phones, one of the first things you've probably noticed is how notification alerts differs from Apple devices, especially in regards to getting a text message. When you receive a text on an iPhone, the display turns on and shows you a popup notificati ...more
With CyanogenMod 10.2 recently released and the Samsung Galaxy S4 still waiting on Android 4.3, it only makes sense that the coveted features from both firmwares are highly desired by Android owners all over. We've already brought you a feature from each firmware—the cLock hom ...more
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're bogged down by To ...more
The new Moto X may not have a lot going for it when it comes to hardware, but there are some pretty cool software features that makes it a tempting device. One of these cool features is its Active Display notifications that appear on the lock screen. This feature gives immedi ...more