Recently, Mike over on Samsung Galaxy S4 softModder showed how to scroll from the bottom to the top of a page with a single tap, a feature that Apple is well known for, and something I missed very much on my Galaxy Note 3. However, there's always room for improvement. While t ...more
To say that there are a lot of app switchers and launchers available is an understatement. We've covered a few ourselves, including Loopr and Switchr. But why not check out one more? Video: . Quickr (apparently Es aren't popular with devs) allows you to switch quickly between ...more
Getting into fastboot or recovery mode on your Android device is nothing new, especially if you're a softModder. Accessing the bootloader menu is the genesis to a lot of mods, and if you're like me and constantly tweak your device, you probably get irritated every time you hav ...more
We may all have a Nexus 7 tablet, but we don't all want to have the exact same look and feel, which is why we softMod for a more personalized vibe. There are hundreds of cool mods you can perform on your Nexus 7, whether stock or rooted, but one of my favorites in Android 4.4 ...more
Most people were skeptical when Google replaced Google Talk with Hangouts, but to my surprise, it was an easy and pleasant transition. It has basically consolidated my conversations into one location. I can see all SMS, MMS, and Google Talk conversations in one place. The onl ...more
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. Then Xposed ...more
It seems like most of the really cool and interesting modifications you can make to your Android device always require special root access, so when a fun mod comes along that doesn't require root—I feel it's my duty to alert you. The softMod I'll be showing you today is an ap ...more
Let's be honest, some days call for a new wallpaper to match your mood. If I'm upset, I could use a nice, uplifting wallpaper to alleviate my low spirits. Even in a day and age where everything is literally at our fingertips, I get too lazy to deal with going in and selecting ...more
Quickness and efficiency should always be a fundamental aspect of the experience when using any Android device. Anything less, and we've got a problem. As app development continually progresses, these adjectives become much more refined and polished, making the use of a smartp ...more
Like a beautiful woman, curves can enhance the appeal of certain things, so why not your Nexus 7 tablet? If you're tired of the uniformity of right-angled corners on your screen, add a little character by rounding them out. For this softMod, we'll be using an app called Round ...more
Adjusting the brightness on your Samsung Galaxy S3 can be a real pain sometimes. Each app you open may need a different amount of light to better optimize its use of the screen, and then you have to worry about it potentially eating up your battery life if it's too bright. We ...more
While making the transition from Apple to Android may not be hard for some, there are others that miss the small features that Apple offers on the iPad and iPhone. If you just got a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or other Android device and want a familiar piece of Apple on your device ...more
If you just have to have the new Nexus 7 tablet today, you might get lucky if you go to Best Buy or GameStop right now, but if you want to save a little cash instead, the only real deal going on right now for the Nexus 7 tablet seems to be at Staples for $30 off—but only for o ...more
Sometimes, for whatever reason it may be, we just want to take a photo without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, thanks to the extremely large screen and loud shutter sound, taking a picture discreetly with our Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a hard thing to do. This chick is so not o ...more
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. However, the newest version, Polaris Office 5 ...more
One of the best things about Android phones is that they are much more readily customizable when compared to the iPhone, but for newcomers and recent iOS defectors, Android can be a bit overwhelming. Getting familiar with the many widgets, multiple home screens, and tons of o ...more
Lock screen exploits are becoming increasingly common in the mobile world. Four weeks ago there was the iPhone 5 passcode bug (which just got fixed yesterday...kinda). Then there were a couple lock screen bugs on the Samsung Galaxy S3 two weeks ago. Now that GS3 lock screen b ...more
As most everyone knows, Android and Apple don't get along so well. Even the users don't get along well, with Android and iPhone users constantly berating and insulting each other online—any chance they get. I should know, since I was one of them, but I'm now rare breed who's 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
While the increasing superiority of smartphone cameras is great, they can be a double-edged sword. Sure, we get great images that are crystal clear, but at what price? Storage space on your devices ends up paying the price for this luxury, filling up quickly due to the high-qu ...more
Security is always a top priority for our smartphones. Leaving your phone at the bar or even at a friend's house can leave you open to hacks and lead to the loss of sensitive information. Beyond the lock screen, passwords don't always do enough to protect the information stor ...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
The great thing about security apps (other than the obvious) is that there is an abundance of them littered throughout the Google Play store. Cerberus, Got Ya!, Avast! Mobile Security, Norton Security & Antivirus, and Android Lost Free are just a few of the gems you can find i ...more
When it comes to live wallpaper for your Android device, the choices are pretty much limitless. Anything from a planet's elliptical orbit around the sun to a school of fish swimming across your screen are just a click and a download away. With the advancement of smartphones, l ...more
A lot of people text nonstop, but there are situations where it's either not allowed or considered rude to use your phone. Let's say you're in class or in a meeting at work, band you're expecting an important message or phone call. Rather than trying to check your phone discre ...more
There's nothing more inherently awesome than looking up into the stars and wondering WTF is really out there. Outer space is one of those rare items that a Google search cannot provide all of the answers for. There are a lot of popular space apps already available for Android ...more
Every group of friends has that one person who's always late. Luckily, I've never had to deal with that issue because all of my friends are always late. Never fashionably, either. I'm talking hours late. Oh, we're having lunch at noon? Nah, it's at 3 p.m. now. Great. The most ...more
One of the coolest things for readers using the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the stock Smart Rotation feature. While most smartphones use the accelerometer to adjust the screen orientation, Smart Rotation actually uses the camera to detect your face-to-screen angle and adjusts acc ...more
Facebook has been revamping its Messenger apps these past few months, trying to lure in more users. Competing in an already crowded market of third-party messaging applications, Facebook Messenger just upped the ante, by introducing voice messaging. Similar to Voxer, the new ...more
Depending on what mobile device you own, you'll see something that says "via device name" next to the date of your post on Facebook. If you're device is not recognized, you'll simply see a "via Mobile" note, which is what happens when I post from my phone. If you allowed your ...more
With all of the advancements in the smartphone world, we can virtually use them for anything. You can use your smartphone as a mobile hotspot, an Xbox controller, a car locator, and a security camera. Heck, you can even turn it into a Swiss Army knife. And now you can even use ...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
Feelings can get hurt on Twitter as fast as an update. Everything is fine and dandy because two people are mutually following each other, then out of nowhere, one person has unfollowed the other out for seemingly no reason. Twitter doesn't notify users when someone has unfollo ...more
The car is arguably one of the worst places to receive a text message. You know you can't resist looking, and when you do, your attention is no longer on driving, it's on reading the latest gossip or whatever. You take your eyes of the road for just a few seconds and you could ...more
As most of us know, men and women are (shocker alert) different. Not only are they different, but they view the world an entirely different way. Especially colors. But with the help of a new Android app called Color Grab by Loomatix, now everyone can view colors the same way. ...more
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 ...more
There are thousands of articles published every day about smartphones, tablets, eReaders, and any other kind of gadgets you can think of. The problem is that most people only really care about news related to the devices they actually own. So how do you filter out all of the s ...more
If you don't smoke, your car's ashtray is probably either unused or, if you're like me, full of loose change. And if your car is older, unless you've installed one, it probably doesn't have a place for you to plug in your phone. This quick hack by Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky w ...more
How do you make a 1950 Studebaker even cooler? By installing an iPod Nano in the dashboard, of course! The folks over at MAYA Design hacked their way to a touch-controlled sound system with this project they've dubbed the "Nano-Baker" (or "Stude-iPod") using a pair of Apple ea ...more
If you're jonesing to play some Super Mario Run on your Android phone, you might not be able to get your fix for some time—at least, until Nintendo figures out the best way to keep piracy down and security high. But if you can't wait for the first official appearance of Mario ...more
The idea of augmented reality isn't new, but the world of smartphones is looking to push it forward in a big way. As with any platform, both product demand and technological advancements have to catch up to the industry before it can become a viable solution for daily consumer ...more
Atari—it's the home gaming console officially responsible for starting the trend of sleepless nights and malnutrition amongst kids and adults alike. If you think Call of Duty is addicting, try playing Space Invaders in the '80s on the old Atari 2600 (voted the second greatest ...more
Smartphones are like high tech buckets that collect our personal information through constant use. This has some obvious benefits, like getting a more personalized experience with our devices. On the other hand, this data is a tempting target for bad actors looking to make a b ...more
For some, the Galaxy Note 9's volume rocker doesn't have enough steps between silent and max volume. We all have different preferences for volume, and a higher number of steps would equal to more precise volume control. Good thing we can at least adjust this for the media volu ...more
Have a load of games you want to play, but don't want to be seen in public playing on your old school Nintendo DS system? Play them on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2! Now, I've already covered how to play N64, GBA, and SNES games on your Galaxy Note 2, so it only makes sense to c ...more
Believe it or not, but people are actually texting less than they did before, and that's all thanks to Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other split-second communication services. However, one communication method that is still going strong—and dominating—is email. ...more
There's a feature in Google's Photos app for Android, iOS, and the web that lets you create shared albums with your friends and family. It's really a useful feature that makes it fun and easy to collaborate on an album with a person or persons of your choosing. It allows for ...more
The Google Chrome browser for Android allows you to cast quite a few different videos from the web to your TV, but some sites actively disable this functionality, and others have outdated video players that won't allow for it. For example, Instagram's mobile website won't let ...more
Sometimes, you encounter words in a non-native tongue while using your Android device. The Google Translate app has an awesome feature where it will translate any text you highlight. An overlay will appear, and on this overlay, there will be the translation of the foreign word ...more
As one of the most popular home screen apps on Android, the Google Now Launcher is used by millions of people across the world. The two main reasons behind this success are its integrated Google Now home page and an elegant, easy-to-use design. But as simple and straightforwa ...more
Lens Launcher was one of the winners of 2106's Android Experiments I/O Challenge a few months ago, and with good reason—it gives us a new way to browse for apps on our Android phones. It's slightly reminiscent of how the Apple Watch does it, but even better. Don't Miss: Use C ...more
Christmas has arrived early for ARCore app developers, as Google just unwrapped a few iterative improvements to the augmented reality toolkit in version 1.6. The first improvement comes in the form of improved lighting in Sceneform, Google's 3D rendering library for Javascrip ...more
Sometimes I'm convinced Google has ADHD. They'll create a great product, then get distracted by the next moonshot and never put the finishing touches on their last project. Case in point, you can't just cast a playlist of your subscriptions from YouTube to Chromecast, even tho ...more
The mystery surrounding Overture, an app that showed up in the Magic Leap World app store along with the latest Lumin software release, has been cleared up. When I first discovered Overture earlier this week, before the official update announcement, I tried using it. And whil ...more
If you're sick of playing chess in Facebook Messenger, there's another little-known game you can play with your friends directly in the app—basketball. This hidden game was originally added to Messenger before March Madness 2016, and still works perfectly to this day. Just ma ...more
I often read ebooks on my iPhone while I walk, but being glued to my screen is a good way to get run over or cursed at. To save my physical and social hide, I use this trick to get my iPhone to read ebooks and articles out loud, turning my whole text library into de facto audi ...more
With Halloween fast approaching, social media sites are abuzz with ghosts stories and pictures of cool costumes. By contrast, regular photos just seem to be lacking that macabre feel. Google+ wanted to spice things up this Hallows' Eve, so they've introduced a new Halloweenif ...more
Google loves to play games. That's just what they did when they went ahead and teased us with a few Android O hints after Reddit user Zitroney unlocked an Easter egg in a Google Creative Lab developer's app ShortStories. At the moment Android O, Google's upcoming version of A ...more
Smartphones are more like computers than actual telephones. Unfortunately, thieves, hackers, and other bad actors know this and are always looking to make money off your personal data. Thankfully, your Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra has tools to combat these threats — as long ...more
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ come equipped with all of the hardware needed to access live FM radio, but this feature was never really advertised or even spoken about. Thankfully, though, all you need is an app to enable it. Samsung's using two different processors to power the S8 — ...more