Bluetooth 5 was announced and made officially available on December 7, 2016. It comes with a handful of improvements to speed, range, maximum device connectivity, and anti-interference from other nearby devices. While this might be great for those special few who use Bluetooth ...more
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming almost synonymous these days, but there are still plenty of awesome deals that you can only get starting on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Amazon, for instance, will be hosting a week-long Cyber Monday sale, and of course, most big-bo ...more
When you're not using your phone, it doesn't make much sense that it would be wasting power by maintaining an internet connection for the inside of your pocket or purse. Well, perhaps you need a little bit of intermittent data here and there so that apps can update themselves ...more
Audibly, from iOS developer Nick Frey, allows you create playlists and sync your music across other iOS devices. Like the Samsung-exclusive Group Play or the older Seedio app, you can connect a slew of compatible devices to create a surround-sound stereo of sorts when playing ...more
Yesterday, the Free Software Foundation published an article written by Paul Kocialkowski. A software developer for the the Android fork system Replicant, Paul stated that his organization discovered, and later patched, a "backdoor" vulnerability that existed in older Samsung ...more
There are some calls you really don't want to miss. Whether it's "I'm going into labor" or "We have some questions about your résumé," not being able to answer or respond to certain messages can cause some serious problems. No matter what the case may be, missing a call or fo ...more
YouTube may have started out as a video-sharing site, but these days a lot of people use it as a source for music. When I'm browsing the internet on my desktop, I usually have a YouTube tab open in the background playing some music. Unfortunately this isn't something you can ...more
While still extremely awesome, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is limited as to what you can download on to it, especially apps. It also doesn't have its own internet access (only Bluetooth), so apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Vine have yet to make their way to the Gear ...more
If I were a math major, I'd probably be rolling in dough somewhere in Silicon Valley right now, but since multiplying numbers and figuring out tangents gives me panic attacks, I went the English route... pays much better. Still, I never would have graduated if I didn't pass a ...more
From a very early age we have an intrinsic obsession with things that float. Why do you think we love balloons and bubbles so much? So, it's no surprise that our smartphones are being invaded by floating features. Facebook popularized the idea of floating on-screen objects wi ...more
On the new Moto X smartphone, the only thing you have to do to activate the virtual assistant is say "Okay, Google Now." That's it. You don't have to press a button or tap on the display at all. It's always ready for your voice commands via its "Active Listening" feature, maki ...more
International, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers all share something in common—their carriers provide unlocked Wi-Fi tethering for free. Of course, you still pay for the data used, but they don't charge you extra simply for using your Samsung Galaxy S4 as a wireless hotspot. Ho ...more
We've all been there. Your phone's either dead or barely hanging on with a few minutes of life left, and you only have a small window of time to charge it before you need to head out. Sure, you can charge it for the few minutes you have, but what's the point if your device is ...more
Mobile gaming has exploded, with roughly $70 billion in revenue in 2019. This gave rise to the so-called gaming phone, headlined by names like Razer and ASUS. While the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are being marketed as everyman devices, make no mistake — these are unstoppa ...more
Christmas is just one week before Jan. 1. That means a lot of New Year's resolutions filled with promises to better ourselves with increased productivity, focus, and work ethics — but getting started can be challenging. Give the people in your life a leg up this holiday season ...more
The augmented reality industry has a bright future built on innovation and growth, but that doesn't mean we can't look back at the close of the year to see what the industry has accomplished from a business perspective. Magic Leap and Niantic, the industry's startup unicorns, ...more
Fan favorite Transformer Bumblebee returns to theaters on Friday in a spin-off of the film franchise, so Paramount Pictures is bringing the car-robot back into the homes of fans via augmented reality. On Thursday evening, Snapchat launched a Sponsored World Lens featuring Bum ...more
In case you hadn't heard, Google is now a legit cell service provider. Google Fi has its pluses and minuses, but the biggest upside is in the pricing. Depending on how much data you typically use, there's a good chance you could save a lot of money without sacrificing coverage ...more
Late last year, we got a little surprise from Razer. The gaming company released its first smartphone, and as expected, it targeted gamers. Branded as a gaming phone, it started a trend which several other companies followed soon after, including ASUS, Xiaomi, and even Samsung ...more
With Huawei's recent emergence as the second largest OEM in the world, the company was poised to finally make a big push into the US market. Instead, their efforts were derailed by an unlikely foe, the US government. As a result, American customers will miss out on the newly-r ...more
After the success of the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm now has its eyes set towards the future with the arrival of its next-generation SoC, the Snapdragon 845. Debuting alongside the Samsung Galaxy S9, the 845 is now set to take over the market for flagship Android phones in 2018. ...more
Augmented and virtual reality continues to be a hot commodity among tech investors, with more than $800 million invested in AR/VR companies in the second quarter alone and global tech leaders like Samsung focusing their investment strategies on the emerging field. The investm ...more
Your smartphone is the perfect place to watch Hulu on the go. Whether you're looking to catch up on your shows in a hotel, or your phone is the only screen available, mobile streaming can be a lifesaver. But what about when you have access to a TV? Wouldn't you rather watch yo ...more
Watching YouTube on your phone has never been a better experience than it is today — our smartphones have super-sharp displays that make watching the newest HD, QHD, and even 4K content look fantastic. But there are plenty of circumstances where we want to watch our content on ...more
I've been an iPhone user in the iOS ecosystem for years now after a brief stint in the Android realm. But, I'm also enthusiastic about varying forms of technology in general; I realize that iOS is far from perfect and that healthy market competition is beneficial for all. So, ...more
When it comes time to sell your smartphone or trade it in for your annual upgrade, you'll have to make sure that all of the sensitive data the device accumulated while you owned it is properly erased so that no one else can access it. This process is referred to as a "Factory ...more
Depending on your child's age, their first smartphone may be a little too open for them, or you, to handle. With essentially a world of information—both good and bad—available at their fingertips, it can seem like a huge hurdle to instill parental controls on their device. Th ...more
When the Galaxy S6 hype-train was building momentum ahead of the phone's release, many reports had Samsung cutting back on its much-maligned TouchWiz skin. In the end, these reports were either highly exaggerated or entirely fabricated, because while not as egregious as previo ...more
Your beloved Samsung Galaxy S3 is nearing the end of its life cycle. Sure, it can do most of what newer devices can, especially if you were lucky enough to receive the KitKat update, but your diminishing battery and scratched up screen have seen better days. When you upgrade ...more
Unless you like paying exorbitant prices for out-of-contract phones, most of us are stuck with the one we already have for two or more years. The tech industry moves fast, and as new phones are released seemingly every month, your Samsung Galaxy S4 might start looking older by ...more
To really customize your Samsung Galaxy S3, you'll need to be rooted, because most of the coolest mods and hacks require root access. If you haven't rooted yet, you're just barely touching the surface of what your GS3 can do for you. However, if you've never rooted before, it ...more
During a contest in 2010 regarding which country Justin Bieber should visit next on his tour, North Korea won by a landslide. Unfortunately, he never went, and that's partly because nobody in the internet-less dictatorship probably voted. Instead, the contest was rigged by 4ch ...more
Smartphones are great. They help you keep in touch with your loved ones and stay up to date on what's going on in the world. The problem is that like everything else that's useful, they cost money to use, and between calling, texting, and data plans, it can get really expensiv ...more
When the power goes out, having the ability to contact others becomes extremely important, and your cell phone can be one of the most important tools to have. But if the power is out for an extended period of time, battery life becomes a constant problem. Without the ability ...more
Tony Parisi, the global head of VR/AR at Unity Technologies, has been passionately working with virtual and immersive spaces for a long time. And while the internet world we live in now is very different than when Parisi was co-authoring VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language ...more
It's been a while when the major web browsers first introduced HTTP Strict Transport Security, which made it more difficult to carry Man In The Middle (MITM) attacks (except IE, as always, which will support HSTS since Windows 10, surprised?). SSLStrip and the HSTS Chronicles ...more
Those of you lucky enough to snag a PlayStation 5 can pair your DualSense controller to Sony's PS Remote Play mobile app to stream and play your PS5 games from anywhere you want. DualSense support for Remote Play has been available on iOS since May 2021, and it's just now arri ...more
Not all 5G is equal. Even if you dropped the cash on a true 5G phone and you see it's connected to 5G in the status bar, that doesn't mean you're surfing the web, streaming Spotify, and binging Netflix faster than your friends with LTE phones. The first thing you have to unde ...more
For those not used to it, working from home can be a difficult transition. Everything around you can be a distraction, and distance from your boss and coworkers means less pressure and incentive to get things done. So it's not surprising to see a major drop in productivity dur ...more
As long as you're on the internet, you can be hacked. With an estimated 2.65 billion social media users, these apps are prime targets for hackers. While companies like Facebook, Snap, and Twitter do a formidable job against the waves of attacks they receive daily, they are no ...more
This Black Friday, there are a lot of smartphone deals. Whether you're picking up a new phone or already have one, one of the first purchases you'll want to make is a protective case. And just like nearly every other item, there's plenty of money to be saved on some great phon ...more
What does mainstream augmented reality look like? I'm not talking about the stuff you see in concept videos and science fiction films. No. What does it really look like? If you ask anyone working within the AR space today, the future of AR is wherever the immediately realizab ...more
If you haven't heard, another big OEM has decided to drop the headphone jack. OnePlus, the hero of the people, has just announced that the OnePlus 6T will not have the popular port. With this decision, audiophiles and others are limited to just three big-name options. Since n ...more
The OnePlus 5 just made its official debut, so we now have all of the juicy details. From the announcement, this device definitely sounds like it's going to be another flagship killer, following in the footsteps of its predecessors. Right off the bat, the OnePlus 5 challenges ...more
While its direct-selling model echoes brands like Avon and Tupperware, Indonesia's MindStores gives the approach a modern twist—with augmented reality. Recognized as the first partnership store network to use augmented and virtual reality, MindStores equips its store owners w ...more
Long before Apple and Android became household names, Nokia dominated the mobile industry. The Finnish company was one of the first to develop smartphones, and their classic N95 with 2G "high-speed" internet connectivity was declared the "best smartphone ever" by some in 2007. ...more
Google is on a mission to bring a better messaging experience to Android users. We've seen them try and fail over the years with various messenger apps, but this time, they're taking a different approach by working with industry leaders to create a new messaging standard. The ...more
Are we about to witness the future of Android OS? Of Google? Of the entire smartphone ecosystem?! Google has just turned 18 today (right?), Android just had its 8th birthday, and the rumor mill is firing on all cylinders in the lead-up to the October 4 launch event where they ...more
Thanks to the Edge variants, Samsung's Galaxy S phones are just a few millimeters off in body size when compared to the Note series, and just 0.2 inches smaller when it comes to displays. Now that the two flagship models are almost identical in size—with matching curved displa ...more
Brand loyalty is one of the main factors behind our decision to choose a particular mobile device, but it doesn't have to be the entire equation. Educated consumers know that certain devices simply fit their budget and usage better than others, which means you can't always let ...more
Whether you're just getting your first Android, or are already on your fifth annual cycle of picking up the latest flagship, there is always the question of what to do after booting up your device for the first time. You can go the route of keeping your device the way the man ...more
So, you've finally scored the coveted upgrade to chocolaty KitKat deliciousness, or you've managed to get your hands on a Nexus 5, the freshest thing from LG and El Goog. Satisfied with your new lease on life, you direct your phone's web browser to catch up on your Amazon Inst ...more
With all of the new features and third-party apps out there making Android better and faster every day, it's quite frustrating to me that keyboard advancements remain relatively static. As someone who sends text message every day on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, I get overwhelmin ...more
Now that iOS 7 is out, what can you do that you couldn't do before? In this softModder guide, I'm going to cover all that's new and noteworthy about iOS 7. I've been playing around with it on my iPhone 5 since the first beta came out, so I'm excited to show you some of the se ...more
The integration of technology into automobiles is becoming more and more widespread each year. Tesla's Model S features a 17" display in the middle of the dash with navigation, music control, and even an Internet browser. Mercedes is working on incorporating Google Glass into ...more
UPDATE (February 26, 2014) Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1123 with a 295-114 vote decision. The ruling repeals the 2012 Library of Congress (LOC) decision that limited the ability to legally "unlock" your smartphone (see below). This decision reins ...more
Brands are increasingly adopting augmented reality to promote their products and services, and they have multiple paths for bringing AR experience to their audiences. To promote its stage production, the Harry Potter franchise turned to Facebook to pull together an AR experie ...more
A year and change into its shift towards enterprise customers, Magic Leap has updated Lumin OS and the corresponding Lumin SDK with some key prerequisites for the business sector. First and foremost, Magic Leap has added support for Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) in Lu ...more
You've just picked up your new Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra — but wait. After you turn it on and restore your data, there a few apps you should install to get the most out of your updated phone. Installing these eight apps right away will help maximize your experienc ...more
You've probably heard of RCS messaging. The new standard has been promoted by Google as their answer to iMessage and is the backbone behind the new "Chat" features in Android Messages. With RCS, Android phones will now enjoy enhanced messaging like iPhone users have had for ye ...more