A banner alert for notifications is like the Robin to our iPhone's Batman—they're taken for granted and don't really get the recognition they deserve. Yes, they can be disruptive at times, but just like Robin, they can be necessary for getting things done. I can't count the m ...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
The iOS 7 lock screen was made to be just that, a lock screen, so it's pretty limited in terms of functionality. We're able to add wallpapers and easily access the Control Center or Notification Center (unless we disable that access through our settings), but other than that, ...more
More and more, our phones are becoming an expression of us. Whether it's the device we choose, the case it dons, or the ringer it bellows, we like to personalize. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do beyond cases and ringers on your iPhone, unless you jailbreak. We've a ...more
Closing apps in iOS 6 was different that what is now in iOS 7. Shown in the video below is the old clumsy way of closing apps on the old iPads. Video: . Closing the apps prevents from taking up precious memory, resources and battery charge. Simply quit of the screen with the c ...more
When iOS 7 was released, there were actually news reports of people getting disoriented and sick due to the motion of the parallax effect, along with the speedy animations when opening and closing apps and folders. Reducing motion in your Accessibility settings can help calm ...more
Winterboard for iOS 7 allowed us to use some pretty great-looking themes. Circulus and Space BlueBerry are both great, but a little too "fun" for me. If you want something serious, yet appealing to the eye, then M'flat is for you. Unlike other themes, this one is not yet avai ...more
Starbucks' app is the most used mobile payment app in the U.S. because it's well-designed and convenient. But if you use the iOS version on your iPhone, your username, email address, password and location data could be compromised because the app stores them in plain text. UP ...more
Waking up to my Night Owl iOS alarm has grown beyond old. I'd switch it up to one of the other ones, but I pretty much hate all of them. Thankfully, Pandora added an alarm clock feature to their application. Godspeed Pandora, Godspeed. Video: . Now I can wake up to a fresh new ...more
Have you ever looked at your iPhone dock and wished you could place an extra, essential, or highly utilized app on there? Currently, with the basic settings you can only place four, but there's always that one that you wish could add to the mix. Video: . I showed you how to ma ...more
Here we go again, softModders, it's time for another awesome tweak for your iPod, iPhone, or iPod running iOS 7. Have you ever felt like changing your lock screen with a custom text instead of it saying "slide to unlock"? Why shouldn't we be able to edit this? We're not given ...more
If you're lucky enough to have an iOS developer account, then you had a brief glimpse of some of the darker options with the 7.1 update, including a darker keyboard. This was exclusive to developers who installed the first iOS 7.1 beta, but is no longer available, unfortunatel ...more
Most people don't ask for gift cards, but they're always a popular gift choice for notoriously hard-to-shop-for people—or the time-constrained gift-giver. While most gift cards are attached to certain stores, many folks will get a prepaid Visa or MasterCard card that allows th ...more
While the Play Store has a plethora of apps available for finding lost Android phones, Google came out with its own web-based application, Google Device Manager, earlier this year to help you keep track of all your Android devices and remote lock, erase, ring, and track if nee ...more
As an avid music fan, Spotify and Pandora only partially satisfy my needs on a day-to-day basis. When there's a certain obscure or underground band that I want to listen to, I'm relegated to using YouTube as my main music player source. While YouTube has an extraordinary coll ...more
Not every country gets the same TV shows and movies on Netflix, and there are definitely differences between the American version of Netflix and other regions, such as Canada (where I live). So, it's not surprise that people are looking to "unlock" that content. With the popu ...more
Panoramic live wallpapers for the iPhone? If the first beta version of iOS 7 is indicative of the imminent public release of Apple's revamped mobile operating system, the answer is a resounding yes. UPDATE: The final build of iOS 7 does not have this feature anymore. Hopefull ...more
Sharing just got a whole lot easier in the new iOS 7. Apple has decided to integrate AirDrop, the local vicinity file-sharing service found in Mac OS X, into the latest version of iOS. With AirDrop, you can share pictures, contacts, notes, and more between two iPhones without ...more
The iPhone has come a long way in its ten-year lifespan, but one thing still missing from the core user experience is native split-screen support. Sure, the displays on iPhones aren't nearly as large as an iPad's screen — which does offer "Split View" mode out of the box — but ...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
There is no such thing as too much space when it comes to our smartphones. Space is the great equalizer of all things. No matter how many awesome features a device has, the amount of storage space available will always be a determining factor. Be it music, apps or photos, it's ...more
My obsession with Siri is well documented, and after I jailbroke my iPhone 4 recently, I thought I would finally be able to rekindle our imaginary love. But, when I downloaded the Siri Port, I found that the app was buggy and super slow. You lucky iPhone 4S and 5 users have S ...more
A couple of months ago we showed you Foldify, an iOS app that allows you to create your own custom, foldable, 3D papercraft files. Your designs could then be sent to your printer, cut out, and assembled. Video: . Now, 57Digital Ltd has followed the same concept with their new ...more
Yesterday, the much anticipated iOS 6.1 jailbreak was released. With the wide array of Cydia apps that are newly available to jailbroken iPhones came an unpleasant surprise—evasi0n causes the built-in iOS Weather app to crash over and over. There will more than likely be a fi ...more
Being lost sucks. There really is nothing worse than going to a huge event with a bunch of friends or family and then getting separated. Instead of partying with the bros, you get stuck next to this lame couple who keeps seriously making out every ten seconds. SMH. So, in ord ...more
As someone who writes an extreme amount, it's a necessity for me to have an organized and multifunctional text editor. The stock iPhone Notes application is useful to an extent, but it sorely lacks in features and design. Writing and text editing applications are nothing new t ...more
The biggest problem with having a lot of gaming systems lying around the house is the clutter. Each device has several cables and adapters that need to be plugged in somewhere and it could leave your gaming area look something like this... Not a pretty sight, huh? Well, thank ...more
The new Jelly Bean 4.2 is a great improvement over previous Android versions for the most part, except one thing—the lockscreen. Users have voiced their complaints in regards to Android 4.2's new lockscreen features, and it's not pretty. Here are just a few of the issues curr ...more
As a technology writer, phone screenshots can pile up on your computer in no time. Testing out different apps, showing buggy software, and doing step-by-steps can lead to a plethora of mobile screenshots piling up on your computer's desktop. The problem with my screenshots is ...more
You can make a dock for an Apple device out of almost anything, even the box it comes in. People have been turning Apple's product packaging into DIY docks for a few years now, including the iPod nano, iPod touch, and iPhone 4. So, it's no surprise that the newly released iPad ...more
There's nothing worst than throwing a party without any music. That's like having watching the Super Bowl without any chips or beers...lame. While having a huge stereo system or set of portable speakers is a plausible solution, sometimes you find yourself without either of th ...more
Jamming out to the newest beats can be a problem if your speakers don't work. I've been having some issues with my iPhone speakers and was looking for some quick fixes when I stumbled upon this quick fix from Saw Tun that uses just a cotton swab. Video: . Now, this fix will no ...more
As far as logos go, few are as iconic and instantly recognizable as Apple's old-school rainbow emblem. No matter how sleek their products get, people are still nostalgic for the old, colorful logo, and this mod from Adafruit basically proves it. If you have some pretty decent ...more
Wet-plate collodion photography is a process that lets you develop a photo onto a piece of glass. It has some neat applications, but it's not a simple process, and most people use a special camera to do it because the silver nitrate used to process usually ends up leaking, whi ...more
Apple's new iPhone 5 has enjoyed three weeks out in the public since its September 21st release. Millions of consumers have been shelling out big bucks and waiting in long lines just to get their hands on it. But sometimes users forget to actually keep their hands on their new ...more
Yesterday, Bryan Clark pointed out a new option on Verizon's privacy settings that gives new customers 30 days to opt out of a data sharing program that gives advertisers information on basically everything you're doing on your new iPhone (or any other smartphone). The progra ...more
If you bought the new iPhone 5 or upgraded your old one to iOS 6, you may be having issues when you try to upload photos to Facebook. After updating, the first time you try to share an image from the Facebook app, it will ask you to allow access to your Camera Roll. If you're ...more
Coca-Cola has unleashed a brilliant marketing campaign to celebrate the one year anniversary of their online Coca-Cola.FM radio in South America. In the latest issue of the popular Brazilian magazine, Capricho, the Coca-Cola advertisement literally turns the magazine into an i ...more
Over 2 million people are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new iPhone 5, which has caused a few shipping problems, to say the least. There has been a considerable amount of confusion about when, exactly, the iPhone is going to ship, depending on where it was bought and ...more
Even though iOS 6 has only been out for a day, the folks over at iPhone Dev-Team have already released a Redsn0w jailbreak that works on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch (fourth generation). As of right now, there's only a tethered jailbreak available, which means that ...more
To say that I am disappointed with the new Maps application in iOS 6 is an understatement. And it seems like the rest of the world is with me, so I needed to find a solution—and quick. Installing the Google Maps web application is a nice quick-fix, but those looking for a beef ...more
Whether you want to use it to keep your guests safe or just to see who's the most drunk, it's always fun to have your own breathalyzer at a party. We've seen DIY breathalyzers before, like this one by Craig Smith, but how about an Arduino breathalyzer? Engineering student Dan ...more
Tired of the Instagram wave? If you're sick of having to view the world through low-contrast and sepia-toned filters, there's a way to get them back to how they're supposed to look, and it's called Normalize, which undoes the magic filtering that Instagram and similar photo fi ...more
If you're a steampunk enthusiast looking to give your bathroom an extra kick, this just might be the project for you. This stylish and functional "vintage" toothbrush timer knows when you've grabbed your toothbrush, and will visually count down two minutes before alerting you ...more
If you've ever found yourself wandering about a room, holding your phone up to the sky searching for a signal, this is just the trick for you. Edward from Redmond Pie found a great way to configure the readout with just a simple phone call, making your iPhone display its exact ...more
Apple Maps keeps getting better and better for all the hikers in the world. The latest update gives you access to thousands of detailed trail maps within U.S. national parks and topographic views, but it also lets you create your own walking and hiking routes. You can create ...more
It's no secret that Apple's Notes app supports attachments such as photos, videos, and web links, as well as other file types like PDFs, word documents, spreadsheets, locations on a map, and audio tracks. While images, videos, and document scans are simple to add on an iPhone ...more
The updated Messages app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac has some really cool new features, but the one you may end up using the most is something you're already familiar with: Tapbacks. With iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15, Tapbacks are improved and contain even more reacti ...more
Some websites require you to perform a verification task so they know you're human and not a bot. It helps websites curb spam, abuse, unauthorized access, and cyberattacks but also adds an obstacle for anyone trying to visit their content. If you find it more of a nuisance tha ...more
The Reminders app is a simple yet powerful task manager, and it does a great job of reminding you to start an errand, alerting you to a project that's supposed to be done, or prompting you about a recurring chore. But with the latest Reminders update, the dates and times you s ...more
The cinematic photos feature in Google Photos can create impressive three-dimensional views of normally flat images, turning ordinary pictures into life-like representations of the moment captured. Google Photos would automatically pick images from your library to apply the ef ...more
Handwritten notes are no doubt useful at home, work, and school, but digitizing them with your smartphone will make them easier to edit, organize, and review. You'll also always have a digital copy ready if your handwritten notes get lost or erased. And Google Keep for Android ...more
Emoji characters make messaging more fun, and Google has continuously added convenient and fun ways to insert playful symbols into your conversations using Gboard. After getting Emoji Kitchen in early 2020, we now have Emojify, a tool that automatically adds emoji to your mess ...more
If you use Goals in Google Calendar, you've probably already received the notification that Google, in typical executioner fashion, has marked the feature for death. As of November 2022, you can't create new goals, and your current goals won't repeat anymore. Google suggests s ...more
TikTok is all the rage right now, and its green screen effect is one of the more popular augmented reality tricks creators use to boost their viewership numbers. Now Snapchat has leveled the playing field by making it easier to access its own green screen effect. Green or blu ...more
YouTube Music just refreshed the user interface for playlists, seemingly taking away the ability to shuffle the songs in your playlists. While the update has been rolling out for months, you might just be getting the updated look on your smartphone, and there's no giant "Shuff ...more
It's no secret that Apple's iOS 16 update is packed with useful features, but some of them Apple never even mentioned. Not at the software's unveiling in June and not even after iOS 16's public release in September. It's actually surprising considering that one little-known ne ...more
Google Voice has a hidden feature that lets you record any phone call you're participating in, and unlike other apps, it doesn't cost a dime. When it comes to recording phone conversations, you may think the worst and associate it with something shady like obsessive exes and ...more
While you can quickly see the edit history of a modified iMessage in the Messages app, there's no way to view an iMessage that somebody in the conversation deleted unless you happened to see it before it disappeared. But that's only true if you didn't implement these security ...more
It's easy to start panicking when you delete an important email, but it's even easier to undo the mistake on your iPhone or iPad. You can retrieve an accidentally deleted email instantly on iOS and iPadOS with the help of a hidden gesture, and you'll be much more efficient wit ...more