Keeping expensive mobile devices safe and secure is a priority for most of us, but the process of repeatedly unlocking a phone or tablet can seem like a pointless task. This leads to disabling the lock screen altogether, especially when in a safe place (e.g., home, office, car ...more
So, someone on your shopping list has an iPhone. Lucky for you, Apple's line of smartphones are practically made for accessories. From AirPods to adapters, there's something for every iPhone user in your life. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the options? You've come to the righ ...more
Chances are that you're living in a city and/or state that's banned using your phone while driving, and because of that, many manufactures have added a "car mode" to their devices. In most instances, this mode is simply an app that simplifies your phone to its basic parts so y ...more
If you or someone you're shopping for has a newer iPhone model or an Android smartphone like the Galaxy Note 9 or Pixel 3, they come with wireless charging capabilities. Problem is, they don't come with wireless chargers. But there's no better time to snag one than on Black Fr ...more
While iOS 11.3 doesn't have as many new features as iOS 11.2, there's still a lot to love about Apple's latest update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, even if some of the best features we were expecting didn't make the cut. Apple released the iOS 11.3 beta on Jan. 24, and ju ...more
Microsoft recently released "Seeing AI," an app aimed to help the blind understand their surroundings. As Microsoft puts it, "the app narrates the world around you by turning the visual world into an audible experience." We asked Matthew Chao, the brother of one of our founde ...more
Attention iOS 11 Developer Beta users — Dev Beta 2 is now ready for a software update. If you're running the beta already, you're going to want to download this one because it combines two excellent features: much, much needed bug fixes, as well as Do Not Disturb While Driving ...more
It's one hell of a device, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 is still susceptible to the many hazards that other smartphones are prone to: theft, cracked screens, poor battery life, and particularly, overheating. If your Galaxy S5 is burning a hole in your pocket—and it's not from yo ...more
This week, California, like a growing portion of America is now 'handsfree'. As of July 1st, mobile phone use in cars became prohibited without the use of a headset. If you happen to choose a wireless Bluetooth over a wired option...beware. It is not a secure technology. At a ...more
When compared to last year's model, the Pixel 4a has upgrades that go beyond the spec sheet. But since it's one generation old, 2019's Pixel 3a can be had for one hell of a discount right now, and it's still got two full years of software updates coming its way. So which one r ...more
While Snapchat is no stranger to location-based AR scavenger hunts, the app's new world-facing game adds some environmental understanding to the mix. This week, Snapchat launched a new Snappables game dubbed Scavenger Hunt. However, while most Snappables games use the front-f ...more
For many of us, our work phone and our personal phone are one and the same. Just any old phone isn't going to cut it when you need to meet a deadline — a phone with built-in features that make it easier to get things done is almost a must. For this article, we defined product ...more
Auto manufacturers are slowly starting to debut models with Google's new Android Auto software baked into the dashboard console. Starting with the 2016 model year, we should see vehicles from Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, and many others sporting the new software. Now, many manufac ...more
Keeping up with current events is a good step towards becoming a well-informed person, but sometimes it's a chore. In-between work, school, commuting, social lives, and hobbies, it can be extremely hard to find time to pick up a newspaper or browse CNN to find out what's going ...more
Integrated rather secretively into iOS 7.1, CarPlay gives a better hands-on experience when driving, working with the car's built-in display to help you find directions, send and receive calls and text messages, control music, and more—without having to fumble around with your ...more
Not particularly good looking, TouchWiz's lock screen adequately supplements the clunky and almost cartoonish-look of the infamous user interface on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. While there are hundreds of lock screen options in the Google Play Store, I've never quite discovered ...more
Waze is the go-to navigation app for millions of drivers, and it's easy to see why. Benefits such crowd-sourced traffic data, police trap locations, and road work avoidance are just the tip of the iceberg. It can almost be overwhelming, but with these simple tips, you'll maste ...more
A picture is worth a thousand words, and depending on what you're taking a picture of, it could be worth a lot more. Our phone's camera can easily capture high quality photos, scan barcodes, and make us Instagram famous. You can compare prices of items and download application ...more
The new iOS 14 for iPhone arrived Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2020, alongside iPadOS 14, and there are a lot of features to uncover. Improved widgets. Better home screen customization. Exciting Messages improvements. New abilities in Camera and Photos. There's so much here that it'll ...more
In an effort to prevent drones from being hacked, DARPA has been developing an "unhackable system," and seems to think they're almost there. The development team "proved" mathematically that their kernel was unhackable, and they hope to use it for more than just drones (power ...more
We've all been there. Stranded in a large lot or parking garage, braving the rows upon rows of identical cars in an endless concrete landscape because, for the very life of us, we can't remember where we stashed the very ride that brought us there. Smartphones do almost every ...more
Automating tasks on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is nothing new. Everything from adjusting screen brightness, to turning on the flashlight, to saving Snapchat pictures can be done automatically with the help of a few function-specific apps. The only problem with task-specific ap ...more
Do you have a junk drawer full of expired gift cards, membership cards, school ID cards, debit and credit cards, and other sturdy rectangular pieces of plastic you no longer use? Rather than tossing or shredding them, you can use them to scrape ice off your car windshield, or ...more
There are plenty of ways to make a camera mount for your car, but what if you don't have a car? If you use a bicycle or motorcycle to get around, you can still take smooth videos with this awesome DIY mount for your iPhone (or any other smartphone) by antoinebugleboy. All you ...more
If rubbing alcohol is commonly used to treat minor scrapes and disinfect surgical instruments in hospitals, then you might as well use its medicinal qualities to also disinfect your cell phone and mix with aloe vera gel to make your very own DIY hand sanitizer. Other surprisi ...more
Here's a DIY dream. Solar-power, recycled bottles, snap'n'go toy car! Simple. How easy to transform trash into toys. Plastic bottles take 700 years to decompose in a landfill. And annually, America uses over 150 billion plastic water bottles. The inventor of this solar powe ...more
We are now in the age of 5G. Carriers worldwide are upgrading their networks to the newest standard for mobile, which will dramatically improve your phone experience. How? By giving it download speeds and latency that surpass Wi-Fi. But before you upgrade, there are few things ...more
When Google first launched the Pixel 4, it was and still is the only phone in existence that uses a radar system for motion gestures. Yes, that radar — the same kind of motion-sensing technology used in the military for years — is available on our phones. The Pixel 4 did come ...more
Smartphones are vital travel companions. While you're on the go, they connect you with loved ones back home, help you find tickets and passes for tourist attractions, and make it easy to find your way through foreign roads — but even the most powerful smartphone could use help ...more
Samsung Health has become one of the most comprehensive wellness apps thanks to features that cover everything from step counting to nutrition logging and symptom diagnosis. But because the app has so much to offer, it can be easy to overlook some smaller, but useful features. ...more
With the release of the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X, smartphones have hit a new high not just in price, but also raw processing power. These new flagships not only cost more than twice as much as an Xbox One or PlayStation 4, they have also become almost as powerful as far as ...more
One thing you have to love about Google is their sense of humor. From their annual April Fool's Day pranks to the hidden Flappy Bird mini-game in Android to tons of hidden commands in Hangouts, you can just tell that those smart guys in Mountain View still like to have a littl ...more
Not all smartphone chargers put out the same amount of current. The adapter in your car probably charges your phone a lot slower than the one plugged in at your bedside, and if you use wireless charging, it may be a bit slower still. Even considering the variance in listed am ...more
A musical hiccup during a DJ's set can completely ruin the mood, and that same feeling can definitely translate to mobile listening as well. I usually have my phone hooked up to my car stereo's auxiliary port, and it pains me every time a song is interrupted by a new text or ...more
Your constitutional right to privacy cannot be violated by police, so ruled the United States Supreme Court in a unanimous decision on two cases from California and Massachusetts—a major ruling for privacy advocates worldwide. "We cannot deny that our decision today will have ...more
Fast moving cars, strangers in the background, and even birds flying by can all ruin a great shot. Thankfully, TouchWiz provides the tools to remove unwanted objects, right in the stock camera application. With Eraser mode, you can fire off a quick succession of shots, then r ...more
So this is what I did for the dashbount phone holder. I used a cologne box. A lot of them come with another box inside thats much more sturdier than the one on the ouside. I didnt take pictures from the beginning so bear with me. Heres what the finished box looks like: Just ...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
Pokémon GO, the global augmented reality game that's brought fans out of their homes to catch Pokémon across the planet, has brought about plenty of real-world positives. Unfortunately, when players get power hungry and start taking game hacks too far, we all get a little scre ...more
Welcome back, my novice hackers! Episode 6 of Mr. Robot has come and gone and, as usual, it did not disappoint. Once again, our hero, Elliot, has used his extraordinary intellect and hacking skills to awe and inspire us. In this episode, Elliot is being blackmailed by the ru ...more
Locking your keys inside of your car is frustrating, to say the least, especially if you're in a hurry to get somewhere. You can always call AAA roadside assistance or a locksmith, but you'll probably have to fork over some money, as well as wait for them to get to you. You mi ...more
Living in Los Angeles has taught me one thing—parking is a luxury. If you are lucky enough to find street parking anywhere near your desired location, do not pass it up thinking you will get an even closer one. It does not exist. Looking for free parking? Get real. You can't e ...more
I don't know how many of you had this experience in your youth, but when I was a kid, I used to actively think about what would happen if I suddenly woke up in a fantasy land, or were to pass through a portal into another space and time. I knew it wouldn't really happen, but w ...more
Amber, emergency, and public safety alerts on an iPhone are loud — startle-you-to-death loud even. They can happen at any time, day or night, and sometimes back to back when you're in a big city. Those blaring sirens can wake you from sleep, interrupt an important meeting, or ...more
Whether you're in high school or college, you no doubt will have your iPhone in your pocket all day long. To make your iPhone last the whole time and even help you out with your studies, these are the accessories you'll want to get your hands on. You might not think you need ...more
If you need to hack an Android device, try a remote administration tool. Known more familiarly as a RAT, there are open-source RATs that are barebones and exorbitantly priced RATs that are more polished. There are also low-cost and polished RATs that aren't intended to be RATs ...more
Drivers the world over are painfully aware of the inherent danger of taking their eyes off the road even for a second. In fact, according to the National Safety Council, 27% of all car crashes result from distracted driving due to attempted cell phone use. Fortunately, Waze co ...more
Cruise Automation, the driverless car startup General Motors (GM) bought for $1 billion in 2016, is readying a formidable fleet of robo-taxis for rollout in cities throughout the US. But when it comes to details about how the company plans to realize these lofty goals, it's be ...more
Nvidia's decades-long development of graphics processor units (GPU) for PCs has given it a major leg up in the driverless space. Lead by charismatic founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Nvidia has recently extended its engineering knowhow to add neural networks for machine to its GP ...more
Cycling accidents are more common than you think. In the past month, two men have been hit and killed while cycling in New York City. I even saw a cycling accident occur yesterday morning here in NYC. It's dangerous enough to be cycling in populated areas, it's made worse by p ...more
We all know we shouldn't be using our smartphones while driving. But we also know many people do it anyway. Soon, however, the addicts among us may not have a choice but to kick their habit. A new app announced today by Samsung will block all calls and texts while you drive, s ...more
When you're on the road, the last thing you need to be doing is fumbling around with your phone. But with online radio services like Spotify and Google Play Music, you almost have to use your phone to play music through your stereo, because the in-dash head units on most cars ...more
Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek conducted an experiment earlier this month that ended up with a Jeep in a ditch, although the driver didn't drive it there. The two remotely hijacked the car, controlling it through a laptop and a cell phone. FCA says vehicles from the 2013 and ...more
When it comes to squeezing as much battery life as possible out of our smartphones, most people aim for software solutions, or ones that can otherwise be easily managed right from the touchscreen. Managing Wi-Fi and data connections, fine-tuning screen brightness, and install ...more
Smartphones and TVs aside, most of the electronics industry is focused on making everything smaller. From cars to cameras to computers to memory, we want power and convenience to go hand-in-hand. Professor John Rogers at the University of Illinois is ready for the next wave of ...more
Apple has released the third beta of its iOS 7.1 software to developers, just a few weeks after their second beta introduced us to button shapes, a new calendar list view toggle, a hidden Car Display control and several other tweaks and performance improvements. Update: iOS 7 ...more
Next time you go to the beach, stash a bottle of baby powder in your beach tote—even if you're not planning on changing any diapers. Before you head back home, dust your hands and feet with baby powder to remove sand particles quickly and easily, so you don't track any into yo ...more
A spare key is one of those things that never seems like a huge deal until you need it. If you've ever lost your keys, had them stolen, or locked yourself out of your house or car, you know how difficult and embarrassing it can be trying to get your door open. So, how would y ...more
If you're constantly going from dark to brightly lit areas, you've probably noticed that the stock auto brightness feature on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 doesn't work that well. Either the screen is really dim and unreadable, or it's just way too damn bright. Sure, you can disa ...more
A few months ago I was driving around trying to find a store using Apple Maps (a terrible situation in and of itself), when my iPhone decided to shut off in the middle of giving me directions. I had no idea what happened, and when I looked at the screen, I saw this: My phone h ...more