When it comes to getting your computer and smartphone to work well together, there's no service more robust and capable than AirDroid. For years, it's been the go-to tool for users looking to transfer files between their devices or access contact lists and call logs from their ...more
Why are there no official Star Wars emoji in the Unicode Standard? We've got the "Vulcan Salute" from Star Trek, so where's the force choke hand gesture?! While you may never see Star Wars officially invade your emoji keyboard, there are ways to send Star Wars emoji and sticke ...more
Your Nexus 7 may be a tablet, but it can also be used as a phone, thanks to the continued upswing of VoIP applications, which send voice and media messages over the Internet—not over a cellular network. There are many VoIP apps on Google Play that let you make free phone call ...more
If you use the Google Assistant on your Android device, you can easily send a text message to any one of your contacts. But even though that same Assistant is powering the Google Home, you can't use the smart speaker to accomplish the same task — at least, not without some tin ...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
A highly useful, yet unrecognized and under-appreciated feature in Apple's iOS 8 is the ability to seamlessly convert incoming texts regarding future dates into calendar events. Messages like "Let's chill tomorrow" can be tapped on and quickly added to the calendar. It's conve ...more
While text messaging has become one of the most frequent ways we communicate with our friends, the missing body language, tone of voice, and eye contact can make it difficult to tell when someone is being dishonest. That said, it's not impossible. There are a number of subtle ...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
Texting something as simple as "What up, bruh?" can be transformed into something way more baller by adding emojis, emoticons, GIFs, and textspeak. Some people would even argue that texting is a form of art, similar to Shakespearean sonnets, but it still has a ways to go if yo ...more
It's time to enjoy one of America's longest lasting favorite pastimes. No, not baseball—pranking our friends! With the internet currently overrun with countless pictures and memes of cats, there's no way for your feline-hating friends to surf the web without coming across a ki ...more
Developing an imperceptible lie is difficult, especially when you're lying right to someone's face. Thanks to smartphones, getting people to trust you is now easier than ever. You can craft a lie in seconds and hit send, all without ever seeing their untrusting faces. Yet say ...more
Students have been passing notes in class for decades, so what's the big deal about sending a quick text message? Everybody does it, even your teacher was surely guilty of covertly communicating with his or her peers back when they were in high school. Don't Miss: How to Bypa ...more
UPDATE: The mod discussed below is no longer available for download. We are looking for an alternative and will update this page when we find one. Children grow up way too fast these days, and handing them a mini-computer in the form of a smartphone only contributes to that. ...more
NSA aside, Apple makes it difficult for users to extract and download text messages from their iPhones onto a computer. For whatever reason (legal, devious, neurotic, etc), we've all found a time where we'd like to save backups of certain meaningful, important, or perhaps incr ...more
This clip will introduce you to an app that will allow you to send free SMS and MMS messages to your friends' cell phones. Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4G or perhaps just considering picking one up second hand, you're sure to benefit from this free video t ...more
Whether or not you believe that the government is snooping around in our private emails, texts, and phone calls, it wouldn't hurt to protect ourselves a little better in the digital realm. If you're worried about them (or whoever) eavesdropping on your digital messages, takin ...more
You may be familiar with image-based or audio-based steganography, the art of hiding messages or code inside of pictures, but that's not the only way to conceal secret communications. With zero-width characters, we can use text-based steganography to stash hidden information i ...more
In the "Do Not Disturb" menu in your iPhone's settings, you can choose to allow phone calls from everyone, your favorites, or specific groups. However, this does not apply to text messages, only phone calls, so there's no way to get vibration or sound alert for messages from s ...more
Highlight text, tap "Copy," open the app to paste the text into, long-press or double-tap where you want it, and hit "Paste." That's probably what you do when you need to copy text from one location to paste into another on your iPhone. It's a tried-and-true method, but there' ...more
We've all been there. Your phone is on your nightstand, but you're on the couch in the living room browsing the web on your Nexus 7. Then you hear it—a faint sound for a new text message notification from the bedroom. Ugh. Don't you wish you didn't have to get off the couch. ...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
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
Unless you're a WhatsApp pro user, you may be surprised to know that there are text formatting options that you can apply to your messages. Markdown characters can help you emphasize certain words or phrases by making them italicized or bold, and it'll even let you cross out w ...more
If you're a fan of sending audio messages on your iPhone, you might be disappointed when tapping the microphone button in the Messages app on an Apple Watch. You'll see it when crafting a message, but it won't send any audio because it's for Dictation, which turns your speech ...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
In this video Darci Lorocque from Swirl Solutions gives a very handy and useful tip for Blackberry users. She says that you don't have to type apostrophes while you are sending text messages or emails or using Blackberry messenger. The apostrophe is automatically typed by the ...more
Android's answer to the BlackBerry is here, and it's called the DROID Pro. Verizon Wireless officially starts selling the Motorola DROID Pro in stores today, November 18th, and you can get your DROID Pro online, too. Verizon states the full retail price at $479.99 with a fina ...more
Learn how to practice proper etiquette on a BlackBerry, smartphone or PDA. Make sure your love for your BlackBerry or other PDA device isn't making you obnoxious. You Will Need * Consideration * Common sense * Consideration * Common sense Step 1. Don’t walk and text Don’t ...more
Always falling asleep behind the wheel? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are over 56,000 sleep-related accidents each year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths annually in the United States. Don't want to be a statistic? ...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
One of the coolest features on a Blackberry is BBM or Blackberry Messenger. BBM allows you to talk to anyone with a Blackberry, anywhere in the world, absolutely free! You can send messages back and forth and you phone will even keep a record of the conversation in case you ne ...more
It took many months of cries from all around the internet—and a particularly large groan from an ex-Lifehacker editor-in-chief—but Apple has not only acknowledged the existence of its iMessage problem, it's promising a fix. Update: Apple has finally fixed the issue by creatin ...more
In the recent hit movie Furious 7, the storyline revolves around the acquisition of a hacking system known as "God's Eye" that is capable of finding and tracking anyone in real time. Both the U.S. spy agencies and an adversarial spy agency (it's not clear who the adversary is, ...more
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! As all you know by now, I'm loving this new show, Mr. Robot. Among the many things going for this innovative and captivating program is the realism of the hacking. I am using this series titled "The Hacks of Mr. Robot" to demonstrate the ha ...more
Rooting. As an Android user, I'm sure you've heard the word once or twice. According to Kaspersky, 7.6% of all Android users root — but for the 92.4% who don't, we wanted to talk to you. Rooting allows you to remove barriers and open Android to a level of unprecedented contro ...more
There's nothing worse than losing your phone—except losing your phone when the ringer is silent. If you're alone, it can be excruciatingly hard to find your lost device even if the ringer is on, considering most of us don't have landlines anymore. So, the next time you find yo ...more
So, you've finally converted from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone. Great. Only now you're overwhelmed with the unfamiliar look and feel of the Android operating system. Switching from Apple to Android can be a tough transition, but you'll eventually get used to it ...more
Now that smartphones have ensured that we're connected to the internet 24/7, online privacy has become more important than ever. With data-mining apps hoping to sell your information for targeted ads, and government agencies only one subpoena away from knowing every detail of ...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
Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians acro ...more
Want to stick it to your mobile carrier by porting your cell number to Google Voice? Now you can! On Wednesday, January 19th, Google Voice began allowing select users to transfer their personal numbers to Google Voice for a one-time fee of $20. Though the feature is still in ...more
Sending and receiving email on the go is made easy with the Apple's "Mail" app on the iPhone. However, up until the release of iOS 5, plain text was the only option for sending emails (even though well-formatted messages could still be received). The information below, coupled ...more
Learn how to create and send PIN messages on your BlackBerry. This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're the proud owner of a BlackBerry smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For detailed information, ...more
If you're an owner of a BlackBerry smartphone, chances are you're going to want to use BBM, which for all of you newbie BlackBerry owners, stands for BlackBerry Messenger. BBM is an instant messaging application developed solely for BlackBerry device owners. Video: Add contact ...more
Swype is a brand new way to send text messages and e-mails from your cell phone. In this clip, learn how to use this new tool to send the world's fastest messages. With Swype, your fingers will never leave the keypad so you can type in half the time. Check out this tutorial fo ...more
The DROID 2 from Motorola came out last August, but it's just now exploding— literally. The 33 News reported yesterday that a Motorola DROID 2 smartphone exploded in the hands of Aron Embry from Cedar Hills, Texas. He was making a phone call outside his home when he heard a PO ...more
TextNow is a great App for the iPhone that allows you to, for a $1 initial fee, send unlimited text messages to any other TextNow user without using any of the precious limited texts on your AT&T plan. The App is very easy to use, requires only a modest amount of additional mo ...more
When using Swype to send faster than life text messages on your mobile phone, you may need to capitalize something once in a while. Luckily, it is just as quick to add proper caps to your messages as it is to type out a super speedy text. To capitalize a letter, start on the ...more
Swype is lightening fast, so don't let a little thing like an apostrophe slow you down! In this clip, learn how to add an apostrophe as quickly as you would add a letter and never slow down your texting speed. Send text messages with ease with the new Swype app for your smart ...more
As good as Swype's word prediction software is, sometimes we all make mistakes. If you are wondering how to go back and fix something that isn't right in your text messages, check out this tutorial. Fixing words with Swype is just as fast as texting with this lightening fast a ...more
We all have our reasons for erasing personal data from a phone. Whether you just ended a bad relationship whose face you never want to see again (lots of text messages) or just want to restore your privacy on the cell phone, erasing may be your only option. But make sure you' ...more
Brian explains us how to use Twitter, one of the best social media networks out there. One thing to notice is that Twitter allows you to send text messages up to 140 characters. In the right corner you can see you account name and your avatar which can be changed from the sett ...more
Citizen Engineer is an online video series about open source hardware, electronics, art and hacking by Limor (`Ladyada') Fried of Adafruit Industries & Phillip (`pt') Torrone of MAKE magazine. In part one of this episode dedicated to phone hacks, you'll learn how a how to bui ...more
Text bombing isn't a very nice thing to do, and sucks for whoever you're doing it to, but it's certainly fun for you! Annoy the hell out of a frenemy, or simply pass the time in your boring Biology class with affably evil fun, by spaming your friend's text inbox with loads of ...more
Right out of the box, iPhone is incredibly easy to use. If you want to get the most out of every feature, you’ve come to the right place. This video tutorial straight from Apple will teach you how to send SMS and MMS messages on the Apple iPhone 3G. The iPhone redefines what a ...more
Darci Larocque, Blackberry Expert, explains a quick way to hide sent messages from your inbox folder with a few simple clicks, leaving clutter and needless distractions behind. This easy-to-understand tutorial is fully complete from start to save with visible screen shots and ...more
If you loved The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, then listen up— there's been a new discovery found hidden within Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting— the Mona Lisa. An Italian researcher named Silvano Vinceti sparked a new controversy over the world's most famous painting w ...more
Swyping is not just for letters anymore! In this tutorial, learn how to text numbers with super fast speed using your Swype app. Swype is a cool new way to send messages on your phone without ever taking your finger away from the screen. Check out this clip and Swype numbers, ...more
Right out of the box, iPhone is incredibly easy to use. If you want to get the most out of every feature, you’ve come to the right place. This video tutorial straight from Apple will teach you how to shoot and share video on the Apple iPhone 3G. The iPhone redefines what a mob ...more
Right out of the box, iPhone is incredibly easy to use. If you want to get the most out of every feature, you’ve come to the right place. This video tutorial straight from Apple will teach you how to make calls and use voicemail on the Apple iPhone 3G. The iPhone redefines wha ...more