Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Theme Hangouts for Android with 23 Custom Colors
Hangouts is a great cross-platform messaging service from Google that works with almost any device, making it one of the few messengers that can be installed on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android gadgets alike. With its many useful features, one of the few debatable downsides is its not-so-attractive color scheme.
How To: Unsubscribe from Paper Junk Mail Using Your Phone
The only mail I like getting comes in the form of an Amazon package, but when I go to my mailbox, it always ends up being a pile of credit card offers and catalogs I could never see myself ordering from. Those pieces of junk mail usually end up in the trash, which is horrible when you think about all the trees that had to get cut down in order to produce them.
How To: This Live Wallpaper Uses Ocean Water Levels to Display Your Android's Battery Life
Live wallpapers, like the classic Mario-themed one we previously covered, is a great way to spruce up your device and get some simple amusement. Unfortunately, they also drain more battery than conventional wallpapers. Which brings me to ASUS LiveOcean.
How To: Get a Taste of the New Galaxy S6 with This Weather Widget for Any Android
With the release of various new and updated Samsung Galaxy S6 apps and features, like Smart Switch, Smart Remote, and wallpapers, something that's a home screen staple for most Android users was still missing.
How To: Get Sony's New Xperia Z3 Keyboard on Almost Any Android Device
Sony has a gorgeous line of smartphones using the moniker "Xperia," and the latest and greatest model is the Z3. The firmware for the Xperia Z3 was just updated to Android Lollipop, and many system apps of course got tweaked and refreshed with this latest version.
How To: Upload, Buy, Send, Receive, & Redeem Almost Any Gift Card on Your Phone
Big box stores love to sell gift cards, and as consumers, we snap them up almost as quickly as they can be printed. This industry has become rather profitable, though, because portions of the gift card balances often go unused.
How To: Share Your Android's Music Library with All of Your Friends
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, music lies in the ear. Even within a group of friends who share enough common interests to sit around and socialize over, music tastes can vary dramatically.
How To: Quickly Add Notes or Drawings to Photos on Your iPhone
Most of us enjoy taking photos with our iPhones and sharing them with friends and family, but it's adding that extra touch or funny caption that turns an ordinary picture into something unforgettable or downright hilarious. With Inkboard, you can use your imagination to draw and scribble over any photo you take or have in your iPhone's camera roll.
How To: Take Still Photos with Subtle Animations on Your Samsung Galaxy Device
When it comes to added features, no manufacturer out there can hold a candle to Samsung. Whether it's a remote control for all of your electronics, a heart rate and stress level monitor, or a seemingly-magical stylus, Galaxy devices always have as much functionality as possible packed in.
How To: Compete Against Your Friends with HTC's Fun Fit Health App
HTC's fitness-tracking application, Fun Fit, has made its way to the Google Play Store for all to enjoy. And while fitness apps are a dime a dozen, Fun Fit offers what its name implies—fun. Like plenty of other fitness apps, Fun Fit is able to track calories burned, steps, distance, active time, walking time, and running time. Where the app differs is in its presentation.
How To: Repurpose Android's Google Now Gesture to Lock Your Device
The Google Now gesture included in the Google Now Launcher and on Nexus devices isn't something I regularly utilize, and you might not either. There is a way to disable it, which is a good idea if you were executing it accidentally, but what's even better than disabling it? Repurposing it!
How To: Check for Out-of-Control App Permissions on Android
Android's permission system doles out access to certain system-level functions. Without it, our favorite apps wouldn't be able to perform their most basic operations. Picture a camera app that didn't have permission to access your camera sensor—now that wouldn't be much fun at all.
Google Feud: Family Feud-Style Gameplay with Google Search Suggestions as Answers
Family Feud is one of the longest-running game shows in American TV history. Its viewer base spans generations, and this is mostly due to the fun nature of the show. Contestants have to guess the most popular answers to survey questions that were posed to 100 random strangers, and the responses often range from silly to downright funny.
How To: Stream Beats Music in Safari Using HTML5 Instead of Flash Player
Thanks to its longevity and familiarity among web designers, Flash is still alive and thriving, but HTML5 is catching up since it can render faster in web browsers, can be customized by developers on a per platform basis, doesn't need a plugin to run, and is less vulnerable than Adobe Flash Player to attacks (for the moment).
How To: Use Hand Gestures to Take Selfies More Easily on Android
Using a timer to take a photo is great if you're looking for a quick workout. You have to prop up your phone, frame your shot, set the timer, and sprint to get into the frame. Then when you realize your position was a little bit off, you have to reset the timer and jump back in—over and over again until you get the photograph right.
How To: Share Music Directly from Your iPhone's Keyboard
Apple's iOS 8 ushered in a new way of typing with the addition of third-party keyboard compatibility. We've seen everything from keyboards with swipe gestures, customizable themes, different sizes, and even embedded GIFs. Now we've got one for all of you music lovers called AudioShot, which allows for easy sharing of music directly from the keyboard.
How To: Instantly Get Song Lyrics on Android with QuickLyric
With floating song lyrics displayed over the screen, apps like musiXmatch and Floating Lyrics are perfect for people who want to go beyond just the tunes and delve into a song's message and meaning. And while these floating windows can be convenient, they're not always necessary.
How To: Remove Your Location History from Apple Maps, Google Maps, & Waze
Applications like Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze save every location you visit or search for as a way to speed up future searches and to find commonly-frequented places. But what if you go somewhere unsavory and don't want anyone knowing?
How To: Access Your Feedly News Feed Right from Your Android's Lock Screen
Android Lollipop still doesn't have a simple way to add a custom lock screen wallpaper, so when I came across Corgi For Feedly from developer Stan Dmitriev, I had to check it out. What sets Corgi apart from other lock screen replacements is that it connects directly to your Feedly account to display top stories from your favorite RSS feeds as your background.
How To: Trim Down Android Lollipop's Overview Screen
As is the case with most software updates, Android 5.0 brought changes that were viewed by users as somewhat positive and somewhat negative. This generally happens because we're accustomed to the old way of doing things, and changes, no matter how useful, can slow us down.
How To: Get iOS 8.3 Beta on Your iPhone Right Now
Just a few days after unveiling the Apple Watch and pushing iOS 8.2 to their current products, Apple has, for the first time ever, made a beta version of their mobile OS available for the public to test out.
How To: Play Cards Against Humanity with Anyone on Any Computer, Phone, or Tablet
Cards Against Humanity is a popular party game with good old-fashioned raunchy adult themes that go quite well with a few alcoholic beverages. Up until now, though, you had to either print out a set of cards or order the official deck to play—unless, of course, all players happened to have devices that sported the same operating system.
How To: Get Rid of Emoji Suggestions in the New Version of Swype for Android
As the granddaddy of all gesture-based keyboards, Swype has seen quite a few updates in its day. A recent version bump, however, added a feature that has been universally panned by Swype users.
How To: Import, Transfer, & Password-Protect Photos & Videos on Your iPhone
Thanks to a couple of photoshopped images that made rounds across Twitter last year, iPhone users were duped into thinking that iOS 8 included a security feature that would lock individual apps. Of course, none of it ended up being true, but we covered other features and apps that could accomplish roughly the same thing.
How To: Get Instant Wikipedia Articles Without Leaving the Webpage You're Currently Viewing
For all of the flak that it catches, Wikipedia is still a great source of information. Contributors take their work very seriously, so the vast majority of information is cited, and the site serves very well as a starting point to learn about a new topic.
How To: Remove the Carrier Name from Your Lock Screen in Android Lollipop
I know where I bought my phone, and I definitely know who I'm paying money to every month for cellular service, so there's absolutely no need to see my carrier's name draped all over my device. Fortunately, with Android Lollipop, the carrier label is only present on the lock screen. Nevertheless, that label can keep your phone from feeling just right, so let's go ahead and show you how to get rid of it.
How To: Get Custom Lock Screen Shortcuts on Android Lollipop
Android's lock screen has evolved quite a bit over the years. From the Donut days of two tabs that launched the phone app and unlocked the device, to KitKat's clean and simple approach, shortcuts have come and gone.
Office for Mac 2016: See What's New & Try Out the Public Preview
If you've ever attended school or held a job, you're probably well familiar with Microsoft Office, whether you used it or not. It's the most popular office suite available, and has been for some time. Apple does have its own suite of productivity apps (iWork), but Microsoft Office has always been the industry leader for word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
How To: Install HTC's BlinkFeed Launcher on Any Android Device
HTC's Sense UI is generally regarded as one of the best manufacturer-skinned versions of Android. This is mainly due to the subtle and classy styling of the interface, as well as some unique features that are added in here and there.
Streak: The Once-a-Day Lock Screen Trivia Game for iOS
The bulk of my mobile gaming is done in instances of boredom, like sitting in a waiting room or watching bad TV. So when I heard about a new trivia game that pits every user against each other just once a day, I was immediately intrigued; it's a new spin on a very popular platform.
How To: Remove the New Apple Watch App from Your iPhone's Home Screen
Apple released iOS 8.2 on March 9th for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, which contains bug fixes and stability enhancements for certain stock features. If you've updated your device already, you've probably already noticed that you get the new Apple Watch app, too—no matter if you plan on getting a pricey Apple Watch or not.
How To: Get the Samsung Galaxy S6's Newer Smart Switch App on Any Galaxy Device
With only a month left until Samsung's highly-anticipated Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are released to the general public, it's only natural that some of the devices' features slowly trickle out, like Edge notifications, the new Smart Remote app, and, of course, wallpapers.
How To: Add Custom Unicode Smilies to Your Android’s Google Keyboard
Emojis, smilies, emoticons—whatever you prefer to call them, these fun little guys can bring a text-based conversation to life. If you're worried that someone's sarcasm meter might be broken, just toss in a wink at the end of your message. Or perhaps you can't quite put your sentiment into words, but one of these little graphics suits the moment perfectly.
How To: Get the Galaxy S5's Toolbox Feature on Any Android
Granting seamless access to your favorite or most utilized apps with just a tap, the Galaxy S5's "Toolbox" feature is one that plenty of other Android users wish they had. Instead of holding your breath for your manufacturer to implement something similar, or hoping that Samsung releases it on Google Play, you can mimic it on your device today with a few simple steps.
How To: Share Large Files in Seconds on Android, iOS, Windows, & Mac
As technology continues to advance, we as consumers are privileged enough to be able to take higher quality photos and videos and listen to clearer and better-sounding music on our mobile devices. But sometimes we forget that there's a price to pay for that awesome content—enormous file sizes.
How To: Make Lollipop's Overview Screen a Lot More Colorful by Tinting App Headers
The Overview screen (aka Recent Apps) on Android got a huge upgrade when 5.0 Lollipop was released. Chrome tabs now hold separate entries in this multitasking list, which also got a nice new Material Design theme. One of the biggest changes, though, was a new API that allows apps to color the header on their entries in this list.
How To: Get the New 'Smart Remote' App from the Samsung Galaxy S6 on Any Galaxy Device
The Galaxy S6 won't hit shelves until later this spring, but that didn't stop the Android community from working its magic and pulling a handful of apps from the device's stock firmware. Several of these apps rely on framework elements that aren't present on current-generation Samsung Galaxy devices, but the new version of the Smart Remote app can be installed without much difficulty.
How To: Get 'Edge Notifications' Like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Has on Any Android
Samsung's got a pair of beautiful new flagship devices coming out this spring that will surely top the sales charts. The Galaxy S5's successor is truly worthy of that title, but a second variant with a curved display turned heads at Mobile World Congress this weekend.
How To: TapDeck Is a Beautiful Live Wallpaper That Adapts to Your Taste in Photography
One of the many unique features that sets Android apart from other mobile operating systems is its live wallpaper system. Instead of the same old boring static image, this system lets developers create apps that provide dynamic home screen wallpapers.
How To: Bring Android's Command Prompt into the 21st Century with Material Terminal
Deep down, Android is a fork of Linux, which is a desktop operating system that started out as entirely command prompt-based. For that reason, many system-level tasks can still be executed within a terminal emulator app.