Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Return a Lost iPhone to Its Owner Using Siri
I misplaced my iPhone 6 just a few weeks ago, so I know firsthand that losing an iPhone sucks. Luckily, my tale didn't have a bad ending.
How To: Create Your Own CyanogenMod Theme in Just a Few Easy Taps
Finding the right theme can be a pain. Some are too gaudy or simple, while others look like they were thrown together as a joke. So why not try your hand at making your own?
How To: Clear All Items from Your Nexus 5's Overview Screen in Just One Tap
Android 5.0 brought a lot of changes to the world's most popular mobile OS, but few were more central to the user experience than tweaks made to the "Overview" menu (more commonly known as the "Recent Apps" menu). Aside from a visual overhaul, Chrome tabs now exist as separate entries in this list, as do Google searches and a few other activities.
How To: The Fastest Way to Share Clips of Your Favorite Movie Quotes with Anyone
The Oscars are just around the corner, so it's the perfect time to remind people of your favorite movie moments, even if they're not exactly Oscar-worthy. But don't just settle on sending GIFs that don't include any of the fun audio, or resort to scouring YouTube for that one specific movie clip. Instead, take a look at Qwotes, a new mobile app from developer StudyUp.
How To: Customize “Do Not Disturb” on Your iPhone So Important Calls Always Get Through
At certain times of the day, like when I finally get home after sitting through aggravating traffic, the last thing I need is the sound of my phone irritating me any further. So, I toggle on the "Do Not Disturb" feature (introduced in iOS 6) on my iPhone and get to enjoy a little peace of mind.
How To: Watch the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX Commercials Online Right Now
Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. With 111.5 million viewers tuning in last year (112.6 if you count streaming), which broke another record that it previously set for the most-watched television event in U.S. history, it's safe to say that most of us will be watching Super Bowl XLIX on February 1st, 2015, whether via TV, web, or mobile.
How To: Send Links from Your Android to Any Computer
In today's world, we're constantly switching back and forth between all of our internet-connected devices. A PC may be great while you're at your desk, but the living room couch is tablet territory, and nothing beats the portability of a pocket-sized smartphone while you're on the go.
How To: Automatically Pause Music During Spoken Maps Directions on Your iPhone
Maps is great for getting turn-by-turn directions in unfamiliar territory, but how many times does your favorite song have to be rudely interrupted by that navigation voice telling you to turn left or right? Yes, you need those spoken directions to get to where you're going, but you also need to hear every part of your song, right?
How To: Add New & Improved Features to Your OnePlus One's Camera App
The camera in CyanogenMod, CameraNext, takes some pretty impressive shots when compared to those offered by HTC Sense and Sony Xperia, but it doesn't have many of the features that make it a real competitor. Even the Color OS version of the OnePlus One has received better reviews when comparing low-light shots, which implies that it's not the camera sensor that's lacking, but the software.
How To: Turning Video Clips into High-Quality GIFs Is the Easiest Thing Ever with Imgur
Imgur has just released a brand new feature to make GIFs better than they ever have before. Video to GIF is a tool that allows you to quickly paste any video link, easily select a clip from that video, and turn it into a very high-quality GIF, called a GIFV.
How To: Roadie App Lets You Ship Things Cheaper & Make Money While You're Traveling
The next time you plan on going on an adventurous road trip, get paid for it! With the the new mobile app called Roadie, from developer Marc Gorlin, you can get paid to go where you're already going.
How To: Watch the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX Live Stream Online from Anywhere
2015 is quickly shaping up to be the year of the cord cutter, with various media companies finally warming up to the concept of offering live streaming content. In the wake of Dish Network announcing a streaming cable service called Sling TV and Sony unveiling a similar platform in PlayStation Vue, NBC has decided to stream the Super Bowl and all of its festivities online. Before we get to all of the many ways you can stream Super Bowl 49 between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks ...
How To: Get Early Access to CyanogenMod 12's Theme Engine on Your OnePlus One
CyanogenMod has always been on the forefront of ROM customization, and its newest release, CyanogenMod 12, is no exception. In the newest nightlies, they have included an updated version of their Theme Engine, which allows you to effortlessly change the way your entire system looks.
How To: Save Locations in Google Maps for Offline Use
Before heading out on a hike, or any excursion for that matter, it would be wise to take a map with you just in case you get lost while on your quest.
How To: Connect Your iPhone to Your Mac Like Never Before with Pushbullet
With Apple's Yosemite build of Mac OS X came Continuity, a feature that has allowed us to connect our mobile devices to our computers, letting us access apps, send text messages, answer phone calls, and more while seamlessly switching from one device to the other.
How To: Launch Any Navigation App Directly from Google Search on Android
When you search for a specific location or business with the Google app, a Knowledge Graph card is usually the top result. This card displays a handy mini-map and offers a quick link for directions to the location of your query, but it has one irksome flaw—these links can only be opened by the Google Maps app.
How To: Get Custom ROM Options on Your Nexus Without Installing a Custom ROM
If you've ever flashed a custom ROM on any of your devices, one of your main motivations for doing so was likely the set of neat tweaks and extra options that come with something like CyanogenMod. Another deciding factor was probably the fact that most custom ROMs offer a much cleaner interface than manufacturer skins.
How To: Mikoto Gives Your iPhone YouTube Background Music, Contact Photos in Messages, & More
Mikoto, from Karen Tsai (aka angelxwind), is a free jailbreak tweak unlike any other. With Mikoto, you can customize features in your favorite iOS apps to an extent that you would've never thought possible.
How To: Scan Book Barcodes in Stores for Quick Access to Reviews on Android
Purchasing an actual book from a brick-and-mortar store is becoming increasingly less common for people to do, but it hasn't completely gone out of style just yet. There's something about entering a bookstore and viewing all the potential great stories and epic tales just sitting on the shelves, waiting to be discovered.
How To: Tiny Apps Is a Complete Floating Multitasking Suite for Android
With Android devices getting bigger by the year, you'd think there would be a native multitasking solution by now. While Samsung and LG have included such features in their customized builds of Android, the stock base that manufacturers start with still doesn't include multitasking support.
How To: Turn Burst Photos into Videos, Animated GIFs
Burst mode on iOS was introduced together with iPhone 5s. It is great, but there was something missing. Do you always swipe thru burst photos to animate them? Did you want to send them to your friends all together? That's where Burstio comes in.
How To: Permanently Browse in Desktop Mode on Android
The majority of Android web browsers carry a "desktop mode" feature that makes mobile websites look like normal computer versions. Mobile versions are designed to work faster and more efficiently on smartphones, but sometimes the desktop version looks better on large displays or has additional features not included in the mobile one.
How To: Control Volume Directly from the Notification Tray in Lollipop
If there's one gripe I have with Android Lollipop, it's the new volume menu. When Priority mode was introduced, the stock volume panel was revamped to accommodate it, and somewhere along the way a bit of functionality was lost.
How To: Convert Almost Any File Type Straight to Your Cloud Account
Converting files from one format to another can be a pain. Sometimes you have to download software that you'll only end up using once. Other times you have to use a shady third-party conversion site that's riddled with ads. Not to mention that after a while, unless you're extremely organized, your converted files will be scattered all across your hard drive.
How To: Turn Your Smartphone into a Wireless Mouse & Keyboard for Your Computer
While you can do a lot of things on your smartphone that were once only done on a computer, having a laptop is still necessary and critical for many tasks. Often times, the two devices work very well together.
How To: Tutanota for Android, iOS, & Web Keeps Your Emails Private with End-to-End Encryption
In the wake of the NSA scandal and celebrity-photo hacks, lots of people scrambled to find more-secure ways to send text messages, share emails, and surf the internet. Known for their incredibly secure data networks, Germany's email services saw a remarkable increase in new users from across the world. Last year, we covered Sicher, a German app that lets you send and receive encrypted self-destructing messages on your smartphone.
How To: Get Lollipop-Style Status Bar Icons on Android Jelly Bean or KitKat
Android Lollipop promises tons of new features and functionality when it comes to a device near you, but as we wait, it's almost painful to see the screenshots and demo videos from Nexus devices and how downright pretty the new operating system looks.
How To: Turn YouTube into a Free Music Streaming Service
When streaming services like Spotify or Pandora compete for customers, the main differentiating factor is the size of their libraries. While these and comparable services usually run somewhere around $10 per month, a completely free alternative may actually have the most expansive library out there.
How To: Get Quick Access to Almost Any System Function on Your Android
Widget toggles, or "power toggles" as they're often called, have been around for quite a while. They serve their purpose nicely as an easy way to add switches to your home screen or notification area for functions that don't come with the stock software on your device.
How To: Cycle Through All of Your iPhone's Wallpapers Automatically
I once had a collection of over 300 different wallpapers for my MacBook, set to randomly change every 30 minutes. Needless to say, my desktop never got boring. Wallpapers can facilitate a mood, imply a political stance, or just add aesthetic appeal, so having to manually change them on my iPhone is a bummer because of how many times I want a new home or lock screen look.
How To: Control Google Play Music from Within Any Webpage in Chrome
Google Play Music is one of the best streaming services out there. It allows users to upload as many as 20,000 of their own songs for free, then stream them all to any device without ever paying a dime. If you upgrade to their All Access subscription, you get these features in addition to an expansive on-demand library of songs (and beta-access to YouTube Music Key).
How To: Get Easy One-Handed Access to Apps & Settings on Any Android
Smartphones like the Nexus 6 and those in the Samsung Galaxy Note series border on being called tablets due to the sheer size of their displays. They are essentially "phablets," i.e., devices too large to be a typical smartphone, yet too small to be a tablet.
How To: The Easiest Way to Clean Up Your Twitter Timeline on Your iPhone
Technology allows us to communicate with others like never before, providing us with the ability to stay connected with past and current coworkers, classmates from high school, and even relatives in far-away countries.
How To: Update TWRP Recovery with a Material Design Theme on Your Nexus 5
TWRP is hands-down the best custom recovery out there. Its interface, on the other hand, is... well, let's just call it utilitarian. The guys over at Team Win made sure that their product was robust, functional, and easy-to-use, but they didn't put a tremendous amount of effort into polishing the looks.
How To: Buy a OnePlus One Without an Invite (Today Only)
OnePlus made a great Android phone, the One, bringing flagship-level specs with a nearly unheard of price point: $299 for the 16GB variant; $349 for the 32GB variant. And, oh yea, the devices come fully unlocked, ready for your SIM card to be plugged in (GSM/HSPA/LTE networks only—sorry Sprint and Verizon subscribers).
How To: Watch President Obama's State of the Union Address Online
There's no denying it was a hectic 2014 here in the United States. We saw the rise of ISIS, dealt with an Ebola scare, and witnessed the turmoil in Ferguson (and its aftermath). Plus, let's not forget about all of the hype revolving around The Interview, in which Sony was hacked.
How To: Bring Back Airplane Mode & Audio Toggles to Your Nexus 5's Power Menu
In an effort to make things simple and more secure, Google decided to slim down the power menu in Android 5.0. What once provided a quick link to shut your device down, turn on Airplane mode, and toggle volume states, has now been relegated to a simple power switch. Lucky for us, developer Gar Ynych has created a flashable ZIP that will revert these changes and restore functionality to the Nexus 5's power menu. In a few simple steps, you can add the volume toggles and Airplane mode switch rig...
How To: Securely Send Self-Destructing Files & Notes with DSTRUX
The internet is forever. When you put something out there, it can easily be re-shared, floating from server to server indefinitely with no way of taking it back. It's a scary thought when you consider that a young adult's grandchildren will one day have access to their drunken party pics.
How To: Find the Nearest Public Restroom on Your iPhone
When you've gotta go, you've gotta go. No matter how hard you try and hold your pee (or the dreaded number two), it's going to find a way to leave your body one way or another. That's why it's always good to know where all of the nearest bathrooms are at all times, no matter where you are.
Unsubscriber: The Easiest Way to Get Rid of Annoying Emails in Gmail on Your iPhone
You've undoubtedly used your email address to sign up for a chance to win something online or to purchase something on sale. Often, these offers are too enticing to pass up, and you reason that you'll live with the consequences of handing out your information for the chance at making out big.