Gadget Hacks Features

News: Shop for the Best Cashback Deals Online with This Money-Saving Browser Bookmarklet

Online shopping is way more convenient than brick-and-mortar stores in a number of ways, not the least of which are the discounts. But with so many online stores and sites like Amazon which feature thousands of retailers, how can you know you're getting the best deal?

News: ARCore 1.6 Gifts Developers with Improved Lighting & Support for Screen Capturing

Christmas has arrived early for ARCore app developers, as Google just unwrapped a few iterative improvements to the augmented reality toolkit in version 1.6.

How To: Scroll through contacts on the iPhone

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to scroll through your contact list on the iPhone quickly without having to pause by each individual entry.

News: Blippar Brings App-Free Augmented Reality to Web Display Ads

Mobile augmented reality developer Blippar has escalated the augmented reality advertising arms race, introducing a new rich media ad format that enables augmented reality experiences without a dedicated app.

News: How Amazon's Echo Frames Point the Way to Our Augmented Reality Smartglasses Future

Part of the mainstreaming of augmented reality is learning to adopt new habits around the hardware delivering these groundbreaking next-gen interface experiences.

News: OxygenOS Update Finally Brings Face Unlock to All OnePlus 5 Users

One of the best-received features of the OnePlus 5T was the relatively secure face unlock, which made it quick and easy to get into the phone. Unfortunately, this feature wasn't included with the slightly older OnePlus 5 at first, but now, face unlocking is finally out of beta and available to everyone with a 2017 OnePlus.

News: Netflix to Block VPN & Proxy Users from Streaming Content in Other Territories

Netflix subscribers (or friends of subscribers) have been able to utilize a virtual private network (VPN) or proxy service to gain access to content in other countries. Unfortunately, the movie and TV streaming service announced today that it will soon block those services so that viewers will only have access to movies and shows that are licensed for the country they're currently in.

News: Tech-Savvy Walsh Community Previewed Through Augmented Reality with Pre-ARKit iOS

Walsh, a new community under construction on 7,200 acres of former ranch land near Fort Worth, Texas, will one day contain 15,000 homes.

How To: Hide games on your Facebook news feed

Facebook is overrun with all sorts of meaningless applications these days. It seems like there's no end to the amount of games people create for Facebook. Keep these games off of your news feed so you can see what really matters to you on Facebook. This video will show how to hide games on your Facebook news feed.

How To: Get Cheaper Uber Rides with Promo Codes & Coupons

Uber is one of the best ways to get around, but nobody said it was cheap. What's even more infuriating is when you have a bad experience with a ride. Sure, you can get a refund, but then you need to figure out where to enter in the promo code for the coupon that Uber sends your way.

News: Better Spatial Maps Will Make Mixed Reality Great

A group of researchers from Stanford University and Princeton University has put together the largest RGB-D video dataset to date with over 1,500 scans of over 700 different locations across the world, for a total of 2.5 million views.

News: How Instagrammer @Klinkerbell Grew Her Following Overnight

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of hearing some of the same old jargon from people online who claim that all you need to make it on Instagram is to take good pictures and post consistently. Yes, for sure, but do you really think it's that easy?

How To: Use Google Street View on an Apple iPhone 3G or 4G

Learn how to use Google's popular Street View map application on an Apple iPhone. Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4G or perhaps just considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial. For more information, including a detailed overview, watch this iPhone user's guide.

News: Zealot Vandalizes Own Car To Install iPad

All for the love of Apple.

News: 2 Exciting New Features Coming in Apple's Clips App for iOS

Apple has yet to create a successful social networking app, but that doesn't mean they want to be left out of the social video conversation. Case in point: Today they announced a new video app set to debut for iOS in April called Clips.

News: Google Releases Chromecast Development Kit—Get Ready to Cast Anything & Everything

After months of waiting, Google has released the SDK (Software Development Kit) for their Gadget of the Year, the Chromecast. As announced on their blog, the release of the SDK means that any app developer, whether for Android, Chrome, or iOS, can now add Chromecast functionality to their app. And though only a few apps have been released with Chromecast support, that's all about to change.

How To: Use Gmail in new, powerful, effective new ways with settings

Gmail is the incredibly popular, powerful, and free email program that Google offers, and stock, it works really well. It has all kinds of setting that you can change to make it work better though. This video features veteran Google video maker Matt Cutts walking you through his Gmail settings, explaining ways in which he has optimized it to work for him in order to give you ideas for improving your own Gmail experience.

News: Startup Tilt Five Preps Kickstarter Launch for AR Gaming Glasses, Plans to Ship Product by December

Augmented reality gaming startup Tilt Five is ready to reinvent old school Dungeons & Dragons-style games for the modern age with its augmented reality headset and tabletop game system.

News: Fiber Optic Milky Way in your Bedroom

Instructables member Mike Galloway has constructed his own private planetarium: a fiber optic starfield ceiling for his newborn baby.

How To: Beer—Could It Be the Answer to Your Smartphone Addiction?

Often, when you crack open a beer with friends, your buddies are more focused on texting and Snapchatting than what's happening right in front of them. Smartphones have wedged their way into bars around the world—but an innovative new beer glass is encouraging patrons to put down the phone and engage with friends.

How To: Connect to the internet on a Palm Treo 800w cell phone

Surf the web at broadband speed or connect to a WIFI hotspot with the Palm Treo 800w. The Palm Treo 800w comes integrated with internet capabilities, so that you'll never have to go without a connection. Watch this video cell phone tutorial and learn how to use an internet browsert on a Palm Treo 800w. Connect to the internet on a Palm Treo 800w cell phone.

News: OnePlus 3T Isn't Much of an Upgrade, but It's Still a Solid Phone

With the death of Google's Nexus line, the market for phones with top-notch specs at midrange prices is now wide open. OnePlus is apparently ready to fill this void, as they've just announced the OnePlus 3T, an iterative update to their OnePlus 3 flagship only five months after initial release.

News: Google Just Launched a Cell Service—Here's What You Need to Know About Project Fi

Rumors have had Google making a foray into the mobile carrier world for quite some time, but today, the Mountain View tech giant finally made things official. The new service, dubbed Project Fi, will be a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, or MVNO, that uses existing Sprint and T-Mobile cell towers.

News: Apple's iOS 14 Public Beta 4 for iPhone Includes COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Settings Page & TV Widget

Apple just released the fourth public beta for iOS 14 today, Thursday, Aug. 6. This update comes two days after the company released iOS 14 developer beta 4, 15 days after Apple seeded developers the third dev beta, and two weeks after the release of public beta 3.

News: Google Backs Yet Another AR Cloud Platform via Ubiquity6's $10.5M Funding Round

Google's AI investment arm, Gradient Ventures, has joined a $10.5 million round of funding for Ubiquity6 and its platform for shared augmented reality experiences, just weeks after Google's GV fund backed a competing AR cloud platform.

Twitter 101: How to Create Your Own Twitter Moment

Twitter's Moments feature stitches together multiple tweets into a slideshow-esque story. This is particularly cool for you to keep up with major things that are happening in the world without having to follow and search for a ton of people to figure out the scoop.

Apple AR: Luden.io Unveils 'AR Tribe' Mobile Game That Uses ARKit

Luden.io just revealed more details about their mobile game "AR Tribe," made using Apple's ARKit. The company has previously focused on VR games such as InMind 2 and VRobot. This is the company's first attempt at AR, and it looks like it's going to be pretty cool.

News: Samsung Just Gave Us the First Snapchat AR Smartphone, Sort Of

During this week's unveiling of the new Samsung A Series of smartphones, much of the focus was on the high-end features at a more affordable price as the South Korean tech giant looks to regain its status as the world's top smartphone maker versus Apple's iPhone.

News: Apple AR Headset Delayed Until 2022, Smartglasses to Follow in 2023, Report Says

After recently renewed enthusiasm for the arrival of Apple's long-awaited AR wearables -- the subject of multiple reports and rumors over the past few years -- some of that excitement may now be dampened a bit.

Brief Reality: New Game Underverse Takes a Stab at the Pokémon GO Gaming Model

This week, augmented reality spawns in the world of online role-playing games with a soft launch down under from an indie game developer. Meanwhile, in Asia, another startup wins a coveted award for its AR headset. Finally, an established player in the mobile AR touches up its feature set with an app update.

News: Lang Lang Proves iPad Piano Virtuosity

Another celebrity talent embraces iCulture. We know Lang Lang is the international piano rage. But allow me to make a pedestrian observation. He craves attention like a young Liberace. So, no great surprise that he would integrate an iPad into his sold out performance in San Francisco just this month. Steve Jobs has gotta be proud and beaming.

How To: Use the Banner iPhone application

Change what it says in the 'time' area of the status bar on your iPhone with this application.

News: 5 Ways to Entertain Yourself While Stuck at Home Including New Movies, Free Internet & Group Events

You're reading this so you're probably already safely huddled up in your house or apartment, watching as the entire planet grapples with the unfolding coronavirus health crisis. But unlike some others, you're lucky enough to already have a couple of weeks of supplies and now it's just about what you can do to entertain yourself and your family as you weather the current situation.

News: Snapchat Spooky AR Experiences from Lens Studio Creators Get You Ready for Halloween

Homemade Halloween costumes that exhibit the maker's creativity are always better than off-the-shelf versions. It turns out that the same is true with virtual costumers.

News: Apple's iPhone X Animojis Are Now Invading Your Favorite TV Shows

Just a day after the release of the iPhone X, the music-meets-comedy pastime known as Animoji Karaoke quickly emerged as one of the popular (albeit frivolous) features used to justify spending $1,000 for Apple's newest smartphone.

News: Target Treats Shoppers with Augmented Reality Tricks via Snapchat

Big-box retailer Target has been on a bit of an augmented reality advertising shopping spree via Snapchat lately.

How To: Add pictures to your contact list on an Apple iPhone 4

In this quick iPhone 4 user's guide, you'll learn how to associate images with people in your contact list. Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 4 or perhaps just considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial. For more information, including complete, step-by-step instructions, take a look.

News: Unity & Microsoft Are Giving Away $150,000 for HoloLens Apps & Loaning Out HoloLens Developers Kits

At the Microsoft Build 2017 conference in Seattle this past week, 3D application and game platform Unity, partnering with Microsoft, launched a contest that drives HoloLens developers to realize their ideas into a full-fledged application and possibly win money for it.

News: Why the Next iPhone Will Actually Have Wireless Charging This Time

Before the iPhone 7 models were released, there were many rumors pointing to the inclusion of wireless charging, which obviously didn't happen. Now the rumor mill is back at it again for Apple's next smartphone, most likely being called the iPhone 8, and the possibility of wireless charging is more certain this time.

How To: Jailbreak and unlock an iPhone in 4 minutes

If you need to jailbreak or unlock any iPhone and you want to do it quick, this how-to is for you. With just the click of a button, using Ziphone you can do the unlock with any firmware that you may have Apple's iPhone.