Gadget Hacks News
News: 10 Ways iOS Beats Android
I've been an Android user almost as long as the operating system has existed, so when I received my first iPhone in April, I felt like I was in a foreign land. Sure, it runs most of the apps I'm used to, and the phone itself feels about the same in my hand as any similarly-sized device, but everything else is just different.
News: 10 Things Android Users Hate About iPhones
I'm an Android user. Over the course of the past seven years, I've owned ten different smartphones—all of them powered by Android. This isn't due to some blind trust in Google or some unfounded hate for Apple, either, because I've always made sure to get my hands on each iPhone iteration along the way to see what it had to offer.
News: Watch This Woman Freak the Hell Out in Horror VR
Virtual reality and horror were meant for each other. You'll get all the positive aspects of experiencing a terrifying situation such as excitement and an adrenaline rush, without any of the real-life consequences, like being ripped to shreds by a herd of flesh-eating monsters.
News: This Case Turns Your iPhone into a Full-Fledged Camera
Your iPhone might have a great camera, but it can be irritating to get things like exposure and focus right when your fingers are all over the 'viewfinder.' The Pictar aims to change that by making your iPhone as much like a DLSR as it can, keeping your fingers from obstructing your next great photo.
News: Sony Brings Android N to Xperia Z3 Phones—Will Other Manufacturers Follow?
It's been known for a while that Google was opening up their Android N preview to OEMs, but we didn't think any manufacturers would actually take advantage. Well, we were wrong. Sony had just announced that Xperia Z3 owners will be able to install and run the N preview build. This is the first time a major manufacturer has offered Android previews on their phones. The preview build is only available for Xperia Z3's international models (D6603 and D6653), so those of you with T-Mobile's US var...
News: You Can Now Host a 50-Person Group Call on Facebook Messenger
Facebook just added another feature to Messenger as part of its quest to have their service become an all-encompassing communications app. This feature lets you make free group calls using Messenger's VoIP service, and you can chat with up to 50 people at once.
News: What We Know About Magic Leap's Amazing Tech So Far
Virtual reality headsets are all the rage these days, and among the menagerie of tech companies gunning for the top spot, there's one mysterious startup that is ahead of the game—Magic Leap—and you can tell just by watching their latest demo video of their product in action.
News: This Is What 3D Touch Actions Might Look Like on Android
Launcher shortcuts, which let you skip directly to a specific function on an app when you open it, first appeared in a recent Android N preview build, and now we're getting a look at how the feature might look in action.
News: Google's Newest Nexus Phones Return to Record Low Prices (With Freebies!)
A handful of retailers have put the newest Nexus smartphones on sale again, so you're in luck if you missed out on picking one up during the discount period last month. Actually, you might be better off since some retailers are giving away freebies with some models, too.
News: Get Up to 2 GB of Free Data from Verizon Just for Using Android Pay
If you tend to go over your data allotment each month, or are constantly afraid you will, Verizon Wireless is giving you chance to relax a little bit with up to 2 GB free data for two months.
News: This Smart Paper Notepad Saves Everything You Write on It
Pretty much every note you save on your computer, phone, or tablet can be uploaded to your cloud and viewed on any of your devices. But what about those notes you write down on actual paper? Well, those notes can also be cloud-friendly, thanks to the Rocketbook Wave.
News: The Latest Android N Updates Are Here with Better Emojis, Launcher Shortcuts, & More
The latest Android N preview build was released today, April 13th, and included Emoji Unicode 9.0 support, among other things. The highlight is definitely the emojis, and the new designs are intended to look more realistic than the older, blobbier emojis. The update also allows for skin tone variations and adds new emojis like the face palm, selfie, and the juggler, to name just a few. Get These Emojis Right Now
News: The Future of Gaming Is Robots Blasting Through Your Living Room Walls
Developers across the U.S. and Canada have started getting their augmented reality headset packages from Microsoft, and so far, everyone's raving about one gaming experience that shatters all doubts of just what the HoloLens can do... RoboRaid.
News: Facebook Will Have AR Integrated with Oculus in 10 Years
Facebook announced at its F8 Developer's Conference on April 12th that, in addition to the VR-ready Oculus Rift we have today, it plans to bring Augmented Reality (AR) into the fold of their social machine.
News: VR in the OR—Watch Live Surgery on April 14th in 360 Degrees
If you've ever wanted to be right in the thick of an operating room, you're about to get your chance. On Thursday, April 14th, you'll be able to watch a VR live stream of a tumor removal surgery. With their 360-degree camera, you'll be able to see the entire operating table and its surroundings.
News: HTC 10 Just Leaked a Day Early—Here's What It Looks Like
It's déjà vu all over again for HTC. A day before they were set to announce their latest flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, a leaked video has surfaced, showcasing the new phone's design and specs. This compounds an earlier leak concerning the name and design of the device.
News: The Pitfalls of Kickstarter Projects
"It just ticked me off," he said. In March 2011, Neil Singh paid $50 to back the Hanfree iPad stand on Kickstarter. The project was funded at $35,000, but production stalled, and the delivery estimates kept getting pushed back.
News: Oculus Is Collecting a Scary Amount of Data for Facebook
The highly anticipated VR headset hasn't been on the market long, but there's an issue that has some consumers, and even government officials, concerned about the Oculus Rift. You probably guessed the issue surrounds privacy and the extensive, not-so-secret way that it's collecting your personal data. The privacy concerns came about as various customers and media outlets took notice of the rather lengthy Terms and Services that pop up once you strap yourself into the Rift headset.
News: Signal, Snowden's Favorite Secure-Messenger App, Is Now on Your Desktop
Encryption is on everyone's mind these days, from the FBI's battles in court with Apple to WhatsApp's recent announcement of end-to-end encryption for their one billion users. Now you can add Signal, whistleblower Edward Snowden's favorite messaging app, back to that whirlwind discussion. Created by Open Whisper Systems, Signal is an encrypted messenger app that allows you to send text, images, video, and audio messages without the fear of prying eyes. They already have an Android and iOS app...
News: This Is the Easiest Way to Try Out HTC's Vive Right Now
If you've been debating on whether or not HTC's new virtual reality headset, the Vive, is worth the $800 price tag, then you'll be able to find out for yourself soon enough.
News: This Is the Crazy Set Up Magic Leap Uses to Study Your Face
Magic Leap has some seriously awesome tech behind their augmented reality vision, and has made it a point to add a ton of adrenaline into the industry with a revolutionary focus on 3D layering. Today, they gave the public another glance at how they go about it. The image above displays the complete setup that Magic Leap uses to accurately capture someone's entire facial structure. The associated caption to this image reads: "This is where we study the 22 bones & 43 muscles of the face & head."
It's Finally Here: Reddit Releases Official Apps
Reddit announced this morning, April 7th, that it has finally released an official mobile app. You can get it on Android and iOS.
News: It Looks Like iOS 10 Will Finally Let You Remove Apple's Crappy Stock Apps
It looks like Apple is finally going to do something to address all of the complaints about their unremovable stock apps clogging up people's home screens. While bloatware is a bigger problem on Android where you have to deal with apps from Google and carriers, an iPhone can still get pretty cluttered with all those stock Apple apps. I mean, just look at all this crap... AppAdvice noticed two new keys in the iTunes metadata that strongly suggest that you'll be able to get rid of stock apps on...
News: Facebook Is Going All in on Live Video Streaming on Your Phone
It looks like Facebook is adding a "Live" tab to the navigation bar for its Android app, and the feature has already been turned on for at least one user. A screenshot uploaded by Niko Steele shows the new feature, which lets you search for and watch live video directly on the Facebook app. Right now, you need to already be friends with a person who is streaming or be following a page or personality to receive a notification that live video has started. Some pages will post about an upcoming ...
News: 'Nutrition Labels' Will Make Picking the Right Internet Provider Painless
Shopping around for a good broadband company or mobile carrier may soon be as easy as shopping for cereal, thanks to the introduction of broadband consumer labels by the FCC for both fixed and mobile broadband.
News: New Siri Bug Lets Anyone Bypass Your Lock Screen to See Photos & Contacts
A new iPhone exploit has recently been discovered by YouTube user videosdebarraquito, who has found many other exploits and bugs in iOS over the years. This new exploit allows someone to bypass the lock screen and gain access to contacts and photos via Siri, Apple's digital voice assistant—but it only affects the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus because it requires 3D Touch functionality.
News: MIT Tech Protects Your WiFi Without Passwords
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have created Wi-Fi technology that identifies where you are, which may eliminate the need for passwords.
News: Woah. This Report Suggests Samsung's Folding Phablet Is Coming Next Year
If you think phablets are too big to be smartphones, and not big enough to be tablets, then you're going to love what's coming next.
News: Here's Everything We Know About What's Coming in the iPhone 7
If history holds true, we'll see the iPhone 7 arrive this September, and just like many times before, there are already a ton of rumors about its features. As usual, many claims are pure speculation, but there are some trustworthy reports and lots of good information we can use to make some educated guesses regarding Apple's upcoming flagship.
Android Keyboard Showdown: SwiftKey vs. Swype vs. Google vs. TouchPal vs. Fleksy
Google Now, Siri, and Cortana aside, the main way you interact with your smartphone is through the keyboard. Every app you use, every search you perform, every message you send—the most fundamental interface between you and your device is that handful of characters and those 26 letters on the bottom half of your screen.
News: This Smart Turntable Is Perfect for 360-Degree Photos
When it comes to photographing products, models, and other small objects, a good light box makes the process super easy, no matter what your skill level is. However, if you want to create decent 360-degree images, things get tricky really fast. A new product, the Foldio360, may provide some much needed relief though.
News: Verizon Takes Greed to New Levels with an Additional $20 Upgrade Fee
Wireless contracts and phone-buying programs continue to become more and more confusing. As if you didn't have enough to worry about with regards to the rising costs of services and the elimination of contracts with mobile providers, Verizon Wireless will soon institute a new charge that puts the grub in "money-grubbing." Sadly, this isn't one of those April's Fools pranks that are running rampant on the web today. Starting next week, the largest mobile phone provider in the United States wil...
News: LG's New Wireless Charger Is Three Times Faster Than Other Wireless Chargers
Innotek, an LG subsidiary, announced today (link is in Korean) that it has developed a 15-watt wireless charging module that can recharge a battery three times faster than other wireless chargers available on the market.
News: Finally, a Tangle-Less USB Cord You Can Store in Your Wallet
Computer cables tangle and get in the way, but Mobile Accessory Project hopes to solve that with CONNEX, a flat cable shaped like a credit card which expands up to 1.5 feet.
News: This Wireless Beacon Lights Up Whenever You're Near a Speed Trap
Speeding tickets suck, and I don't know a single person that can tell me otherwise. But the reality is, most of us will break the speed limit for one reason for another, regardless of the pricey risk.
News: Facebook Messenger Can Now Send & Receive All Your Texts—Here's How to Turn It On
We've known for a while that Facebook had planned to reintegrate SMS and MMS into its Messenger app for Android. Well, it's finally live, and it's pretty great.
News: Nintendo's First Mobile Game Is Really, Really Bad
Nintendo rolls out its first smartphone-specific game in the U.S. on March 21st, and the main protagonist is... you. Well, your Mii, and it's not a game, but a social app.
News: This Easy Trick Frees Up Lots of Storage Space on Your iPhone
Clearing storage space is a constant concern for people with iPhones, especially since they don't come with expandable storage, limit the amount of free iCloud storage, and still, unfathomably, produce units with only 16 GB of space. Thankfully, Reddit user eavesdroppingyou shared this quick and easy tip you can use to wipe unnecessary files from your phone and potentially free up gigabytes worth of storage.
News: Snapchat Adds a Ton of New Features, Including Chat 2.0, Video Calling, Stickers, & More
Snapchat began rolling out a massive update on March 29th, dubbed Chat 2.0, that gives users a plethora of new features, basically transforming Snapchat into an all-purpose messaging app.
News: The Oculus Rift Is Finally Out—Here Are Its Biggest Downsides
The Oculus Rift is finally shipping to customers in more than 20 countries, and we're getting a good idea of how the device holds up from the initial reviews. You'll see some common threads throughout: along with an impressive virtual reality experience, the device is very comfortable with a solid design.