Gadget Hacks News
News: Daily Show Highlights Public Perception of Glass Explorers
They say that behind every joke is a half-truth. If that adage itself contains a grain of verity, the Daily Show's satirical Glass piece should raise a few eyebrows amongst the Glass Explorer community.
News: Facebook Messenger Gets "Big" Likes & Instant Video Sharing
In a time when messaging platforms may outnumber the people you'd ever want to message, one of the more popular options—Facebook Messenger—received a big update for both Android (must be part of the free beta program) and iOS, going from version 5.0 to 6.0.
News: Forget Amazon & the Military, These Drones Are for Your Home
Parrot, a company that specializes in personal drones, has recently come out with new products that'll make those '90s robots look as dated as lava lamps and tie-dye.
News: Google to Spend Billions on Satellites to Provide Internet Access Anywhere on Earth
Just in case you weren't aware, Google has more money than you and I will probably ever see in our lifetime, and now it seems that the search giant will be spending that money sending satellites into space.
News: Netflix & Verizon Could Be Headed Towards a Legal Battle
For quite some time, Netflix and Verizon have been duking it out, and it seems that things have just a little saltier between the two:
News: Starting Today, Amazon Prime Members Get Free Streaming Music
For $100 each year (unless you used Faisal's workaround to save yourself twenty bucks), Amazon Prime membership gives you access to all the best that Amazon has to offer. From free 2-day shipping to Prime Instant Video, there's a lot to like about the service.
News: iPhone 6 Spotted Again, & It's Bigger & Badder Than the 5S
Only a few months from its official September release, the iPhone 6 has been spotted in the wild again, giving us a better look at upcoming flagship device from Apple.
News: Emotion-Sensing Robot Ready to Love?
On June 5th, robotics firm Aldebaran and SoftBank Corp., the Japanese giant that owns Sprint (and possibly T-Mobile), unveiled an emotion-sensing robot named Pepper.
News: Specs Leak for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4
As we approach Samsung's unveiling of the next device in the Galaxy Note series—usually in early Fall—SamMobile has provided some exclusive information of the specs of the next phablet flagship.
News: LG G3 Set for a July 17th U.S. Release
When Korean electronics giant LG debuted its next-generation flagship phone at a London press event 2 weeks ago, the only question that remained unanswered was the timing of its release. As the 5.5-inch qHD phone hits stores in Korea, folks in the U.S. market patiently awaited a stateside debut.
News: SwiftKey, the Smart Prediction Keyboard, Is Now Free and Better Than Ever
I'll freely admit that I'm a SwiftKey diehard. I've used the keyboard since its inception in 2010, and it was one of the first apps I ever paid for back in the days of my beloved Sprint Evo 4G. Since then, I've kept up with all its beta iterations, and have unabashedly installed it on various friend's devices.
E3 2014: What's Coming for Video Games This Year
E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the 20th annual trade show for video games and gaming tech. The event takes place on Tuesday, June 10th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and you can watch a live stream of the event on Twitch.
News: HTC Starts Rolling Out Update to Its Gallery App
Thanks to HTC's new policy on updating their apps through Google Play, we can now get new features without having to wait for a full Sense OS update.
News: Sketch with Friends Using Google Hangouts on the Web
In a move that harkens back to the good old days of AOL Instant Messenger, Google has recently snuck a new feature into its Hangouts service.
News: Android Exploit Allows Apps to Film You Undetected: Here’s How to Reduce Your Risk
A recent security risk exposed by software engineer Szymon Sidor has raised a few eyebrows amongst the Android community.
News: iOS 8's Hidden Feature Aims to Stop Retail Stores from Tracking You While Shopping
Unbeknownst to you, hundreds of retailers, shopping malls, coffee shops, and airports track and log your movements. Using sensors installed by retail analytics companies, businesses sniff out your smartphone's MAC address, a unique fixed identifier to your device, whenever your device interacts with their Wi-Fi hotspots.
Apple vs. Google: 9 New iOS 8 Features Android Already Had
When Apple recently unveiled iOS 8, many of the newly-added features in their mobile OS seemed eerily familiar to Android users. This is probably because the vast majority of these new features have been available in Android for quite some time.
News: Cast Aereo Live TV Using Your Chromecast
Gaining major consumer support and the ire of Big Cable, Aereo today announced support for the Chromecast through it's Android app. A revolution for cord-cutters, Aereo lets you record and stream live broadcast TV on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or media streaming player (Apple TV, Roku, and now Chromecast).
Practical & Silly: 3D Printed Accessories for Google Glass
Last year, Todd Blatt ran a Kickstarter campaign to make 3D-printed accessories for Google Glass, and has turned it into a company: GlassKap.
News: Sony Introduces Slimmest 5.3" Smartphone—The Xperia T3
Say hello to the Sony Xperia T3, a light and slim Android smartphone—in fact, it's the thinnest 5.3" smartphone on the market.
News: Project Tango Brings a Whole New Depth to Tablets
Lately, it seems, that we live in a two-dimensional world. With smart phones and tablets constantly at our fingertips, it always seems as if we are looking into a screen.
News: Amazon Teases Its New 3D-Capable Smartphone
We recently gave you a peek at what Amazon's first smartphone will look like, and its 3D technology. With six (six!) cameras and no-touch motion control, the product is intriguing to say the least. Now, Amazon's put out a teaser video, and it's got Amazon Phone written all over it.
News: Sprint Agrees to Buy T-Mobile for $32 Billion
Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to a $31.6 billion deal that, if it gets through federal regulators—which is far from a sure bet—would create a formidable carrier to really compete against AT&T and Verizon. The deal comes packaged with a $1 billion "breakup" fee that Sprint would have to pay T-Mobile in the event the deal does not go through. After the deal, Deutsche Telekom, which owns about 67% of T-Mobile, would maintain a 20% ownership stake.
News: AT&T KitKat Update Rolling Out Right Now for the Galaxy S3
Right now, the over-the-air update for the AT&T variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is available for download and install. If you haven't yet received a notification to update, tap through Setting -> More -> About device -> Software update -> Check for updates to initiate a manual check. This comes a little over a month after the Sprint variant received its update. Keep in mind that OTAs are staged out, so if you haven't received yours, it's coming. And of course, if you have an unlocked bootloa...
News: Android Maintains Lead in Platform Market, Apple Dominates Device Market
For the month of April, Android maintained it's edge over Apple's iOS platform, 52.5% versus 41.4%, with Blackberry, Microsoft, and Symbian rounding out the top five (2.5%, 3.3%, and 0.2%, respectively). Due to the vast number of OEMs that manufacture Android smartphones, Apple does have a solid lead in the device market, with a dominant 41.4% market share, with Samsung, LG, Motorola, and HTC rounding out the top five (27.7%, 6.5%, 6.3%, and 5.3%, respectively). The research, compiled by comS...
News: Apple's iOS 8 Coming This Fall—Here's What's New
The new iOS 8 was just unveiled, and it looks pretty awesome. Apple showed off some of the enhancements and new features we can expect to receive in the fall at WWDC, and while not the huge facelift we saw with iOS 7, it does showcase what Apple does best—refinement. Continuity
News: Android Update—4.4.3 to Begin Hitting Nexus Devices Today
According to T-Mobile's website, an Android version bump is due out today. While details of specific changes are sparse, the support documentation for Nexus devices very clearly notes a release date of June 2nd for the software. Sprint may have jumped the gun with its own outing of a 4.4.3 update about a month ago, but all indications point towards today's date marking the beginning of a staged-rollout from Google.
Apple Unveiled Yosemite: Here's What to Expect in Mac OS X 10.10
The new operating system for your Mac is here, and it looks fantastic—OS X Yosemite. At Apple's WWDC presentation, we were shown the new iOS-like aesthetics, as well as other awesome enhancements to the operating system. Improved Aesthetics
News: This Is What iOS 8 Would Look Like with "Widgets"—And It's Pretty Amazing
Apple's grand reveal of iOS 8 at WWDC in San Francisco is still a few days away, but that doesn't mean there isn't any speculation as to what features and enhancements might come packed in the new mobile operating system.
News: Moto 360 Design Contest Underway, Offers Free Smartwatch to Winner
With the release date of its round-faced smartwatch drawing near, Motorola is calling on the public to help design clock faces for its new Android Wear device.
FingerSense: The Future of Touch Input
Over the past decade, touch screens have changed the way we interact with our electronic devices. Gone are the days of clicking and pecking at keyboards, with these gestures replaced by swipes, taps, and long-presses on most of our newer devices. From the early years spent swapping out vaccuum tubes and reading light indicators, human interaction with computers has been constantly evolving. Can Qeexo's FingerSense usher in the next era in manual input?
News: Immensely Popular Go Launcher Gets Big Update & Offers Free Prime Until June 1st
With the Galaxy S5's root bounty over $18,000 and climbing, there's still no Superuser in sight. That doesn't mean we can't tweak and personalize our shiny new toys, though. Several customization options are available just by virtue of the S5's Android base, and installing a custom launcher is one of the fastest ways to get a fresh look.
News: (Updated) Your First Real "Look" at iOS 8
Update: June 2nd, 2014 Over the weekend, someone snuck in to Apple's presentation dry run, and grabbed a quick video of the new iPhone will look like.
News: Google Joins Netflix in Shaming ISPs into Faster Service
Netflix releases monthly reports on major ISPs relating to how well their service works on each provider. The purpose is to educate the public on their choice of service provider, but since many of us hardly have any choice at all when is comes to an ISP, it backhandedly works to shame them (if they're even capable of feeling shame under all those millions of dollars).
News: Google Camera Update Adds a Self-Timer, Fisheye Effect, 16:9 Photos, & More
Just over a month ago, Google made its camera app available to all devices running Android 4.4 and higher. Originally exclusive to Nexus devices, the app got a UI overhaul and a new Lens Blur mode, but lost some features in the transition.
Data Breach: Spotify Users Need to Update Their Android App Right Now
Adobe, eBay, and iCloud have been hacked...now add Spotify to that list. The company has stated that on May 27th, they became aware of "some unauthorized access to [their] systems and internal company data" but that "only one Spotify user's data has been accessed and this did not include any password, financial or payment information."
The LG G3 Has Arrived: Here's Everything You Need to Know
After lots of anticipation and leaks, the LG G3 has been unveiled. Sporting a gorgeous 5.5" Quad HD display, the first of its class for smartphones, this flagship device is ready to put some scare into Samsung and HTC. It's currently available for purchase from AT&T and Sprint, and for preorder at T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
News: Apple Devices Are Being Remotely Locked & Held for Ransom—Here's How to Protect Yourself
It started in Australia, and now seems to have made its way statewide—hackers are remotely locking iOS and Mac devices, holding them for a $100 ransom. Users awoke to the loud "lost iPhone" ringtone, with a message on their lock screen stating that "Oleg Pliss" has hacked their device, and that "they" will unlock it after being sent $100 through PayPal.
The Nexus Killer: OnePlus One Phone Review
A month ago, we showed you what I, and many around the web, dubbed the "Nexus Killer". That device is the OnePlus One, a low-priced, high-powered, CyanogenMod-run Android device.
Calling All DJs: Spotify's 20 Million Song Catalog Is Now Yours to Mix With
DJ applications aren't anything new, but recently, algoriddim GmbH has teamed up with Spotify to open the floodgates for DJs—amateurs and pros alike. The partnership will bring Spotify's 20 million+ tracks to your fingertips while mixing, and also help introduce you and your listeners to new music.