Articles (page 6 of 50)
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How to Grow Potatoes for a Bounteous Harvest
For the most part, potatoes are easy to grow. Simply toss a few "seeds" onto the ground, cover them, and let them do their thing. However, to make sure you enjoy a rich harvest…
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What is App Ops, and why did Google remove it from Android?
Desktop and laptop computers are a huge mess of lax security. A program that you install on one of these devices is allowed by its operating systems to have virtually unlimited…
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Bluetooth 4.1 is coming, here’s what it means for you
Bluetooth may be one of the most used but least understood technologies packed inside our smartphones and tablets today. In its early days we were promised a wireless future with…
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Android 4.4.2: Here’s what it brings to different Nexus devices
Android 4.4 KitKat was introduced when Google released the Nexus 5 . Earlier this month we heard of an “incremental update” that was supposed to fix a few things specific to the…
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KitKat looks like Jelly Bean, but under the hood it’s a whole lot better
After far too much speculation, Android 4.4 KitKat has finally arrived. Those who have a Nexus 5 got the latest version of the operating system right out of the gate. Other Nexus…
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The Snapdragon 805 is going to knock your socks off
The latest and greatest in mobile processors available today is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800. Able to run four cores at 2.3Ghz, process multiple high-definition streams at once, and…
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Voice and text should (optionally) fall-back to WiFi networks whenever possible
Technology sites like Pocketnow often focus on carrier coverage and wireless technologies made available through the cellular towers that dot our landscape. We are constantly…
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Why Facebook Home failed and Google Now will succeed
Facebook is one of the most popular social networks in the entire world, but in today’s fast-paced environment, resting on one’s laurels is probably the best way to get passed up…
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The second operating system hiding on your phone
Inside every smartphone and cellular-enabled tablet is a second operating system that you, the end-user, never see. Whether you prefer Android over iOS, or Windows Phone to…
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The best Qi wireless chargers to use with your Nexus 5
Google’s latest flagship, the Nexus 5 , has been out for a little while, but it includes a feature that’s been out for a while longer: support for Qi wireless chargers. Qi is one…
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Can we use ambient Wi-Fi signals to trickle charge cell phones?
We all have a smartphone or tablet, and we’re all acutely aware of how much battery life we can eek out of them. Most can get through their day, but many still have to recharge at…
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Android isn’t laggy, but your cheap phone or tablet may be
I talk with a lot of people about mobile technology (a LOT of people), and I read a lot of comments. A common thread that comes up when people learn that I’m Joe the Android Guy™…
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Dalvik vs. ART: Android virtual machines and the battle for better performance
A huge advantage that devices powered by the Android operating system have over virtually every other OS is the use of a virtual machine in which apps run. Yes, virtual machines,…
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These devices have Android 4.4 ROMs available
Before anyone gets their hopes up, as of right this instant, the only device that has an official build of Android 4.4 KitKat is Google’s own Nexus 5. That will change as soon as…
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How to Flash KitKat on your Android today
Android 4.4 KitKat is literally days old, so how can you get it on your Android-powered smartphone or tablets? Luckily, Google released the code into the Android Open Source…
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Here are the main advantages of having a Snapdragon 800 SoC
Just so we’re all on the same page, a System on a Chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit which combines all the core components of an electronic system into a single chip. Depending…
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What happened to Ubuntu Touch for Phones?
Ubuntu is a popular distribution of the Linux operating system, primarily for desktop and laptop computers. It is named after the South African philosophy of ubuntu , which…
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What Android laptops need to succeed
Smartphones are great and useful tools, but until you get a bigger screen on them, they’re never going to replace your laptop computer. Tablets are gaining in popularity and in…
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WP8 Live Tiles becoming more like Android widgets every day
Is that a widget, or a Live Tile on your screen? Back in the early days of Windows Phone, Microsoft’s homescreen was basically just a grid of “flat” icons, but unlike Apple’s grid…
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Android 4.4 KitKat widgets: a step back to Gingerbread?
Widgets are small, interactive components that sit on your homescreens to present information to you, the user, without having to load the full application. Some people love them,…
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Ambient Coprocessors: The Android-equivalent of the Apple M7
We truly live in an amazing time. We have some of the most technologically advanced consumer electronics known to man, and we carry them around in our pockets! Although processors…
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Why we don’t need USB 3.0 ports on our smartphones or tablets
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has a somewhat unusual USB port on it. No, it’s not reinventing one proprietary connector into another proprietary connector like Apple recently did with…
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Multipath TCP is awesome and iOS 7 has it, sort of
Years ago I used to commute to and from work. What was normally a 30-minute drive off-peak was easily three times that during rush hour. Luckily for me, I was a geek back then,…
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Why can’t Android get notifications right during media playback?
Devices powered by Google’s Android operating system are fairly well rounded. They’re a good phone. They’re a decent time keeper and appointment tracker. They go a great job at…
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Quantum dots may soon power your smartphone’s HD display
Take a look at your screen. Whether that screen is your desktop monitor, your smartphone, the HD display on your tablet, or even the face of your digital watch, it’s made up of…
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Everything you need to know about 64-bit smartphones
Whether your’re talking about current operating systems on desktop computers, the latest version of iOS, or the rumors of the next version of Android, 64-bit has definite…
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Is the do-it-all device a pipe dream?
We seem to get caught up debating which OS is better, or which manufacturer makes the best hardware. Doing so hides the fact that today’s personal electronic devices are wondrous…
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Our favorite places to get beautiful phone wallpaper
Regardless of what kind of smartphone you use, one of the main ways to customize it and add a touch personality is through the application of a wallpaper. For those of you who…
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How to wake your Android by swiping (Video)
How many times do you turn your smartphone on each day? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply swipe your finger across the screen to wake it up? I’m not talking about “swipe to…
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Why are some YouTube videos not available on mobile devices?
At Pocketnow we celebrate mobile devices as well as the mobile lifestyle. Being able to carry the world around with you is taken for granted in this day and age. Whether you…
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Why does Google hate your SD card?
A long time ago in a smartphone not terribly far away lived a slot that you could fill with a storage card. Most phones even came with a card, albeit a small one. Onto this card…
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What is TRIM support in Android 4.3 and why should you care?
When I first got my original Nexus 7, I loved it. Over time, however, it got slower and slower. As it turns out, I wasn’t alone. These tablets that started out snappy got…
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Putting your phone in a case vs. letting it run around naked
Apparently I’m a bit of an anomaly when it comes to carrying a smartphone. During my Windows Mobile (and Pocket PC) days, I carried my phone around in a holster. Don’t judge me!…
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Get to know Pocketnow’s Joe Levi
Pocketnow Insider isn’t just about video. It’s a collection of posts that offers a glimpse behind the scenes of Pocketnow – and a brief look into the lives of the people behind…
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How to fix anything that’s wrong with your Android
Yesterday we talked about how phones seem to degrade over time, and some of the reasons why the physical components do, in point of fact, fail with use (and abuse). We didn’t talk…
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Why do phones degrade with use?
“They say time is the fire in which we burn.” It should go without saying that everyone who’s reading this article has had some experience with electronics. At some point in time,…
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The Snapdragon 800 is the CPU you want in your next phone
Inside every smartphone is a processor, but unlike your desktop or laptop computer, it’s not a single, discreet chip. Instead, smartphones employ something called a “system on a…
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Student of Schanze's dies in paraglider crash
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the death of a paragliding student in Imperial Beach, California. Henry Ho, 48, reportedly crashed his paraglider into a pile…
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Why is WiFi so much worse on smartphones than on laptops and computers?
WiFi is great, isn’t it? The power of a local area network without the inconvenience of cables strung all over the place! WiFi seems to come to the rescue whenever our cellular…
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Customize, theme, and tweak your soft buttons with this app (video)
Changing the soft-buttons on your Android-powered device is one way to super-customize your smartphone or tablet. Some complain that soft buttons take up too much space on your…
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Would you like an Android-powered camera-phone like the Nokia 808 PureView or EOS?
There used to be a significant divide between “good” cameras and “point-and-shoot” varieties. Today, thanks to modern technology, that division is growing smaller. In the past you…
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Who cares about thin? Give me a smartphone with some meat on its bones!
It should come as no surprise, smartphones are getting thinner. Just when you thought they couldn’t get any skinnier, manufacturers will shave a millimeter or two off their next…
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Waterproof phones and tablets are a good thing, but please, don’t take them in the shower!
Waterproof phones? Seriously? Why would we ever need waterproof phones and tablets? Have you ever had your phone just stop working? If so, you’re not alone. The next step is…
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Dell Schanze Reportedly Caught on Video Shooting From a Powered Paraglider
In Utah it's against the law to shoot from a vehicle . Is a powered paraglider considered a "vehicle"? Was the paraglider in question in Utah? These are just a few questions…
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IMEI, your phone, and you
It’s probably safe to say that everyone reading this article either has a cell phone currently, or has had a cellular telephone at some time in the past. Many of you may be…
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The Facebook-Centric HTC First is Dead, What Does it Mean for HTC?
HTC seems like they want to be “number one” — at least they want people to associate them with that level of prestige. Why else would they name their devices “One” and “First”…
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Why the New Google Play Services Make Android Better Than Ever
The keynote of Google I/O 2013 has come and gone. This would have been the time when Google announced a new version of Android. Instead they went into great detail about new…
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My Immigration Story: The Unspoken History We’d Rather Ignore
Cecilia Muñoz, Director, Domestic Policy Council at The White House sent me an email. She wants me to share my immigration story. This is the start of a national debate. Across…
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Toyota Confirms: Li-Ion Batteries Have a “Memory Effect”
We all know how important batteries are in our modern electronics. They’re also becoming an increasingly vital part of our vehicles. For people in both camps, the latest news from…
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Have Tablets and Smartphones Finally Killed the PC?
I’ve been using Windows since the 3.1 days. Back then my desktop computer cost thousands of dollars. To convince my dad to make the purchase I had to promise that I’d somehow make…