Hot Smartphones How-Tos

How To: Recover a deleted SMS & text messages

Accidentally deleted your address book? Got some sneaking suspicions you want to clear up? Got something to hide - permanently? In this video you'll learn what hardware and software you need and how to use it to recover deleted text messages, or, conversely, how to delete data permanently from your SIM card. Don't worry - we won't judge.

How To: Play the Comets and Craters iPhone tower defense game

Need a new iPhone app? Check out Comets and Craters, a new iPhone tower defense strategy game. These ten video tutorials cover all of the gameplay troubles you may have. Steve explains the features and gameplay to help you get the most out of playing Comets and Craters on your Apple iPhone. For those more seasoned Tower Defense players, the video's also provide some insight regarding scoring, upgrades, plus Tower and Enemy capabilities.

How To: Hack a Smartphone Using SMS

How many of you have or know people who have a smartphone? There's a lot of you, right? Well, depending on how most of you use those smartphones, there could be all kind of sensitive information stored on it, and that doesn't just mean sensitive personal information, but it could also contain all sorts of sensitive corporate data for work.

How To: Eavesdrop with a cell phone

Want to bug a room on the cheap? This video how-to demonstrates how to make a simple eavesdropping device using a cell phone with auto-answer support and conventional plug-in type headset. For detailed advice on setting up this expedient spy bugging device, consult this friendly how-to. Eavesdrop with a cell phone.

How To: Hack the iPhone or iPod Touch

Xeni checks in with the authors of the forthcoming O'Reilly HOWTO book "iPhone Hacks" (David Jurick, Adam and Damien Stolarz) for a demonstration of how to unlock and jailbreak your iPhone or iPod Touch. The authors promise to teach you how to coax more out of these devices: little-known features, performance tweaks, and tips on great web-based apps to install -- video game emulators, IM and VoIP apps, and media players that can handle a wider range of filetypes.

How To: Build an application on Android for mobile devices

This video tutorial is about Android, and no it's not a robotic creature, it's a software platform and operating system form mobile phones and PDAs. The Android system is based on Linux and was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Code is managed in the Java language, but can be written in C also, although C is not officially supported. A lot of the new cell phone and other mobile devices will be running off of Android, so know how to use it.

How To: Type capital letters on your iPhone

If you can customize your ringtones, you should know how to use capital letters! It’s so simple and easy, and in this video you will learn how to capitalize important names and proper nouns. Watch these two quick steps to successfully capitalize letters on your iPhone. Grammar never looked so good. Type capital letters on your iPhone.

How To: 10 Badass AI Features Coming to Your Google Apps, Some of Which You Can Use Right Now

For all intents and purposes, Google could have called its 2023 developer conference A/I instead of I/O. Capitalizing on the artificial intelligence hype, Google devoted most of its keynote address to AI research, experiments, and developments. But there's some substance behind the hype in the form of new features in the Google services you already use on Android, iOS, and desktop.

How To: Instantly Turn Gray Skies Blue to Brighten All Your Dull, Gloomy Photos

When you expect to take photos of landmarks, buildings, landscapes, and other outdoor scenery with clear blue skies in the background, you may end up with nothing but overcast weather, resulting in a completely different mood in your pictures. Instead of forgetting about all your images with dreary gray skies, try turning those grays to blues for happier, more shareable photos.

How To: View Popular Hours, Wait Times, and Live Visit Data for Businesses to Determine When to Go Out, Stay Home, or Move On

Unlike Apple Maps, Google Maps can tell you when a restaurant, bar, club, or other business you're thinking of visiting is busy. It's extremely helpful if you want to avoid peak times or wait for the place to be empty. If you can't pry yourself away from using Apple Maps, there's an easy alternative to see the popular times of most businesses.

How To: Use Any Emoji as a Message Reaction in WhatsApp for iOS, Android, Desktop, and Web

Instead of responding to a WhatsApp message with short texts like "LOL" or thinking too hard about something meaningful to say, use an emoji reaction. They cut down on clutter in group chats and take up less space than typing emoji individually in a conversation. WhatsApp initially limited reactions to just six emoji, but a new update lets you use any emoji you want.

How To: Download the Real Wordle Game on Your Phone for Years of Free Offline Gameplay

The hottest word game right now is Wordle, a simple game that gives you six chances to guess the five-letter word of the day. I've already shown how you can add the real Wordle app — not a fake clone — to your iPhone or Android phone's home screen. But there's also a way to save Wordle for offline gameplay for years to come.

How To: Digitize Your COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card on Your Phone for Easy Access Anywhere

As the U.S. inches closer to herd immunity and reopening after the pandemic, it may become necessary to keep your COVID-19 vaccination cards on you at all times to gain access to places and events that are prone to spreading the coronavirus. You probably won't want to lose your card, so it may be wise to load a copy onto your smartphone for easy access.