Smartphones Features
How To: Motorola Shows You How to Unlock the Bootloader on Select Android Phones and Tablets
Motorola launched a new webpage on Friday that tells Android users how to unlock the bootloaders on a limited number of new Motorola smartphones and tablets. This new 'Unlock My Device' page helps demystify the process and make it easier for users to customize their phones.
How To: Set up and use a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 WP7 smartphone
Learn everything you need to know about using a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphone. This video guide presents a general overview of the phone's hardware and software. For all of the details, and to get started using your own Focus, watch this video guide.
How To: Not on Facebook? Here Are 4 'Avatar' Alternatives for Creating Your Digital Doppelganger
With Avatar, Facebook's personalized stickers for use on its social and messaging platforms, those who aren't on Facebook or have otherwise dumped the social network may feel left out.
How To: Find all of the golden eggs in Angry Birds
Need help figuring out how to find all of the golden eggs in Angry Birds for iPhone, iPod Touch or Android. See how it's done with this gamer's guide, which presents a complete walkthrough of the process. With the right technique, you'll find it quite easy to beat. For more information, and to get started winning all of this whimsical puzzle game's golden eggs yourself, watch this helpful video guide.
How To: Chrome's Menu Has a Quick Gesture You Should Know About
Many new phones are moving to navigation gestures from the physical buttons of the past. The idea is to maximize screen space as much as possible while still being intuitive. Something cool you should know about, Chrome for iPhone and Android has a neat little trick that pairs quite nicely with these new gestures.
News: Medivis App for Magic Leap One & HoloLens Lets You Study the Human Anatomy in Augmented Reality
Not content to merely assist surgeons via the HoloLens, Medivis has expanded its augmented reality suite to Magic Leap One with an app for medical students.
News: New Moto X Packs AR Features in Its Camera
Lenovo has been no stranger augmented reality, both in products for consumers and services for developers.
How To: Use the Music Player app on an LG Octane VN530 cell phone
In this video tutorial, we learn how to use the music player application on a Verizon LG Octane VN530 cell phone. Whether you own a LG Octane phone or are merely curious to see how they work, you're sure to enjoy this brief clip. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.
How To: Install Installous on your iPhone
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to install Installous on the iPhone. Users will need to have their iPhone jailbroken before install Installous. Open Cydia, click manage, then sources and then add. Type in this source: Click on it in sources and let it load. Find Installous and install it. Now users are able to download applications from the App store for free. This video provides a visual demonstration and step-by-step instruction for viewers to easily un...
How To: Install a SIM card into a GSM phone like the Motorola Razr2
In this clip, we learn how to install a SIM card into a standard GSM cell phone. It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this mobile phone owner's guide can present a complete overview of the process in about three minutes. For all of the details, and step-by-step instructions, take a look.
How To: Change your iphone email notification sound
If you're an iPhone owner tired of have the same email notification sound as every other iPhone owner on the planet, check out this video to see how to change it to what YOU want! You will need to have a jailbroken iPhone, you'll need a little program called Green Poison, and you'll need to have the iPhone jailbroken app Cydia to get it all done. So go for it and tweak it today!
How To: Use a custom wallpaper or ringtone on a Verizon Pantech Crux phone
Whether you're the proud owner of a Pantech Crux phone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this free video guide, which presents a general overview of how to set the phone up. For details, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to see what it takes to set custom wallpapers and ringtones (or ring tones) on your own Pantech Crux, take a look.
News: How 'Ready Player One' Used Microsoft's HoloLens to Help Build Its VR Cinematic Universe
A funny thing happened on the way to the release of the virtual reality epic Ready Player One — augmented reality grabbed a major piece of the spotlight. Specifically, Microsoft's HoloLens.
News: Merge VR's Holo Cube—An Augmented Reality Toy That Transforms into Interactive Holograms
Merge VR, a company mostly known for its virtual reality experiences, is moving into and creating an augmented reality experience that combines an iPhone or Android smartphone, a set of goggles to put your phone in, and a box about the size of a Rubik's Cube which looks more akin to the Lament Configuration seen in the Hellraiser film series. When used in concert with the smartphone and goggles, the toy cube, called Holo Cube, becomes one of many AR experiences.
News: Google Finally Releases ARCore 1.0 for Android Users, Adds Google Lens to Photos App
In one of the worst-kept secrets of the upcoming Mobile World Congress, Google has officially released ARCore on the Play Store for owners of the latest flagship Android smartphones.
News: Magic Leap Reservation Page, Images Hint at Impending Release
The Magic Leap One: Creator Edition has been teased for months now, and while we still don't know exactly when the sales will begin, it can't be long now because we've discovered a couple of new hints that the device's launch is imminent, hiding in plain sight on the company's website.
News: Marvel's 'Avengers — Infinity War' Leads Debut Issue of Moviebill's AR Magazine at Regal Movie Theaters
Riding the coattails of one of the biggest movies this year, the first edition of the new Moviebill augmented reality magazine will be available at Regal Cinema theaters nationwide this weekend alongside the release Avengers: Infinity War.
News: HoloLens Passes Protective Eyewear Tests for Use in the Workplace
Last week, Next Reality wrote about how the Microsoft HoloLens team is partnering with thyssenkrupp. Their mission? To bring mixed reality to the workplace. Now, Microsoft has just confirmed in a blog post that the HoloLens has passed the basic impact tests for protective eyewear in North America and Europe.
Dev Report: 3D Live Tiles, Two-Handed Manipulation & More Are Finally Coming to the HoloLens
It is finally happening. After not having a major update since August of 2016, HoloLens owners everywhere will soon get a number of new features added to their devices. At least if they are members of the Windows Insider program.
IFTTT 101: 8 Useful Applets to Help You Get Started with Smartphone Automation
IFTTT is an application that allows you to automate certain tasks on your iPhone or Android. It can communicate with a myriad of apps and services on your phone by creating applets that perform actions automatically — actions you'd normally have to do manually. Finding those applets, however, can be a little difficult.
How To: Take pictures with an iPod Touch
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to take pictures with an iPod Touch. iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, and Wi-Fi mobile platform. The iPod Touch does not have a built-in camera, but it is able to take screenshots. Begin by going to any option or application that you want to take a screen shot of. Then hold power and home button at the same time until you see a white flash. The picture is located in the Saves Photos folder in the Photos application. T...
News: Transformers Really Are More Than Meets the Eye in New Movie Tie-in AR App
Just as the Transformers animated TV series of the '80s were basically half-hour commercials for toys, a new Transformers AR app for iOS similarly functions as a promotion for the latest installment in the film franchise.
How To: Program your Android phone to respond to voice commands
The future is here! Your Android phone can respond to a wide variety of voice commands - and not just to call people, you can use voice commands to send e-mail, search for directions or find the nearest gas station!
News: Air Guitar + Kinect Hack = Pure Awesomeness
Thanks to Microsoft’s XBOX 360 motion-detecting system, Kinect, the world is becoming a play place for sci-fi style virtual reality. One of the latest hacks demonstrates the next best thing to regular old air guitar... virtual reality air guitar: Artist Chris O'Shea explains how it works:
News: BitCraze Makes Drone Flying Feel Like Telekinesis on the HoloLens
Drones are popular little toys, but they're not the easiest things to control. While hand gestures may not change that too much, donning a HoloLens and flying a physical object with a wave of your hand at least makes the process feel a lot more like a telekinesis.
How To: Get Free Hearthstone Packs by Playing on Mobile
Hearthstone, Blizzard's online card game, combines strategy with a fun spin on the World of Warcraft lore to create a unique experience. With the latest expansion (The Witchwood) on the horizon, you'll want to make sure your collection is ready for when the set drops in April. Fortunately, you can get free packs on iPhone or Android to help prepare.
How To: Use the front-facing camera on an Apple iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is unique because it comes with not one, but two cameras. The front facing camera on your phone can be used to take your own picture, for games or to use the new FaceTime app to video call your buddies. This tutorial will walk you through how to use this fun new feature and how to make the most of it.
How To: Use the LG KE850 phone's virtual keypad during a call
The Prada cell phone (the LG KE850) is a unique, sophisticated and elegant mobile phone with the first complete advanced touch interface.
News: Microsoft's HoloLens Reaches the Classroom with Lifeliqe's Mixed Reality Apps for Kids
Microsoft's augmented reality headset, the HoloLens, is getting a taste of the classroom with Lifeliqe's new mixed reality apps for kids.
Gallery: A Close-Up Look at the Magic Leap One's Optics
For the curious, here are a number of close-up shots of the Magic Leap One's optics and the magnetic attachment that can be swapped out for a version with lenses matching your glasses prescription in the near future.
News: The Mummy Unwraps Augmented Reality Scavenger Hunt
Universal Studios and Cinemark Theaters have enlisted mobile augmented reality game Seek to promote The Mummy, a reboot of the action-adventure film franchise starring summer movie mainstay Tom Cruise.
News: Nissan Augmented Reality Concept Assists Drivers in Detecting Unseen Obstacles
While the technology companies continue to drive forward with autonomous vehicles, Nissan's vision of the future of self-driving automobiles lies in a cooperative experience between human and machine, facilitated by augmented reality.
Super Mario Run 101: How to Unlock Luigi, Yoshi, Toadette & Princess Peach
One of the best features in Super Mario Run is the ability to unlock other notable characters from the classic series on iPhone or Android. Each playable character in Super Mario Run has a slightly different skill set — be it speed or jumping — which can come in handy in certain maps or races.
How To: 5 Productivity Tips for Getting the Most Out of Gboard
Gboard is often considered the best keyboard for iPhone or Android. Google made sure to jam-pack it full of features, and you should expect nothing but the best when it comes to Google's own first-party software. But with so many capabilities, a few things might slip through the cracks.
News: India Telecom Giant Reliance Jio Partners with Startup Tesseract to Bring Augmented Reality Headsets to the Home
We already know that major players like Magic Leap have been planting the seeds of augmented reality for mainstream consumers through wireless partnerships with AT&T, NTT Docomo, SK Telecom.
News: Unity Gives Developers the Keys to ARKit 2.0 Capabilities via Updated Plugin
With developers chomping at the bit to play with ARKit 2.0, Unity has updated its ARKit plugin to enable access to the new augmented reality superpowers of the toolkit.
How To: Create and use widgets on Android cell phones
Android cell phones are highly customizable. You can put just about anything on any one of your home screens, but the widgets are an entirely different animal. They can make your home screens more than useful. CNET shows you how to create widgets, use them, and move them about your home screens. You can even put home photos on your Android smartphone's home screens.
News: New Windows Holographic Virtual Reality Headsets Being Released to Developers in March
With the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Fransisco just a few weeks away, Microsoft Senior Program Manager Vlad Kolesnikov has announced via Channel9 (Microsoft's developer news outlet) that not only will new low-cost virtual reality headsets be coming in March to developers, but that they will be at GDC, too.
How To: Root the Motorola Droid Bionic using the one click method
The Droid Bionic was rooted the same day it came out with the one click method used to root the Droid 3. This tutorial will walk you through the process of rooting Motorola's Android device so that you can unlock the full potential of Verizon Wireless's flagship device.
How To: Use FaceTime over 3G on a jailbroken Apple iPhone 4
Learn the secret to running the FaceTime video phone call app over your iPhone 4's data plan with this hacker's how-to. For all of the juicy details, and to get started making video calls over cellular internet on your own Apple iPhone 4, watch this video tutorial.