Everything Else
YouTube 101: How to Manage Your Notifications
YouTube is nothing without its creators — the people who make the content worth visiting the site again and again. Many of us have favorite channels and creators we return to, but it can be difficult to keep track of all the new videos they make, as the alternative is to be plagued by unwanted notifications.
Netflix 101: How to Cast Shows & Movies from Your Phone to Your TV
Chromecast comes to mind when "casting" video from a smartphone to a big screen television, but it's not the only way to "cast" streaming content. This is especially true for Netflix, where you can cast movies and TV shows to not only a Chromecast-enabled TV, but to smart TVs, video game consoles, and other streaming media players so that you have complete control right from your smartphone.
News: Travel the World for a Price You Can Afford with Wander
Ah, the sand between your feet, the sun on your skin, and the debt you're accumulating. However strong my sense of wanderlust may be, I still can't justify dropping thousands of dollars on a vacation. Fortunately, a new site — Wander — promises to help you book vacations that match your budget.
News: Break Out of Your Comfort Zone with This News App
Following the most recent election, some argue that increasing political polarization is dividing Americans. A new app, called Read Across the Aisle, is aiming to combat this by encouraging users to read news from media outlets on both sides of the political spectrum.
YouTube 101: How to Make a Playlist from Your Phone
YouTube is a giant platform — over 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. It can be difficult to keep track of your favorite videos in such a chaotic sea of content. Difficult, but certainly not impossible.
News: This Live Game in Times Square Will Make Your Spidey Senses Tingle
To celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming and to advertise Dell's newest gaming laptop, Dell and Sony Pictures teamed up to create a live game in Times Square. Simply walk through the tourist hotspot to unlock the game and help Peter Parker save the day.
News: Holographic Smartphone Is Coming, but We're Not Sure You Should Get It
So it's 2017 and there are no flying cars and teleportation devices around, but there might be holographic smartphones sometime soon. As cool as that sounds, should we trust a holographic smartphone from a company that has never made smartphones before?
News: Hilton Customers Successfully Unlocked Their Rooms Over 11 Million Times via App
A few years ago, the Hilton hotel group unrolled the Digital Key, a feature of the Hilton Honors app that allows you to unlock your hotel room with your smartphone.
News: 2016 App of the Year Winner Prisma Releases New App 'Sticky AI'
Isn't it everyone's dream to be a sticker? No? Just me? Well, if you've ever felt like emojis just aren't conveying the exact emotion you want and you feel like your face would do a better job, have no fear. Prisma has released a new app called "Sticky AI" that allows you to transform your selfies into stickers that you can use for your messages.
News: Someone's Selling a Putin-Trump Nokia 3310 & I'm Confused Too
Russian phone customizer Caviar — you might have heard of the blinged-out iPhone 6s Pokemon GO phone they released a few months back — is taking on international relations with their newest product.
Netflix 101: Choosing the Netflix Plan That's Right for You
Netflix offers three different tiers of service. The good news is that no matter which subscription plan you choose, the available content is the same. Whether you choose the cheapest plan or the most expensive, you'll be able to watch any TV show or movie in Netflix's library. But there are other things to consider when choosing the plan that's right for you and your smartphone.
News: No More Texting-While-Cycling, 'Safe Lock' Blocks Your Network While Riding
Cycling accidents are more common than you think. In the past month, two men have been hit and killed while cycling in New York City. I even saw a cycling accident occur yesterday morning here in NYC. It's dangerous enough to be cycling in populated areas, it's made worse by people wanting to text while riding.
News: Can You Hear Me Now? Probably Not if You Have T-Mobile
If you're on T-Mobile, you've probably had a rough morning. Reports are coming in saying that the carrier's LTE network is down in cities throughout the country.
News: How to Disable Netflix Auto-Play from Within the Mobile App
It's really easy to binge-watch episode after episode, and that's exactly what Netflix wants us to do. Before you can even think twice, the next video is playing and you're stuck wallowing in the abyss of unintentionally marathon-viewing your new favorite TV show, and there's nothing you can do. Except there is something you can do — and it's as simple as disabling one little feature.
News: Stop Netflix from Eating Your Data While Streaming
If you don't have any home Wi-Fi, like to watch videos on public transportation, or just always find yourself streaming Netflix when there are no hotspots available, your cellular data is probably gobbled up fairly fast. For limited data plans, watching the next episode of your favorite TV show could mean overage charges on your cellular bill, but it doesn't have to.
News: This IG Account Will Expose Your Staged Camping Pictures
Don't even think about posting a fake camping picture to Instagram because this account is committed to calling you out. The account entitled @youdidnotsleepthere is exposing fake pictures posted by travel bloggers to its over 36,000 followers.
News: Get into Concerts with Ultrasonic Sounds from Your Smartphone, No Ticket Necessary
Imagine walking up to enter a live event — but instead of pulling out a physical or mobile ticket to get admitted — you pull out your smartphone which lets out an ultrasonic sound tailored for you that lets you into the event.
Fyre Starters: Meet the 15 Stars Whose (Undisclosed) #Spon Brought the FTC's Wrath on Instagram
Now that Fyre Festival co-founder Billy McFarland is charged with fraud, this is the perfect time to list off those top 15 influencers who promoted tickets to the disastrous event to their loyal followers, right?
News: DownToDash Helps You Hang Out with Other College Students
DownToDash, an app from an NYC-based startup, connects students to other students who want to hang out the same way they do. The social networking app has gained increasing popularity since its launch in October 2016 and looks ready to become even more available. The app was founded by Sama Jashnani and Anuja Shah, both recent students themselves.
News: Samsung Could Lose Grip on OLED Monopoly Thanks to Google & Apple
The race is on to break Samsung's near-OLED Monopoly. Google joined the race back in April, reducing their reliance on Samsung's OLED's by supposedly investing about $880 million into using LG's OLED's for their Pixel phone screens. Now, Apple's stepping up with a rumored $2.5 billion investment into LG's OLED Display initiative for their phones too.
News: Curve's Newest Feature Lets You Go Back in Time
Mobile wallet Curve just released a new feature that lets you correct past mistakes. Sounds incredible, right? Unfortunately, the mistakes you can erase aren't things like forgetting to do an assignment in school, screwing up a job interview, or, well, your ex. However, you can switch the card you want to use to pay even after you've paid with Curve, and that's still pretty cool.
News: Use Facebook Messenger to Interrogate This Chatbot for Game of Thrones Spoilers
Winter is here, which means we have a lot of questions about the coming season of Game of Thrones. It's hard finding someone who cares enough to listen to you rant about why Jon Snow is the rightful ruler of Westeros. It's also hard to figure out who exactly everyone is and is related to since there are over 150 major characters on the show. We're all getting a little antsy waiting for the new season, so to hold us over a new bot has rolled out 'G0TB0t' on Facebook Messenger. Specifically, it...
News: Can't Make It to San Diego Comic-Con? Twitter Has Your Back
Comic-Con International: San Diego, better known to you and I as "San Diego Comic-Con", is coming very soon; and if you're like me and live far, far away from San Diego (sigh), Twitter is now offering a helpful alternative to keep you in the loop at this year's event.
News: What Is Social Media Day?
If you haven't been on any sort of social media all day — which I seriously doubt — then you might not have heard that today, June 30, is Social Media Day. It's been trending on Twitter, but has also been making appearances on Instagram and Facebook. While major influencers are talking up a storm about this, most people are simply asking "what is social media day?"
Review: Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow Is ... Fun?
I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow has charm. The original writers are attached to this project, and that shows in the humorous dialogue between characters.
Review: Reigns — Game of Thrones Meets Tinder
Reigns recently went on sale on the Google Play Store (sorry, iPhone users), and that inspired me to give it a go. I've wanted to try this one out for a while now, but the steep price tag kept me away. ($2.99 is a lot for me, okay?)
Review: Altered Beast — The Standard for Porting Games to Mobile
When I booted up my second Sega Forever title, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sonic 1 was fun, but the controls weren't great. Touch screen controls can be excellent when the game is designed for them, but retrofitting a game designed for a physical controller to be played on a smartphone, well, sometimes is a bit disastrous.
News: Anchor Helps You Easily Record and Post Podcasts Right from Your Phone
Anchor has been called the audio equivalent of Snapchat. The app lets you record audio and broadcast it to whomever you follow. If you haven't heard of the app, get familiar with it because it has announced an easy way for you to record and publish podcasts from your smartphone.
News: Play This Mobile Game & Win an All-Inclusive Vacation
The latest video game developer to hit the scene is a hotel chain, and they're offering big prizes for high-scorers.
News: The Perfect Emoji Will Be Just a Keyword Away in WhatsApp
Most messaging apps have it, so it's about time WhatsApp did too. The WhatsApp beta now has a search bar for emojis.
News: Twitch Will Soon Allow Mobile Gamers to Live Stream
There is a seemingly endless supply of games on mobile. While many of these games are fantastic, many are also, well ... garbage. And unfortunately, the platform as a whole has been dismissed because of those garbage games. This situation leaves gamers like myself wondering what can be done to develop a deeper public respect for gaming on smartphones.
News: Google Photos Gets Smart with New AI & Sharing Features
In case Google Photos didn't recognize your face enough, they're now rolling out a new AI feature who uses facial recognition for easy photo sharing.
News: Snapchat Adds Mobile Creative Studio So You Can Design Geofilters in-App
Snapchat announced today that you can now design geofilters in-app, making it easier than ever to customize your snaps. This new feature incorporates a mobile creative studio, so you no longer have to use your computer to create your custom masterpiece.
News: Scientists Solve Smartphone Glare Problem by Imitating the Eyes of Moths
I can't stand trying to use my phone in direct sunlight. It drives me crazy — I just want to get through a game of Sonic, but I can't see where I'm going. No one has it harder than I do. But my troubles might soon be over, as researchers are developing anti-glare films for smartphones, based off of the eyes of moths. Weird.
News: New Messenger Discover Feature Is a Blast from the Past — with a Twist
Today, Facebook Messenger is rolling out Discover, a feature that helps you chat with companies and locate nearby businesses of interest to you. First discussed in April at Facebook's developer conference F8, Discover is finally available for public use.
News: Tinder Gold Allows Users to See Everyone Who 'Likes' Their Profile
Tinder, marketed as a free 'dating' app, is no stranger to paid features. The company has long allowed users to step up their game by spending money on their 'Tinder Plus' service. Tinder would like more of your money, it seems, as it rolls out a new paid service with a highly-desirable premium feature — the ability to see who has swiped right on your profile, without having to match.
News: Pinterest Takes Steps to Hack-Proof Your Account
The peaceful, pastel and doily-filled world of Pinterest is my oasis. My account conveys who I want to be and what I want to accomplish, so the idea of someone hacking it and ruining my favorite escape for me is heartbreaking. Fortunately, Pinterest has updated its security, implementing three new features to hack-proof your account.
Prime Users: Get Up to $80 Off Nokia, Alcatel & Moto Phones
Honestly, this deal is pretty sweet. As of today, Amazon has added five new devices to their "Prime Exclusive Phones" program. The program allows Prime users to buy midrange handsets unlocked at a discount that goes up to $80.
News: T-Mobile LTE-U Gives Galaxy S8 Owners a Speed Boost in Select Cities
Last month, AT&T made headlines with its disastrous launch of its 5G Evolution network (spoiler alert: it wasn't actually 5G). T-Mobile responded to the embarrassing news by saying the company would be working on its own 5G network, and would take its time rolling it out. Well, T-Mobile may have just pulled an AT&T — T-Mobile is launching LTE-U in the US, and things seem pretty similar to the 5G Evolution's introduction.
News: Dating App 'Hinge' Wants to Showcase the Real You with Video Clips
It seems we've come full circle in alternative dating routes. Just like a long time ago when people were able to go to matchmakers and watch videos of potential matches, the dating app 'Hinge' is now allowing you to add videos to your profile.