News and Updates from Gadget Hacks: Page 40

If you're looking to spruce up your iPhone's home screen, look no further than Aerial Wallpapers, a Tumblr blog that specializes in bringing you the most unique and breathtaking aerial photographs from across our planet, filled with both natural and artificial scenery.

With most of HTC's staff working on getting Sense updated to Android Lollipop, their piecemeal approach to individual app updates now comes to their Gallery app. The new update is available for all HTC devices running KitKat, but if you have the HTC Service Pack installed, it will run on any Android device running 4.4 or above.

Microsoft has a great holiday-themed sale going on right now, but in an apparent effort to generate daily clicks, they're only revealing two deals at a time. Each day between December 8th and 19th, two new deals trickle out—but Microsoft leaker Windows Valley has come across a full list of all upcoming items and their prices, so now you can plan your shopping spree in advance.

Google's original messaging service got a nice version bump today. Hangouts now sports stickers, video chat filters, an updated Material Design interface, and a few new features that should make the service a little more fun and easy to use.

The last of the major Google apps has finally received a much needed update to Android's new Material Design aesthetic, and it's a big one—YouTube.

If there was anything missing from the notoriousYO app, it was Aaron Paul's character from Breaking Bad, Jesse Pinkman, calling me by his signature catch phrase—you know the one.

When Android 5.0 rolls out to the Nexus 5, several changes and new features will come along with it. The over-the-air update is already rolling out, and if you don't want to wait, you can get it right now.

We've already seen the visual changes that Android 5.0 Lollipop has brought to the table, but Google spent just as much time altering things under the hood. Awesome new functionality and hardware capabilities have been added left and right, and with the OS already out now, it's high time we had a look at some of these tweaks.

The original implementation of Android's face unlock feature was a mess. It took too long to unlock (when it worked), brought up a huge interface that overpowered the lock screen, and maybe most egregiously, was able to be "hacked" by someone holding up a picture of your mug.

It took many months of cries from all around the internet—and a particularly large groan from an ex-Lifehacker editor-in-chief—but Apple has not only acknowledged the existence of its iMessage problem, it's promising a fix.

You have to give Amazon credit where it's due. Aside from being a retail powerhouse, they're not averse to dipping their feet in new and sometimes strange areas. Take Fresh, the first major effort at bringing your local goods directly to you in same-day fashion. Or Amazon Dash, which aimed to make adding items to your cart a breeze by allowing for scanning goods or speaking them into a small, hand-held device. Along these lines, the company has now introduced an invite-only product, the Amazon...

It's been a long time coming, but Google's Calendar app for Android has finally received a visual makeover. In the spirit of Android Lollipop, Google's new Material Design permeates throughout the update.

The guys over at SamMobile were lucky enough to get their hands on an early preview build of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the Samsung Galaxy S5, as you can see in their video below. The operating system has definitely not reached its final form yet, but the progress is very clear.

The first thing most of us noticed after Apple announced plans for its wearable—the Apple Watch—was the importance and focus they placed on its interface. Starkly different from their Android Wear counterparts, the Apple Watch's interface has applications scattered around the screen and relies on the device's dial to zoom in and out.

If you were eagerly refreshing the Nexus 6 order page this morning for a chance to snag the latest from Google and Motorola, we hope you were quick to purchase. About a minute after the 32GB models went on pre-order, both the Midnight Blue and Cloud White models were sold out.

Google's got a hit on its hands with this one. Android 5.0—AKA "Lollipop"—will be making its official debut next month, but a new preview build has given us a glimpse into the future, which looks brighter than ever.

Amid rumors of a 6-inch phablet Nexus and the impending release of Android "L", Google posted—then quickly removed—a trio of ads for their industry-leading mobile OS.

I am an English major physically allergic to all algebraic formulas, so you're unlikely to get any help from me when it comes to solving any expressions. But in the glorious technological age we live in, there are plenty of apps that actually make math and problem solving fun, even a little bit addictive.

The updates keep coming for iOS 8, and we've got our hands on the developer release of iOS 8.1, currently in beta, which was released shortly after the iOS 8.0.2 update (and 8.0.1 failure) for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Apple's fix to its previous fix—which was a complete and utter disaster—is rolling out now, thankfully ahead of the "few days" they stated earlier.

With the release of the iPhone 6 Plus, comparisons to the Samsung Galaxy Note series have been circulating like crazy, and it's only natural. The Note was panned as an oversized gimmick when it was released, but after its enormous success, Apple caved and built their own "phablet," something that Samsung took little time to call them out on.

Shortly after the official release of iOS 8, news outlets like BGR, Gizmodo, and Huffington Post were instructing iPhone 4S users to refrain from updating (which were practically regurgitations of an Ars Technica piece).

Apple used to be a great, innovative company. But lately, it's filling its coffers with money raked in from selling folks on "new" and "unique" features that have been blatantly ripped off from Android.

Over the weekend—just days before Apple's big event—an actual iPhone 6 leaked on Chinese site cnBeta.

The most anticipated of the Android Wear devices—the Mote 360—was not only officially unveiled, it's also available to buy right now, for the low price of $249.99.

LG dropped hints of its upcoming successor to the original G Watch last week, and today at IFA 2014 they pulled the curtain off the G Watch R. For fans of Sesame Street, "R" is for "Round," and this circular design was most likely inspired by all of the buzz surrounding the Moto 360.

After a week of teasing, ASUS unveiled its Android Wear-powered ZenWatch at IFA 2014. The ZenWatch packs style and performance with a custom ZenUI, Remote Camera, and over a 100 choices of built-in watch faces.

Lenovo didn't have as much to show off at IFA 2014 as Samsung and Sony did, but its new Android-powered Tab S8 is certainly worth a look.

After the device-packed Samsungevent at IFA 2014, Sony wasn't about to be outdone. The Smartwatch 3 follows the design of its predecessors, but is packed with beefed-up specs, water resistance, screen-off gestures, and more.

IFA 2014 is rolling right along, and after Sony's unveiling of its Smartwatch 3, it was time for the Xperia Z3 devices to get some love— Xperia Z3, the Z3 Compact, and the Z3 Tablet Compact.

A raw video shot by Jason McMinn, using a GoPro mounted to a helicopter drone, gives us a look at Apple's new campus, currently under construction in Cupertino.

In 2012, VideoLan published a beta release of their wildly popular desktop media player, VLC, for the Android platform. However, because the non-profit development team did not have access to popular North American Android devices, they opted to exclude the USA and Canada from their initial release. That is, until now.

Better sleep, smartphone news, and changes to your favorite forms of entertainment. There's been a lot going on over the last couple of weeks in the world of tech, and we thought we'd show you all of the need-to-know products, updates, and ideas that we think are most important.

Whether you are just starting or returning to college, or have already been out in the real world for some time, it's always a good idea to stay on top of your game by keeping your intellect sharp. While it may be easy to just sit in front of your TV, watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory, why not use that time to brush up on some chemistry, calculus, or general learning strategies?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a great smartphone, but do you know all the tips and tricks within the handset?

Update: August 1, 2014

There will always be a time when you're not entirely sure what you're doing with a certain subject. But the days of weighing the pros and cons yourself are coming to an end. Whether it's a common quandary like "Where should we eat?", or a more specific question along the lines of "Should I buy this shirt or not?", you can now simply AskInternets.

If you live in a small town, weather apps can be unreliable. Before moving to Los Angeles, I always had to add or subtract five degrees or so from what my weather app said because I couldn't trust it. With the help of BloomSky, you will be able to get an accurate weather reading directly from your backyard.

In 1999, Robin Williams starred in Bicentennial Man, a movie in which Williams played a robot named Andrew Martin, taking care of a family as a their nanny and personal assistant. For almost 15 years, I have waited for my Andrew Martin, but until now, I have been disappointed. Luckily, Jibo is on the job!

Say goodbye to the age of metal robots—C-3PO and K9 are a thing of the (future) past! Anette Hosoi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at MIT, and her former graduate student Nadia Cheng, have created a robotic material closely resembling human skin.