Gadget Hacks: Page 249

In a previous softModder guide, I detailed how to get the Jelly Bean 4.2 Photo Sphere Camera and Gallery on your HTC One running Sense 5, but that was quickly outdated with the release of the new Google Play Edition HTC One, which has a newer Camera that works great with our hardware.

Running multiple applications at the same time is one of the Samsung Galaxy S3's and S4's biggest advantages over Apple devices, and it's a fact that Samsung certainly harps on constantly in their well-targeted commercials.

Selfies are on there way out. Not because I said so, but just because I want them to. They're both aberrant and curious. They carefully hobble between the lines of self-exploration and crippling insecurities terribly masked as blatant narcissism.

For the first time ever, iPhones will be getting live panoramic wallpapers in iOS 7, but it's something Android devices have always embraced.

In this video clip series our expert, Kyle Saylors, will walk you through all the aspects, parts and options for LED lights and how to use them. He will offer tips on how to work around damaged lights and how to fix them as well as how to set up preset patterns for a light show and all the benefits and downsides to LED lighting.

Phone charger that you can plug in into E27 screw base,its thief charger.

Just like the HTC One Google Play Edition, the recently released Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition ditches the manufacturer's UI in favor of a pure Google experience, i.e. AOSP, but is also optimized specifically for the device's hardware.

If MacGyver had a Nexus 7, he'd most definitely have TWRP installed. It's the softModder's Swiss Army knife for all things modding. You can flash custom ROMs, install add-ons, recover from a disaster, and much more.

How much privacy are you getting as an AT&T customer? With the recent leaks confirming the National Security Agency's surveillance on AT&T users, and the ongoing trial of Jewel v. NSA, it seems not much at all.

Thanks to HTML5 and dedicated video apps, watching your favorite shows, movies, or video clips on your Samsung Galaxy S4 couldn't be easier. However, there are still times when you'll run into a website that requires Flash to play a video or interact with its content.

A wave of shock and anger swept across the country after Edward Snowden released private documents recounting the U.S. government's secretive mass surveillance programs. Although some of the fear was unwarranted (they don't read your emails or listen to your calls), many scrambled to find privacy of new heights for protection from the all-watchful eye.

Whenever a friend borrows my Samsung Galaxy S3 to browse the web or make a quick call, I always pause to make sure there's nothing incriminating on it. I'm no superfreak, but some of my friends are, so I have more than a few photos on my device that I wouldn't wish upon anyone.

There may only be a few hardware buttons on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but when they're not working, your phone might as well be a doorstop.

I like being fast at everything (well, almost everything), and I expect no less from my smartphone. So when I'm using an app on my Samsung Galaxy S3 that takes up the full display, I don't want to swipe down twice to get to my notifications—I want to swipe down once.

Android is constantly being refined, and the tools used to root and install custom recoveries are no exception. Earlier methods to root and install custom recoveries were very long and complicated. Any misstep along the way and you can end up with a bricked tablet.

Uploading certain pictures to Instagram can be problematic, especially when the dimensions of your picture exceed the dimensions of the square crop that's forced upon you.

A free Wi-Fi hotspot can be a lifesaver. Whether it's because you have shitty reception, need faster connectivity, or just don't want to go over your monthly data plan, free Wi-Fi in public areas is greatly appreciated.

So, after about 7 months, my Nexus 7 spontaneously combusted. Okay, it didn't "combust," but I had my Nexus 7 sitting on a shelf for about a week, and when I finally went to pick it up yesterday, the screen was shattered.

What is your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 running? More than likely, you're still rocking Jelly Bean 4.1.2, which is already pretty outdated.

This is about dancing LEDs following the rhythm of music or speech picked-up by a small microphone. The projects is very cool, and for building it, you will need a light bulb,10 LEDs, project box, electronic board with IC CD4017 and LM358 and power adapter.

Well it's for my brothers so they find a house for my mom

Facebook knows who all of your closest friends and family are. When you backpacked across Europe last summer, they went along on the trip. Remember that break up two years ago? Yeah, they were there. The breakfast you ate this morning? They probably have a picture of it.

Here's a video tutorial showing you how to replace Galaxy S4 screen glass if you broke your screen. This will allow you to easily fix your broken glass for under $20.

One little known feature on Android devices is TalkBack, which provides you with spoken feedback and vibrations in order to help you navigate your device. Obviously, if you're not blind or visually impaired, this isn't a feature you're likely to use.

This summer's going to be a hot one, so skip the water pistol this year and break out the big guns! In this project, I'll be showing you how to build a water balloon shotgun—a high-powered water balloon launcher that's capable of firing 17 water balloons at the same time!

Want to show a friend something on your iPhone but don't want them messing up your Angry Birds game or peeking at your private emails? Enter Locktopus, the perfect solution to locking your iOS apps from prying eyes. The only catch—you need to jailbreak your iPhone.

Microsoft released a preview version of Windows 8.1 today, notably adding an updated Start screen, the ability to run several Windows 8 apps side by side in a number of configurations, fully integrated search, better HiDPI support for multiple monitors, and for those who miss it, options to bring back the Start button or boot straight to the desktop.

While the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an integrated LED for notifications, it only works for a few things, like charging and low battery, and it only flashes two main colors (red and blue) when the screen's off.

I've set it up to work with the tv and surround sound system but it just doesn't talk to the dish network hopper. Anybody have this issue?

With so many cloud storage services out there, many people are starting to keep their important documents online, especially when they know they'll need to view them when they're away from their computer.

My favorite color is blue, but if everyone I knew said the same thing, I'd probably switch to red—there's nothing cool about uniformity. One place I'm guaranteed to see plenty of my favorite hue is on Facebook. The social network has gone through many redesigns, but its signature color scheme has never changed.

Don't always believe the marketing hype. "PlayStation Certified" does not mean anything to a softModder. All this indicates is that a smartphone or tablet labeled as "PlayStation Certified" has met the guidelines and hardware requirements issued by Sony to display PlayStation Mobile (PSM) content from the PlayStation Mobile Store correctly.

Have a load of games you want to play, but don't want to be seen in public playing on your old school Nintendo DS system?

My Android phone is in talk back mode... I double tap all over the phone and swiped all over the phone, but it just would not unlock so I can take it off. It's a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

If you're constantly going from dark to brightly lit areas, you've probably noticed that the stock auto brightness feature on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 doesn't work that well. Either the screen is really dim and unreadable, or it's just way too damn bright.

When it comes to our smartphones and tablets, we're always on the lookout for ways to beat the oh so common rapid battery depletion problem that affects practically every mobile device. We'll do anything and everything to keep our battery life at an optimum, from turning off certain features (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) to removing widgets and applications that use an exorbitant amount of CPU.

Facebook and HTC's First was a complete disaster. Soon after its release, carriers were literally giving them away with a two-year contract—or just trying to send them back. It was supposed to be the flagship device for Facebook Home, an Android launcher for Facebook fiends.

Facebook just released its new "home on Android" last Friday, appropriately called Facebook Home. Taking a cue from Amazon's Kindle, Home serves as an "operating system" that runs over Android.

Although the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a speedy device, one feature that feels a bit slow is swiping down from the Status bar to see the Notification tray when I'm using a full-screen app. When a full-screen app is open, I have to swipe down not once, but TWICE, on the upper portion of the screen in order to bring down the Notification tray.

Microsoft's first venture into the tablet market, the Surface RT, combines many of the capabilities of a normal Windows 8 laptop into a super compact tablet, whose super-thin touch cover and kickstand can transform it into a functional mini-laptop, small and light enough to go anywhere you want. But like most tablets, the Surface comes with a rather limited amount of storage space.