5 ways to take charge of your smartphone's home screen
If the only change you’ve made to your iPhone or Android phone’s home screen is to swap out the wallpaper and rearrange a few icons, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible. Indeed, you...
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Too much tapping? Create your own Android and iOS keyboard shortcuts
We all have a phrase, a number, or another string of text that we type over and over again: a lengthy street address, your office number, or any other common bit of data you wish would simply flow...
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How to stop SMS spam on your Android or iOS phone
"Italian made Ray Bay, Oakley sunglasses :)" reads the Emoji-riddled iMessage sitting in your iPhone's Messages inbox. "Pick up Your New RayBan Sunglasses Here before they run out!"If you're using...
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Shhh! 3 ways to keep your pre-Lollipop Android phone quiet
Android phones have a bad habit of beeping during important meetings or buzzing in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, iOS devices and the brand-new, Android Lollipop-powered Nexus and Motorola phones...
View ArticleHow to teach contact names and relationships to Siri and Google Now
Picking up your phone and saying "Call my dad" or "Call Ted" (meaning Ted your boss, not that random Ted fellow you met five years ago) should work like magic. All too often, though, both Siri (on...
View ArticleHow to replace your Android or iOS keyboard
The touchscreen keypad that comes with your iPhone or Android handset is competent, but maybe you’d like to give your fingertips a break by swiping keys rather than tapping them. Or perhaps you want a...
View Article9 typing tips every Android and iOS user should know
Wish it were a little easier to type in ALL CAPS on your Android or iPhone, or ever get stumped while looking for the em dash? What about typing letters with accent marks, or dealing with cumbersome...
View Article9 ways to lock down your iPhone or Android device before it goes missing
You know that icy stab of panic when you suddenly realize your Android phone or iPhone isn't safe in your pocket where it should be? Sure, features like "Find my iPhone" on iOS or the Android Device...
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7 gotta-know iOS and Android text-messaging tricks
The standard Android and iOS messaging apps—you know, the app you use for trading all those text messages, photos and videos—can do much more than you might think. Not only can you forward any text...
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Six ways to make your iOS or Android phone easier on the eyes
Even as the displays on our iPhones and Android phones get bigger and bigger, the type on our screens remains stubbornly small—so small, indeed, that you may find yourself squinting whenever you...
View Article5 ways to take charge of Android and iOS notifications
Android and iOS notifications can get out of hand fast. For example, it seems like the notification light on my Android tablet is constantly pulsing, and no—I really don’t need to know that there’s a...
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8 Gmail mobile app tricks for iOS and Android
There's more to the recently revamped Gmail app than a pretty Material Design. Read on for 8 new Gmail tricks, starting with...Set a vacation responder (Android, iOS) Image: Ben Patterson You can set...
View Article9 time-saving search tips for Google on Android and iOS Spotlight
Google and Spotlight search are two of the best time-saving tools on your Android or iOS device. And yet it's easy to forget about the little Google search box on the home screen. Spotlight search on...
View Article4 ways your Android device is tracking you (and how to stop it)
So there I was, poking around some of the more arcane settings on my Moto G, when I stumbled across something that took me aback: an archive of every voice command I'd ever spoken to my phone. Turns...
View ArticleAll about Action buttons, your handy helpers in iOS
When you've shared a web page you're reading on your iPad with your Facebook friends, or zapped out an iPhone snapshot via iMessage, your first tap has probably been that little square button with the...
View Article8 great Google Maps tips for Android and iOS
It's time to learn your way around the new Google Maps app. The old, somewhat clunky Google Maps interface has been replaced with a flatter, more modern look. Your favorite features are probably still...
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Rise and shine: 8 eye-opening alarm clock tips for iOS and Android
Your Android phone or iPhone probably doubles as your alarm clock, but it can do so much more than buzz you in the morning. Read on for eight ways to enhance your smartphone's alarms, from putting...
View Article2 easy ways to child-proof your Android or iOS device
You know toddlers: The more expensive and precious an object is, the more likely they’ll grab it. My 15-month-old daughter loves nothing better than to get her drooly little hands on my iPad—and when...
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6 great Google Chrome gestures for Android and iOS
With Chrome on your phone, there’s no need to dig through menus or take aim at tiny buttons to make the most of your tabs and webpages. Instead, just swipe, flick, tap and hold, or tap and pull to...
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6 handy Android tasks you can do from Google desktop search
With Google search loaded in your browser window, you’re only a few keystrokes away from checking off some of your daily Android to-dos. For starters (as I noted recently), you can set an alarm on...
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