Calling something a “threat to national security” is a pretty big deal. In freedom-loving countries, that label is typically used to describe atomic bombs or evil dictators. In communist China, however, that label has been applied to an iPhone. That’s right: the Chinese government has officially labeled the iPhone a threat to national security. This past week, China’s Central Television network (CCTV), which is run by the state, labeled the iPhone’s “Frequent Location”…
Of the several million apps available for use on the Android platform, there only a few must-have travel utility apps for those who fly across borders ever so often. In case you are travelling, here’s one Android app that should help you speak the local and languages native to the people living there so as to ensure that you overcome all linguistic and cultural barriers and enjoy a smooth-sailing trip. Talking Translator and Dictionary is an app that has been designed to make you have a…
A few years ago, rooting Android was a totally different experience than it is today. Rooting Android devices required hours of work and a significant amount of risk. You had to install scripts and browse shady websites. It was a dangerous and annoying process. Today, things have changed. Software like One Click Root and automated scripts like TowelRoot have opened rooting to the entire Android world. In addition, a number of the benefits have changed: previously, you had to root Android…
By all accounts, the OnePlus One is a fantastic smartphone. But some people believe a phone isn’t truly fantastic until they root it. How do you root the OnePlus One? Can you root the OnePlus One? As you probably guessed from the title of this article, yes you can root the One and today, I’m going to show you exactly how. Contrary to what some people believe, the OnePlus One does not come pre-rooted. It does, however, run CyanogenMod directly out of the box, which is where a lot of…
With evolving Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G speeds available across mobile networks worldwide, it is quintessential for you to pick the right connection to keep up with the rest of the world. Along with a strong internet connection, it is equally important to empower your smartphone or tablet with the right set of tools to perfectly optimize your device’s browsing, download and upload speeds. Even with regular mobile browsers, a user must have the right tools in his device to help bring out maximum…
Android L is being (unofficially) released for more and more Android devices. If you’re one of the lucky few to get the Android L update, then you’re probably wondering what, exactly, is so different and cool about it. Well, today, we’re making things easier for you. Here are the top 6 most important changes you’ll encounter with Android L: 6) New navigation buttons This may be the smallest but most obvious change with Android L. From the moment you boot up your device, you’ll…
You may have heard about a crazy new smartphone called the Blackphone. The Blackphone is calling itself the most secure Android smartphone ever built. And by all accounts, that claim seems accurate. The Blackphone is made by Geeksphone and Silent Circle and uses a heavily modified version of Android KitKat called PrivatOS. The Blackphone started accepting preorders back in February. However, it took until the start of July for those preorders to start shipping. It’s not cheap: it…
When something is called a “lock” screen, you expect it to be locked. Unfortunately, the recent Google Now update removes two critical locks from your lock screen and exposes a potential security hole in Android. Specifically, enabling the OK Google Everywhere function lets anyone place calls directly from the lockscreen. You can simply say “OK Google, Call ” from the locked phone screen to place a call. There are some restrictions: the contact has to be in your contact book,…
Back in March 2013, I told you about a new Facebook experiment called Facebook Home. Facebook Home was the long-awaited Facebook Phone. It was essentially a UI overlay that replaced your existing UI with a Facebook-centric UI. One phone, the HTC First, even came with Facebook Home pre-installed, which made the HTC First the unofficial “Facebook Phone” that had been rumored for so long. Anyways, to cut a long story short, Facebook home was not what the consumers wanted. In a…
Booking a taxi had never been hassle-free and you never can’t seem to catch one when you really need it. Apart from this, there are so many things to take into consideration in order for the service to be reliable. Sometimes the taxis are just a no-show! However, all that is about to change with a nifty Android app named Taxi Beat that’s going to revolutionize the way you book a cab and make the process easy and user friendly so you no longer have to fret about it. It allows you to…
