How-Tos

Whether it's for quick notes or lengthier conversations, at least one-third of smartphone owners (and many more teens) turn to SMS for day-to-day communication.

Less personal than a phone call, but more intimate than a Facebook post, a text message allows us to skip past any pleasantries and get our points across quickly.

If you find yourself launching the Messages app more often than the dialer, grab these tricks to make your (texting) life a little easier.

1. Enable character count. As Business Insider points out, every time you exceed 160 characters in a text message, your service provider … Read more

There are moments when an extra object in a picture can really throw off the balance. Maybe you're on vacation and taking a picture of a building, but street sign shadows or people stopping in front of you for their photo opportunities tend to ruin the shot. Instead of worrying about getting the perfect picture every single time, why not use an app that will help fix any flaws?

TouchRetouch is an app for Android and iOS that will allow you to remove unwanted objects from your photos. Those shadows on the ground? Gone. Poor … Read more

This is one of the quick and easy tips that makes iOS so remarkable. Yes, it's simple, but that small attention to detail makes all the difference in terms of user experiences.

Due to the iPhone's small screen real estate, compromises in how some information is displayed had to be made. A specific amount of characters are viewable when scrolling through the track listings on albums (in both landscape and portrait mode). When song titles are longer than the space available, an ellipses appears, indicating there is more to the title.

In a world where nearly every song … Read more

Podcasts are awesome-sauce. When I'm in the car or out for a run, there's nothing I like better than an episode of "This American Life," "Wiretap," or the amazing new radio-drama "The Truth."

Seriously, what's not to like? iTunes is home to zillions of podcasts -- there's literally something for everyone -- and they're all free.

There is, of course, one downside: podcasts consume space. Not a ton (the average episode of "This American Life" is about 27MB, the equivalent of three or four MP3 song files), … Read more

There are some very interesting wallpaper options and apps in the Google Play Store. However, this doesn't mean you'll find one that you never get tired of. Instead of settling for one wallpaper choice, why not check out Wallpaper Changer for Android.

With this app you can choose from a handful of your photos or even complete albums to show in the background of your Android's Home screen. If you're trying to think of which collection of photos to use, here are some ideas and how to get started:

You can … Read more

Keeping track of everything you buy, especially if you run a business or get reimbursed for costs, can be really tedious. There are usually receipts in different sizes for each item purchased, and trying to remember to put them in a certain place doesn't always happen. Additionally, since many receipts are printed on thermal paper, their information may fade away before the next time you evaluate spending or when doing your taxes. So why not try a different approach to receipt and record keeping?

Lemon is a useful app for Android that will allow you to take snapshots of … Read more

Spotify's Android users have it easy. In the Android version of the app, Spotify can just peek at whatever music files you have loaded on your phone and allow you to play them alongside any songs from its streaming library.

But because Apple is very particular about third-party apps accessing iTunes content, the Spotify app on the iPhone has to jump through a few extra hoops to accomplish the same feat.

The payoff? Well, if you love using the Spotify app and resent having to jump out of it to hear songs from your personal collection, you can now … Read more

Sharing a living space usually means you will be sharing resources and bills, too. Groceries, toilet paper, laundry detergent, Internet, water, and electricity bills are just a few of the major costs that you'll be dividing. But when it comes to keeping track of who owes whom and for what is when you might be setting yourself up for a dispute. That's why an app like Conmigo exists.

Conmigo will help you keep a monetary record of all transactions that you and your housemate(s) share. Think of this app like an upgraded accountant's log, except you … Read more

If you're an avid online gamer, it's likely that you and your friends show up at your computer desks for scheduled events. By scheduling a time to show up, everyone can enjoy the company of people they know, instead of always relying on random players from the Interwebs.

While playing your game of choice, you also are likely to use some form of voice chat, since it is much faster and more efficient than typing. One of the most popular choices for this type of communication is Ventrilo -- a real-time voice client. The ability to chat on … Read more