All Posts by Ara Wagoner | Android Central

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All Posts by Ara Wagoner

Be Legendary with these Pokémon wallpapers!

10 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 26 Jul 2017 12:00 pm
Your phone is full of Pokémon now. Don't you need a wallpaper that is, too? Pokémon Go has been out for over a year now, and if you've lapsed your play in this summer heat (I know I have), then you're not alone. Whether you've been out raiding all weekend or you're just looking for a little nostalgic nerdiness on your home screen, we've got the Pokémon wallpapers for you!

YouTube: Ultimate Guide

3 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 25 Jul 2017 1:00 pm
YouTube started as a simple video site, but today it's much, much more. YouTube is so much more than cute cats and mindless pranks; it's where millions come for education, information, and live, late-breaking news. YouTube streams more than just Google keynotes; it streams important political debates and allows users to stream from almost anywhere in the world with an internet connection. It's...

Put some summer magic on your home screen with this theme pack!

12 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 24 Jul 2017 10:00 am
Summer is here, and it feels like it will never end. The days are longer, the days are hotter, and there's not nearly as much to do when going outside feels like walking into an oven. Summer is about staying cooler and staying entertained, and we can kill two birds with one stone by putting some cool new themes onto our home screens. A new theme can make your phone seem like a brand new toy,...

Best tricks to fix YouTube's most annoying features

3 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 24 Jul 2017 7:00 am
YouTube is a simple service with a lot of not-so-simple problems to it. It's easy for YouTube to frustrate users because beneath the cat videos and endless comment sections are a lot of features that can really make or break your experience. You thought you turned off Autoplay, but it still seems to be turned on when you're showing your family videos on the TV. You get notifications when...

Verizon Wireless may be throttling Netflix and YouTube streams

51 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 21 Jul 2017 12:10 pm
Throttling seems to be an unavoidable practice these days. Use too much data and you get throttled. Use data on a busy network cell and you get throttled. But the throttling numerous reddit users have been seeing doesn't seem to match any conventional rules. Users on both new and old "Unlimited" plans are seeing speeds drop on two of the nation's most popular video platforms regardless of how...

Essential Phone is coming 'in a few weeks' after certification delay

37 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 21 Jul 2017 11:42 am
A deadline apparently isn't essential to the Essential Phone. Andy Rubin's bizarre, bezel-less Essential Phone went up for order at the end of May. It was promised to ship in June. It is now the middle of July, and still the Essential Phone is not in buyers' hands. And it's not going to be in buyers' hands for another couple of weeks, but today Essential is acknowledging their delays in an...

Galaxy Note 8 renders give clean look at boxier design, Infinity Display

24 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 21 Jul 2017 11:18 am
We just can't wait for the Galaxy Note 8, can we? After last year's debacle, I think it's safe to say, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 may be the most hotly anticipated Galaxy Note ever. Whether you wanted to upgrade last year but never got the chance — or worse, upgraded and had to give your Note 7 back — there are many users out there who've been waiting for a new Note more anxiously than in years...

Satiate your hunger with a scrumptious food-themed wallpaper!

1 Comment
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 19 Jul 2017 10:00 am
I like food. Food is delicious, sometimes nutritious, and comes in so many shapes, forms, colors, tastes, and types. Food is everywhere, a lot of people take it for granted, and with the right tools, you can turn even the simplest and most popular foods into an edible art form. Sounds a lot like one of my other loves: Android theming. So it's only right that we bring the two together and make...

Samsung Level On Pro wireless headphones review: Leave buttons and the noisy world behind

9 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 17 Jul 2017 9:00 am
Never leave home without headphones. If I leave my phone at home, I'm gonna kick myself for forgetting. If I forget my headphones at home, I'm going back to get them every time. Headphones are the key to my sanity in a world of obnoxious coworkers, crying kids at the supermarket, and ridiculous noises. A good pair of headphones is as important as a good phone, because I'll use the headphones...

How to make the most of an extra-tall home screen on the Galaxy S8 or LG G6

42 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 15 Jul 2017 9:00 am
I like my home screens like I like my princes: tall, dark, and handsome. The tall screens on recent flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the LG G6 offer up a lot of options for building and theming home screens. You can mix things up and lay your icons and widgets out differently — matter of fact, you sort of have to. Using the same layout on an S8 as you did on a Google Pixel will leave...

Google Maps now tells you how long a future trip will take

15 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 14 Jul 2017 12:25 pm
"If I don't leave now, it's only going to take longer." It's hard to know the perfect time to go somewhere, because there's no one outside mailmen and UPS drivers that really know when traffic is best in your city... except for Google Maps. With millions of users and millions more Waze users helping them graph traffic in real-time, day after day, Google Maps really can tell when the best time...

Sprint Flex lets you lease a new smartphone now, buy or upgrade later

12 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 14 Jul 2017 11:23 am
Do I really want to own this phone? When you're upgrading to a new device, it can be hard to know if it's a device you'll want to keep for a few years, especially if you haven't held it and played with it yet. When you upgrade, though, most carriers have two plans and want you to pick one: installments to own the phone or monthly fees to lease the phone. So what if you chose the latter but...

Samsung Game Live brings easy game livestreaming to Galaxy users

1 Comment
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 14 Jul 2017 10:51 am
Want to show the world how much you rock at your favorite mobile game? Samsung's got you covered. Whether you want to showcase insane strategies, superior technique, or just how insanely dedicated you are to that one game you refuse to put down, Samsung has a new app in the Galaxy Apps store that aims to make sharing your gaming prowess with the world much easier. Game Live is a one-stop...

Google Home will now play your uploaded and purchased music on Google Play Music

14 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 12 Jul 2017 9:04 pm
One of Google Play Music's best features has finally come to Google Home. Google Play Music is one of the few online music services that allows you to mix your personal uploaded and purchased music with a subscription library with millions and millions of songs. However, when Google Play Music launched on Google Home when the little air freshener lookalike debuted, you could cast any music you...

Brace yourself for winter with these Game of Thrones wallpapers

3 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 12 Jul 2017 12:00 pm
Winter has come. Game of Thrones season 7 is upon us, and we all know what that means! Another few months of shocked gasps, heartbreaking storylines, and SO much death. Whether you've been along since season 1 (which feels like a lifetime ago now), or you hopped on the banddragon later on, it's time to break out the popcorn and get ready to rumble! But before the new season and all its drama...

How to use YouTube for Android

8 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 12 Jul 2017 7:54 am
How do I use YouTube on Android? Keyboard Cat. Muffins. Charlie Bit Me. Grape Lady Falls. Chocolate Rain. The list of classic YouTube videos goes on and on. And aren't we lucky that the YouTube app comes standard with just about every Android phone on the market?. So, how do you get to all these classic gems? How do you play them and subscribe to the channels you love? Here's how! How to...

How to save videos in YouTube for Android

7 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 11 Jul 2017 1:00 pm
There's so much to watch on YouTube, you can't possibly watch it all. And it's always the same story: you've spent twice as long as you intended to sitting there watch mindless YouTube videos when you find one you know you're gonna love, but if you don't get moving now, you're gonna be late and get fired. But when you come back later you can't remember what that video was! Then the only time...

Google testing a new touch-oriented design on Chrome OS

7 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 7 Jul 2017 12:24 pm
Chrome OS is getting closer to being tablet-friendly! Once upon a time, Chrome OS wasn't the most touch-friendly system. There weren't many touchscreen models of Chromebooks, and there was no real rush to fix how a system designed for a mouse and keyboard wasn't really designed for touchscreen input. Well, Chrome OS has come a long way since then, and now that touchscreen Chromebooks are...

Google News & Weather app gets a Material redesign and some spitshine

8 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 7 Jul 2017 10:35 am
Good news for Google News (& Weather)! This week's app update has given Google News & Weather an update that lets it better match the Google News website and better match other Google apps like Google Now and Google Home, brightening things up and cleaning the busy sections drawer a little. It's not a huge overhaul, but it is a welcoming to see Google updating apps for consistency.

Why all phone launchers should support icon packs

28 Comments
Posted by Ara Wagoner on 5 Jul 2017 10:00 am
Icon packs are a wonderfully easy way to jazz up your home screen. There's a reason icon packs are supported by most third-party launchers and a growing number of manufacturer launchers. The problem with those manufacturer launchers supporting icon packs is that they're only supporting their icon packs, but not those sold by Google Play. Samsung's launcher only supports icon packs from the...

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