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All Posts by Jerry Hildenbrand

US Cellular: Everything you need to know

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 20 Apr 2017 10:00 am
What you need to know about America's fifth largest network provider. When people talk about post-paid nationwide cell phone networks in the U.S. they usually mean the Big Four: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. But there is a fifth company who offers full-service nationwide contract plans that are as good or better than the bigger corporations: US Cellular. It stands to reason. As of...

Google, an ad company, will soon block 'bad ads' in Chrome

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 19 Apr 2017 9:53 pm
Android's native browser could block "bad ads" in a coming update and that's good for everyone. While ad-blockers may be the most popular extensions for Chrome on the desktop or your Chromebook, the Android app has been left out of the picture. That might be changing according to the Wall Street Journal. Alphabet Inc.'s Google is planning to introduce an ad-blocking feature in the mobile and...

Microsoft introduces its new task manager app To-Do in beta

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 19 Apr 2017 6:10 pm
If you're looking for yet another task manager application and use Microsoft's Office 365 you might want to check out the new To-Do beta app. Think of it as a Wunderlist replacement that also makes suggestions for you. It actually comes from the developers of Wunderlist and uses a sorting algorithm to determine what's important for you to do today or what you missed yesterday. A video is worth...

Five important things iOS does better than Android

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 19 Apr 2017 9:00 am
Android and iOS have plenty of differences. Here are five places we think Apple is doing better than Google. The internet is filled with words about Android and iOS and why one is better than the other. It makes for fun writing and reading because everyone likes to hear about why the thing they prefer is better than the thing they don't. but there are some important things each operating...

Five important things Android does better than iOS

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 18 Apr 2017 12:00 pm
Android and iOS have plenty of differences. Here are five places we think Google is doing better than Apple. The internet is filled with words about Android and iOS and why one is better than the other. It makes for fun writing and reading because everyone likes to hear about why the thing they prefer is better than the thing they don't, but there are some important things each operating...

Andy Rubin's Essential phone shows up at GFXBench site

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 17 Apr 2017 5:01 pm
When prototype meets benchmark app, magic happens. Or something. Russian mobile enthusiasts at Mobiltelefon have spotted Andy Rubin's Essential Android phone at the GFXBench. We saw a glimpse of the Essential FIH-PM1 in March. Today we get to see some of the things that might make it tick. According to the benchmark system information, there's a lot to look forward to here. And some things that...

These are all the ways you can save data and monitor your data usage

Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 17 Apr 2017 10:01 am
Check how much data you're using and control how it's used with these simple tools. Most people don't need an unlimited data plan. With contract data plans offering up to 10GB per month and off-contract plans from carriers both big and small, there is a data plan that works for almost everyone and chances are using one will save you money. Add in free hotspots from your carrier or even your...

Can Samsung's DeX Station succeed where others have failed?

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 15 Apr 2017 5:52 pm
DeX in action
Will Samsung's market dominance make DeX a thing people actually use? Samsung is one of those companies that likes to try things. Because it will put things out there and keep working on them we have technology like AMOLED screens that don't suck and devices that have ginormous displays. Heck, Samsung even brought back the stylus and made it sexy. Even when its ideas get universally panned (T-...

Pokémon Go Legendary event may finally be coming in July

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 15 Apr 2017 2:30 pm
Raids, PvP and player trading said to be coming in a massive summer update. An interview with Niantic's Asian General Manager Yoshiji Kawashima and Asian General Marketing Manager Kenji Suka hints that the long-rumored Legendary events for Pokémon Go may happen in July 2017. In the interview with Japanese site K-Tai Watch Kawashima says that a huge event is planned for summer 2017 and the new...

Open up in this weekend's comments thread

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 15 Apr 2017 12:00 pm
Hooray for the weekend! Another week is in the can and the glorious release of Saturday is here. We love weekends around these parts and are betting that most of you feel the same way. It's a time to do whatever you like to do without worrying about a boss or the things he or she want you to do. Good times. They're also pretty chill times without a lot going on in the world of Googly techie...

Google updates AOSP bug tracker to use new in-house solution

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 14 Apr 2017 1:58 pm
Good news for the open source crowd. Google's Android developers head to the blog today to let us know it has migrated the AOSP issue tracking system to use its own Issue Tracker software. Issue Tracker is the tool Google uses internally while building and maintaining all the various stuff it does. It's also the public facing bug tracker for many of its other products, including the Android O...

This is how our Google Pixels are holding up [Roundtable]

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 14 Apr 2017 9:00 am
A six-month check-in to see how well the Pixel has fared from people who use it every day. Most of your Android Central staff uses a Google Pixel or Pixel XL on a daily basis. We need to be able to see what Google has going on with Android so it's something we use for our jobs, and we all agree it's a great phone in either size. In either case, it's a phone we carry around and do all the...

How to properly secure your Android phone

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 14 Apr 2017 7:49 am
Locked up phone
Know how to use the tools you're given to keep your phone and your data secure. Update, April 2017: In light of the recent round of celebrity phone hacks, we have refreshed this page with up-to-date information. Google, Apple, and Microsoft have great tools for managing your online security. Some implementations may be technically better than others, but you can be reasonably sure that your...

Best SD Cards For Chromebooks

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 13 Apr 2017 2:00 pm
Dell Chromebook 13
Expanding your Chromebook's storage. If you want to expand your Chromebook's storage, you can use an SD or microSD card and boom, you've got more space. Whether you use a full-size SD card, a microSD card or a half-height SD card depends on your particular model of Chromebook. Updated, April 2017: This post has been updated with the latest recommendations. Full-size SD cards MicroSD cards...

Two-factor authentication: What you need to know

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 13 Apr 2017 9:00 am
Two-factor authentication
You should use two-factor authentication on every account that offers it. Here's an explainer of what it is, and why you want it. Update, April 2017: In light of the recent round of celebrity phone hacks, we have refreshed this page with the most relevant information. You see a lot of talk on the internet about two-factor authentication (or 2FA as it's commonly called) but most times its just...

How to back up your Android phone or tablet: The ultimate guide

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 13 Apr 2017 7:00 am
Some things can't be replaced if we lose or damage our phone. There is an incredible amount of our lives on our phones. Settings to keep everything running, the music that keeps us going, our contacts and even photos of times and places and people we'll never be able to relive or revisit. Keeping all of this safe and backed up is important. The companies that make the products we use every...

Chrome's WebVR moves to Google Cardboard at the new WebVR Experiments site

1 Comment
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 12 Apr 2017 5:19 pm
Now almost every Android phone can experience VR on Chrome through Google's new WebVR Experiments site. Previously available for Google Daydream View headsets and the phones that power them, Google has followed up on the promise to expand the VR experience in Chrome, and in typical Google style they kicked off an entirely new website. At WebVR Experiments you'll find content for both Google...

Cricket Wireless vs. Boost Mobile: Battle of the subbrands

Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 12 Apr 2017 8:00 am
These two MVNOs are a little different from the rest and can offer something most other MVNOs can't: Unlimited LTE data. Boost Mobile and Cricket Wireless aren't like most MVNOs. Instead of buying service in bulk from another carrier and reselling it at a low price, they are actually owned by a bigger, more familiar name when it comes to cellular service: Boost Mobile is a part of Sprint and...

Android and SD cards: The Ultimate Guide

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 11 Apr 2017 1:00 pm
SD card
Everything you ever wanted to know about SD cards and your phone. Android has supported SD cards since the G1 started it all. The overall idea is simple enough — slap an SD card in your phone and expand the storage so you have room for more stuff. While this is mostly the case, there are a few things to know about, especially before you go out and buy one. We've rounded up everything you need...

The NVIDIA Shield TV is the best thing that ever happened to PC gaming

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Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 8 Apr 2017 6:10 pm
As if we needed another reason to get a Shield TV. The NVIDIA Shield TV is one of our favorite Android devices of all time. At least it's one of my favorite Android devices of all time. It's the best Android TV box, is well supported by the company that makes it, and has the oomph to push out FHD HDR video to any TV that supports it. Gamestream isn't new but it's a thing that didn't get...

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