Ara Wagoner is a Writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes Google Play Music with a stick. When she's not writing help and how-to's, she's off dreaming about Disney and singing show tunes. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.
Hold me tender with this smartphone car kit The iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Car Mount is quite a mouthful. It's also quite a handful when you pick it up, as it resembles some sort of unholy union between a medieval torture device and a siege engine. Don't get me wrong, the iOttie is a wonderful mount with a lot of bells, whistles, and especially a lot of moving parts. It's also sporting...
All about controls My most-used app is Google Play Music. I never leave the house without my Bluetooth headphones if I can help it. Safe to say that I'm a heavy Bluetooth user and a somewhat picky Bluetooth user. I've used the Nakamichi Bluetooth Speaker with NFC heavily over the last month and a half with my Moto X and while I love most aspects of this speaker, and while I have...
The ghosts of social media past return You may have noticed an app popping up in a lot of throwback posts of late called Timehop. Timehop is an app with a very specific purpose: it digs up your social media posts from years ago and presents them to you on their anniversaries. While the primary use for Timehop is to rediscover old posts and content and then reshare it, Timehop can also...
We've all been there: we're reading an article — maybe one of the lovely reviews here on Android Central — and then your screen turns off because you didn't scroll up in however many seconds. It's not your fault we fit so many words on your screen. Then you have to fumble around for the power button to turn it back on and find your place again. Don't you just wish there was a way to...
New year, same sweet tech 2014 was a big year for me, device-wise. I went through a few phones — three Moto Xs, to be exact — I lost a tablet, I gained a few Chromebooks, and in the course of my writing here, I got to play with devices I'd otherwise never see. It's been somewhat eye-opening, but more than anything, it's helped reassure me of what I want in my devices. And now I'll...
Privacy and smartphones is something of a popular — and important! — topic, especially after the last few years of spying scandals and security breaches. It's often not clear how much data from your device is being collected, not just by your apps and by Google, but by the manufacturers. It's also often unclear just how to turn that off on your phone should you wish to not have your...
It seems that every time you set up a phone, the manufacturer wants you to not only log into Google, but register for their own system. Acer ID, Samsung account, LG Account — and Motorola ID, which we're prompted for on our lovely Moto X or Moto G. So, just was is this Motorola ID used for, and do you really need to use it? Let's find out together. You remember that Google owned...
It's been a big year for me. I got a job at a TV station, I started writing on Google+, I got noticed and hired by Phil, and I've been cutting my teeth here writing about Tasker, social media, and Google. A year ago, I thought Chromebooks were a joke, and now it's my second favorite computer — after my Moto X, of course — so it's safe to say a lot's changed for me tech-wise over the...
Big tablet on a small budget With the Nexus 7 on its way out and the new Nexus 9 sporting a higher price-tag and size than many users are willing to put up with, folks are now looking for tablet options that fit into their lives and their budgets a little better. Acer aims to check all the boxes and then some with the $199 Acer Iconia Tab 8 — which can be found for almost half that...
Bookmarks are something that we somewhat take for granted. We click, click, click away on them like there's not tomorrow. I think I used 20 bookmarks today, and that's not counting personal browsing. They're not exactly classy, but they're there for us when we need them. Heck, they even follow us from device to device with browsers like Chrome. Well, Google's looking to finally breathe...
Everyone approaches their home screen differently. Some like to set it and forget it, sometime not even deviating from the default layout that their phone came with. Some are constantly redoing their entire layout, belonging to theming communities where custom skins and elements are shared frequently and freely. Others have a basic layout that they'll tweak occasionally with new widgets...
It seems fairly straightforward. You're not using your Wifi, you should just turn it off to save battery. However, this question isn't as straightforward as it might've been in years past, and while part of that has to do with software advancements, it still has a lot do with the the hardware of your phone and more importantly the trade-off between which radios you keep running. Most...
This mount stays where you put it I haven't used a window mount for my phone before. Mainly because the ones for my GPS units over the years have fallen down - a lot. But when the iBolt miniPro Dash Kit came up for review, I knew I should finally get over my fear of falling and try it. I've got a coverage plan for my phone for a reason, after all. That said, my fears seem to be...
Your Google Account is important. "One login, all of Google" also means one login will not only get you into all of your services and data, it potentially could let someone else in, too. And that's why, as we've told you over and over again, you need to use two-step authentication. That way, even if your password is cracked or — god forbid — stolen, any would-be trespassers have to...
There's room to improve with Play Music on Wear, but at least it's finally here One of the primary reasons for me to get a smartwatch was for music. Not to listen from it, per se, but to control music from it. Being able to leave the phone inside while I walk my laps is still a somewhat tantalizing idea, and sometimes necessary, as workout clothes (or any other kind of clothes for that...
Ingress, the experimental GPS-based game from Google's Niantic Labs that has spawned book series, support sites, and massive multi-city and even international events, is turning two years old. Time flies in an open beta, huh? Anyway, the good folks at Niantic have some impressive numbers to show us about all the things we've accomplished in that time trying to see who will control the...
One complaint many a faithful Disney fan (or their DVD-buying parents) have had with buying Disney DVD combo packs is that the digital copies that came with those DVDs for a long, long time were iTunes-only. In February, Disney Movies Anywhere brought those digital copies out of your iTunes library and into their app ... which was an iOS exclusive. So, when you bought Frozen and your...
Using your phone in the car in most cases is bad. Sometimes, however, it's just unavoidable. For our part, we should try to reduce distractions while driving, which is why the first part of my own driving mode includes turning off Auto-Sync, so I don't get distracted by notifications I should answer at 75 mph (god bless Texas freeways). When you get a text or call, though, it's a little...
Auto Awesome photos and videos are somewhat enigmatic to many, due in large part to the usually random way that they're picked and gussied up by Google. There's animated (Motion) Auto Awesomes, there's collage (Mix) Auto Awesomes, and then there are Movie Auto Awesomes. And while they'll show up on any device on their own, only the lucky users on Android can make them on command. Let's...
any.do is a task-oriented note-taking and to-do list app with quite the following - over 11 million to date - and today, those users are being treated to the biggest update the service has ever rolled out. This update is not just boosting productivity for you, but for your family and your co-workers, too. Most importantly, the service and its apps have been streamlined in order to help...