Tuesday, February 26, 2013

25 HTC One X tips

The One X is HTC's mighty flagship smart phone, and with its 4.7-inch screen and powerful quad-core processor, it could power a battleship. But there's more than just impressive specs to the One X, so join me as I find 25 ways to get more out of this Android hero.
With just a few simple tweaks of the settings, you can make typing in text less of a chore, get more creative with your camera and fine-tune the interface until your thumbs get sore. I used a One X running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 4.1. Read on to find out more.


Home screen, lock screen and app grid features

1. Customise home screens
HTC's Sense user interface has a unique way of quickly adding widgets to multiple home screens. Long-press on any empty space and you'll be presented with a catalogue with tabs for available widgets, apps and shortcuts. There is a horizontally scrolling carousel of all home screens shown at the top of the screen, which enables you to quickly add widgets and shortcuts to multiple home screens.

2. Add and remove home screens
Change the number of home screens by making a pinching gesture to open the home screen preview mode. From there, tap the 'Add Panel' area to add more (up to seven). To get rid of a screen, long press and drag to the 'Remove' area.

3. Home screen calculator widgets The calculator widget deserves a special mention. Having a calculator on your phone is great, but you always have to find the icon. With this widget, you can have a basic calculator only a swipe away.

4. Lock screen modes
To change how the lock screen looks, go into the 'Personalize' section of the Settings app and select 'Lock screen style'. Select from various themes -- Productivity for maximum notifications or Friend Stream for the social media junkies, and so on.

Text input

5. Swipe for keyboard sections With default settings in force, swiping sideways across the keyboard switches between the Qwerty keyboard and the two numeric and symbol keyboards.

6. Get extra predictions via drop-down list
If you often find that your intended word isn't in the top three predictions, there is a drop-down button to view additional predictions.

7. Manage your personal dictionary You can selectively remove words from the custom HTC dictionary such as accidental additions. There's also the option to backup or import a custom dictionary. You'll find this in Settings > Language & Keyboard > HTC Sense Input > Personal Dictionary.

8. Switch keyboard styles
The HTC One X has two alternatives to the Qwerty keyboard. Go to Settings > Language & Keyboard > HTC Sense Input > Advanced Settings > Keyboard types. Options are Standard (Qwerty), Phone (T9), and Compact. The latter has two letters per key, a cross between Qwerty and T9 -- rather like the Nokia E55.

9. Keyboard trace If you're a fan of the Swype keyboard, the HTC One X has it built in. Go into the HTC Sense Input settings and turn on the 'Trace Keyboard' switch.

Settings

10. Disable fast boot
In the Power section of the Settings menu, the option for 'Fast Boot' is selected by default, meaning the phone can have a quicker start-up time. However, Fast Boot isn't thorough enough when clearing temporary data, which can prevent a reboot from curing a problem caused by a bug-ridden application. If you're using beta software, disable Fast Boot.

11. Select USB connection mode
To use the HTC One X with a PC over USB, you'll need to go into the 'Connect to PC' section of the Settings app, as the default setting is 'Charge only'. To use as a USB drive, select 'Disk Drive'. Choose 'HTC Sync Manager' for using with HTC's desktop software. To use the phone as a 3G dongle, select 'USB tethering'. Finally, 'Internet pass-through' allows the One X to get online via a PC's USB port.

12. Free up storage space
When you have filled up either the internal or phone storage drives, go to the Storage section of the Settings application and look for the respective 'Make more space' options and follow the prompts.

13. Incoming call settings
The 'Call' section of the Settings application has options for several useful call handling features. I recommend that you enable the 'Declined calls' option (this will help with tip 24), and 'Save to contacts' for automatically saving unknown numbers.

Apps to install

14. Google Calendar
Because HTC customises Android with its Sense user interface, some standard applications are replaced, such as the Calendar application (pictured below left). Fortunately, Google recently released its Calendar app to the Play store.

15. Google Chrome
Android's standard browser is good but nothing really beats Google Chrome (pictured above right). It's available in the Play store, and synchronises with your tabs and bookmarks from all your other devices.

Built-in apps

16. Activate Dropbox and photo uploading The HTC One X comes with Dropbox already installed, and when you sign in, Dropbox increases your limit by 25GB for two years. Be sure to turn on automatic photo uploading, so all of your images will automatically be backed up.

17. Polaris Office accesses Dropbox & SkyDrive
If you need to work with Office documents while on the move and your company doesn't work in Google Docs, do not fear! The HTC One X comes installed with Polaris Office (pictured below left), which doesn't just let you work with files stored on the phone, but also with files saved in Dropbox and SkyDrive.

18. PDF Viewer If you have PDFs in the cloud that you need to access while you're out and about, load up the built-in PDF reader and look for the Dropbox and SkyDrive icons. These will let you log into your cloud accounts and find your files (pictured above right).

19. Enable 'Quick Controls' for the built-in browser
If you've opted to use the built-in browser then go into its settings, then 'Labs'. From there, enable Quick Controls mode. This will remove the URL and tab bars, and will show a radial control interface when you swipe in from the left or right of the screen instead.

20. Camera settings HTC has completely revamped the Android camera app -- just tapping the 'A' scenes button reveals effects for panoramas, HDR, group portraits and more. Tap the blue button in the top-right corner to reveal another set of effects such as distortion, sepia, vignette and more.

21. Slow-motion video
To film slow-motion video, look to the top of the scenes list for the corresponding option. Don't get too excited as the results are quite jerky, but it's better than nothing, right?

Miscellaneous

22. Taking screenshots
On the HTC One X, take screenshots by holding the power button and volume-down button together.

23. Two-finger fast scrolling
When scrolling through the People or Music apps, speed up scrolling by using two fingers.

24. Managing incoming calls
Make sure you've enabled the options in tip 13. While in a call, switch to speakerphone by laying the phone on its front. When rejecting a call, look for the following two options -- the first lets you compose a text message to the caller and the second creates a calendar task about the caller.

25. Play music with the volume buttons
As you increase and decrease volume, the HTC One X plays chimes. For a some creative fun, you can use this effect to play random tunes.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

30 Google Nexus 4 Tips and Tricks

Google's latest Nexus phone may be as hard to obtain as the Holy Grail at present, but that hasn't stopped us from getting our hands on one and testing it to destruction. As a result, we're perfectly positioned to provide you with a quarter-century of indispensable Google Nexus 4 tips.


Below you'll find 25 handy hints, which will enable you to get the most out of your bargain of a quad-core monster. Many of them will be relevant if you have another phone running vanilla Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

1. Trace to type
One of Android 4.2's most significant new features is its trace-to-type keyboard. If you've used Swype in the past you'll know what to expect. Instead of tapping on each key to write something, you merely draw a line over the letters in sequence and lift your finger from the screen to add a space and move onto the next word. To enable it, go to Settings > Language and Input, and select the Android Keyboard option. Make sure 'Enable Gesture Typing' is ticked, and you're away.
 
2. Take a screenshot
There are times when you just want to capture what's on your phone's screen, so you can keep a record of it or show it to others at a later date, and thankfully this functionality comes baked into Android these days. Simply hold the Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time.

3. Share things instantly with Android Beam
Thanks to the inclusion of a NFC chip inside the Nexus 4, you can share data simply by holding your phone next to a compatible device. If you know someone else with a NFC-packing handset -- such as the Nexus S or the Galaxy Nexus -- you can use this feature to display things directly on their screen. If you're viewing a Web page, for example, or a Google Play listing, you can show your friend by beaming the same page to their device, instantly.

4. Access Quick Settings even more quickly
Android 4.2 boasts a new Quick Settings menu, which can be accessed from the Notifications pane. By dragging the pane down with two fingers however, you jump straight to the Quick Settings option.

5. Take a 360-degree images with Photo Sphere
Panoramic photos are so last year, man. The Nexus 4 can take 360-degree shots, thanks to its unique Photo Sphere option. It takes a while to compose the image as you have to take multiple shots, but the end result is unique to say the least. 

6. Lock screen widgets
Yet another new feature for Android 4.2 is lock screen widgets. From your lock screen you can take photos, browse your emails and check calendar appointments -- all without having to unlock your Nexus 4. This is especially handy if you use a gesture or passcode to secure you phone, as it saves you from having to input it every time you receive an email.

7. Secure your phone with Face Unlock
One of Android's unique functions, Face Unlock allows you to access your device using nothing but your face. To enable it, go to Settings > Security > Screen Lock and select 'Face Unlock'.

8. Type using your voice
Speech-to-text isn't anything new in the world of mobile phones, but its application in Android is possibly the best we've yet seen. Accuracy is very impressive indeed, and text is generated on the fly -- you don't have to wait for the Nexus 4 to convert your speech at the end of each sentence. To access this feature, simply tap the microphone symbol at the bottom of the Android Keyboard.

9. Monitor your battery life
Since Android 4.0, Google fans have enjoyed robust battery monitoring features. By visiting Settings > Battery, you can see how long it has been since your Nexus 4 was last charged and spot processes which are consuming a large amount of power. This allows you to take steps to conserve the juice within the phone's 2,100mAh battery, such as dimming your screen or switching off non-essential services.

10. Charge your Nexus 4 without wires
Although it's not available yet, the Nexus 4 has its own wireless charging station, which tops up the phone's battery using induction charging technology. Thankfully, there are alternatives if you're fed up of waiting for Google and LG to get their collective acts together, such as the Philips Qi Charging Pad.

11. Get traffic reports with Google Now
Google Now is Android's answer to Apple's Siri, and is so powerful that it starts offering assistance even if you don't ask it to. Once you 'opt in' to the Google Now experience, it will track your movements and look for patterns. If it sees your regular work trek repeated over a week, it will ask if you wish to mark your place of employment. From that moment onwards, Google Now will offer traffic reports and estimated journey times to and from work, allowing you to plan in advance if you see any potential issues.

12. Make your screen smarter
Screebl is one of the first applications I download whenever I move to a new Android device. It uses your accelerometer to tell when you're holding the phone and looking at the screen, and disables the timeout. This means you don't have to keep prodding the display to prevent it from sleeping if you're reading a web page or other content. When you rest the phone down on a flat surface, Screebl quickly puts the display to bed. Genius.

13. Automatically back up all of your treasured photos
Google+ may not have taken the social networking world by a storm, but the Android application has one fantastic use -- it boasts an option, which allows you to automatically upload photos you've taken on your Nexus 4 to your Google+ account in the cloud. Even if you lose your device, you won't lose all those valuable memories.

14. Expand and collapse notifications
Android's notifications menu has become a pretty powerful feature lately, allowing you to see the contents of individual messages, such as emails or texts. To expand a notification, hold your finger on it and swipe downwards. To collapse, perform the same gesture but after you slide your finger down a little, slide it back up the screen.

15. Tidy up your homescreens
Even with five different homescreens, things can become crowded on your Nexus 4 if you're download-happy. A way of getting around this is to group apps into folders. All you have to do is press and hold down on an app, and then drag and float it over another app -- this will create the folder. Tapping a folder expands it and displays the contents within, and tapping the name of the folder will allow you to give it a more suitable moniker.

16. Silence your phone fast
For those moments when holding down the volume button just isn't a quick enough way of shutting up your phone, you can hold down the Nexus 4's power button briefly to bring up a separate menu. From here you can put your phone into silent or vibrate mode with a single tap, saving your blushes during important meetings.

17. Access your music from the cloud
Google Music is now available in the UK, and the Nexus 4 is the first phone to benefit from this expansion. You can upload your songs using your PC and then access them from the pre-installed Google Music application on your new Nexus phone. If your music doesn't show, check the app settings to ensure that it's been synced with your relevant Google account. 

18. View your Google Play library from your homescreen
Introduced with the launch of the Nexus 7 tablet earlier this year, the Google Play library widget gives a snapshot of the most recent movies, music and books you've either purchased or accessed recently. As well as looking rather fetching, it allows you to quickly jump back into content you've enjoyed over the past few days. You can place the widget on any of your five homescreens by selecting it from the Application Drawer.

19. Sync your bookmarks with Google Chrome
The default Android browser has officially been retired in 4.2, and Google's Chrome browser now takes centre stage. If you use Chrome on your desktop (or any other device, for that matter) you can sync your web activity with your Nexus 4.

20. Put your Nexus 4 into a Daydream
Daydream is another new facet of Android 4.2. It allows you to display content on your Nexus4's screen either when it's docked or simply charging at the mains. You can have it show a clock, fancy colours, content pulled from your Google Currents account or even a selection of photos.

21. Monitor your data usage
If you're on a contract which stipulates a fair usage policy on your data allowance, then you'll want to make use of this feature as much as possible. Go to Settings > Data Usage and you'll be shown a graph, as well as a list, of the most data-hungry apps. You can disable apps which you feel are eating too many megabytes, and even set a monthly limit to ensure you never blast over your allowance.

22. Power control
It's one of Android's most useful widgets and should be on every self-respecting owner's homescreen -- the Power Control widget allows you to toggle features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, auto-sync and screen brightness, all with a single tap.

23. Add phonetic names to contacts to make voice dialling easier
Even though Android's voice recognition is pretty nifty, it can struggle with names, which could lead to some potentially embarrassing accidental calls when you're using voice dialling. Thankfully, you can now add phonetic names to contacts so voice dialing knows the difference between your mum and Mama's Pizza.

24. Prolong your battery by enabling auto-brightness
When you're using your phone in a darkened room, the brightness of your screen doesn't have to be eye-meltingly intense, so it’s a good idea to switch on auto-brightness. By monitoring the level of light in the room, your Nexus 4 can determine how high luminous the screen needs to be, potentially saving your battery from needless drain.

25. Set applications to auto update
When you've got a shed-load of applications on your Nexus 4, manually installing updates can be a pain. Thankfully, there’s a way of automatically downloading and installing updates without having to lift a finger. Go to the Google Play market and select an app, then check the box which says 'Allow automatic updating'.

How to Factory Reset Nexus 4

Performing a factory reset on Nexus 4 is done when you purchased the tablet second-hand, wiping your apps and starting from scratch or when it’s basically not functioning at all. If you can still get to the tablet’s menu, make sure to back up all necessary documents before you perform hard reset on your device. Here’s how you can do factory reset of your Nexus 4.

1. On your tablet, go to Settings.

2. Under the Personal section, tap on Backup and Reset.

3. Tap on Factory Data Reset and then press on Reset Tablet.

4. If you've set up a password for your device, it will prompt you to enter the said password, pin or pattern. And lastly press Erase Everything to clean out your device.

But if you can’t even get to the menu screen or the device is not functioning at all, you need to do these steps before you can perform factory reset.

1. Turn off the device first if it’s turned on and using a USB cable, connect it to your computer.

2. Press and hold Volume Up, Volume Down and the Power button simultaneously for about 3-4 seconds. This will turn on the device and you’ll see an Android image lying on its back. Wait for your computer to install the drivers before you go to the next step.

3. Using the volume buttons, navigate your device until you reach the Recovery Mode option. Press the Power Button for OK.

4. Your device will restart and will boot to a screen showing an Android with a red triangle. Just press and hold for few seconds the Power Button and Volume up to make the menu screen appear.

5. Now that you’re on the menu options, go to Settings and just follow the steps above to navigate to the Factory Data Reset page using the volume buttons. Use the Volume buttons for YES and the Power button to confirm.

How to Make Your Nexus 4 a WiFi Hotspot

Ever imagine how you can make your own Nexus 4 a WiFi hotspot? Well, sure you can. This feature allows for your other devices to pick up your mobile hotspot settings on your Nexus 4. This is more preferable when you’re in public trying to locate a WiFi connection. You can share your Nexus 4 connection with up to 8 computers or other devices. Check out these steps for easy, convenient and a money-saver internet experience.

1. On your device, head on to Settings

2. Select Wireless and Networks. And tap on More options.

3. Go to Tethering and portable hotspot.

4. And finally check on Portable WiFi hotpost.


Wait for few seconds and your phone will start broadcasting its WiFi network name. Now you’re ready to connect your other device to your portable mobile wifi hotspot.


How to Extend Battery Life of Nexus 4

Battery Life depends on how you use your device. For Google Nexus 4 device, if you want to save your battery to last longer hours, you may need to adjust your settings. Follow these suggestions:

If your Nexus 4 tablet has multiple users, each user can change the global Battery Settings. To control the Battery settings, go to Settings, select Device and tap Battery.

To extend the battery life of your Google Nexus 4, you need to turn off the features that you are not using:

• Turn off the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or GPS on settings if not in used so your device will stop searching for a network signal. You can use the Settings app to turn them off. The GPS is located in Settings Personal Location access.

• The Maps or Navigation apps should not be leaved open on the screen. Close the application if not in used.

• Turn down your device volume with the volume keys.

• Lessen the screen brightness and make the Sleep timeout to shorter time. You can adjust the brightness on Settings Device Display

• Turn off the automatic syncing of apps if you don't need it. You can go to Settings Accounts Google account-name.

• If your not in range of a Wi-Fi network, switch your settings to Airplane mode. You can go to Settings Wireless & Networks More > Airplane mode, or press and hold the Power button.

• You should use the latest version of the software update. Software updates improves some features and fixes some bugs on the previous software version.

How to Turn on Screen Magnification on Google Nexus 4

With the advance technology we have these days, there is indeed an improvement of how day-to-day devices are structured. These devices, like mobile phones, can now cater to people with physical challenges especially to blind and deaf ones. Take for example the Google Nexus 4. It has lots of features that can be pretty useful to users with visual impairments. One of which is its screen magnification gestures which aides the readability of fonts and photos on a screen. Here's how to turn on the Screen Magnification feature on Nexus 4.

1.  On your Nexus 4 device, go to Settings.
2. Then go to System and select Accessibility.
3. And lastly go to Magnification Gestures to turn on screen magnification.
While you are in Magnification mode you can do these gestures:
1. Pan - just drag two or more fingers across the screen.
2. Adjust Zoom Level - pinch or expand using two or more fingers.
3. Temporarily magnify - triple-tap and hold.
4. Magnify and Pan - triple-tap and hold then drag your finger.
5. Toggle Magnification mode in and out - triple-tap and release or simply enter and exit and app to get out of magnification mode.
Take note that the triple-tap magnification gesture will work everywhere on your device except for the keyboard and navigation buttons.

How to Add and Remove an Account on Nexus 4

Synchronizing an account on your Nexus 4 enables you to get quick access on those accounts right on your smartphone. Whether you're adding a Google account or another account like Facebook or Twitter, then you must read this. Take note that in adding some accounts, you may need to obtain certain details from system administrator like the account's domain or server address. Here's how to add and remove an account on Nexus 4.


To add an account

1. On your device's screen, go to Settings.

2. Then go to Accounts and select Add account.

3. And tap on the kind of account you wish to add on your device. Just follow the on-screen instructions to complete. Most accounts require a username and password depending on the kind of account and the configuration of the service you're connecting to.

4. You may also be asked to configure what kinds of data you want to sync, name the account and other pertinent details.

5. Once you're done adding an account you can view them on:

> For Google Accounts you can view them under Settings Accounts Google.
> For all other accounts you can view them under Settings Accounts.


To remove an account

1. To remove a Google account on your Nexus 4 touch its name under Settings Accounts or Settings Accounts Google, then Menu > finally tap on Remove account.

2. To remove other accounts on your Nexus 4 go to Settings Accounts account-name and look for Remove option.

Next: Read the full Google Nexus 4 review or find out what's new in the smartphone world.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Blackberry Z10 Tips and Tricks

The BlackBerry Z10 is here, a replacement OS with a replacement manner of thinking, therefore however does one use it and square measure there any groovy very little tricks to urge you operating even faster? We’ve compiled a listing of dozens of tips to assist you get the foremost out of the new options BlackBerry has additional to BB10.


Gestures
With no buttons as such, gestures square measure the most manner you will get round the phone on the BB10 package, therefore prepare to use your thumb.

Swipe up to unlock
Press the facility button on the highest of the Z10 so slowly swipe your finger up from all-time low of the screen (where the BlackBerry brand is) to unlock the phone. If you have it on the BlackBerry Hub page you’ll peek into your inbox.
Swipe up to the peek near the notifications and back to apps grid
Not sure what number emails you have not read? Or Twitter mentions you have that you simply square measure still to appear at. Swiping up after you square measure on the app grid reveals the notification list in spite of wherever you’re in associate degree app or not as long as that app is in portrait mode. you furthermore may swipe up to require you out of associate degree app and back to the house screen along with your apps thereon.

Inverted L
Regardless of wherever you’re you’ll perpetually get straight to the BlackBerry Hub by acting associate degree inverted L formed gesture on the screen. Swipe up from all-time low of the screen so in one swish motion slide your finger to the proper. it’ll reveal your unified inbox.

Whatever you’re doing a two-finger swipe from all-time low of the screen reveals the keyboard. Handy after you ought to sort one thing quickly and cannot notice the keyboard icon.
As with automaton a swipe from the highest with one finger can reveal the settings panel providing you with fast access to Settings, Bluetooth, the Alarm, Rotation Lock, Wi-Fi, and Notifications.

Swipe to travel to sleep
If you do not need to be disturbed you’ll swipe down whereas on the lock screen to launch the BlackBerry Clock. Sleep tight. To exit you’ll either swipe down or au courant the phone.

Turn off accidental gestures once secured
If you’re upset concerning fliping your phone on by mistake if you mistakenly stroke it you’ll turn this feature off, which means you’ll flip the phone on solely by pressing the facility button. then find Settings > show and then choose Allow

Gestures once Locked to off.
Like automaton and iOS the BlackBerry ten home screens square measure split between a grid of app icons and one thing BlackBerry calls Active Frames – essentially panels that show what apps you have open therefore you’ll quickly dive back in.

Apps panel change
If you recognize associate degree app you’re when is on the last apps panel then you’ll get there by sound the tiny row of dots close to all-time low of the screen to leap to it panel. Holding down on the road of dots permits you to quickly scroll through the panels while not having to swipe various times.

Seeing what apps square measure open
Press the tiny four dots icon within the row of buttons this takes you to the page BlackBerry confer with because the Active Frames page.

Closing open apps
On the Active Frame page shut the x within the bottom manus corner of the App frame.
Scroll all the way down to see the opposite four apps you have open
On the Z10 you’ll see eight active Frames (apps that square measure open), however you will only see the last four on the page to begin with. Swipe down to reveal the opposite four. If you open over eight apps, the last one are going to be mechanically closed.

Getting to BlackBerry Hub even faster
Press the three-lined icon within the same row of dots at all-time low of the screen simply higher than the search icon.

Re-ordering apps
Apps square measure mechanically additional to the tip of the apps grid list, however that may not be wherever you would like them. to maneuver associate degree app around you would like to press and hold (it’s a similar as on iOS). Once elite you’ll then drag it wherever you would like.

Deleting apps
Press and hold the app you would like to delete till it starts rhythmic. Once it will, atiny low bin icon seems. Press it and you are done.

Creating folders
Exactly the same manner as on iOS. Press associate degreed hold on an app, then drag it on to a different app. you’ll decision the folder what you wish.

Closing folders
While a folder is open merely swipe up from all-time low of the screen to shut it. Easy.

Moving apps out of folders
To move associate degree icon out of a folder drag it to all-time low of the folder on to the blue bar that mechanically seems.

BlackBerry Hub
The BlackBerry Hub is that the main communications space on the phone and therefore the place that manages all of your messages, calls and notifications.
It’s accessible very easy by swiping from the left, from the app grid or by doing associate degree inverted formed gesture at any purpose.

See individual inboxes
The BlackBerry Hub bundles all of your inboxes into one unified inbox, however you may need to examine what is going on on in exactly your work account, or on your Twitter inbox messages. Either swipe to the left of the screen to reveal them or press the Hub button at all-time low left of the screen. all of your accounts are going to be found therein list.

Seeing account folders
If you would like to examine folders at intervals your accounts, like your Outbox, or Sent things, you’ll do therefore by pressing on the tiny downward-facing arrow on the blue bar at the highest of BlackBerry Hub. It reveals a listing of all of your accounts with the + image next to them. Pressing on the “+” expands the folder read. If you’re victimization Gmail and have variety of folders already started, these are going to be shown still.

Deleting associate degree email or message
BlackBerry has hidden the delete button for a few reason, however you’ll notice it by pressing the 3 dots so choosing delete. To ditch the additional confirmation that you simply square measure getting ready to delete a message head to the 3 dots > Settings > show and Actions so toggle the button off for “Delete Message Confirmation”.

Setting spoken language mode
BlackBerry permits you to show emails as either single messages or in spoken language, whereby it attracts connected messages along into one single “conversation” string. to line it up head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > show and Actions > show vogue.

Download pictures mechanically in Emails
To save on information prices BlackBerry ten permits you to select whether or not or not you would like to transfer pictures in emails. you’ll try this on associate degree email by email basis, or opt to have all pictures mechanically transfer. to line it up head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > show and Actions and toggle the “Download pictures Automatically” button.

Display Message Count
Don’t want to grasp you have one hundred uninformed emails, flip that feature off then. to line it up head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > show and Actions and toggle the “Display Message Count” button.

Mark all previous scan
You’ve been through your messages, you recognize there is nothing that wants your attention, affirmative you’ve got still got many uninformed messages. you would like to mark them scan, not on an individual basis, however bushed one. it is a feature as recent as shot itself (probably). merely press and hold on the date banner across the message list and a aspect bar opens, with the choice to mark all previous things read. you can also navigate to and through days and jump to the highest or bottom of the list within the same place.

Show Sent Messages
Want to examine messages you’ve got sent, you’ll toggle this on or off too. to line it up head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > show and Actions and toggle the “Show Sent Messages” button.

Set what accounts show within the main read of the Hub
If you have uncountable accounts however need to tone down the number of noise, you’ll set that accounts square measure shown within the main read of the BlackBerry Hub. It suggests that you’ll hide Twitter messages, as an example. to line it up head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > Hub Management and toggle that account you would like or don’t need from the list below. solely accounts you’ve got additional are going to be shown.

Add associate degree email account
Easy. head to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > Email Accounts > Add Account. On succeeding page you’ll select what Email, Calendar, and Contacts you add, and whether or not to feature alternative services like Twitter, Facebook, joined In and Evernote.

Confirm Delivery of SMS messages
Go to BlackBerry Hub, proceed the 3 dots within the bottom right-hand corner, then Settings > Text Messages and toggle the make sure Delivery button.

Quickly able to see your appointments for the coming day
In BlackBerry Hub scroll down from the highest of the screen and you will get a fast read of your appointments for that day. Handy if you would like to examine if you’ll build that meeting or not simply before you email or text a reply.

Refresh your inbox
Press the 3 dots. Hit the refresh icon.
Select multiple messages as scan or to delete
Press and hold on one message till a skinny panel seems from the proper of the screen. choose all-time low icon that contains a tick in it. you’ll currently choose multiple messages to mark as scan, mark as uninformed, or delete.

Search by Sender or Subject
Press and hold on one message till a skinny panel seems from the proper of the screen. currently choose the icon that contains a simple microscope with a headshot in it. you will then get all messages from a similar person displayed on screen. choosing the icon with the envelope within the simple microscope searches by Subject instead.

Get to the highest of your inbox
Press the 3 dots, hit To high icon. Done.
Email
BlackBerry users live and die by email therefore we all know the following tips and tricks square measure extremely reaching to facilitate speed up things for you.

Disabling push email
If you’re trying to conserve battery life you would like to show off push email. to try and do this head to Settings > Accounts and choose the e-mail account you would like to alter. Scroll all the way down to all-time low of the page and toggle off “Use push if supported”. Select the Save button at the right-hand aspect of the screen.
Save to draft
To save a draft message, in associate degree email, choose cancel, so save the draft from there.

Sending from a selected email account
If you have over one email account on the BlackBerry Z10 you’ll select that one you would like by swiping down from the highest of the screen. Once in Compose you’ll amendment that account you would like to send from by dragging down from the highest of the show.

Attaching a file
Hold associate degreed proceed the key on the on-screen keyboard of the Z10 and it’ll reveal a panel with an Attach icon thereon. faucet on the icon and you’ll then attach an image, video, audio, contact, appointment, or perhaps a file.

Formatting your emails
Hold and proceed the key to cover the on-screen keyboard, then press the pen icon referred to as “Format”. A application program menu seems providing you with management over daring, italic, underline, and alternative options like font size and color.

Refining search
In the inbox you would like to go looking, press the simple microscope icon at all-time low of the screen so sort in your search request. Once that is happened you’ll then press the 3 lines at the highest left of the screen to reveal the refine search component. you’ll search All Fields, or break it down via From, To, Cc, Bcc, Subject, and Message. you’ll additionally search via uninformed, Attachment, Received, Today, Yesterday, and Last Week. Recent Searches also are listed if you’re finding out a similar factor oft.

Keyboard
BlackBerry users love their typewriter keyboard, however simply because BlackBerry has ditched the hardware buttons for associate degree all touchscreen affair with the Z10 does not imply there are not any tricks to be learnt and tips to assist you get even additional out of your phone. Here square measure a stack of keyboard tips and tricks to hurry you up.

Swipe to reveal the keyboard
Whatever you’re doing a two-finger swipe from all-time low of the screen reveals the keyboard. Handy after you ought to sort one thing quickly and you cannot notice the keyboard icon.

Hide keyboard
Press and hold on the spacebar, or swipe with 2 fingers from the highest of the keyboard to cover the keyboard.

Voice activation
Press and hold the complete stop to activate voice commands and dictation.

Selecting expected words
The BlackBerry ten keyboard is clever therein i’ll try and predict the word you’re writing before you’ve got finished writing it. It will this by highlight words on the keyboard for you to pick out. To do that, flick upwards on the key directly below the word. If the concept of the suggestions showing on the keyboard is confusing you’ll additionally set it in order that they simply seem at the highest of the keyboard in 3 columns. to alter this head to Settings >Language and Input > On-Screen Keyboard so select In-Column within the Text Prediction show settings.

Turn on numbers and symbols
Instead of sound on the “?123″ and “&” buttons to toggle through the assorted character key sets, you’ll merely swipe down from the highest of the keyboard along with your thumb.

Capitalise letters
Holding on a selected key can mechanically capitalise the letter.

Extended characters
Hold and keep holding on a selected key you would like. Hold down on R as an example and you get the image for a registered trademark. to pick out the extended character you would like merely scroll through the characters out there. Lifting your thumb completes the method.

Quick punctuation mark
Hit the spacebar doubly and it’ll provide you with a punctuation mark with an area when it, rather like shot seven users are able to do on the keyboard

Deleting words
Make a fast swipe across the keyboard from left to right.

Multiple language support
If you sort in each English and French, as an example, at a similar time you’ll started the BlackBerry to discover that languages you’re writing in and supply applicable suggestions and corrections. to line this up head to Settings >Language and Input > Input Languages > Add/Remove Languages. you’ll add multiple languages and solely ought to try this once for the system to figure each time.

Mute Keyboard volume
To set this up head to Settings >Language and Input > On-Screen Keyboard and therefore the set the slider at the highest of the page to the required volume level. we have a tendency to suggest to zero.

Turn off flying word animation
It looks pretty however is annoying. to show it off head to Settings >Language and Input > On-Screen Keyboard and toggle the Show animation button off.

Automated help
There square measure uncountable ways that BB10 tries to assist you once victimization the keyboard understanding the manner you sort so fixing it consequently. you’ll customise what you would like and do not want by reaching to Settings >Language and Input > On-Screen Keyboard and choosing machine-driven help. Here you’ll set however fierce the Auto-Complete feature is, whether or not or to not modify Auto-Capitalize the primary letter when a punctuation mark and to clear your Learned Words if you are feeling it’s got you all wrong.

Camera
The camera on BB10 is basic, however there square measure still some groovy things it will do this square measure hidden away waiting to be found, like quickly seeing the image you’ve got simply taken and turning on TimeShift.

Turn on TimeShift
In the camera app press the camera icon within the high right-hand corner of the screen so the face in a very circle
See the last image you took
Like automaton and iOS the last picture you took is shown within the bottom left-hand corner. sound thereon takes you thru to the picture gallery, but pressing and dragging to the highest right-hand corner expands the image therefore you’ll see it clearly.

Pinch to Zoom
You can zoom the camera in and out with a two-finger pinch. The progress bar will indicate the zoom amount and level.

Changing camera settings
There are not several settings to alter, but you’ll amendment the ratio and therefore the scene mode. To do so, proceed the 3 dots at all-time low right-hand corner of the screen.

Volume keys as a shutter button
Either of the quantity keys will act as a shutter button once in private mode.

Browser
With a quick browser and many to manage within the settings strive these BlackBerry ten browser tips to urge the foremost once it involves surfboarding the web from your BlackBerry Z10.

Turn on Adobe Flash
The shot ten browser supports Adobe Flash, however you’ll need to show it on. To do this, open the browser app, proceed the 3 dots at all-time low right corner of the screen so head to Settings > show and Actions. Here toggle the Adobe Flash button.

Turn on personal browsing
We know, you wish to try and do a spot of secret looking then want to hide your tracks. head to Settings > Privacy and Security > personal Browsing. whereas you are there you’ll additionally set however quickly you would like the phone to mechanically take away your net history too.

Making type fonts larger
Go Settings > show and Actions > Default Font Size and set it to one thing around twenty. after you faucet to put the pointer within the field of a type, the page can mechanically zoom to the font size you set.

Sharing a page to Twitter
Press the 3 dots, press Share, select however you would like to share the page.

Search
Just begin writing within the computer address and it’ll mechanically begin recommending stuff. to alter the program, press the colored search icon within the high right-hand corner of the screen. you’ll choose between Bing, Yahoo , and Google.
Creating a road on the house screen to your favorite web site
Go to the location you would like the road to, proceed the 3 dots, proceed “Add to Home Screen” decision it what you would like then press “Save”  and it’ll be additional to your apps grid.
BBM
BBM gets many new tricks in BlackBerry ten together with Video line and therefore the ability to share your screen.

Making a video decision
BBM currently supports video line. to create a video decision choose a contact or get in a spoken language you’re already having and press the inexperienced camera button within the high right-hand corner.
Sharing your screen in a very video decision
BBM Video however options screen sharing therefore you’ll do shows over BBM. to try and do this press the share screen icon that appears like 2 rectangles with a ball within the middle.
General
Beyond the key apps or areas of the location, there square measure uncountable general tips and easter eggs to be found in BlackBerry 10.

Rotation Lock
If you do not like operating in landscape you’ll lock the screen via a Rotation Lock setting. within the apps grid swipe down with one finger from the highest of the screen so press the Rotation Lock icon (pressing the words will not work). you’ve got currently secured your screen to either portrait or landscape counting on what orientation you’re in at the time you ironed the button.

Taking a screenshot
Press each the quantity up and volume down button at a similar time

Turning off or managing NFC
You might not want NFC all the time. to show it off head to Settings > Network Connections and switch it off. you’ll additionally manage however NFC works within the same place, whether or not or not you would like to be prompted before causing and receiving files and whether or not you would like to permit NFC Card Transactions.

Setting ring tones for everything
Settings > Notifications so the service you would like to alter the tone or alert for.
Turning Volume keys into music road buttons
Settings > System Volume so toggle Music road button. you’ll currently be able to press and hold the quantity up and volume down keys to skip through songs.

Change the Wallpaper
Settings > show > Wallpaper
Changing Screen Lock Timeout
Settings > show > Screen Lock and alter it from ten seconds to five minutes.

Finding your phone
BlackBerry offers a free service referred to as BlackBerry defend. to show it on you’ve got to travel to Settings > BlackBerry defend so turn it on. From any browser on your laptop or otherwise you’ll then log into the service via defend.blackberry.com and see wherever your phone is, send messages to that, and even remote wipe it.

Setting a parole for your BB10 device
All that private info so you do not trouble to line a parole for the device. to line one head to Settings > Security and Privacy > Device parole. in contrast to iOS you’ll set a word instead of simply variety. You can’t, however, set a finger gesture like in automaton. you’ll then set it to mechanically lock your phone when a collection time or to mechanically lock the device once holstered.

Share your media along with your TV
If you have a DLNA supported tv you’ll share music, pictures, and video from your BB10 device. to try and do this head to Settings  > Media Sharing and judge what you would like to share.

Turn of crystal rectifier light-weight
The red light-weight is like associate degree addiction. It’s flashing that has to mean I’ve got a message, i have to resist. If you would like further assist you will put off the red crystal rectifier by reaching to Settings > Notifications and toggling the crystal rectifier light-weight off. Phew.

Universal Search
You can customise what you explore for in Universal search by going into Settings > Search > classes. Here you’ll then set what you would like to go looking in and what you do not. It suggests that you’ll ditch looking through your music as an example. Handy if your boss is additionally referred to as Alicia Keys.
Turning your BlackBerry into a USB Mass device
Go to Settings > Storage and Access so toggle the USB Mass Storage button right at all-time low.

Magnify everything
If your sightedness is not nearly as good because it accustomed be, otherwise you perpetually forget your glasses you’ll activate amplify mode that permits you to pinch to centre on the screen at anytime to allow you to read what is thereon rather like you pinch to centre on an internet site in a very browser. to show it on head to Settings > Accessibility and switch amplify Mode on.

Share your tips
Do you have any tips for iOS vi that you simply need to share? allow us to understand what they’re within the comments below.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Windows Phone 8 tips and tricks

Windows Phone 8 is Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system. Sceptics may say it’s not a patch on iOS or Android but, finally, they’re being proved wrong. Windows Phone 8 now offers a bundle of features not available at the big Windows for phones re-launch of 2010.






Want to know what Windows Phone 8 can do? Here are our top tips and tricks.

How to change Live Tile sizes


One of the most important new features of Windows Phone 8 is that you can make Live Tiles smaller. In Windows Phone 7, you were restricted to just two sizes, and that meant it was pretty hard to make good use of your phone’s screen space. To cycle between the sizes, hold a finger down on a Live Tile then tap the downward-facing arrow icon on its bottom-right edge.

How to save maps in Nokia Maps (Nokia phones only)


A top feature of any Nokia Windows Phone mobile is Nokia Maps. In turn, its top-billing bit is being able to save maps to the phone’s internal memory. To do this, tap the “…” icon to the bottom-right of the screen in Nokia Maps, then tap the “download maps” option. You’ll then be given a choice of different map regions to download. The whole of England is only a few hundred megabytes, so it’s well worth a download if you live in a poor signal area, or want to save on mobile data.

How to multi-task


Like so many elements of Windows Phone 8, multi-tasking is easy to use and looks pretty fantastic. To access the multi-tasking menu, just hold down on the home button – the middle soft key – and this menu pops up. It shows recent apps as large thumbnail previews that take up around 60-70 per cent of the screen, a bit like the tabs menu in some mobile browsers.


How to delete apps


So simple it’s barely a tip, you delete apps from the main apps menu – a right-to-left swipe away from the home screen. Just hold down a finder on an app and a little menu will appear. In this menu you’ll see the uninstall option. Tap that and the app will be no more.

How to take screenshots in Windows Phone 8


You may never need to take a screenshot with your phone, but to people like us an easy screenshot tool is a godsend. Just press the power button and the Windows soft key at the same time and you’ll hear a shutter sound. A screenshot will then be saved to the image gallery.

How to activate Kid’s Corner


Kid’s Corner is a feature introduced with version “8” of Windows Phone that provides an area that’s safe for kids to play with – they won’t stumble upon anything untoward or accidentally (or otherwise) delete all your music. You’ll find the option within the main Settings menu. It lets you manually select the apps, games accessible from within Kid’s Corner. To access it, you simply swipe right-to-left from the lock screen.

How to add camera effects and modes


The camera app of Windows Phone 8 is pretty basic by itself, with no Panorama or HDR modes. However, you can add camera modules that add these sorts of features. Microsoft calls them Lenses. You can access the Lenses menu by tapping the button within the camera app that features two arrows pointing in different directions. Additional Lenses are available to download too, and plenty are free.


How to access Skydrive


Skydrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage solution. With a Windows Phone you’re automatically given several gigabytes of storage online – and when you setup your phone you’re given the option to automatically backup your data to the cloud. But how do you access it? With a phone, it’s pretty simple – your Skydrive photos will show up as an album within the camera roll, and other data is automatically sync’d. To access your data with a laptop/desktop browser, it’s pretty easy too. Click the downward arrow in the nav bar at the top of the screen of the Outlook.com interface. A pop-up menu will appear, featuring Skydrive as an option. Select it and you’ll see all your Skydrive wares.


How to identify a tune, without Shazam


Windows Phone 8 has its own tune identification engine – just play your phone a song while connected to the net and it’ll tell you what it is. The OS doesn’t shout about the feature, though. Tap the Search soft key, common to all Windows phones, and the universal Bing search bar will pop up. On the bottom of the screen you’ll see a darkened bar with two icons. Tap the one with a note on it and the mic will start listening for a tune. As long as it’s clear enough, it’ll attempt to identify what it is. Simple.


How to read QR codes and barcodes


The other icon here, bearing an eye is what you use to scan barcodes and QR codes, and even read text, turning it into text you can copy and paste into documents. This really is a fantastic feature, and that Windows Phone 8 doesn’t even show it off demonstrates impressive taste and reserve, we reckon.

//PART 2