How many times has a new Android app update been issued for a major app, yet you find yourself without the ability to update on your phone or tablet? All of your friends are showing off the new features, and there you are stuck in times of old, refreshing and tapping frustratingly, hoping that you’ll receive the satisfaction that accompanies the “Update” button. What if there was a way around the wait, at least in most cases? There is, actually. 

I’ve now spent a full three days with the HTC One, so I’ve had just enough time to figure out and get used to all of the quirks that come with Sense 5.0. While it’s not a drastic change from previous versions in terms of big picture functionality, it is different enough that some of these tweaks may throw you for a loop the first time you see them. HTC certainly does things on a smartphone in their own way, something that is more evident in Sense 5.0 than ever before. 

Since your phone is with you at all times, the likelihood of it getting left behind at a bar, restaurant, gym, or other location that you previously visited is probably pretty high. And since we live in a world that isn’t always filled with angels, the chances of that left-behind-phone getting stolen and fondled deeply without your approval is probably even higher. Your first line of defense against evil doers is your lock screen. 

(Samsung alarm)

Does anyone actually own a physical alarm clock anymore? You know, one of those big boxes with glowing lights, the worst radio speaker in history, and that likely has a broken limb thanks to being knocked off your night stand a time or two? For many, you could put these in the same category as dinosaurs as most have switched over to their phone full time as an alarm replacement. After all, your phone is with you every step of the day, including during times of travel, so why not make it your bedside and morning companion?

In this quick guide, we’ll look at setting up an alarm in the simplest of ways. This isn’t rocket science, but it’s definitely something you should all know how to do. The only tricky part depends on the type of device you have. Motorola, stock Android and Samsung all do things slightly different, so we’ll take a look at each. 

One of the most important features to Android smartphone owners, especially for those who travel regularly or want to take full advantage of high-speed LTE networks, is mobile hotspot. It’s also called “tethering,” but carriers have done their best to move away from that word for the most part and onto “hotspot” which is much more marketing friendly. With a mobile hotspot, you can turn your phone into an on-the-go WiFi router for your other WiFi enabled devices to connect to. No longer are you stuck with fingers crossed, hoping that you next location has free WiFi or a password available. With your phone, and hotspot enabled, you can be connected from anywhere. 

Whatever the circumstances may be, sometimes we need to wipe our phones of all of their content. Maybe you are getting ready to sell it through eBay or Craigslist, and whoever is buying your phone certainly doesn’t need to see all of your stuff on their new phone. So, how do you factory reset an Android device? This guide will serve as a brief look into how to rid your phone of all of your personal pictures, documents, contacts, and more with the help of the built in reset option that Android offers.

Let’s get to it.

When the Android team first unveiled Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), one of the flagship features shown off was a new way to quickly switch between recently used apps or remove those same apps from running. On stock Android devices, or devices that use on-screen navigation keys, the button to access this new app switcher menu looks like two rectangles on top of each other (see image above). On devices like the Galaxy S3 which utilize a physical home button, a simple long press on that button will bring up the same menu. 

Beginner or not, we are always looking for ways to accomplish tasks faster on smartphones and tablets. One area in particular would be in app management. How often do you install a new app or game only to realize after a couple of minutes that it has no place on your device? As someone that installs multiple apps per day, I can tell you that it happens to me on a regular basis, so uninstalling quickly has become more important. And thanks to updates in Android, this task is now easier than ever to do.