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’m surprised we haven’t shared this trick in the past, but never the less, it’s time that we do. Should you know of an app update in the wild, you can almost always install it directly from the web version of Google Play even if your device isn’t showing that you have an update available. As soon as you see the Play store listing of the app change over to today’s date, meaning it was recently updated, you can tap “Install” followed by a selection of the device you wish to install the update on, before sitting back as it updates over-the-air.

Take today’s Google+ update as an example. None of my devices are showing it as being available at this time on device (pictured above), however, I installed it just fine through the web Google Play on both my HTC One and Nexus 7. Also, if you got really desperate and weren’t anywhere near a computer, I’d bet that you can do the same trick through the Chrome browser on your phone.

Tip: If an Android App Update is Not Showing as Available on Your Device, Install From the Web is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

So through this video, I run through 20+ tips and tricks that I have come across over the last couple of days. Some are pretty basic and not necessarily brand new, while others are new to the HTC camera and navigation experiences. It’s really a clip on how to get around your new One without having to experience the learning curve that I did.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video: 20+ Beginners’ Tips and Tricks for the HTC One is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

In stock Android, you have six different options to choose from for your lock screen, all of which offer their levels of security. If you use a non-stock Android device like the Galaxy S3, you may see some differences in functionality between the types we’ll talk about in a minute, but for the most part they all act in a similar fashion.

First, to access your lock screen options, the universal location tends to be in Settings>Security. From there, you should see an option towards the top called “Screen lock,” which then takes you to your lock screen options once tapped.

As you can see in the screenshot below, stock Android offers options for None, Slide, Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN, and Password. Let’s talk briefly about each.

Slide to Unlock

Slide is probably the most commonly used lock screen of all – it’s basically the default. This lock screen is not secure by any means, and only asks that the user of the phone grab the circle with a lock inside and slide it outside of a larger circle to unlock the phone. There are no passwords or patterns, it’s simply a way to keep your phone from turning itself on and then accessing all sorts of info in your pocket or purse without your knowing.

The nice thing about using Slide, is that you can still access your notification pulldown without having to fully unlock your phone. None of the other lock screen options allow for this, as they are technically “secure.”

Face Unlock

Face Unlock was introduced back in Ice Cream Sandwich as a fun way to unlock your phone using your face. In order to set this option up, you have to place your face inside of a face-shaped ring of dots using your front facing camera until the device decides that it knows your face enough to be able to unlock with it. Once approved, you’ll also be asked to provide a backup option in case the device cannot recognize your face. The two backup options are PIN or pattern.

With Face Unlock setup, you wake your phone and then set point your front facing camera at your face. If it recognizes you, it will unlock almost immediately. If not, it will ask that you complete your backup PIN or Pattern unlock.

People have found ways to trick Face Unlock from time to time, so I’d say that while it’s more secure than Slide, it’s not as secure as the next three.

Pattern, PIN, and Password Unlock

Pattern, PIN and Password unlocks are exactly as they sound – you either create a pattern, a numeric PIN, or an alpha-numeric password that needs to be entered in order to unlock your phone. These are likely the most secure of them all. If you don’t know the pattern, PIN, or password, you are not allowed to access the phone.

So those are lock screen security options. Any questions?

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An Overview of Android Lock Screen Security Options [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

(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. 

(Stock Android alarm)

Instructions:

1.  For the most part, you aren’t going to find an app in your app drawer that actually says “Alarm.”
2.  Instead, you’ll want to look for “Clock,” as this has become mostly universal.

*In some instances, like stock Android or Motorola phones, you can tap on your main clock widget to enter alarm settings.

3.  Once you have entered the clock app, the setup is going to vary depending on the phone.
4.  In almost all instances, though, look for the + as it will almost always create a new alarm.
5.  Once you have started a new alarm, you can tell it to do a variety of things

• Time:  The most important part is obviously the time. Pretty self explanatory.
• Repeat:  Repeat allows you to select which days to have your alarm continue to go off on. You can also set one time alarms by not selecting any day at all. Also, if you want a different alarm time for weekends, just set up a new alarm and only check Saturday and Sunday.
• Ringtone:  You can specify a ringtone to have play during your alarm. These can be from the stock choices on your phone or you could setup a custom ringtone that you’ve found.
• Vibrate:  You can also have your phone vibrate while its alarming you to wake up. Keep in mind that phones tend to move around while vibrating, so make sure it doesn’t slide off your night stand.

6.  Once an alarm is set, your screen should tell you a quick countdown for when it will go off next.
7.  To turn off alarms, a simple box uncheck or alarm icon tap should toggle them.

(Motorola alarm)

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How to: Set an Alarm on Your Android Phone [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to mobile hotspot, though. Your carrier typically provides a hotspot service at an additional charge, but there are also free ways to get your phone to tether, however, it typically requires rooting your phone and voiding its warranty. This tutorial is for the built-in hotspot service that can be activated through your carrier.

Instructions:

1.  From your main home screen, head into Settings.
2.  In the first section, you may see an option for Hotspot under WiFi and Bluetooth. Tap on it.

*If you do not see Hotspot from the main Settings screen, tap on the “More” button. You should see an option on the next screen that says “Tethering and mobile hotspot” or something along those lines.

3.  From there, you’ll find shortcuts to change all sorts of settings.
4.  You’ll want to enter “Mobile Hotspot settings” to at least find out the name of the network you’ll be creating.
5.  From this menu you’ll also be able to enable a password, change the network type, etc.
6.  Once you have it setup, all you need to do is activate it.

*On most phones, there will be a check box at the main Mobile Hotspot settings screen.

7.  Once activated, your phone will add a running notification that shows hotspot status.

*If you have not yet activated the service through our carrier, you will likely be prompted to do so at this point.

8.  It’ll also notify you as connections are made to your hotspot network.
9.  Once it shows that it’s live, you can jump on your laptop or other WiFi device.
10.  You connect just like you would to your home WiFi network, in your WiFi device’s WiFi settings.
11.  Enjoy your mobile internet!

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How to: Setup and Use Mobile Hotspot [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

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.

Instructions:

1.  Open the Settings menu on your device.
2.  Under the Personal category, select “Backup & Reset.”
3.  At the bottom, you will see “Factory data reset.”

Note: If you select to factory wipe your device, all info will be wiped including contacts (unless they’re sync’d to your Google account), pictures, documents, and everything else. It returns the device to as it was when you just opened the box.

4.  After selecting Factory data reset, the device asks to make sure this is the task you want to perform. If yes, hit, “Reset phone.”

Once hit, the device boots into recovery and wipes it clean. After it is done, it will reboot and your device will act as if it is brand new with all of its content gone. At this point, you can go ahead and do what you will with the device with no worries of anyone seeing those pictures you took in Vegas.

It wouldn’t be Android if there wasn’t at least a few ways of doing things. For anyone running a manufacturer’s skin atop their Android OS, things sometimes look different. Also, depending on which version of Android you are running, the Reset option could be under a subcategory in the Settings menu. For example, for users on Gingerbread, the option to factory reset a device is under the “Privacy” settings menu. The above image is how you find this option using Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, which is almost identical to stock Android in terms of location.

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How to: Factory Reset Your Phone [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

In previous versions of Android, a long press on Home popped up a simple app switcher, however, it lacked much functionality or design flair. In the newest versions (Android 4.0+), you can see thumbnails of your recently used apps that show you a preview of where you last left off. A simple tap on the thumbnail then jumps you into the app, again, exactly where you last left it.

On the flip side, you can kill off apps just as easily as you would switch to them, thanks to a new swiping gesture. If you would no longer like to see an app appear in your recently used app list, touch your finger to it and swipe it off the screen to either the left or right. Not only does this remove the app from showing up in your list, it also kills the app from continuing to run in a position that you last left it. Should you need to open a killed app again, you’ll notice that it opens from a fresh spot.

Instructions (killing recent apps):

1.  From any screen tap the app switcher button (the double rectangles).
2.  A list of your recently used apps should appear.
3.  To remove one, touch and hold on the app while swiping it off the screen.
4.  You can also long-press on the app and tell it to “Remove from list.”
5.  You can also long-press and enter “App info” to uninstall an app or stop it completely.
6. If you continue to swipe apps away until they are gone, you’ll be left with the screen on the left.

On most Samsung devices, a long-press of the physical home button will bring you the same recently used apps menu. Swiping them off the screen will also kill them off, but you will likely see a trash can button in the bottom right corner as well. Should you press that, all of your recently apps will be removed.

On most HTC devices released in the last year, there is an app switcher button, however, the recently used app list looks much different. The apps tend to show up as 3D cards that can are viewed through a horizontal menu. If you would like to remove a single app from appearing, a swipe up on the card will do the trick.

Most Motorola devices released in the last year have the standard Android task switcher button.

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How to: Quickly Kill Off or Switch to Recently Used Apps [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

Instructions:

1.  From your app drawer, find the app that you want to uninstall.
2.  Grab it by long pressing on it for 2-seconds.
3.  With control of the app, depending on your device, you should see shortcut options in the notification bar.

*In the screenshot, you can see that I have “Uninstall” and “App info.” Some devices are different in this area.

For example, Motorola phones only show a “More Options” area. Once dropped there, you’ll get a menu with an option to uninstall.

Samsung phones running TouchWiz do not have either shortcut. To quickly uninstall, hit Menu>Uninstall while in the app drawer and then select the apps you want to remove.

HTC phones tend to show an “Uninstall” options.

4.  If your phone shows the “Uninstall” option, drop your app there and then hit “OK” to uninstall.
5.  If you only see “App Info” or “More Options,” drop your app there.
6.  You should then see a box which allows you to uninstall the app.

And that’s it, you are now on your way to removing apps in the fastest way possible.

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How to: Quickly Uninstall Android Apps [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

If you didn’t have a chance to lock into unlimited data back before most carriers killed it off, then you are likely on a tiered data plan that forces you to constantly monitor your usage. With limits as low as 1GB on some carriers, there may be times when you reach your limit and need to toggle data off to save yourself from overages and penalty fees. Thankfully, the Android operating system has made this easier than ever to do with just a few quick steps. Even better, though, they allow you to set data limits, so that your phone will warn you as you approach your monthly data allotment. 

Instructions (Turning Off Data):

1.  To turn off mobile data, pull down your notification bar and open up Settings.
2.  On many phones, your third option from the top is “Data Usage.”
3.  Tap on that.
4.  From this screen, you can monitor the amount of data usage you have used over the month.
5.  If you would like to turn off mobile data, simply flip the switch at the top to “Off.”

Instructions (Setting Data Limits):

1.  Setting a data limit should be done by anyone with a tiered data plan.
2.  From that same settings screen, you can drag the orange warning bar to a limit of your choosing.
3.  Your phone will warn you as you approach, with a notification shortcut to this screen.
4.  Be sure to set you Data Usage Cycle to match-up to your carrier’s billing cycle.

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How to: Disable Mobile Data Usage [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

Android 4.2.2 is a minor release for the most part. It appears to a back-end bug fixer that has yet to present a major change or new feature that will affect the way you use your Android device. With that said, there are some minor tweaks that have begun to surface which we are big fans of already. The first, was the new status and estimated time meter that shows during app installs. The second, we have included in a short video above.

From this new release of Android going forward, you will be able to long-press on Bluetooth and WiFi tiles through the notification pulldown to toggle them on or off. Simple change, but also an incredible time saver.

Via:  Google Source 

(H/T Android Police)

Tip: Long Press Bluetooth and WiFi Notification Tiles to Quickly Toggle Each in Android 4.2.2 is a post from: Droid Life

Back in the early releases of Jelly Bean, Google introduced a new command to adb called “sideload.” Using the sideload command, and the newest version of adb from the Android SDK, one could update their Nexus device through stock recovery, without having to root or flash a custom recovery. It’s something we wish was there from day one, however, at least we have it now. And I know that many of you feel that Nexus devices shouldn’t ever have a stock recovery and that they should be hacked on daily, but try to keep in mind that some like Nexus phones and tablets because of constant updates and  a 100% stock version of Android. 

As someone that has a decent grip on drivers and adb, I have to admit that adb sideload has given me issues since it was introduced, which is why I have yet to fully write a guide about it. But with today’s Android 4.2.2 update becoming available, I decided to take a second look at the process and finally found some solutions to the issues that have taken hours away from my life.

One had to do with my device ID not registering through the USB driver, requiring a manual edit of the “winusb.inf” file. The other was a Windows 8 security issue that wouldn’t allow me to install drivers that had not been signed, which is something that happens after you start manually editing driver files.

So for those that keep it stock and still want to update early with the cool kids, this guide is for you. Below, you’ll find the instructions to adb sideload, with extra posts coming later that will help with some specific issues that I ran into.

*Instructions are for a Nexus device when connected to a Windows 8 PC.

Instructions:  How to use “adb sideload”

1.  First, you need to install the latest Android SDK (or at least steal the newest adb.exe from it). [Android SDK]

*This isn’t a guide on how to get the SDK installed or basic adb. There are dozens of those out there.

2.  Plug in your device to your Windows machine.  Make sure USB Debugging is enabled.
3.  To test that you have adb up and running, and that your device is recognized, open a command prompt.

*The best place to open a command prompt is from within the Platform-Tools in the SDK. Hold SHIFT and the right-click and choose “Open command prompt…”

5.  Type the following”

adb devices

6.  You should get a serial number followed by “device.”

015d182f9a0aac28    device

7.  If you see something along those lines, your adb is working properly, for now.
8.  Download the update.zip from Google to your PC that you would like to install on your Nexus.
9.  Move the file into your Platform-Tools folder.
10.  Type the following:

adb reboot bootloader

11.  Your device will now reboot to the bootloader.
12.  Use Volume Down on your device to until you see “Recovery.”
13.  Select it with the Power button.
14.  Your device will boot to an Android logo with a exclamation mark.
15.  To jump past this, press Volume Up and Power at the same time.
16.  You will now be in stock recovery.
17.  With Volume Down, highlight “apply update from ADB.” Press Power to choose it.
18.  Back to your PC, type the following command:

adb sideload <filename of update.zip>

*I tend to rename update files to something simple when I get them. For example, the 4.2.2 update for the Nexus 7 I renamed to JDQ39.zip, so my command was “adb sideload JDQ39.zip”

19.  If your adb is working properly, you should see the file transfer to your device in adb.

*If you get nothing, it’s time to troubleshoot with the next set of instructions in another post that I am still working on.

20.  Once that finishes, your device will begin to update.
21.  Once it has finished, simply reboot and enjoy the update.

Hope this helps.

The next post with instructions for troubleshooting some specific issues in Windows 8 will be up shortly.

Guide: How to Use “adb sideload” to Update a Nexus Without Root or Custom Recovery is a post from: Droid Life

With the introduction of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), Google gave users the power to disable system-level apps on an Android device. At first, you may think, “Why would I ever need to do that?” But if you look at it from a control perspective, you’ll quickly realize that this move could be perceived as a slap in the face to carriers and their need to install bloatware, or apps that they have installed on your phone through partners which cannot be removed. It’s also a way to disable rogue system apps that may be gobbling up battery, are running too often in the background, or that you wish were unavailable to users of your phone or tablet. 

Bloatware, as we refer to these carrier-installed apps, typically cannot be removed by a simple “uninstall.” Many of them have been permanently placed at a system-level on your phone or tablet, which means you cannot manipulate them without having superuser power over your phone. So if you want to remove the trial of EA’s latest game or the suite of Amazon apps that you wouldn’t normally have installed, disabling them will at least hide them from your view. It’s not the optimal situation for control freaks, but it does at least get them out of your app drawer and keep them from running in the background.

Instructions:

1.  From your home screen, enter your phone’s settings menu.

*Most phones running Jelly Bean – pull down notification bar and tap the Settings button.

2.  In Settings, scroll down to “Apps” or “Manage Apps.”
3.  Scroll over to the “All” section to view all apps.
4.  Find the app you would like to disable and tap on it.
5.  You should now be at the App Info page of the app.

*Should see how big the app is, an option to stop it or clear its data, and of course, disable it.

6.  When you tap “Disable,” you’ll be warned that this move may affect other apps.

*Depending on the app, this warning could be true. However, most of the bloatware installed by a carrier, will not be tied into other apps and can safely be disabled.

7.  If you think it’s safe, go ahead and OK the disable. Your app should now be disabled.
8.  You can find the list of disabled apps at the bottom of the All column in “Apps.”
9.  To re-enable an app, simply head back to this App Info screen and hit “Enable.”

Quicker Instructions:

*This tip should work on almost all Jelly Bean devices.

1.  From your app drawer, long press on the app you would like to disable.
2.  When it takes you to your home screen, look at the top of the screen for an “App Info” option.
3.  If you drag and drop your app here, it will take you directly into the “App Info” screen.
4.  You can then choose to disable or uninstall the app.

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How to: Disable System Apps and Bloatware on Android [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

When you first turn on your smartphone and you are taken through the setup process, you will undoubtedly be asked if you want to turn on location services. As you read the screen that talks about these location services, one that mentions GPS tracking, locations, and the accessing of information you may not want the world to know on a minute-by-minute basis, you may skip right over it, hoping to reconsider activating them later. And you know what, there is nothing wrong with that. But in case you do that, we figured you should probably know how to turn them back on, as many of the applications you use will be crippled if location services are not turned on. 

While it’s always scary to see an application ask to use your current location, you have to remember that in most cases, they are doing it to improve your smartphone or app experience. With your location information, apps like Google Maps can correctly pin-point your location to then help you find traffic information, see nearby places, and most importantly, navigate you from one location to another. Beyond Maps, think about apps like Foursquare, Instagram, and Facebook, all of which use your location to tag photos or check you in at your favorite restaurant. Without location services enabled, it would be difficult if not impossible for them to do this.

Instructions:

1.  From your home screen, enter your Settings menu.

*If running Jelly Bean, swipe your notification bar down, and tap the Settings icon. On a Samsung device, from your home screen you can tap Menu>Settings.

2.  Scroll down to the “Personal” section.
3.  Tap on “Location services” or “Location access” – whichever your phone shows.
4.  From this screen, you can toggle on or off any of the location services your phone offers.
5.  On most phones, that includes your carrier’s and Google’s location services, plus standalone GPS services.

Basics of Each Service:

• Carrier location services:  When checked, it uses your carrier’s cell towers to help to pin-point your location. A number of people leave this option unchecked, though just as many if not more leave it checked.
• Google location services:  This mostly uses WiFi signals to help determine your location. No need to turn these off.
• Standalone GPS services:  This uses the GPS unit in your phone in order to determine your location.

Battery Drain

There has long been talk of location services draining the battery of phones. As they are, at times, constantly looking for your location, that is somewhat true. However, as times have changed and technology has evolved, leaving location services on does less and less to decrease the life of your battery. Toggling on or off your location services now has more to do with privacy than anything.

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How to: Enable GPS and Other Location Services [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

When Google introduced Android 4.2, they announced an old feature, but in a new way. Once you were running this new version of Android, you had the ability to add select widgets to the lockscreen of your phone. In the past, you had always been able to utilize the widget power of Bugdroid on home screens, but expanding to your lockscreen gave you a new world of possibilities. Funny thing is, that third party lockscreen replacements have allowed this for years, so some of us were already used to the idea. For those not, this guide is for you. 

One thing to understand before we dive into this, is the fact that Google has only touched on the initial possibilities here. You are only allowed to add one widget per page on the lockscreen, plus arranging and managing is somewhat of a nuisance at times.

Instructions:

1.  Upon unlocking your device, you should see white box outlines to the left and right (image top left).
2.  If you touch the left edge of your device, you can swipe over and see a blank page with a “+” on it.
3.  Tap the “+” to bring up the widget menu.
4.  Find the widget you were looking for and tap on it.
5.  That widget should now be added to one of your lockscreen pages.

Those are the simplest of instructions, but I still want to highlight some of the other tricks when it comes to Android 4.2 lockscreen widgets.

Getting the Most Out of Widgets

First, if you have a full page widget, like the Beautiful Widgets clock I have below, your lockscreen will hide most of the info on it until you decide to access it. As you can see in the image below, you can actually swipe down on the clock, pulling the white box with you, to unveil a full clock with weather and forecast. This also works with widgets like the Calendar and Gmail.

If you have multiple pages of widgets on your lockscreen, you can swipe to the left to access them, just as you would on a normal home screen. Again, remember that a swipe down to begin this process will help show all of your widget’s info.
Once you have swiped down, you will need to swipe the white box back up in order to get to your unlock mechanism. Also, a swipe to the right side from your main lock page is an easy way to jump directly into your camera app.

Removing/Rearranging Widgets

To remove a widget, you will first need to swipe down on the widget page to reveal the entire widget. After you have done that, you can simply long-press and hold on the page that you want to remove. Once held properly, your phone will zoom out to a card view, showing you with a grasp on the widget you want to delete, which then allows you to drag up to remove. This is also a great way to rearrange widgets.

Third Party Widgets

Stock Android only comes with a handful of widgets like Calendar, Sound Search, Gmail, Clock, etc. If you want even more options, you are likely to find them in some of your favorites apps. As I mentioned earlier, Beautiful Widgets has been built to take advantage of lockscreen widgets, as have other clock and weather applications. For example, I have a full page clock with weather on it along with another page that’s a shortcut to a flashlight app. If you have an app that has a widget currently, there is a good chance that the developer has built in lockscreen support. If not, suggest that they do.

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How to: Setup Lockscreen Widgets in Android 4.2 [Beginners' Guide] is a post from: Droid Life

Having realized that your phones can be used for things other than making calls, like paying for goods on the go, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile teamed up to create a joint venture called Isis Mobile Wallet. It’s goal is to become your one and only NFC-based mobile payment system. While the service hasn’t rolled out nationally, it is being tested in two markets:  Salt Lake City and Austin. For those who live in these two cities, you can test the service to your heart’s desire this very minute as long as you have a phone with an NFC chip inside. The rest of us, we have to wait until it gets the thumbs up for a bigger rollout.

In the mean time, we thought we’d put together a little tutorial on the app since we were able to get a hold of one of Isis’ requirements, an NFC SIM card. We typically like to do our best at preparing the DL community for what’s to come. So let’s talk about it.

NFC SIM Card

With Isis Mobile Wallet, you are required to use a brand new NFC-equipped secure SIM card. We aren’t fully sure the reasoning behind this, since there is an NFC chip in most phones, but it likely adds a level of security that Verizon and its partners feel more comfortable with. In fact, if you try to load up Isis on your NFC phone, it’ll fail as it looks to the Secure Element of an NFC SIM for approval. Once you drop an NFC SIM in, the app fires right up, and starts the setup process.

If you live in Salt Lake City or Austin, you can pop into your local Verizon store and they’ll give you an NFC SIM at no charge. If you live outside of those areas, you can call into customer care and request one, which usually takes a couple of days to arrive.

Setup Instructions:

1.  Once you have inserted your NFC SIM and it has activated, you are ready to setup Isis.
2.  Install the app from the Google Play store.
3.  Upon first launching the app, it’ll check your phone to see that you have a correct SIM inserted.
4.  Once verified, you will walk through a brief setup that asks for account, password, and PIN.

5.  Isis will work on preparing the secure element of your phone which takes a few minutes.
6.  Once finished, they will notify you via text that you can use Isis.

7.  Now, open the app, input your PIN, and get to the real goods – setting up cards and offers.

Isis App Tour

Once you are inside the app, it’s time to navigate around, setup cards, find offers, and figure out how to use the damn thing. For most, you should initially see the Isis Cash prepaid card. This is a VISA that can be loaded with as much cash as you wish, but to get you into using the service, Isis will give you $10. Well, unless you are me, who they apparently decided wasn’t worthy of this perk. All I could do was add credit cards – there was no prepaid card for me.

On a credit card front, we should point out that you can’t add any card of choice. At this time, Isis only supports Capitol One, Chase, and American Express cards. We hope they open it up to all cards at some point, but for now, this is what you get.

I should also point out that the setup process isn’t all that simple. Both Capitol One and American Express redirect you to outside websites for setup. Once you walk through the process, you have to wait for the credit card company to process your request to add the card to Isis, which could take several minutes. Once approved, you will receive notice and your app will then show your card connected. Definitely not as seamless as Google Wallet.

Beyond cards, depending on your locale, Isis will also show you local offers and a feed of nearby deals from companies or businesses they have partnered with. For me, Macy’s was it, however, once I changed my zip code, I was able to see a number of deals for places in Salt Lake City.

When viewing an offer, you are able to use a barcode that can be scanned in store (I’d assume because the store doesn’t have Pay Pass or pay-to-tap capabilities) or you can hit the button to give you the power to tap.

The app itself is setup with panels that can be accessed by selecting the appropriate button at the bottom for Home, Isis Feed, Directory, or More. On the main page of the app, you have a top portion that allows you to flip between cards and a bottom portion that allows you to flip between offers. Other than that, it’s a pretty self explanatory service.

I’ll hopefully have some time to test the actual functionality of the app in the coming days, but so far, it seems a bit more difficult than I had imagined. There are toggles to activate things, no way to add your normal bank card, and some bugs that will more than likely be addressed.

I can help but compare this to Google Wallet, which in my early opinion, is a far superior mobile payment system to Isis. Google Wallet allows you to add any card in your wallet, and also makes it incredibly simple to pay for things with it. There are no on/off toggles – just tap, pay, and go. Too bad Google Wallet has been banned from our lives by the companies behind Isis.

Cheers Jason!

How to: Setup Isis Mobile Wallet on Verizon is a post from: Droid Life