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Android tip: Set “battery saver” mode to turn on automatically

Android tip: Set “battery saver” mode to turn on automatically

by ben patterson | Jan 13, 2016 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Both Android phones and iPhones now boast low-power modes (aka battery saver modes) that’ll keep an almost-dead battery alive for a tiny bit longer—you know, long enough to send a few last emails or read one more chapter of a Kindle book. The only problem is...
iOS tip: Sleeping through your iPhone’s alarm? Try this setting

iOS tip: Sleeping through your iPhone’s alarm? Try this setting

by ben patterson | Jan 5, 2016 | how-tos, phones, tablets

So, you set your iPhone alarm clock to wake you at the crack of dawn, but the alarm tone was so quiet that you slept right through it. Sound familiar? Now, you could have sworn that your iPhone’s speaker was cranked pretty high…except earlier the previous...
iOS tip: 4 ways to fix a crashy iPhone or iPad app

iOS tip: 4 ways to fix a crashy iPhone or iPad app

by ben patterson | Nov 18, 2015 | apps, how-tos, phones, tablets

Just the other day and for no apparent reason, my trusty New York Times app decided to stop working. I’d launch it, I’d see the Times front page for a split second, then poof! It was gone, and I was back on my home screen. Luckily, I was able to get the...
iOS tip: How to sign a PDF directly in Mail (and other PDF tricks)

iOS tip: How to sign a PDF directly in Mail (and other PDF tricks)

by ben patterson | Oct 28, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Not all that long ago, the only way to sign a PDF on iPhone or iPad was to open it in a third-party PDF app. With the arrival of iOS 9, though, you can put your John Hancock directly on a PDF attached to any Mail message. Even better, you trace arrows and circles on...
iOS tip: Hide iMessage spam with “Unknown Senders” filter

iOS tip: Hide iMessage spam with “Unknown Senders” filter

by ben patterson | Oct 13, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Nope, there’s not much you can do to stop iMessage spammers from bombarding you with random messages about discount Ray-Bans. Luckily, iOS boasts a feature that can stop iMessage junk from filling your Messages inbox. Once you turn on the “Unknown...
iOS 9 tip: Safari’s reader mode just got a whole lot better

iOS 9 tip: Safari’s reader mode just got a whole lot better

by ben patterson | Oct 6, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Until very recently, the easy-on-the-eyes Safari reader mode for iPhone and iPad—you know, the feature that strips all the clutter from articles on the web—was painfully basic. Once you turned on Safari reader mode (which you can do by tapping the three-line button on...
iOS 9 tip: Select text on your iPad with two fingertips

iOS 9 tip: Select text on your iPad with two fingertips

by ben patterson | Sep 30, 2015 | how-tos, tablets

If you’ve ever tried to select text by grabbing those itty-bitty blue handles while selected text on your iPad, you’ll know how delicate—and sometimes infuriating—the process can be. The bad news is that selecting words, sentences or paragraphs in a web...
iOS 9 tip: How to banish Newsstand from your iPhone or iPad

iOS 9 tip: How to banish Newsstand from your iPhone or iPad

by ben patterson | Sep 23, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

One of the best reasons to install the new iOS 9 update onto your iPhone or iPad isn’t so much because it adds some nifty new feature, but because it finally lets you delete an older, incredibly annoying one – the newsstand app.  Newsstand elbowed its way...
iOS tip: 3 gotta-know iMessage and text-messaging tricks

iOS tip: 3 gotta-know iMessage and text-messaging tricks

by ben patterson | Sep 2, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Want to forward an iMessage to a friend, or find out the exact time you received a specific text message? No problem. Also: how to silence a group conversation that just won’t stop. Forward an iMessage or text message So, you just got a text message or iMessage...
iOS tip: 3 ways to make the most of your Safari Favorites

iOS tip: 3 ways to make the most of your Safari Favorites

by ben patterson | Aug 5, 2015 | how-tos, phones, tablets

Tap the address bar in Safari for iPhone or iPad, you’ll reveal a panel of your Favorites—that is, web pages that you’ve bookmarked in the Safari Favorites folder. That much you may already know. What you may not know, however, is how to quickly add new...
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