Android Phone Fans

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• Pusbullet update brings tons of new features
• Best Android games from April 2014
• Motorola’s May 13th press event will introduce a phone “made to last” and “priced for all”
• Huawei Ascend P7 breaks cover ahead of May 7th press event
• 250 miles with the Galaxy S5
• RedBox Instant update adds Chromecast
• Android Silver: will the Samsung Silver Shine be first in Google’s new lineup?
• OnePlus One availability should pick up late June
• Press invites being sent for May 27th LG event — LG G3 most likely the guest of honor
• 50+ Samsung Galaxy S5 Tips & Tricks

Pusbullet update brings tons of new features Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:34 PM PDT Pushbullet’s Android app is getting a massive upgrade today, folks. Fans of the service — which allows you to push text, files, photos and links to and from your phones, PC and friends, as well as mirror Android notifications on your desktop — will want to download it for the following neat list of changes: An updated sliding drawer mechanism that uses two-pane style navigation instead of the new overlay-style. Sharing something to Pushbullet will now bring up an interface overlay instead of kicking you out of whatever app you were sharing from. Pushes that trigger Tasker events can be automatically dismissed or deleted. Broadcast a push to all of your devices at one time. Easier access to multiple accounts. Easier access to notification mirroring options for each individual app. Easier access to friend management. Improved home and lock screen widget design (looks more like the Gmail widget). Improved tablet optimization. Exhausted yet? You won’t want to expend all your energy as you’ll need to save some for the process of actually downloading it. As usual, it’s free in the Google Play Store and ready for your grubby little fingers to dig into. [via Pushbullet]

Best Android games from April 2014 Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:33 PM PDT Yesterday we wrapped up the best apps to launch in April. Today we are turning our attention to the games. Hundreds of great games arrive in the Play Store each month. Some are from big name gaming studios, others are from small indie developers. It can be hard to keep up with them all. Here is our list of some of the best games to launch this month. Check it out and download a few of them. We can’t include all the games that launched, so let us know which games you enjoy that didn’t make our list. Abyss Attack This top-down underwater shooter is from Chillingo. All of the nasty and deadly creatures of the deep-sea are trying to kill you. All you have at your defense is a submarine with weapons you pick up along the way. It’s pandemonium with bullets, bombs, ships, and creatures flying across the screen. Stay alive as long as you can to get a high score. Abyss Attack is free from Google Play. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 The movie is finally arriving in theaters this week, but the Amazing Spider-Man 2 game has been available for a few weeks. This game doesn’t exactly follow along with the movie plot. You can fight all sorts of villains, such as Black Cat, Screwball, and Electro. The usual cast of bad guys is there too, of course. For $5 you get a brand new story that compliments the movie, and should be a lot of fun. Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition Baldur’s Gate has been around since 1998. In 2012 it made the leap to iPad, and now this month it finally arrived on Android. This game is based on the Dungeons & Dragons universe. It’s a RPG game that can rival those on PC. If you don’t believe us the $10 price tag should do it. If you’ve been a fan of this game for the last 16 years you need to download this ASAP. Beach God Beach God is a silly 8-bit style game that puts you in the role of a muscular beach bum. All you have to do is flex your muscles to attract the ladies. However, if you don’t flex when they are looking you literally die of embarrassment. If you flex too much you will meet the same fate. Flirting has never been this dangerous. The game is free, but the sun screen will cost you (just kidding). Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Everything can be made into a game these days. Even animated sitcoms. Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is an official game based on the FOX TV show. The story revolves around the Griffins when they find out that Family Guy has been cancelled. The culprits behind this scheme is none other than the evil Chicken. After Peter and the Chicken destroy the town it’s your job to rebuild the town. The best part is this game is completely free. Flashout 2 Flashout 2 is your typical sci-fi racing game with a dubstep soundtrack. Like other racing games, Flashout 2 is not only about being faster than your opponents. Your ship is equipped with weapons that can take out your opponents. For $2 you get a few dozen tracks, online multiplayer, and “console quality graphics.” Start your engines! Groundskeeper 2 The original Groundskeeper game from OrangePixel was an endless survivor style game. With the sequel they have fleshed out a full story. The game has the same classic 2D style that OrangePixel is famous for, but with more weapons and action. If you’ve ever played Contra you should feel right at home in Groundskeeper 2. It is available from Google Play for $2. Hopeless: Space Shooting Hopeless: Space Shooting is a shoot-em up game that stars maybe the cutest creatures you’ll ever see. You play as cute little yellow marshmallow-esque creatures that are being attacked on all sides. Hold them off for as long as you can with powerful laser guns and other weapons. But be careful! Don’t shoot your allies as they come to help out. Download Hopeless: Space Shooting for $1. Noir Syndrome If you’re high on detectives, but low on pixels, this is the game for you. Noire Syndrome is a 8-bit murder-mystery game with a new story every time you play. It’s your job, as the detective, to interrogate people, find clues, and hopefully solve the case without getting yourself killed. It’s stylish, quirky, and fun. If you enjoy a good mystery you can pick this game up for $3. The Walking Dead After winning a whopping 90 “Game of the year” awards, The Walking Dead by Telltale Games arrived on Android this month. This game is based on the popular AMC TV show. It plays like a choose your own adventure, set in the same world as the TV show, but with new characters. The first episode is free, but the next 4 are unlockable via an in-app purchase. Even if you’re not a fan of the show this is a great game that will toy with your emotions. Warhammer 40k: Storm of Vengeance Warhammer 40K is like Plants vs Zombies’ angry relative. It’s a lane-based strategy game with space marines, big ships, Orks, violent weapons, and tons of explosions. it may not be a traditional Warhammer game, but it’s tons of fun. For $5 you get over 50 levels to keep you occupied. Who needs silly plants when you’ve got tanks and marines? Where’s My Water? Feat. XYY Disney is still looking for water, and the latest character to help find it is Xi Yang Yang. This adventure takes place in China, but the gameplay is more of the same that we’ve seen in previous versions. There are over 80 levels to play through with a couple new mechanics like fire and oil. The game costs $1 up front and has in-app purchases as well. Please, would someone find the water already? Wind-Up Knight 2 The sequel to the popular platforming game is finally here. Wind-Up Knight 2 adds even more fun and adventure from the original The gameplay is largely the same, but has been tweaked a little with new combat mechanics. The graphics are better, and the in-app purchases are very reasonable. If you unlock the game in the first 48 hours you can nab it for just $4. After that it’s $9 for the full game. XCOM XCOM is an award-winning console and PC game, but now it’s available for Android. You play as the commander of XCOM, an elite organization created to defend the Earth. It’s your job to create a base, research alien technology, plan combat missions, and lead your soldier into battle. iOS users got this game a year ago, which is unfortunate, but the good news is Android users get it at a $10 discount. Best Android Games from Past Months March 2014

Motorola’s May 13th press event will introduce a phone “made to last” and “priced for all” Posted: 30 Apr 2014 11:23 AM PDT Mark your calendars for yet another device reveal in weeks to come. Motorola has set a date for May 13th in London, where they’ll be announcing a new phone that is “made to last” and will be “priced for all.” Whatever it is, it sounds like it’ll be affordable, yet powerful. Cheap, yet cool and capable. There’s no indication whether or not this will be the follow up to last year’s Moto X just yet. The timing would be off, with last year’s model being announced in August for a late summer launch. That doesn’t mean much, though, as all of the flagships from top OEMs this year have come quite a bit earlier than their predecessors. If it is the follow-up to the Moto X, we’re told it will come with a myriad of customization options through Moto Maker. The standard colored plastic of last year’s model will return alongside premium wood backings. New to that party are premium leather backings for people who are into that sort of thing. We don’t know much about the phone outside of the lavish looks we expect it to have, though, so we’ll just have to use our imagination until we stumble upon something more solid. More likely is the Moto E, an entry-level handset from the OEM that should be even more affordable than the Moto G was. We don’t have many hard details on it yet, but we’re not expecting the world here. Then again, Motorola won’t be expecting an arm and a leg for it, either. But all of this talk is moot if Motorola’s announcement ends up being totally different, so we’ll be looking ahead to May 13th and circling our calendars for the big day. Be sure to do the same on your end and make sure to circle back to Phandroid for all the latest. [via Engadget]

Huawei Ascend P7 breaks cover ahead of May 7th press event Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:34 AM PDT It’s phone announcement season, apparently, with yet another OEM looking to put on an event soon. Huawei is holding their own hoedown on May 7th, where we expect the company to reveal their Ascend P7, as well as a possible miniature version of it. The Ascend P7 is Huawei’s most interesting flagship yet. It’s said to be coming with a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 13 megapixel rear camera and and 8 megapixel front camera (yowza!), as well as a 2500mAh battery. You can also expect Huawei to push the bar on slimness, as they’ll be looking to continue their tradition of trimming phones beyond 7mm of girth. And would you look at that — a new leak already gives us a clean look at the thing. The UI in the photo definitely suggests KitKat, as the Ascend P7 is flaunting those transparent system status bars and navigation bars quite proudly. Anything else we want to know about this phone will likely have to wait until next week. [CNBeta via PhoneArena]

250 miles with the Galaxy S5 Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT The rain begins soaking through my poncho as I zip along the muddy towpath skirting the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. I've come 100 miles by bike through the mountains of western Maryland and still have 30 more to go before setting up camp for the night. For a moment there is a sinking feeling in my gut as I remember I forgot to stow my phone, which is now wrapped tight in the heavy, waterlogged fabric of my cycling jersey. Then I remember that phone is a Galaxy S5. Stopping for a moment to assess the situation and check that the rest of the gear — the sleeping bags and hammocks, the clothes, the food — is staying dry, I pull out the phone to snap a few pictures. It's waterproof, after all. To prove the point to my riding partner I throw the phone in a deep puddle. I pick it up, wipe the mud off on my leg, and place the phone back into my pocket. Determining that our situation is unlikely to improve over the course of the next several miles, we do the only logical thing and crack open a beer. Touring with the Galaxy S5 Our final route would cover nearly 250 miles from the valley housing Deep Creek Lake near the western boundaries of Maryland to the tidewaters of Baltimore. The four day cycling tour would be no walk in the park as we camped each night with the minimal amount of equipment we could stuff into the panniers hung from the backs of our bikes, pumped water from wells leeching their contents from the nearby Potomac River, and followed along a route that led us out of the comfortable confines of 4G LTE service into a world of cellular dead zones. And throughout it all, the Galaxy S5 might just have been the most important tool I brought along. Full disclosure: I had brought along a secondary phone — an iPhone — but the device saw little use. I also carried an Incipio portable battery pack with a solid 6000mAh of extra charge in case I needed it. But given that packing light was key so as to avoid the pain of dragging 100 pounds of bike and gear up steep mountain inclines, I had to keep a limit on the sorts of technology I brought along. In hindsight, the Galaxy S5 was probably all I needed, no extra phone or battery pack necessary. This is not to say the S5 was perfect, and I wasn't necessarily using the phone in the traditional sense — my glowing endorsement really only concerns its use as a GPS device and camera — but I really could have had no better companion for the trip. That's if you don't count my riding companion Lee Cumberland. You can catch a glimpse of the full ride as captured via GoPro and the Galaxy S5 over at his S/V Satori blog. When it rains it pours Most of the Galaxy S5 coverage we have seen to this point lauds the device for its IP67 certification. The phone's resistance to dust and water has for the most part, however, only been demonstrated in very controlled settings. While it's great to know we can drop the phone in a bowl of water or a toilet without fear, I would not call this a typical situation. I was able to put the phone through the paces in conditions that many folks would be much more likely to find themselves in. The first day of riding on the C&O Canal towpath, an unpaved surface of packed dirt and loose gravel, saw no shortage of dust kicked up around the GS5. A major storm system would turn that dry and dusty path into a mess of mud by the next day, and the ensuing storm would soak us to the bone as we toughed it out to keep on schedule. No, this was not a test immersing the Galaxy S5 in a few inches of standing water. This was actively using the phone to navigate and track progress with no qualms about keeping it out of the damp and dirty conditions. While the water protection was ace, that is not to say the Galaxy S5 was the most accommodating device to use in wet conditions. While damage was not an issue, water build up on the phone's touchscreen made navigating the user interface impossible at times, and caused some issues when trying to snap off a few quick shots. This is not necessarily a flaw inherent to the Galaxy S5 itself — water would interfere with the accuracy of any capacitive touchscreen — but it does draw a distinction between “safe from water damage” and “usable in wet conditions.” Wiping off the display provided a quick remedy, but in a torrential downpour it wasn't staying dry for long. Still, the peace of mind that the Galaxy S5 could survive the rugged nature of the journey is a testament to its design. I did not go easy on the phone, nor did mother nature, but it made it back in one piece and no worse for the wear. That camera, though Perhaps even more impressive than the device's resistance to water and dust damage was the performance of its camera. The phone was always on hand and I used it to document the journey, snapping a few quick photos here and there as we rode along. Without thinking too hard about the photos or even messing much with the Galaxy S5's modes and shooting settings, I was able to capture some pretty nice shots. All the photos you see in this post were taken with the phone. The Galaxy S5 definitely does wonders in the sun. Give that 13MP camera ample natural light and you might just impress yourself with how good a photo you are able to capture. When the clouds rolled in the story wasn't quite the same, but image quality remained impressive. Nearly everyone I have shown the photos since my return has made a comment along the lines of "that phone takes some pretty nice pictures." And it does. My secondary iPhone might have done a a decent job itself in capturing photos, but the Galaxy S5 made sure that other handset stayed buried deep in my bag. Battery life for days Eight hours of GPS tracking per day, constantly connecting and disconnecting from cell towers while searching for a signal and moving in and out of roaming — these are just a few of the pitfalls that the Galaxy S5 had to face over the course of four long days traveling away from the comfort of an easily accessible wall outlet. Despite a life on the road that would test the limits of any phone's battery, I never had to worry about keeping the Galaxy S5 powered. After two days of use with a little over 30 percent left on the phone's battery I gave it a quick recharge via my Incipio offGRID battery pack. I can't say enough for that little device either. In an extremely portable and rugged-in-its-own-right package, the offGRID provided 6000mAh of backup juice (enough to get about two full charges of the GS5's 2800mAh battery) with two USB ports providing 3.1 amps of charging power. Charge times were quick, and they needed to be. The trail waits for no one and we were constantly on the move. But even without the Incipio battery pack I feel confident the GS5 could have made it to four full days of use had I worked the battery more efficiently, powering down when possible and limiting connectivity to avoid wasting power searching for data networks and downloading emails. If needed, the Galaxy's Ultra Power Saving mode could have easily kept me connected for the duration had my battery waned to below 10 percent. The struggle is real Riding hundreds of miles over four days is no easy task. Being the smartphone that tags along can be equally grueling. While the GS5 did its job and more, there were some areas where the device still fell short. For starters, forget S Health. I didn't bother using the pre-installed app to track the ride due to its extreme limitations. S Health is probably nice for the casual user that wants to track steps or a couple runs or shorter bike rides per week, but it doesn't hold a candle to Strava, my default app for recording and analyzing my cycling activity. The Galaxy S5 is also rather bulky and difficult to use with one hand. Opting to ride without a handlebar mount for the phone, removing the GS5 from my back pocket in order to check a map or take a photo typically meant coming to a complete stop. Not that it's recommended to operate a bicycle with one hand and a smartphone simultaneously with the other, but the Galaxy S5 makes the task highly impractical. With all the praise being heaped on the Galaxy S5's display, it's worth noting that in sunny conditions even the eye-searing brightness of the Super AMOLED display was greatly washed out. At maximum brightness there were still times where a hand was needed to shield the sun from the display. As a smartphone user, I have my personal differences with the Galaxy S5 and Samsung. I've never been a fan of TouchWiz and the cheap feel of of the Galaxy line's plastic build has provided me enough reason to keep my distance. But Samsung's latest effort has given me some hope for the Galaxy brand. Sure, it's still clunky in many ways — four days of solid use was not enough to demystify the bloated and at times overly complicated software of the phone — but it gets a lot right in the process, including battery life, ruggedness, and camera quality. If the Galaxy S5 is at home in any adventurer's bag, it is equally worth consideration for a place in the average user's pocket.

RedBox Instant update adds Chromecast Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:52 AM PDT Check another video-centric app off of the “this app needs Chromecast support nao!” list. RedBox has updated their Android app to add that very functionality, giving you access to the service’s instant streaming videos on your big TV without more than the $35 media streaming dongle and a capable WiFi connection. RedBox instant might not have the vast library of Netflix or Amazon Instant Video, but if you subscribe for other reasons — such as those handy RedBox credits that can be used for kiosk rentals every month — then it might be worth the scratch. Go ahead and grab the laest update from Google Play right now.

Android Silver: will the Samsung Silver Shine be first in Google’s new lineup? Posted: 30 Apr 2014 08:41 AM PDT Up until today, your guess about who would be the first manufacturer to produce an Android Silver phone was as good as ours. If you don’t know, Android Silver is said to be the name of the handset initiative Google will use to replace the traditional Nexus line (and presumably the Google Play edition line, as well). All the details are right here, but the quick explanation is that it’s said to be a free-for-all for OEMs who want to create pure Android devices. Google’s willingness to put up the marketing dollars to sell the phones in stores will be a key selling point for carriers and OEMs to participate. In return, they commit to minimal bloatware and customization, and fast, regular updates. First up to bat: Samsung? So who’s going to play along? Tough to say at such an early stage, as rumors suggest the program isn’t set to kick off until sometime next year. A new trademark may have given us a sense of clairvoyance, though, with Samsung seeing fit to call dibs on “Silver Shine.” The trademark — which carries serial number 86259975 — was granted under the usual categorical suspects: mobile telephones, digital cameras, computers and the like. It’s interesting to think about the type of phone Samsung would make for Android Silver if they are, in fact, thinking about it. We imagine it wouldn’t be far off from the Samsung Galaxy S5 of today, or even the supposed Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime of the near future. The word “premium” was stressed in all of the Android Silver leaks, after all, so we’d be surprised if they were planning to put a stinker onto the market. Samsung’s no stranger to trying out these programs. They were responsible for two of the first three Nexus phones, and maintain their status as the only OEM to have made a 10-inch Nexus Tablet. They also offered the Samsung Galaxy S4 in Google Play Edition form last year, and are expected to do the same with their current flagship. Let’s not forget that Samsung is embracing the Android Wear platform for a forthcoming smartwatch despite having their own Tizen-based Gear line. You wouldn’t be wrong to think some of Samsung’s moves to create their own “walled garden” of apps, content, services and devices are contradictory to their willingness to play along with this sort of stuff, but they’ve shown time and again that they are willing to play ball on any field. Who will make the “Silver One”? Something else to think about in all of this is what Google will do in terms of branding. It’s clearly something they have to consider if they’re planning to market this line up against exciting juggernauts like the Galaxy S line, HTC’s One line and LG’s premium G devices. It’s entirely possible that Google could mandate the use of “Silver” at the forefront of these devices’ names, not all unlike what they currently do for the Nexus line (with the exception of the Galaxy Nexus and its flip-flopped orientation). Branding like that will be important in establishing the line and giving people something to identify it by. They’ll know what to expect once they see that “Silver” name tacked on, which we’re expecting to be a solid, powerful, clean and lean collection of devices with support unmatched by any other phone on the market. All of that is to say this — don’t be surprised if Google feels a bit nostalgic and decides to have someone like HTC create the “Silver One” phone to kick this thing off. Of course, Silver Shine could have nothing to do with Android Silver and be something entirely different altogether. If Samsung’s potential interest in Android Silver is there we’re sure it won’t be long until they’re joined by the likes of LG, HTC and Motorola. All that said, we’re left waiting for more details — official or otherwise — without much else to go on. Fingers crossed that Google decides to throw us a bone at Google I/O this summer.

OnePlus One availability should pick up late June Posted: 30 Apr 2014 06:18 AM PDT You might be chomping at the bit for a chance to buy the OnePlus One by now, especially after seeing our hands-on time with the device yesterday. Unfortunately it’s not so simple right now — only 100 units are currently available, and that’s only if you’re selected to smash your phone as part of the company’s controversial Smash the Past campaign. Thankfully, OnePlus didn’t take long to let us know when, exactly, they expect things to pick up. Their latest forum post lays out some production details for those interested: Production of 64GB models will ramp up as more people seem to be interested in those than the base 16GB model. They won’t produce 64GB models to the detriment of availability for the 16GB model, though, so expect them to strike a key balance in production runs. A larger batch of 16GB devices will be available mid-to-late May, but you might still need to work hard to find an invite. A larger batch of 64GB devices will be available starting in June, but you might still need to work hard to find an invite. Availability will significantly increase in late June, and while you will still need an invite to purchase one they shouldn’t be too hard to come by. Unfortunately there’s no timeline on when we can expect these devices to be available without an invite at all, though we imagine OnePlus will feed us more information by the time June comes to a close. We can’t really ask for much more out of OnePlus in terms of how open and honest they’ve been about this whole ordeal, because it’s a lot more than other companies are willing to share about their production schedules. [via OnePlus]

Press invites being sent for May 27th LG event — LG G3 most likely the guest of honor Posted: 30 Apr 2014 05:18 AM PDT What’s that you say, LG? You have an event in London, New York and San Francisco happening May 27th? Gee, wonder what that might be for. Our best guess is the LG G3, which the South Korean company confirmed to be coming in Q2 in their latest financial report. The device has seen more and more leaks in the past week or two, with folks particularly interested in leaking shots of the updated UI and the phone’s backside. LG’s rumored to be bringing out all the stops on this one, with a 2560 x 1440 5.5-inch display being the star of the show. We also expect the G3 to house [LIST OTHER SPECS]. Also possible is a formal showing of the LG G Watch that has already been made official. We’ve already seen the smartwatch in official press renders, but LG has yet to show it off in the flesh. A report yesterday suggests we’ll be seeing it in June with a 199 euro price tag for Europe. Let’s hope we get a chance to see what that’s all about whenever May 27th rolls around. Hope you’re circling your calendars, because you can bet your butts we are and that we’ll be bringing you all the latest once that day finally arrives.

50+ Samsung Galaxy S5 Tips & Tricks Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:13 AM PDT If you just got the Samsung Galaxy S5 you might feel overwhelmed with all the features and options. Or maybe you want to uncover all the phone’s capabilities without digging for hours. We’ve put together a list of 50+ Tips & Tricks for the Galaxy S5 that will fulfill your every need along with a video that touches on some of our favorites. Galaxy S5 Shortcuts & Buttons Home Button (tap) – return home from any screen Home Button (hold) – Google Now Home button (double tap)  – S Voice Home button (triple tap)  – Accessibility options* Home screen (pinch) – wallpapers, widgets, home settings Back Button (tap) – previous screen Back Button (hold) – turn on Multi-Window Mode Multitasking Button (tap) – open recent activities Multitasking Button (hold) – access settings and menus in all apps Power button (tap) – put screen to sleep and wake it up Power button (hold) – change modes (off, airplane, restart, emergency) and sound Power button & Home (hold)- take a screenshot with the Galaxy S5 Volume (then tap gear) – customize sounds Triple Tap Screen – zoom in and out on any screen *Turn the triple tap home for accessibility feature on in Settings > Accessibility > Direct Access Set up your Galaxy S5 There are at least 14 things you should do when you get your Galaxy S5 and we’ve explained them in detail in a separate article for Galaxy S5 beginners. If you haven’t read that article yet, it’s a great place to start! And if you’ve got specific questions about the Galaxy S5 or are having an issue you don’t see addressed elsewhere, head over to the Galaxy S5 Forum and ask there… lots of people ready, willing, and able to help. The Galaxy S5 is Water Resistant The Galaxy S5 has an IP67 Certification which means it’s dust proof and water resistant. Don’t be shy about getting it a little wet: if you spill water on it, drop it in the toilet, or use it in the rain, it’ll likely be just fine! Seal the S5 Every Time! Whenever you take off the S5′s back cover or open the latch to the charging port you make your phone vulnerable to water damage. When you snap that case back on and close the latch you need to be 100% sure it is completely sealed – it’s especially easy to overlook a part of the back cover not completely snapped in place. Samsung gives you pop up warnings to remind you to double check and we’d suggest leaving these on. They’re annoying now, but as soon as it saves your phone’s life from water death you’ll be happy you trudged through the trouble. The Galaxy S5 is not Waterproof Water proof and water resistant are two very different things. While the IP67 Certification means your phone will be protected from the elements, we don’t suggest you go swimming with the device or purposefully subject it to liquid trauma. The Galaxy S5 does a great job when splished, splashed, submerged, and pummeled with water but sometimes too much is too much and regardless of what insurance you have, water damage is never covered, regardless of the S5′s IP67 rating. Unlock the S5 with your Finger The Galaxy S5 has a fingerprint scanner located on the Home Button. You can’t see it, but trust us, it’s there. Set it up by going to Settings > Fingerprint When registering your finger print use different fingers and swipe at different angles to simulate how you would unlock your phone in real life Add additional fingerprints for yourself or other people who may share/use the device Choose “Screen Lock” and select “Fingerprint” from the settings menu to use your finger to unlock your phone Alternatively go to Settings > Lock screen > Screen lock and choose Fingerprint directly Protect private files with your fingerprint You can also lock certain files on your phone, requiring your fingerprint to be scanned before accessing them. This is great to protect sensitive information, pictuers, and other information you want to remain hidden from prying eyes. Turn this on in: Settings > Private Mode Select Unlock Method > Fingerprint Long press a file/image, choose settings, select “Move to Private” (Private Mode must be on to do this) Turn Private Mode off and all files moved to private will be invisible Turn Private Mode on and – only after confirming your fingerprint – all files, including those that are private, will be visible Private Mode being on/off can be a little confusing since you could assume when you’re in private mode that things would be kept private. Instead it means you’re accessing your private content. It’s easy to remember after once habit kicks in. Pay for stuff with your fingerprint Smartphones make it really easy to pay for stuff without ever pulling out a wallet, especially when you’ve got your login information stored by default. Nice and convenient but you don’t want it to be TOO convenient; after all, what if your 8 year old starts buying games with your phone? Or worse, what if a thief – or *gasp* your wife – gets ahold of it? Companies like PayPal can now build the Galaxy S5 fingerprint functionality into their own apps, requiring a successful fingerprint swipe before confirming a purchase. Enabling this will be different for each app, but in the case of PayPal, simply visit Settings > Fingerprint > Pay with Paypal under the Features section. Check and Track your Heart Rate Yet another great addition the Galaxy S5 is a heart rate monitor, coupled with the camera’s flash on the back of the phone. To access the heart rate monitor simply: Open S Health from the app drawer Press the “Heart Rate” icon on the bottom right or select “Heart Rate” from the menu Place your finger over the entire heart rate monitor on the rear Hold still, stay quiet, and keep the sensor completely covered for the most accurate results You can also jump directly into the Heart Rate Monitor by pressing the heart icon on the right of the S Health widget. Pressing the chart button in the bottom right will allow you to view historical charts of your heart rate as recorded by your S5. Control the Galaxy S5 with your voice There are two very easy ways to use your voice to do almost anything on your Galaxy S5: S-Voice and Google Now. While some people may prefer to turn off S-Voice, others may find it an enjoyable solution. Unlock your phone with S-Voice The implementation can be a bit shoddy and the results aren’t always perfect, but S-Voice lets you perform a wide variety of tasks with your voice. Simply: Double tap the home button Press settings in the upper right Select Voice Wakeup Turn it on and set your wakeup command You can now use any special phrase to wake your phone and perform voice searches and actions… although we much prefer Google Now between the two primary voice services. Say “Ok Google” for Google Now Voice Commands Once your phone is unlocked you can say “Okay Google” on any screen that has the Google Search widget to instantly access Google Now. A search box pops up instantly and you can speak your command. We’ve got a full list of Google Now Voice Commands but here are some of our favorites: Call ____ Get directions to ______ Send text message to _______ Remember to _______ Schedule a meeting for ______ with ________ Wake me up in _________ Watch _________ What’s your favorite Google Now voice command? Pay for stuff at the store with your Galaxy S5 Leave your wallet in your pocket: you can use your Galaxy S5 to pay for things simply by tapping it on the payment processor thanks to the Galaxy S5 having NFC. This only works at select locations such as Starbucks and 7-Eleven, but man does it work like a charm. I always see people that use their phone to pay for Starbucks and other people in line seem shocked. You can tell they want to do it themselves but seem intimidated… it really isn’t difficult: Turn NFC On in Settings > More Networks > NFC Select ISIS (or an alternative) in the “Tap and Pay” section of NFC Open ISIS from the app drawer and follow the steps to set up your account Begin tapping and paying! Technology can be intimidating but take a deep breath and remember that we’re all human. If you simply tell the cashier it’s your first time paying with your phone, they’re usually more than happy to help you, and if you get a tech enthusiast they’ll probably be excited! Use the Galaxy S5 as your TV Remote Technology has changed the world, but TV remotes are stuck in the past. Don’t be a caveman: use your Galaxy S5 as a TV remote for a more rich and smart viewing experience. Open the App Drawer Select “Smart Remote” Press the remote control in the top right Follow the on screen instructions Enjoy your enhanced entertainment experience! If you’re the type to continually misplace your television remote it or lose it in the depths of your couch cushions, you’ll be relieved that your phone – and therefore you TV remote – is always easily accessible in your pocket! Galaxy S5 Lock Screen Tips Unlocking your phone- you do it about a billion times each day. Usually you do so with a purpose, so rather than taking extra steps to get here or there, Samsung has made it easy to access some specific features directly from the Unlock Screen. Customize your lock screen Go to Settings > Lock Screen to customize your lock screen with the following options: Select unlock method (swipe, pattern, fingerprint, PIN, password, none) Dual clock on/off lets travelers easily see the time it is at home Clock size small, medium, or large Show date Lots more… Launch Camera directly from lock screen Time is often of the essence when trying to capture the perfect picture. The Galaxy S5 lets you bypass the lock screen to snap a picture. Simply swipe the camera icon up (in the lower right hand corner) and you’ll launch directly into the camera app! If this feature isn’t turned on you can do so by: Go to Settings > Lock Screen Check “Camera Shortcut” You’re done! Even if you have a pattern or password lock set up this will let you take pictures without unlocking your phone. Put your contact information on the lock screen So you’ve gone through the painstaking steps of securing your phone in case it’s lost or stolen. But what if your phone is found by a good samaritan? Rather than locking them out, you may want to give them a chance to contact you so they can return it. Go to Settings > Lock Screen Tap “Owner Information” Enter your name, phone number, e-mail address, or any other information that would help someone return a lost phone to you That information will now be visible on your lock screen, giving any good samaritan a better chance at returning your prized tech possession. Lock your screen with the power button Some people want their phones super secure at all times and others just want it generally protected. You can customize the level of protection by going to: Settings > Lock Screen Scroll down to “Lock Automatically” Select duration of time after which your phone should automatically lock Select “lock instantly with power key” to force the screen to lock, regardless of the selected duration, when you press the power button Galaxy S5 Home Screen Tips Your phone is unlocked and now you want to straighten up and organize your in-phone experience. Here are some recommendations on customizing your Galaxy S5 home screen. Customize your Galaxy S5 Home Screen Press the home button and pinch the screen to access a quick view of all your Home Screen Customization options. From here you can: Set and customize wallpapers for home screen and lock screen Add widgets to home screens Long press home screen pages to rearrange them or delete them Access Home Screen Settings Make your Home Screen Faster In addition to pinching and zooming from the home screen you can also hold down the multi-tasking button. Selecting “Home Screen Settings” on the bottom right will give you two options: Transition Effect My Magazine We would suggest you turn both of these off. Transition effects eat up some processing power on your phone and My Magazine is a bit sluggish and probably not worth the hassle. Give it a try… you may feel otherwise, but we think you’ll thank us later. Organize your Apps There’s no dancing around the subject: the Galaxy S5 homescreens and app drawers are a cluttered mess. Take a few minutes to drag and drop everything you won’t use into the trash. Remove apps by long pressing from the home screen and dragging them to “trash” Uninstall apps by opening the app drawer, long pressing apps, and dragging them to “uninstall” Hide apps by opening the app drawer, long pressing apps, and dragging them to “disable” There are lots of apps (aka bloatware) that Samsung and the Carriers install that you can’t uninstall, but having the ability to disable/hide them sure does help. Quick Settings and Notification Tips Aside from unlocking your phone, accessing notifications and settings is one of the things you’ll do most often, so you’ll want the area set up perfectly to your liking. Here are some things you should know: Use 1 finger: pull down from top of the screen for notifications and quick settings See those toggle on/off icons at the top? They scroll horizontally: swipe to see more. Use 2 fingers: to pull down from top of the screen for full settings list Customize notification tray quick settings by tapping the pencil after pulling down with 2 fingers Customize settings area quick settings by pulling down with one finger, tapping the gear, tapping the 3 dots, then tapping the “Edit Quick Settings” option Change Settings View to List View – in the same location as above, select List View (if Grid View is active) and you’ll get a much neater and organized list of all the settings Turn Recommended Apps On. This lets Samsung display apps you likely want to access based on your current activity and can be very helpful. From the settings simply “Search” for “Recommended” and it should pop right up Improve Galaxy S5 battery life Your phone isn’t very helpful at 0% battery life aside from being a very expensive paperweight. Thankfully, we’ve got some tips that will have your phone lasting longer than ever before. Show Battery Percentage It’s tough to conserve battery power if you don’t know when you should be conserving. By default, there is a battery icon in your notification area but no indicator of exactly how much battery percentage you have left. You can easily turn this on by going to Settings > Battery > Show Battery Percentage – it should now appear in the upper right of your screen at all times. Turn off unused battery-hogging features Not everyone uses the same set of features, bells, and whistles, which is why options and settings exist in the first place. However, you may find that a lot of features are turned on by default that you’re not using and will never use, yet continue to run in the background, sucking away your precious battery life. Here are some settings we recommend you turn off and where you can find them: Motion Gestures: turn ALL of these off in Settings > Motions and gestures. There are 5: (1) Air Browse, (2) Direct call, (3) Smart alert, (4) Mute/pause, (5) Palm to swipe capture. Some people may like Direct Call and Mute/pause, but we prefer turning all of them off. Air View: found just below Motion Gestures in Settings > Air view. It offers a tool-tip style hover features that you’ll rarely (if ever) use. Smart Stay: this keeps your screen on while you’re looking at it which obviously needs to continually check to see if you’re looking at the screen. Neat feature but most won’t find it required. Settings > Display > Smart Stay. Turn off back button light. You know how the back button and the multi-tasking button to the left and right of the home button illuminate when you press them? You can hide those lights completely while keeping full functionality of the buttons. Kind of neat and an option I’ve grown to love. Settings > Display > Touch key light duration > Always off. Turn on battery-saving features There are a handful of Galaxy S5 settings that are designed specifically for saving battery life in certain scenarios. Here are some that we recommend turning on and where you can find them: Auto adjust screen tone to save power. This display setting will adjust your screen done depending on the current picture to save battery life. Settings > Display > Auto adjust screen tone. Keep location on, but turn GPS Off. Some people like having access to location settings 24/7 but GPS can be one of the biggest battery hogs. Samsung allows you to rely on Wi-Fi and mobile networks to locate you with “Power saving” mode. It’s less accurate but it definitely extends your battery life. Settings > Location > Mode > Power saving. Always allow Wi-Fi Scanning. For the above to work correctly your phone needs to always be scanning for new networks. You need to turn this on by going to Settings > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi Settings via 3 Dots > Advanced > Always allow scanning. Keep in mind that these two features will use MORE battery life than simply turning off location and wi-fi scanning altogether, but if you need location, it’s more efficient than GPS. Prepare for the worst If you know your battery life is going to enter critical condition territory and you want to protect it in advance, Samsung has added two new features on the Galaxy S5 called Power Saving Mode and Ultra Power Saving Mode. Power Saving Mode lets you adjust a number of settings to create a phone profile that conserves battery. Whenever battery life becomes a point of contention, turn it on and it will restrict your phone’s performance with battery in mind. It will block background data, block certain apps, and turn your phone gray scale. It is essentially a “start saving battery” switch that effects a lot of settings in your battery’s favor. Ultra Power Saving Mode offers the same type of functionality but is much more severe. When you turn it on it will block your access to all apps except for up to 6, allowing you to receive calls and texts but pretty much preventing everything else. You’re given information about how long your phone can last in this mode and the numbers are pretty impressive. If you’re in a jam, Ultra Power Saving Mode could really save your you-know-what. You can find both of these features in Settings > Power Saving Mode in the bottom of the Device category. Phone & Contact Tips Over the years we’ve seen phones go from a calling device to internet and app machines. News flash: phones still call people. Update: we’ve got some tips to improve that experience. Block Specific Numbers Do you have a stalker? Pissed at a friend who won’t stop calling you relentlessly? Can’t shake a certain telemarketer? The S5 lets you selectively block specific phone numbers with a feature called Auto Reject. Jump into Settings > Applications > Call > Call Rejection > and add specific numbers to the list. Quick Answer/End Calls There are a bunch of features that let you field calls more easily. Answer calls automatically when you pick up the phone in Settings > Motion and Gestures > Direct Call Answer calls automatically when you have a headset attached in Settings > Applications > Call > Call Accessories > Automatically answer a call with headset attached Answer/End calls with physical buttons by going to Settings > Applications > Call > Answer and ending calls > call with home key, end call with power key Remove duplicate contacts from phonebook There aren’t many things more irritating than having 3 or 4 contact names for every single contact in your phone book. Unfortunately it seems to happen quite a bit and people cannot figure out how to fix the problem. One reason these duplicates show is because your different social networks are all listing the contacts from the separate sources. One way to fix it is to select a specific source as your primary contact book and the others will become hidden. Settings > Applications > Contacts > Contacts to display > select your preferred address book. Galaxy S5 Texting Tips We’re willing to bet that texting is one of the most used features on your phone, so why not tweak it to your liking? Customize Text Message Layout Aside from switching the default messaging app in Settings > Applications > Default Applications > Messaging, you can also customize the look and feel of the messaging app if you choose to stick with Samsung’s default messenger. Just jump into Settings > Applications > Messages > Display and you can change the layout along with backgrounds, fonts, and more. Don’t delete old text messages automatically If you text a lot your phone is going to fill up with messages rather quickly. To help you out, Samsung automatically deletes old messages after a certain storage and time threshold are met. But what if you want to keep old messages for your records? No problem. Settings > Applications > Messages > Delete Old Messages > Off. Display text messages as popups Some people really love their popups and if you’ve got nothing to hide, there’s less reason to keep them confined to your notification drawer. To have new text messages appear as pop up notifications go to Settings > Applications > Messages > Notifications > On and make sure Pop-up display is selected. Send “canned response” text messages If you use and love the “canned response” feature in GMail you’ll probably love the “Quick Responses” feature in Android. You can respond to a phone call or text message instantly with a pre-defined message, either using default messages that come loaded on the S5 or you can create your own for future use. I can’t tell you how helpful these are when you need to decline calls but want to give people an explanation and heads up as to why. Settings > Applications > Messages > Quick Responses. Cancel Text Messages before they send There’s nothing as awful as the heart-sinking feeling of pressing the “Send” button on a text message only to be filled with instant regret. In another feature seemingly borrowed from GMail, Samsung lets you hit cancel on text messages before they send with a feature called “delay message sending”. Brilliant. Turn it on in: Settings > Applications > Messages > Delay message sending. Always get the fastest connection What’s faster: your mobile network or Wi-Fi? What if you’re on blazing fast 4G LTE? What if your Wi-Fi is puttering along hopelessly? Take the guesswork out of connecting to the fastest network by turning Smart Network Switching on. It will automatically switch between your mobile and Wi-Fi connection to maintain the best connection possible. Turn it on in the Advanced Wi-Fi settings in Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Advanced > Smart network switch. Rename your device If you’re connecting to your phone via Bluetooth you’ll likely find it with the name SAMSUNG-SM-G900V (this will vary by carrier). Wouldn’t it be so much easier to find if it were called “My Awesome S5″ or something more descriptive? You can do just that by going to Settings > Bluetooth > Menu > Rename device … or Settings > About Phone > Device Name. Open Certain Apps with Different Apps This may have made more sense to title “change default apps” but so many people have posed the question to me in this exact manner. How do I open this app with a different app? As an example, you may not like the default messaging app that your carrier gives you for receiving text messages but you aren’t stuck with a single option for messages or anything else for that matter. Go to Settings > Applications > Default Applications where you can select the default for a variety of tasks including your Home Screen, Messages, watching videos, and the list goes on. Improve Screen Colors & Contrast I happen to think the Galaxy S5 has the most beautiful, vibrant screen of any phone on the market. For some people it’s a tad too bright. Samsung offers a few different screen modes that take this type of preference into consideration. Head over to Settings > Display > Screen Mode and choose from Adapt Display, Dynamic, Standard, Professional photo, and Cinema. The latter will likely offer the most realistic and least exaggerated experience but I prefer and recommend “Adapt Display”. User your S5 with Gloves Trying to use your phone in cold weather can be a real pain in the butt. Responsive touchscreens work by reacting to the electric current in your fingertips when you touch the screen. This creates an obvious problem when you’re wearing gloves, but Samsung has an extra-sensitive screen mode that can be enabled and it works great while you’re wearing gloves. Turn it on in Settings > Display > Increase touch sensitivity and you’ll be good to go… even while you’re making a snowman in Alaska. Galaxy S5 Split Screen View The Galaxy S5 has a nice big screen that has more than enough room to do two things at once. Simply hold down the back button to enable multi-tasking mode and drag and drop your preferred activities into the main window, adjusting the size of the panes with the middle slider. This can be particularly helpful when you’re texting someone and doing research on the web or on Google Maps. It’s also helpful if you’re using one screen as a reference while you type on another screen, preventing you form going back and forth and/or remembering long strings of information. Multi-window is a feature that, to me, seemed like overkill on a phone… until I started using it regularly. It’s great and we definitely recommend you give it a whirl. Use the Galaxy S5 with one hand The big S5 screen and multi-tasking are great, but if you’ve got small hands, using the phone with one hand can be a hassle. Unless you know about one-handed mode. Turn it on in Settings > One-Handed Operation and you’re good to go. A simple flick in and back from the right edge of your screen will pop out one-handed mode that makes things much easier to use with one hand. The same flick in and back motion will close one-handed mode. Stuff 128GB into the S5 Multimedia lovers will appreciate that they can now store an additional 128GB in the Galaxy S5 thanks to SanDisk’s new functionality. The S5 comes with 16GB and 32GB versions but all versions have a MicroSD slot. Newly announced MicroSD cards hold up to 128GB and are relatively affordable. If your phone is your primary media device, I definitely recommend picking one up. Make the S5 Easy for Seniors and Beginners I don’t mean to enter age discrimination territory but let’s not shy away from the truth: smartphones are complicated pieces of machinery and sometimes older folks have a hard time grasping how to use them. You can put the Galaxy S5 into an “Easy Mode” that dumbs down the smartphone interface it a more limited number of icons and options while also making these icons larger and easier to see. To access easy mode simply find “Easy Mode” in the main settings panel and flip it on. There’s no shame in using this mode! It’s a good place to start and you can always graduate from Easy Mode to become a full fledged smartphone expert. Turn on “Do Not Disturb” (Blocking Mode) Business meetings, church, family dinners, etc… there are times you simply don’t want to be bothered. Samsung makes it easy to avoid distractions with “Blocking Mode” which is essentially the same as a “Do Not Disturb” offered by other manufacturers. Customize the options and you can: Block incoming calls Turn off notifications Turn off alarms and timers Schedule Blocking Mode for recurring days/times Allow specific contacts to bypass Blocking Mode Turn Blocking Mode on just below Easy Mode in the main Settings > Blocking Mode. Camera Tips & Tricks The new and improved Galaxy S5 camera has a plethora of features and you’ll be best suited by just diving in and trying stuff out. Camera tips and tricks could fill up an entire article itself, but here are a few suggestions to get you started: HDR Mode is amazing If the lighting isn’t great and there are lots of shadows and shade in your frame, press the HDR Button (just above the gear icon on the left). This will pour a ton of color into your picture that would otherwise go missing. Make sure you hold the camera especially steady in this mode. You’ll get a lot more mileage out of the Galaxy S5 camera if you get familiar with HDR. Use Selective Focus sparingly Samsung’s new Selective Focus mode lets you achieve blurred backgrounds that are typically reserved for expensive cameras and DSLRs. The problem is that the settings need to be PERFECT for this mode to work. You’ll need a subject that’s within about 1.5 feet from you and proper lighting. Don’t waste the chance for a good picture by rolling the dice with Selective Focus but if you’ve got time to spare it can be fun to experiment with. Take pictures with Voice Commands You can easily take pictures or video without ever pressing the capture button by saying the following commands: Smile Cheese Capture Shoot Record Video You may need to enable this in the camera’s settings under Voice Control > On. Rapid fire pictures If you’re like me, you suck at getting the perfect picture at the perfect time. Fortunately there is a feature on the S5 called “Burst Shots” which lets you take a rapid fire succession of pictures by holding down the shutter button. This feature cannot save to SD card due to memory constraints so make sure you’ve got plenty of space on your phone before proceeding. If you might want to do some post production editing after taking those rapid fire pictures you may want to change camera modes to Shot & More which allows a bunch of extra options to get the best picture from among the many taken in rapid fire mode. And speaking of modes… Animated GIFs and Beyond! The age-old animated GIFs have enjoyed resurgent popularity thanks to social networking sites enabling them for mass sharing and consumption. Dive into Animated Photo mode to capture a goofy moment or something worth sharing and post it directly to your social network of choice. The Galaxy S5 automatic mode is pretty darn good but change camera modes to capture the best picture depending on your settings. Just tap the “Mode” button and select from Beauty Face, Shot & More, Panorama, Virtual Tour, Dual Camera, Animated Photo, or Download to try additional camera settings and features. Helping Hands: Friends & Family Our loyal readers and tech savvy followers probably knew most of these tips and tricks already, but don’t take your experience for granted- there are a lot of people who have got no clue where to start when they buy an Android Phone. If you’re the type of person that friends and family ask for technology advice and help, consider bookmarking this article and passing it along to new Galaxy S5 owners. And as always, if you’re looking for help with a specific problem there’s no better resource than the Galaxy S5 Forums on the one-and-only Android Forums!

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