How To

Parents buy products for their children on a daily basis, trusting the various companies to put out a safe product. But how do you know if a product is later found to be defective and has a recall? Not all recalls are broadcast on the nightly news, and going to the local store to view the message board of recalls isn't exactly convenient.

Enter Recalls Plus.

Recalls Plus allows parents to enter products, an age range, or allergens to monitor for recalls. The service will then alert you if there is a new recall pertaining to your specific product … Read more

You may have recently learned how to block annoying callers on Android by adjusting settings in the caller's contact information. Now, you can handle the next step of ignoring someone--not seeing texts from them--by using NetQin's Mobile Manager for Android. Here's how to get started:

Important note: This app will ignore alerts for people on your blacklist, not prevent them from incurring charges for texts on your monthly bill. If you need a more permanent solution for blocking texts from your phone completely, you will need to contact your wireless provider.

Step 1: Install Mobile Manager&… Read more

Clear is in a class of its own when it comes to both user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) in an iPhone app. It's simple, yet elegant as Jason Parker described it.

The no-frills approach to adding, deleting, and completing tasks with such a minimal UI can confuse some people at times, though. This short video walk-through will cover the basics, enough to get you started using Clear.

Once you get the hang of the gestures, moving around the app is intuitive. As I mentioned in the video, you can unlock up to three themes, each changing the … Read more

This is one of those solutions you didn't know you needed...until now.

Although texting may be the preferred method of communication today, it has its flaws. Autocorrect fails and difficulty expressing sentiment (without too many emoticons) are all too common with SMS.

And phone calls? Call me a generation Y-er, but sometime I just want to get my message across without a lengthy conversation, complete with "hellos" and "goodbyes."

That's why HeyTell, as suggested by a good friend, is my new obsession. The free app, which works cross-platform for Android, iPhone, and Windows … Read more

Digital document service provider, SignNow, recently released free mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices. The apps allow you to import Word documents, PDFs, or photos, sign them, then send them back--no printing, no wasted paper, and no fuss.

Here's how to sign digital documents with SignNow:

Step 1: Download and install the Android or iOS version of the SignNow app onto your mobile device.

Step 2: Launch SignNow and tap the document icon to open a document.

Step 3: Choose to import a document from e-mail, Dropbox, or take a photo of a document. In this tutorial, … Read more

With iCloud, you can restore previously deleted apps right from the App Store on your iDevice. If you open up the App Store app, tap Updates in the lower-right corner, and then tap the Purchased line above the list of apps in need of updating, you can browse a list of all of your purchased apps or those not currently on your phone. These lists are useful for reinstalling deleted apps, but they can be difficult to manage if you are a frequent App Store shopper and the lists grow from dozens into the hundreds.

Thankfully, if you simply swipe … Read more

BodyGuardz has been around for a while, providing customers with an extra layer of protection for their device. In the past, the installation methods were cumbersome, if not impossible. The new application gel used when applying a BodyGuardz protective film makes installation a breeze.

Watch the video above as I apply the protective skin to my iPhone 4S. The entire process took less than 10 minutes, including talking throughout the entire process. In each kit you get two sets of skins, should you need to reapply a skin down the road. You will also get skins for the side of … Read more

Granted, I download more apps as a tech writer than the typical iDevice user, but if you've had an iDevice for more than a few months, however, it's likely you have deleted many needless apps and free trials after trying them out. The problem is that if you delete an app from your iDevice, the app remains listed in iTunes. This is good if you might one day want to redownload it, but it creates a rather lengthy and unmanageable list when you go to sync your phone. In my case, I have more apps in the Sync Apps list in iTunes that are no longer installed (unchecked) than those that are, making it a chore to sort and manage the apps on my iPhone and iPad. … Read more

Weather is one of those things you pay attention to during the more extreme climate seasons like summer and winter. You'll want to see if it's going to be cold in the morning when you wake up or really hot in the afternoon so you can dress appropriately for your day. You may find one of these apps suitable by itself, or you can try combining a couple of them to get the most information.

One of the most popular weather apps by far. The daily information is excellent in this app because it includes … Read more