Android software

Rosetta Stone touts itself as one of the fastest and easiest ways to learn a new language. However, its learning system also carries a rather steep price tag: $300-$500 for the complete set. Of course this price is without any specials/discounts the company may be running at any given time. Still, if you're going to spend that kind of money on a language course, you might want to try it first.

The Rosetta Stone Web site offers a free demo of its software. Though, if you're thinking of learning in your free time, you might consider … Read more

Though the official 2013 hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, the news earlier this week out of Moore, Okla., is a sobering reminder that dangerous weather comes in many forms, and you often don't know where the next disaster may strike. Even now, many states are being pounded by heavy storms as the cleanup from the tornado in Moore is still under way.

Recently, I collected a few weather apps that are great for a quick glance at the weather, but those apps won't help you much in severe weather conditions. For more-serious weather activity, … Read more

Do you keep the receipts for everything you buy? Like me, you've probably noticed that the ones printed on thermal paper can begin to disappear over time. Soon, you're left with only a blank piece of paper that can't act as a proof of purchase or help you at tax time.

Wednesday's update to Google Drive on Android lets you easily store all of your receipts and even search through them. Doesn't a nice digital archive sound better than piles, folders, or boxes of receipts all over your home? Here's how to … Read more

With high-quality digital cameras on every smartphone and apps that make your pictures even better, just about anyone can be an accomplished photographer. Sure, you may not be an accomplished photographer in any serious sense, but you can certainly upload your images to photo-sharing sites to get them out to the public and receive feedback to make your shots even better.

As most people know, there are a number of popular services already out there that let you take your shot, add effects and other enhancements, then upload it for all to see. But the other thing that's great … Read more

Google made searching in Chrome for Android a bit easier with an update Wednesday to the browser.

The latest stable version of Google Chrome 27 for Android (download) now displays search queries in the location bar's Omnibox. The change obfuscates the URL display during searches, to show more results and make it easier to tweak the search terms, according to the Google blog announcing the update.

Another tweak hides the location bar entirely once you start scrolling, so that you can view a Web page in fullscreen. History viewing has finally made it to the tablet version of Android … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- There are apps and settings to locate a lost or stolen smartphone, and to remotely wipe the contents, but those will only get you so far if your phone's actually been nabbed.

On Tuesday, LoJack for Laptops maker Absolute Software announced the imminent release of LoJack for Android smartphones, starting with Samsung's Galaxy S4.

In the event that your smartphone disappears, through your own carelessness or malicious intent, LoJack's software offers remote locking and deleting to keep your photos, passwords, and other sensitive information private.

However, what you really pay for is the company'… Read more

Already known for its speed, Google just boosted Chrome's Web site rendering speed by another 5 percent.

The latest stable release of the browser, Chrome 27 (download for Windows, Mac, or Linux), received the small improvement by managing its resources better. To boil down the jargon, the browser's internal resource scheduler now favors more critical resources over preloaded sites.

Chrome engineer James Simonsen wrote in the company's blog announcing the update Tuesday that, across the hundreds of millions of people using Chrome, the amount of time saved equals around 510 years per week. But what we're … Read more

Google Reader will soon be closing its virtual doors. In a move that shocked the Web, Google's SVP Urs Hölzle announced on March 13 that, despite the RSS service's "loyal following," the company would "retire" Google Reader on July 1. More than any of the other 69 products that Google has killed over the past two years, Google Reader's demise has shaken a longtime community that depends heavily on the service.

Foofaraw and conspiracy theories (about why Reader was killed) aside, if you use the service and want to save any … Read more

On Tuesday, Opera for Android finally graduated from beta and into the final release zone, becoming available on the Google Play store.

After a recent announcement about overhauling their browser and migrating to Webkit from their homemade Presto engine, Opera has been hard at work at redefining the browsing experience from the ground up. Since the release of beta and the move to Webkit, Opera's team has directed their focus toward what they believe to be more valuable feature innovations for Opera while keeping up with rival browsers.

But a redesigned interface is just the beginning. Opera for Android … Read more