How to get better battery life on Android

Android gets a bad rap for short battery life, but that's only if you stick with its default settings. Make these simple adjustments to give your phone or tablet a battery boost.

Simple smartphone photo tips

Today's smartphone cameras have become nearly as complex and feature-laden as the compact cameras they replaced. It's easy to get overwhelmed, but here are four simple tips for better photos that will work with virtually any modern smartphone.

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Most smartphones now have an option called HDR, which is short for High Dynamic Range.

When you take an HDR photo, your camera actually shoots three photos at three different exposures: low, standard, and high. Then, your phone stacks all those photos to create one composite image that's super sharp and looks closer to what the human eye sees.

Use TheFind on Android to shop, compare retail outlets

Instead of visiting a number of retail Web sites to find the best deal on an item, use this free app and let it do the hard work for you.
Shopping online is super convenient. You get to sit in the comfort of your own home, browsing various sites to find the best deal on a product. Sometimes you don't even have to browse Web sites, due to most major retail chains having native apps for various platforms.

Use TheFind on Android to shop, compare retail outlets

Shopping online is super convenient. You get to sit in the comfort of your own home, browsing various sites to find the best deal on a product. Sometimes you don't even have to browse Web sites, due to most major retail chains having native apps for various platforms.

But let's face it, going to a number of sites (or launching a number of apps) brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "shop till you drop." To tackle this first-world problem, TheFind will help you "search over 500,000 stores and 500 million products" using the iOS app, the Web site, or the new Android app.

Avoid spam calls, find numbers faster with Current Caller ID on Android

Last year, I shared how to use the Whitepages Current Caller ID app to easily track blocked calls and texts. Now, Whitepages has added the ability to spot many of today's spam/scam numbers, along with some other convenient features.

If you don't have the app already, there's no time like the present to get a copy. Current Caller ID is available for Android 2.2 and up.

The UI for the app has received a makeover, sporting lighter colors and better organization for its features. For example, the previous version of the app had two tabs for your call log -- one Recent and the other Frequent -- but now there's just one tab with a toggle for the two choices. The Blocked calls/texts menu has also moved to the row of icons along the bottom.

A deep dive into the Galaxy S5's snappy fingerprint scanner

Samsung didn't shed many details about the fingerprint scanner on its new Galaxy S5 smartphone, but I had a chance to set up and use the security feature here at the show.

Setup took just a few minutes, after swiping my finger eight times along the sensitive portion of the screen to fully read my print. You're able to register only three profiles, for your own fingers or for someone else's.First, the basics. Samsung's sensor is on the bottom portion of the screen, not integrated into the home button as I originally thought. To unlock the phone with your finger, you swipe along the glowing path about half an inch from the bottom of the phone, going down and over the home button.

This app gives your Android background an amazing look

Muzei Live Wallpaper is a free app from developer Roman Nurik. His name may sound familiar, as he is also the developer of the popular DashClock widget.

Taking the same approach that he took with DashClock, Nurik has made Muzei Live Wallpaper free and open to developers to integrate with various services.

After installing Muzei, you'll have the option to select a service from which the app will pull random images. The default option is featured art, updated once a day. You can also select a photo album on your device, and increase the frequency of your wallpaper changing, if you so desire.

Perhaps the best part about the app, beyond its price tag, is the fact that it's API for third-party developers. Meaning, if someone wanted to create a Muzei plug-in to bring Instagram photos into the service, it's possible. In fact, it's already been done.

Searching the Play Store for "Muzei" will reveal a lengthy list of plug-ins. A sample list of the more notable services includes Dropbox, Reddit, Flickr, 500px,and Tumblr.

Once installed, you can select your preferred service as the source for your home screen image and customize any further settings included in the plug-in.

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