Another round of Taylor Martin articles, videos, reviews

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Taylor's Top 5 Verizon smartphones for the holidays

Android With the holiday season among us, there's no better time to be in the market for a smartphone. All the year's best devices are now out and there are great deals to be found in wireless providers' stores and third-party outlets. Taylor has...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 6

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What is the one thing you wish your smartphone could do?

Android Compared to just three or four years ago, the capabilities of smartphones have increased exponentially. The addition of hundreds of thousands of applications across the major mobile platforms and endless built-in features have helped...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 19

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Taylor's Top 5 Android smartphones for the holidays

Android The holiday season is among us and this year, smartphones are high up on people's wish lists. But when there are dozens of very similar phones to choose from, deciding on a single device can be a daunting task. Our own Taylor composed a...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 50 35 Reactions

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What is the best gadget of 2012?

Android The year is quickly drawing to a close (seriously, it feels like Thanksgiving was just yesterday), and new product releases are finally starting to slow down after three months of pure marketing and device launch chaos. And as per usual,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 50

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Do you use voice actions on your phone?

Android I've had my rounds with voice input on smartphones. For an entire week this summer, I chose to take on a very tough challenge. I went an entire week without using a soft keyboard on my phones and only used voice input. Not that I...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 15

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Has your smartphone's navigation ever taken you on a wild goose chase?

Android To say that Apple has been criticized for the Maps.app, which came at the expense of Google-powered maps in favor of Apple's new, in-house mapping system, is an understatement. Following the update and launch of the iPhone 5, Apple fans...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 18

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Do you overreact when you damage a phone?

Business And Money While mobile manufacturers strive to make phones as durable as possible without sacrificing a gorgeous design or functionality, accidents still happen. Phones still get dropped, dunked in water, scraped and scuffed. As with anything in...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 15

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Since it's free and now on Android, do yourself a favor and download Snapseed

Android As much as I love Google and many of its services, I am always hesitant to cheer when it acquires a popular application or service. Google itself makes great products, generally free of charge, and knows how to pick and choose the very...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 3

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SwiftKey Flow beta is easily the best Android keyboard yet

Android Since the very start, I have been a fan of the popular Android replacement keyboard, SwiftKey. I swear by it. I've been using it for as long as I can remember, and ever since the improvements introduced in more recent updates – such as an...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 91 70 Reactions

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Has anyone ever actually had #DroidRage from Android malware?

Android Ah, Android malware! Who doesn't love to dabble in the dark and dreary place where all the bad Android 'wares manifest? Over the years, we have slowly watched the mobile space turn into a playground for malware developers. With smartphone...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 20

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How long will it be until another mobile platform will overtake Android?

Android Android is well on its way to rule the world. Google's open source mobile platform is finding itself in all sorts of consumer electronics, from the typical smartphones and tablets to home appliances such as washer and dryer pairs or...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 24

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Has your relationship suffered from excessive mobile use?

Android Smartphone adoption rates are surging in 2012. Back in May of this year, analyst firm Nielsen reported that smartphone penetration had surpassed the 50 percent mark here in the United States. And just last month, comScore corroborated...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7

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Google, can I please have control over my Gallery again?

Android I've been on a bit of a rampage of late. I have stumbled across several features of both Android and iOS that have been tearing me apart. There are features of both platforms that are inching their way deeper under my skin every passing...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 27

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Do you actually use the widgets on your home screens?

Android I have always praised Android for its home screen. Despite earlier versions of the home screen being rather hideous, it has always been extremely functional. The fact that users can rearrange the icons any way they like – whereas iOS icons...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 15

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The popSLATE case gives your iPhone a secondary E Ink display

Iphone Os I fault the iPhone for having such a small display. The software is, slowly but surely, aging poorly. But I can deal with a dated interface – so long as it works well. But the one aspect of the iPhone I can't seem to get over is how small...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 2

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LockerPro is the nicest Android lock screen replacement I've come across

Android If there is one thing I like about iOS notifications, it's that they are now somewhat customizable and viewable from the lock screen. If your phone is locked and you receive some notifications, the display will light up and show all the...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 100 66 Reactions

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Nokia should welcome Android rumors and take a hint

Android Currently, Nokia isn't in the best state. While the company's stock prices are bouncing back a little following the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 launch, the company is burning through money like it's nobody's business. CEO Stephen Elop has...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 23

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After using the Galaxy Note II, no normal-sized phone feels right

Android In my time as a tech writer, I have used mobile devices of every size. I've had some smartphones with as small as 2.5-inch displays. And I've carried a 10-inch tablet with me almost every day for the last three years. I love diversity,...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 51

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Do you use battery-powered chargers?

Android For years now, battery life has been a major concern for me and a major pitfall in the smartphone realm. It was difficult – if not impossible – to make it through an entire day without tethering myself to an outlet for an hour or so to...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 12

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Lumawake is the coolest iPhone dock ... ever

Iphone Os My iPhone, along with any other smartphone that gets pulled into the fold, is my alarm clock by default. It gets plugged up on the night stand beside my bed every night and goes off at the same time every morning. Best of all, it's with me...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 4

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Will.i.am, no normal human being wants your gimmicky iPhone accessory

Entertainment By now, I'm sure most of you know that I'm a sucker for a smartphone with a decent camera. I swooned over the Nokia Lumia 920 and how awesome the camera would be when I was at the announcement event in New York. I later learned that it's...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 14

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How long did you keep your last smartphone?

Android In a world where new smartphones are announced what seems like every week and old models slip into obsolescence just as quickly, it's difficult to stay attached to a single phone for more than a few months a a time. Last year, I managed to...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 77

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What features do you hope to see in the next Android update?

Android In the mobile space, there are two types of software updates: incremental, updates that fix bugs and stave the raging mob of pitchfork-wielding users and there are major updates that bring a horde of notable new features and functionality....

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 46

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Top 5 Samsung Galaxy Note II features by Taylor

Android The Samsung Galaxy Note II is one of the hottest smartphones this holiday season. Its rank in our Official Smartphone Rankings (OSR) serves as a testament to its popularity. Being Taylor's pick for his daily driver, he lists his top five...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 33 21 Reactions

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After one month, I decided to root the Galaxy Note II

Android A few months ago, I all but swore off hacking and modding of any sort on my Android devices. As much as I love the flexibility of the platform and the ability to alter nearly every aspect of my phones and tablets to suit my needs and...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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Would you pay more than retail value to get the device you want?

Android In a world where people weigh their next smartphone purchase as much as their next car, some phones are bound to be blockbusters. They sell out within hours of their launch and are hard to come by for months. The iPhone, for example, is a...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 12

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Do you use a stylus?

Android If the late Steve Jobs had his way, the stylus would be six feet under and gone from our memories. His famous words, which are still echoing around the Web today, were: "It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 21

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My iPhone 5 already feels like a relic

Blackberry Os This year, I managed to kick my long-standing habit of buying a new phone or tablet every few weeks. In years past, I have gone through 10 tablets and at least three times as many phones – mostly just for personal use. But this year, I...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 74

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Are Black Friday smartphone deals worth it?

Android Some of us are more frugal than others. Some know how to separate wants from needs and can come to grips with not always having the latest gadgets. They don't rush to the carrier store and walk out with a new, shiny phone the day their...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 10

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What gadgets are you hoping for this holiday season?

Android December and the holidays are just around the corner. And that means many of you are suiting up to fight the masses this coming Friday and over the next couple weeks to knock out your holiday shopping, to find the best deals on the hottest...

from 2012 by Taylor Martin 7