Phone

How to use iTunes Match

After weeks of speculation, Apple finally launched iTunes Match yesterday. For $24.99 a year, iTunes Match grants you access to a copy of your iTunes library stored in the cloud. Subscribing to and setting up iTunes Match is a snap; all you need is patience commensurate with the size of your iTunes library.

First, make sure you are running the latest version of iTunes. On a Mac, go to iTunes > About iTunes to see which version you are running. If it's not version 10.5.1, go to iTunes > Check for Updates to download and install the latest version. On a PC, you can access the About iTunes and Check for Updates menu options from the Help menu.… Read more

How to turn off Shake to Shuffle on iPhone, iPod Touch

Shake to Shuffle is a handy feature for iPod Touch and iPhone users who want to quickly shuffle their current playlist. But, the same feature can be a nuisance for people who don't realize what it is, or if it's even turned on. … Read more

How to turn your iPhone into a Roku remote

CNET Gotham is here and we've stocked the Openhouse Gallery in Nolita (in NYC) with your must-have gadgets, including ones that haven't even hit the shelves.

We've set up stations like the CNET living room (shown in the video), where items like a 60-inch Samsung TV, the Roku 2 XS, and a supercomfy couch come together to create the ultimate tech experience.

I got to play with the Roku 2 XS, which lets you wirelessly stream video and music content from the Internet to your TV, but soon learned that although the device is awesome, juggling yet … Read more

Ten spooky iOS apps for Halloween

There is no shortage of Halloween-themed apps for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Here, I've assembled the top ten I have found this month, from chilling sound effects and a haunted-site locator to vampire comics and ghost stories.

How to get voice command on all your devices

When Siri for the iPhone 4S was announced, downloads for Vlingo, a voice command app for Android, shot up 50%. Why? Because voice command, especially with artificial intelligence, can complete tasks more efficiently than our own fingers.

The act of talking to our gadgets is still in the awkward stage, but pretty soon we'll all be voice-commanding our phones, forgetting that we ever lived without artificial intelligence.

Voice command (and speech recognition) isn't just available for phones. Check out our guides on getting these services on any of your gadgets:

Android

How to get voice command on your Android phone … Read more

Siri surrogate: Voice commands with Dragon Dictation

Are you feeling ignored because your iPhone 4S-toting friends are spending more time conversing with Siri than with you? If you have an older iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, you can run the newly released iOS 5, but it doesn't come with Apple's vaguely British virtual assistant. What's a lonely, old iPhone owner to do?

One idea is to give Dragon Dictation a try. From Nuance, the makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking software (and who may have had a hand in developing Siri), Dictation is a free iPhone voice app that lets you engage in one-way conversations with your iPhone. It won't answer your queries like Siri does, but it does an impressive job of translating your spoken words into text. So, while you can't ask Dragon Dictation where you can find the best burrito in your vicinity (I'm pretty sure Siri would tell me to leave the state of New Hampshire for such an item), you can dictate text messages and e-mails as well as Facebook and Twitter updates. … Read more

iOS 5 tip: How to enable LED flash alerts

iOS 5 introduced a number of new and varied notifications, from the Notification Center and different alert tones for different apps to custom vibration patterns and a new visual alert.

Buried in the accessibility settings is a new feature that uses the LED flash next to the rear-facing camera on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S to notify you to incoming calls and alerts. It's a great feature for the hearing impaired and anyone who would rather receive visual rather than audio alerts.

To set it up, to to Settings > General > Accessibility and then scroll down until … Read more

How to share an iOS 5 Reminders list

With the iOS 5 and iCloud launch, Apple also launched a new Reminders app that aims to make iOS users more efficient. With adding the iCloud capability to sync Reminders between iOS devices as well as OS X computers, users can also share Reminder lists, as reported by The Next Web.… Read more

Where, how, and when to buy the iPhone 4S

If you have your heart set on the iPhone 4S, we have good news and bad news. The good news: there are several surefire ways to get a 4S on October 14.

The bad news: you're not the only person who wants one.

Apple's release of the fifth iPhone comes months after the expected date, and millions of pissed-off Apple fanboys (and girls) have been anticipating its arrival since June. And even though the device isn't as Earth-shattering as many expected it to be, you can bet there will be an insane demand for the new device. … Read more