Tablet

How to find shopping deals with ShopSmart

There is a house in my neighborhood that is already festooned with Christmas lights, while an inflatable Santa and snowman sit in the front yard. I first noticed this premature display of holiday cheer last week, and I grumble each morning as I drive by it. I'm still eating my kids' Halloween candy; I'm not ready for Christmas or Christmas shopping.

Thus, I hesitate to write a holiday shopping-related post, but Billeo has forced my hand with the release of an iPad app last week that could streamline your shopping efforts this (expanded) holiday season. Billeo, the online bill-pay assistant, now wants to assist those shopping from their couch on an iPad with a free app called ShopSmart. … Read more

How to edit photos with iDarkroom HD

There is a seemingly endless number of photo-processing apps for the iPad, but rarely does one combine the words "powerful" and "free" as iDarkroom HD does. It allows you to layer effects onto a photo, adjust the intensity of the effects, and then share or save your edited masterpiece.

After launching the app, you can either take a photo or select one from your photo library or Photo Stream. Both buttons for these actions are located in the top row of menu options, along with settings, sharing options, a revert button to undo any changes you'… Read more

How to restore Safari tabs on the iPad

Tabbed browsing in Safari is one of the best features iOS 5 brought to the iPad, but did you know that you can easily restore recently closed tabs? It's so simple and useful, you'll wonder why you never knew it was there.

If you accidentally closed a tab, to reopen it, simply tap and hold the new tab button. That would be the button with the + sign on the right. A small window will pop up, with up to five of your most recently closed tabs. Tap on one of them, and it opens in a new tab. … Read more

Five tips and tricks for iOS 5's Twitter integration

For iOS 5, Apple teamed up with Twitter and included native Twitter integration. The deep integration allows developers to implement Twitter in apps with little effort. As such, users will begin to see the new integration more often as developers take advantage of the new feature. … Read more

How to start an iCloud backup

Normally, iCloud will automatically back up your device whenever it is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the screen is locked, and the device is connected to a charger.… Read more

How to make Android more accessible for disabled users

Smartphones and tablets are evolutionary advances over their predecessors, but they are also more difficult for many disabled users to navigate. Android's basic accessibility features are pretty good, but they are focused mostly on visual impairment, and there are plenty of additional apps to meet the needs of users who have troubles with the basic interface or features. Here's a selection: 

Users with visual impairment 

The basics come preinstalled--but not enabled: TalkBack, KickBack and SoundBack offer nonvisual feedback. To get started with them, select "Settings," then "Accessibility," then "Enable Accessibility," … 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 share quick videos on Facebook and Twitter

Tout is an awesome 15-second video service that allows you to share moments, not movies.

By getting to the important part of your message (the 15 seconds), the video file is small enough to upload quickly to Tout's servers for sharing. The wide range of ways you can access its service makes it fun and easy to use, especially if you want a break from "wall" posts and 140-character tweets.This service can be used with: Webcams, file uploads, Android, and iOS. This How To will mainly focus on the mobile version of Tout.

Step 1: Create … Read more

Save reams of paper with iPad app Art Set

My daughter is a destroyer of forests. She spends a great deal of her free time drawing, and because she is only six, she has a great deal of free time. We go through so much paper that I feel guilty each Wednesday morning when I drag the recycling to the curb. And that's just the pictures we toss; she insists on saving a high percentage of her output as well.

We've tried using a white board, but you can't save pictures from a white board and she spends the rest of the day walking around with ink all over the side of her hand. Plus, she likes to use drawing utensils other than markers, including colored pencils, uncolored pencils, pastels, pens, and a variety of paints. She has taken to the iPad, and with the 99-cent Art Set app, she now draws and saves pictures on the iPad, saving numerous trees each week. The only problem with Art Set is that I have to tell her that Angry Birds and DoodleJump are not among her current entertainment options when I hand her the tablet for a drawing session.… Read more