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You got an iPad...now what?

So, congratulations! Perhaps you're the owner of a new iPad this holiday season. If so, you've come to the right place. Apple's tablet is incredibly easy to use, but there are still plenty of ways to set up and optimize your iPad to take advantage of everything it has to offer. Some of these suggestions may be obvious; others might not.

Regardless, here's what I do when I take a new iPad out of its crisp white box. I think you should do the same. At the least, these tips should help you get on your feet.… Read more

Automatically dial extensions for Android contacts

A lot of companies have an automated service that answers their incoming phone calls. However, it's a bit of a pain when you're trying to dial a company and have to wait to enter the extension number each time for the department or person you're trying to reach. This is especially true when you don't remember the extension and you have to check out the contact information to find it.

Luckily Android dialer apps allow you to program the extension into the contact information. There are two different styles you can use: pause or wait. Read … Read more

Car Tech's guide to using your Android phone in the car

As a CNET reader who's addicted to tech, you likely already know why a phone and the apps therein can be useful in the car. Your phone is a hub for your music and entertainment, GPS navigation, and communications with your friends, family, and social circles. You've got your apps for streaming music and podcasts from the Web, apps for picking a place to eat or finding the lowest fuel prices around, and your hands-free calls of course. Or, because phones are such personal devices, your handset can bring only a few of these things to your driving … Read more

FCC wants texting apps like iMessage in text-to-911 plan

The Federal Communications Commission wants to require all cellular carriers and Internet-based messaging providers to support text-to-911 messages.

While the four largest U.S. wireless carriers have already signed on to the plan, the U.S. agency today proposed guidelines that would require "over the top" text messaging apps -- those capable of sending text messages to phones -- to be part of the initiative, which is expected to operational by 2014. Apps that would presumably be part of the initiative include Apple's iMessage, BlackBerry's BBM, Android's MightyText, and Saumsung's ChatOn, among others.

While … Read more

How to enable pinch-to-zoom in Gmail on your Android device

Last week when Google rolled out Gmail 4.2.1 to all Android users, swipe-to-delete wasn't the only feature added to the app. Google also added pinch-to-zoom, but it's not called pinch-to-zoom in the settings. Wait, what? Yeah, it's a bit confusing. So here's what you'll need to do to enable pinch-to-zoom in Gmail on your Android device.

Download the latest version of Gmail from the Google Play Store. It should be version 4.2.1. After you're up to date, launch the Gmail app and navigate to Settings > General Settings. Check the … Read more

Manage your Any.DO task app from Chrome

When surfing the Web, it's easy to forget an idea that springs to mind about an item you need to include on your to-do list. This is likely because it's located on your mobile device and it's easy to get distracted from remembering to add it.

In a sea of task apps, Any.DO has managed to make a name for itself. With a clean and simple user interface, it's easy to just get started with managing what you need to do, who you need to call, or what you need to buy. And with the … Read more

How to delete your Skype message history

Skype lets you pick between text, voice or even video to communicate. When using the text option, your message history is saved to the client forever, by default. This means that every single message you've sent to someone is being stored on your computer -- until you take action to delete it.

If your computer is only accessed by you, then the message history may not be an issue. However, if you are sharing a computer, or you're just worried that private data could fall into the wrong hands, then check out these quick steps to delete all … Read more

FCC fast tracks text-to-911 service

Soon there will be more than just one way to contact 911.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today that the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S. have agreed to fast track a service that will let people text the emergency 911 line.

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile have all signed on and major deployments are planned to roll out in 2013 and the service should be fully available nationwide by May 15, 2014.

"Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century -- and today, we are … Read more

Apply special effects, frames, even hats to your photos with Pho.to Lab

Pho.to Lab is an app that lets you add effects, frames, and text to a photo. A free app (with some optional paid additional libraries), Pho.to Lab is available from iTunes and installs quickly.

You can use Pho.to Lab to do quite a bit to an existing photo. Add a frame from one of many, apply a filter to change the effect, or choose a special effect from a library of almost 500 different effects. You can use the Pho.to Lab interface to find the category of effect you want, then edit the image and apply … Read more