Cell Phones Articles

Article / Updated 06-24-2022

These days, it’s all but impossible to deny the cultural sway of emojis. The beloved pictographs have accomplished quite a lot, from winning Oxford Dictionary’s 2015 Word of the Year to starring in their own feature film. Emojis even have their own day of appreciation: July 17 (the date immortalized by the calendar emoji in iOS). To celebrate, let’s look back at how emojis found a permanent place in our hearts, minds, and texts. The prequel: emoticons Before emojis could run, emoticons had to walk. Emoticons rose in popularity during the chatroom boom of the 1990s, allowing early Internet users to add emotional context and tone to their words. Common emoticons included :) for happy and :( for sad, :o for shock and :p for teasing, ;) for wink and :* for a smooch. Variations on eyeballs, such as =) or 8) — and the optional addition of noses — :o) or :^), provided an extended range of self-expression. Though emoticons were quite popular online at this time, there were few opportunities and little incentive to use them in other contexts. The first emojis The emojis we know and love today have their roots in Japan (emoji is Japanese for “picture character”). They were created by artist Shigetaka Kurita, who was on the development team for an early mobile Internet platform created by the leading mobile carrier at the time, DoCoMo. Kurita’s first batch of emojis was released in 1999 and consisted of 176 pictographs, which were meant to convey information more so than mood. There were symbols pertaining to weather, traffic conditions, locations like hospitals and gas stations, and even the 12 zodiac signs. The spread and standardization of emojis The popularity of emojis in Japan eventually caught the attention of DoCoMo’s Japanese competitors, as well as international companies, like Apple and Google. These companies saw opportunity in the new picto-language, but there was a problem: If developers each created their own emojis in a vacuum, the pictures wouldn’t translate from carrier to carrier. That’s because computers rely on numerical code to find and display emojis on our screens. So, if one carrier assigns code #123 to “smiley face,” but another carrier assigns #123 to, say, “dolphin,” emojis would create more communication problems than solutions. In 2007, Google petitioned the Unicode Consortium — the body responsible for the international standardization of computer code for text — to recognize emoji as a language. This would ensure that the numerical code for “smiley face” was consistent across carriers, developers, servers, and countries. Apple quickly joined Google’s cause, and the two became collaborators in advocating for an international emoji “alphabet.” While Unicode had previously considered emoji out of scope for its organization, its popularity in Japan convinced them to reverse course and, in 2009, they began the process of identifying a standard set of emojis. The joint effort, involving representatives from Japan, Europe, and the U.S., resulted in a standardized set of almost 1,000 emoji, which debuted in Unicode 6.0 in October 2010. Total emoji takeover Over the following decade, Apple and Android would release emoji keyboards that catapulted their use across the world, Unicode continued to refine specifications and grow their emoji lexicon, and a new language would come to define and reflect culture as we know it. Highlights include: 2012: Three years before same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states, Apple releases emojis depicting same-sex couples holding hands in its iOS 6 upgrade. 2015: Responding to user feedback regarding emoji’s “white guy as default” bias, Unicode begins to diversify its offerings. Updates include support for five skin tones, expanded representation for LGBTQ couples, and emojis depicting women as doctors, scientists, and other professionals. Unicode also begins to fill additional culture gaps at this time, adding flags and food items that recognize the diversity of emoji users worldwide. 2015: Just two years after the word “emoji” was added to the dictionary, “Face with Tears of Joy” — or the laugh-cry emoji — wins Oxford Dictionary's 2015 Word of the Year. The same emoji was later reported to be the most used in the world. 2016: Apple responds to growing despair over gun violence by redesigning its revolver emoji as a bright green water gun. Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook, and Twitter will follow suit over the next two years. 2017: New York’s Museum of Modern Art acquires Shigetaka Kurita’s original set of 176 emojis for its permanent collection, a nod to the lasting cultural impact of his creation. 2017: Sony releases The Emoji Movie. While largely considered a critical flop, the picture — which cost $50 million to produce — grosses $217.8 million at the box office. 2019: The first documentary telling the story of emoji, Picture Character, debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. (The film has since been retitled The Emoji Story.) 2020: In recognition of the trans community, Unicode 13.0 includes the trans flag, a non-binary Santa Claus, and “woman with a beard,” emoji, among others. 2021: Unicode 14.0 introduces 112 new emojis, for a total 3,633 since they first premiered in Unicode 6.0 (as of September 2021). While purists may never accept emoji as a language unto itself, its evolution over time shows that it’s earned the title. Not only does it allow us to communicate with people around the globe, its growing number of icons reflect change and evolution in our cultural attitudes and expectations. In that way, emoji is more than a language: It’s a time capsule.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-28-2022

Your Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone allows you to do many of the same things as previous versions of the Galaxy. You can change the font size for texting conversations and take selfies. You can also access Galaxy applications while you’re talking on the S10. Use this Cheat Sheet as a handy reference for some of its popular functions.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-28-2022

Your Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone allows you to do many of the same things as previous versions of the Galaxy. You can change the font size for texting conversations and take selfies. You can also access Galaxy applications while you’re talking on the S22. Navigating your Samsung Galaxy S22 doesn’t have to be difficult. This Cheat Sheet will help you remember some of the most popular functions.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

Your Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphone allows you to do many of the same things as previous versions of the Galaxy. You can change the font size for texting conversations and take selfies. You can also access Galaxy applications while you’re talking on the S20. Navigating your Samsung Galaxy S20 doesn’t have to be difficult.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-24-2022

Believe it or not, most of the technical and creative innovation in photography today is coming not from the big DSLR manufacturers but rather from mobile phone makers. Your Apple iPhone is a brilliant mixture of art and science, and its camera is ready and able to help you capture your next stunning photo. Discover how to create bold, strong compositions that hold your viewer’s attention. Master the technical side of iPhone photography. And as the word photography literally means light-writing, immerse yourself in the exciting possibilities for manipulating light. The future is bright for iPhone photographers such as you.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-15-2022

It's not always obvious how you can modify how your iPhone works. For example, you can use Settings to change how the Safari browser protects you from being tracked online or which online calendar's events are shown in iPhone's Calendar app. This Cheat Sheet gives you a rundown of some of the most useful features and apps so that you can find what you need to customize your iPhone's behavior.

Article / Updated 01-14-2022

Before iOS 11 came out, long-time iPhone users pined for a way to browse files stored on their devices, as opposed to being limited to finding documents and other files only within the apps they’re intended for or created by. When iOS 11 came out, it introduced a new app called Files, which allows you to browse not only for files stored on your iPhone, but also see stuff you stored on other online (cloud) services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and others. How to use the Files app You’ll find the Files app on the second home screen, by default. Tap the Files icon to open the app. On the Browse screen: Tap the Search field to search for items by title. Tap a source in the Locations or Favorites sections to browse a particular service or your iPhone. Tap colors under Tags to search for files you’ve tagged according to categories. Once in a source, you may tap files to open or preview them, and you may tap folders to open them and view their contents. Tap Select in the upper-right corner of the screen and then tap items to select them for an action. Available actions, found at the bottom of the screen, include Duplicating files: Make copies of selected items. Moving files: Move files to other sources. Sharing files: Share files with other people in a variety of ways (Messages and Mail, for example). You can even invite them to make edits, if you like. Deleting files: Trash files you no longer need. Should you like to retrieve a file you’ve deleted, go the Browse screen (tap Browse at the bottom of the screen if you’re not already there) and tap Recently Deleted. Tap Select in the upper-right corner, tap the file you’d like to retrieve, and tap the Recover button at the bottom of the screen. The file will be placed back in the location it was originally deleted from. Please note that some services may not allow you to retrieve a file you’ve deleted; if you don’t see the file you’re looking for, contact that particular service.

Article / Updated 01-14-2022

The word roam takes on an entirely new meaning when applied to an Android phone. It means that your phone receives a cell signal whenever you’re outside your cell phone carrier’s operating area. In that case, your phone is roaming. Roaming sounds handy, but there’s a catch: It almost always involves a surcharge for using another cellular service — an unpleasant surcharge. Relax: Your Android phone alerts you whenever it’s roaming. A Roaming icon appears at the top of the screen, in the status area, whenever you’re outside your cellular provider’s signal area. The icon differs from phone to phone, but generally the letter R figures in it somewhere, similar to what’s shown in the image. How to turn off data roaming on your phone There’s little you can do to avoid incurring roaming surcharges when making or receiving phone calls. Well, yes, you could wait until you’re back in an area serviced by your primary cellular provider. You can, however, altogether avoid using the other network’s data services while roaming. Follow these steps: Open the Settings app. In the Wireless & Networks section, touch the More item. Choose Mobile Networks. On some Android phones, you may have to choose Battery & Data Manager and then Data Delivery. Remove the check mark by the Data Roaming option. On some phones the option is titled Global Data Roaming Access. Choose it and then choose the Deny Data Roaming Access option. Your phone can still access the Internet over the Wi-Fi connection when it roams. Setting up a Wi-Fi connection doesn’t make you incur extra charges, unless you have to pay to get on the wireless network. How to avoid texting surcharges Another network service you might want to disable while roaming has to do with multimedia, or MMS, text messages. To avoid surcharges from another cellular network for downloading an MMS message, follow these steps: Open the phone’s text messaging app. Ensure that you’re viewing the apps’ main screen, the one that lists all the conversations. Touch the Back icon or the app icon in the upper-left corner of the screen until the app’s main screen is displayed. Touch the Action Overflow icon or Menu icon. Choose the Settings or the Messaging Settings command. Remove the check mark by the Auto-Retrieve or Roaming Auto-Retrieve command. Or if the item isn’t selected, you’re good to go — literally. The lock screen may also announce that the phone is roaming. You might see the name of the other cellular network displayed. The text Emergency Calls Only might also appear.

Article / Updated 11-08-2021

If you are an iPhone user who has visual challenges, the black-and-white screen option offers a black background with white lettering that some people find easier to use when reading text. The White on Black accessibility setting reverses colors on your screen so that backgrounds are black and text is white. To turn on this feature, tap the Settings icon on the Home screen. Tap General and then scroll down and tap Accessibility. In the Accessibility dialog, tap the White on Black On/Off button to turn on this feature. The colors on the screen reverse. Tap the Home button to leave Settings. The White on Black feature works well in some places and not so well in others. For example, in the Photos application, pictures appear almost as photo negatives. Your Home screen image will likewise look a bit strange. And don’t even think of playing a video with this feature turned on! However, if you need help reading text, White on Black can be useful in several applications. For more help on iPhone accessibility features, check out iPhone Accessibility Options for Easier iPhone Operation.

Article / Updated 10-15-2021

One way to share the Android phone’s digital cellular connection is to connect the phone directly to a computer and activate the tethering feature. Not every Android phone has this capability. Tethering is a solid way to provide Internet access to another gizmo, such as a laptop or a desktop computer. Follow these steps to set up Internet tethering: Connect the phone to a computer or laptop by using the USB cable. The best success with this operation is when the computer is a PC running Windows. Open the Settings app. Choose More, and then choose Tethering & Mobile Hotspot. Place a check mark by the USB Tethering item. Internet tethering is activated. The other device should instantly recognize the phone as a “modem” with Internet access. Further configuration may be required, which depends on the computer using the tethered connection. For example, you may have to accept the installation of new software when prompted by Windows. When tethering is active, a Tethering or Hotspot Active notification icon appears. Choose that notification to further configure tethering. Unlike creating a Wi-Fi hotspot, you don’t need to disable the Wi-Fi radio to activate USB tethering. Sharing the digital network connection incurs data usage charges against your cellular data plan. Be careful with your data usage when you’re sharing a connection.