GeekSugar

Get Nutrition Facts to Your Phone With Diet.com

GeekSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:46 PDT

Since you're already getting nice and buff thanks to a handy workout program on your phone, why not complement your cell phone workouts with a calorie counter?

With Diet.com's on the go service, you can text certain food items to DIET1 (34381) and receive a text back with the nutritional values of your item. Their database already includes more than 36,000 foods from 1,700 restaurants in North America, so you'll always know whether that BLT sandwich is a go or a no-go for that bikini-ready diet!

Geek Tip: Winter-Proof Your Cell Phone

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:41:01 PST

Now that it's gearing up to unleash a wicked load of 4G phones (and soon, an iPhone), Verizon is dishing out the Winter cell phone tips to keep you texting, emailing, and chatting, and at just the perfect time. Although we've been hanging out in the middle of the desert at CES in Las Vegas, it gets pretty nippy out there, and according to Verizon, cold weather sucks down your battery faster than it would in warm temps. Not only that, but your phone's display is more sensitive in chilly Winter weather, which makes it easier to break. Talk about a double downer.

How can you keep your phone working at full speed, and get through Winter in one piece? Find out after the break.

Lauren Conrad Wraps Up Work and Returns to LA

Lauren Turner — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:34:11 PDT

Lauren Conrad landed at LAX with a friend yesterday after getting out of town on Tuesday. She pulled her luggage behind her and carried two cell phones for the trip. Lauren was on the road for business, and met with Kohl's to discuss hair and jewelry accessories for her line carried at the department store. She's also sharing styling tips for prom, and her picks include looks from her other lines, Paper Crown and LC Lauren Conrad. Her many design projects landed her a spot on our PopSugar 100 race - play now for a chance to win $2,500 in cash!

Cell Phone Safety Tips For Paris Hilton (and You)

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:23:48 PDT

Reality star Paris Hilton reportedly lost two smartphones on a flight from Dubai to Manila over the weekend. Though both phones were located in her carry-on bag, she couldn't find them once it was time to deboard the plane. We've all experienced that sinking feeling when you can't find your cell; it's more than just a communication device these days. It's a device that holds a lot of personal information, especially if you have loaded up on banking, shopping, and instant purchase apps.

Before you make like Paris and lose your smartphone, follow some of these basic safety tips to keep from losing your phone, your personal info, and your mind.

Don't Let Your Cell Go Unprotected

Password-protect your home screen so hackers can't access your private info if lost or stolen. Here's how:

For iPhone: From the home screen, select Settings > General > Passcode Lock
For Android: From the home screen, choose Settings > Security > Screen lock and set an alphanumeric password for your home screen.
For BlackBerry: From the home screen, select Options > Security Options > General Settings > Password > Enabled

Locate and Wipe It Clean

It's a good idea to enlist a service or app that wipes your cell clean of any personal info if by chance it is lost or stolen. Norton Security and Apple's MobileMe app both let you remote lock and wipe your phone of sensitive info, while MobileMe can also locate your device on a map and track it down if you've left it behind.

6 Things to Expect During a Facial

Jaime Richards — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:05:00 PDT

Going to the dermatologist's office can be quite intimate, but so can a trip to the esthetician, as well. While a doctor's office is more stark and sterile by design, a spa room is dark and soothing, making for an entirely different experience. So whether you're apprehensive about getting a facial or you're just looking for tips to get in the facial mindset, just keep reading to see how you can better prepare.

Porting Your Number to a New Wireless Carrier? Plan Ahead!

Kristen Hawley — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:13:19 PDT

US regulations enacted in 1996 (and then further in 2003) made it mandatory for cell phone providers to allow customers to hold onto their phone numbers when moving from carrier to carrier. Thankfully, the process is relatively easy and painless, but during a recent (my first) number-porting experience I learned a very important lesson: plan ahead. Find out why after the break.

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Clean Your Cell Phone

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:32:47 PST

Neglecting to clean your cell phone is a nasty tech habit to break this year. Cell phones have been proven to carry bacteria, germs, even feces. Yes, feces. If there's one new routine to create for yourself this Spring, it's keeping that smartphone shiny and clean. Your health will thank you. Check out a few of our tech-friendly tips to clean that gadget, below.

Cleaning your touch screen smartphone is kind of like cleaning your LCD monitor - you don't want to use any harsh chemicals or, even more damaging, water. Using a tried-and-tested cleaner like iKlear ($21) will ensure you won't damage your phone's sensitive bits. Use the included microfiber cloth (or one of your own) and shine that baby up.
If you don't want to spring for a special formula, a 40/60 alcohol-to-water mixture on solid phone parts and keyboards should be OK for your devices (use a damp cloth and/or cotton swab for small and hard-to-reach places). However you do not want to use any sort of alcohol, ammonia, or harsh cleaning agent on touch screens.
If you're in a pinch and want to quickly rid your phone of dirty crevices and fingerprints, use a piece of Scotch Tape to peel away dirt and dust in between keys, and rid your phone of fingerprints. Perfect for when you're at the office (without a microfiber cloth), but unfortunately it won't help the germ situation.
Serious germaphobes can ensure a clean device with the UV Cell Phone Sanitizer ($50), which wipes your device clean of 99.9 percent of strep, E. coli, salmonella, listeria, and H1N1 viruses in three minutes flat. Just drop it in once a day for germ-free surfing and calling.

In the mood to refresh your tech life? Here's nine more bad tech habits to break this Spring!

Open Gmail Compose Window When Clicking Email Links in Chrome

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:39:34 PST

Gmail and Chrome are becoming even closer friends, especially when it comes to email. Google released an update this week that allows you to open a Gmail compose window every time you click an email address within Chrome. When you log in to Gmail, you should see the below banner, asking if you'd like to allow Gmail to open all email links. After you accept this, anytime you click on an email address while in your Chrome browser (say, you need to email the support team for your Internet service or the returns department for some online shopping gone wrong), instead of Outlook or Mail popping up, you'll get a Gmail compose box instead. So easy.

Craving a few more basic Gmail tips and tricks? Then just keep reading.

Make voice calls - You can easily make voice calls in Gmail on the cheap. In the "Chat" section, just click the "Call Phone" button and enter the digits. You'll then be able to make free calls to landlines the US and Canada, and for supercheap, you can call cell phones and landlines worldwide.
Search with options - If you haven't discovered the "Show Search Options" link to the right of the Gmail search bar, you're in for a treat. Clicking it reveals a host of helpful options, including the ability to search by sender, date, attachment, subject, and more. It's extremely helpful if you are less than diligent about labeling and filing emails in your inbox.
Send email from different addresses in Gmail - If you're like me, you probably have multiple accounts that you use for different reasons. Did you know you can write all of your emails within Gmail using different external addresses if you so choose? First sign in to Gmail and head over to "Settings" and select the "Account and Import" tab. In the "Send mail as" section, click on the "Send from another address" button, where you can add and verify all of your external addresses. When you compose a message within Gmail, you'll then be able to select which email address you want to use in the "From" drop-down menu.

See a few more tips after the break.

Handy Everyday Gmail Tips and Tricks

GeekSugar — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:01:03 PST

If you've moved to Gmail recently (congratulations!), it's possible that you could get overwhelmed with all of the options, settings, and possibilities at your fingertips. We've got a ton of tips to share, but let's start with a few basic and handy tips that you could use every day. Check them out below!

Make voice calls - You can easily make voice calls in Gmail on the cheap. In the "Chat" section, just click the "Call Phone" button and enter the digits. You'll then be able to make free calls to landlines the US and Canada, and for super cheap you can call cell phones and landlines worldwide.
Search with options - If you haven't discovered the "Show Search Options" link to the right of the Gmail search bar, you're in for a treat. Clicking it reveals a host of helpful options, including the ability to search by sender, date, attachment, subject, and more. It's extremely helpful if you are less than diligent about labeling and filing emails in your inbox.
Use rich text signatures - Tired of those boring text-only signatures or canned responses coming from your Gmail account? Take note: Gmail supports rich text signatures! Add links, colors, images, or formatting to your Gmail account signature, or any other account you've set up to send from Gmail. It's super easy to set up - just head to your settings page, scroll down to the Signature section, and design away!
Use keyboard shortcuts - First, enable keyboard shortcuts in your Settings menu. Then, use these fast and easy keyboard shortcuts to navigate!

See the rest of the list after the break.

3 Ways to Protect Your Mobile Phone During Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:39:30 PST

Mobile shopping is on the rise. In fact, nearly 60 million users will shop on their mobile phone for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year. Just because you might be using your smartphone to shop for gifts this year doesn't mean you aren't at risk for hacking, viruses, malware, or identity theft (especially if you're an Android owner, just sayin').

Since we increasingly put more personal information on our phones, including photos, emails, current location, and finances, you might want to consider downloading these services to protect your cell phone from malicious hackers. It's better to be safe than sorry!

McAfee VirusScan Mobile - Protects against viruses, worms, spyware Trojan horses, and battery-exhausting malware. In addition, it offers security for email, instant message, and Internet downloads.
Lookout - An award-winning mobile security service for Android, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry to scan and detect viruses, malware, and spyware. Lookout also acts as a backup system to restore data.
Norton Mobile Security - Offers protection against cell phone loss, theft, and malware for Android.
In addition to these, AT&T is working with Juniper Networks to release an antivirus and antimalware app for mobile phones, especially for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows phones. The scheduled release is for 2012.

While iPhones tend to be safer than Android phones, iPhone users aren't out of the clear. As people start to use their phones as a wallet and way to manage their money, iPhone hackers will start to creep up. Do you plan on investing in mobile protection, or do you think that it's unlikely that your phone will be hacked into?