Diverse Resumes Can Help Freelancers Get Jobs

Freelancers looking for more assignments should diversify the types of jobs they work on, new research suggests.
A study from the University of California's Haas School of Business discovered that freelancers who demonstrate work commitment through an incremental career path, by moving between similar — but not identical — types of jobs, are the most likely to be given work. Additionally, freelancers who work on only one type of job, or on too many disparate types of jobs, are less likely to win assignments.
The study's author, UC Berkeley assistant professor Ming Leung, said previous study findings recommend that freelancers specialize in a particular type of work so prospective employers know the freelancers' area of expertise. However, the new study found that other factors are more important.

'Secret' iPhone App Is Silicon Valley’s Newest Obsession

On the Internet, there are several kinds of communities. There are the ones where everybody goes by real identities — in theory, at least — such as Facebook. There are ones where you can choose to participate using either your real identity or a manufactured one, such as Twitter. And then there are communities where anonymity is kind of the whole point. Such as Secret, a new iPhone app which debuted just last week. At the moment, it seems, half of Silicon Valley is fixated on it — though it’s hard to say just who, since it’s a community with no names, profiles or photographs. The overarching purpose of Secret, say its creators, “is to not build only an app, but a platform that will bring more authenticity, self-awareness and empathy to the world.” People, in other words, are more likely to speak their mind in an electronic forum if their words can’t be traced back to them. That notion dates back decades, at least to the era of dial-up bulletin-board systems, where fictitious identities were common. Secret has a lot in common with Whisper, another app which lets you overlay confessions on images; Whisper, in turn, owes a debt to the PostSecret site, which has been around since 2005. The most notable twist about Secret is that it’s controlled anonymity. Many of the items you see come from your friends (as determined by the folks in your iPhone’s contact list) and friends of their friends. And while nobody goes under a name or a handle, preassigned iconic avatars let you keep track of who’s who in a comment thread — even if you don’t know anyone’s identity. Secret’s creators take various other measures to preserve anonymity: It doesn’t show secrets until you have at least three friends on the system, and then shows them in random order. Oddly enough, however, some users choose to de-anonymize themselves by signing their secrets or uploading images of themselves.

In depth: The Internet of Things is nothing to fear

The Internet of Things was never envisioned as a way for Google, Amazon and Apple to hoover up all your data.
When MIT's Kevin Ashton first proposed the IoT in 2009, his was a more utopian vision of RFID-tagged objects having their statuses checked and integrated. Of algorithmically optimised gadgets, watched over and quietly micromanaged by machines of loving grace.
Today, low-power embedded systems have become sophisticated and cheap enough that it is becoming practical to not simply tag objects for centralised control but to give them some level of processing power.
We aren't talking about AIs incarnated in your airing cupboard or sentient toasters, just devices that have a small amount of inbuilt nous and the ability to communicate either with apps, internet servers or each other. Gradually, more and more of the data flying around the internet will be both generated and consumed by machines.

Androids dreaming

Naturally, this has aroused some suspicion about data privacy and the intrusion of big business into our everyday lives.
This problem of corporate or government control is nothing to do with the concept of the IoT, however and everything to do with the way that technology companies have sought to control markets and exert a proprietary grip on services in the guise of integration.
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino runs the London Internet of Things meetup and is the co-founder of Good Night Lamp, a company that makes internet-connected lighting. She thinks you should have full control over what happens to your data.
"There's a space for a "public" drive to have access to what kind of data is being generated or gathered by a smart product and this should become accessible, monetisable and deletable by consumers by default," she explains.
"Right now, people are reacting to the Google/Nest deal but that's one of many, many products out there and with a relatively small pool of devices.
"I think if we give consumers tools to manage their data there will be lots of value there as opposed to fear-mongering. The industry is too young for fear right now."

Fear factor

The problem with understanding the IoT, is that it's too easy to just start naming household objects and saying that they could be connected to the internet.
This is unlikely to happen beyond simple tagging (honestly, who needs a smart toilet brush?) - but adding a dash of smarts to things we use every day could bring about significant changes in the way we live.
"If we embed products with a little intelligence we're able to see patterns in our behaviours as well as start to track things that we care about," says Deschamps-Sonsino.

Health is an area that is already embracing the IoT. The idea of the quantified self, measured by tracker gadgets like the FitBit or Nike Fuelband, is becoming commonplace and as the tech gets smaller and more embeddable it will be possible to weave sensors into the fabric of clothing or footwear and into the realms of true health monitoring.
Google recently patented a smart contact lens - not as a future iteration of Google Glass but as a way of measuring glucose levels in tears. Anyone at risk of diabetic shock would be able to keep tabs on their sugar levels without having to stop and take a blood test, while an app on a smartphone or other personal computing device could make great use of that data to trigger medication alerts or prompt for medical review.

Geocities of Things

It's not just medical or biomechanical sensors and their data that will drive the IoT, however. If the quantified self is about optimising our health through new types of feedback, the quantified everything will give us a trove of data about our lives that could be used in many interesting ways.
"To me, it feels like IoT is where the web was in the mid- to late-90s," says Adrian McEwan, a self-described 'geek and entrepreneur' who founded MCQN Ltd., a product agency that advises companies on the IoT and connected devices.
"People can see it's going to change things massively, but it's not at all clear how that will pan out. Andy Huntington from BERG summed it up nicely that we're in the Geocities of Things phase at the moment. Lots of experimentation, out of which we'll discover what's useful and what isn't."
Packing our homes with sensors could give obvious, easy wins like mining temperature, room usage and weather data to fine-tune heating and ventilation.
It could also offer a way to help care for the ageing population through projects like BeClose that look for changes in an elderly relative's daily routine and sends alerts if anything seems amiss.

This kind of sensor network doesn't have to be part of a corporate-owned data farm, either. Products like Ninja Blocks offer simple (ok, simple-ish if you already have some know-how) ways to build your own mesh of sensors that could work like an alarm system, a monitor to keep tabs on your houseplants or a humidity sensor for a wine cellar, using rules that you specify.
At the city level, simple but clever tech like the Big Belly smart bin keep tabs on their own usage and ask to be emptied when they are full, saving local councils money on over-collection and helping to reduce traffic pollution. In the rainforests of the Amazon, Invisible Tracck sensors are used to tag trees so that they can call out if illegally felled and transported near to a mobile phone network.
There are bound to be misfires and dead-ends in the race to connect the world to the internet. Some connected gadgets are just going to end up as novelties or 'me too' products while others will fit more usefully in to the new world of ubiquitous interconnectivity.
Over time, the real power of the IoT may come from how easily we are able to integrate all of those different data sources - perhaps for the first time, we could see the hidden connections between people in one part of the world and producers in another or how our actions in one part of our lives influences our health, or the state of our cities.
There may be privacy and data security concerns that need to be addressed but these are societal problems as much as they are technical. Both McEwan and Deschamps-Sonsino suggest that, in the UK at least, the BBC may come to have a role as a sort of honest broker in IoT data.
The Internet of Things is already here but within a decade it will be much more deeply embedded in or tightly interwoven with our lives.
It may not be a utopia, but there is enough to be hopeful about that we need not fear it.

Apple CEO confirms new product types are in the works, again

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped another hint that new types of products are on the way.
Sitting down with the WSJ's Daisuke Wakabayashi Cook said, "there will be new [product] categories we're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff."
When prodded on the rumors of a larger 12.9-inch iPad, Cook declined to comment. Instead the Apple CEO went on to elaborate that any "reasonable" person would consider what Apple is working on to be a new category.
From Cook's answers, the outlook on Apple's future device portfolio is about as clear as muddy water. By saying the new products would interest any reasonable person leaves speculation open to anything from a dedicated smartwatch to an Apple iTV set.

Non answers

The real question in consumers' and investors' minds is whether Apple can still innovate; considering Apple's stock value reached a high of $700 (about £427/AUS $781) in mid-September, and has fallen to a current $521 (about £317/AUS $581).
It's clear Apple has to move out of its comfort zone and develop more devices than the music players, computers, smartphones, and the tablets it currently produces.
Early reports suggest Apple is already making big shakeups with its next iPhone to be an even bigger departure than the half-inch screen extension seen on the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 6 is likely to be an even larger 4.8-inch handset. Potentially, we may also see a new phablet sibling as the Cupertino company's first handset to break the five-plus inch barrier.
Apple has a lot to prove by promising new products and hopefully we'll see some exciting announcements to back up all the hype we heard so far.

How to Use Personal Hotspot on iPad Air and iPad mini

How to Use Personal Hotspot on iPad Air and iPad mini is a post by Kevin Purcell from Gotta Be Mobile.
Using the Personal Hotspot feature on the Apple iPad Air or iPad mini can save users money and offer a convenient connection to their iPad’s wireless data. People who don’t want to use something like a Mi-Fi or Jetpack, which offers a mobile hotspot for up to 5-10 users, can serve up a connection without carrying a second device. This helps them and their family members, friends or coworkers get online. People can share a user’s iPad data through Wi-Fi, USB or Bluetooth. We’ll explain how to get each kind of connection up and running.

LTE Required

The Personal Hotspot feature only works on an LTE iPad Air or iPad mini. Contact the wireless carrier and add the device to a shared data plan or as a new device on other wireless accounts. Usually this costs as little as $5 to $10 or much more, depending on which carrier a person uses.

Setting Up Personal Hotspot

To make this work, open up the iPad Settings. Turn on Cellular Data on for the iPad by tapping Cellular Data along the left and turn on Enable LTE by tapping the slider button so it shows green. Now tap Personal Hotspot just below Cellular Data and turn the feature on by tapping the slider button till it shows green also.
If Bluetooth’s not already on, the iPad will warn the user. Tap Turn on Bluetooth if you want to use Blueooth to make the connection between iPad and a computer. Otherwise tap Wi-Fi and USB only.

We recommend using Wi-Fi and USB only, since making a Bluetooth connection can get complicated with some devices. However, we’ll still explain how to use it below.

The user can keep the suggested password or change it. To change the password tap on Wi-Fi Password in the middle of the screen. Clear the current password by tapping the tiny X at the right end of the line. Now type a new password and then tap Done in the upper right corner.
The iPad gives users instructions for making the connection on the Personal Hotspot screen. See the image above. Remember the iPad’s name, usually something like User Name’s iPad by default. User’s can change this name in the General settings section. Tap General along the left and then About at the top of that screen. Now tap Name and clear out the line and type a new name. Go back to the Personal Hotspot section by tapping it along the left. Note that the name changed in the instructions.

Making a Wi-Fi Connection

Use the second device’s instructions for connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot. Choose the name listed in the instructions and type in the password set in the above steps.
The second device will connect and use the iPad’s LTE connection to surf the web. Be careful about how much data you use, since nearly all wireless companies cap the amount of data a person can use per month.

Making a USB Connection

The USB connection works with laptops only. Plug the iPad into a computer using a USB charging/syncing cable. Choose the iPad in the computer’s settings. This may work differently depending on the computer. On a Mac it’s easy select the iPad from the Wi-Fi icon in the menubar. See the image above.

For Windows, plug in and close the Auto-Play Window. The iPad installs the drivers and Windows displays the networking dialog box. Choose Public Network and it should now work. Close the dialog box and start to surf.

iPhone users should take a look at How to Use Your iPhone as a Personal Hotspot Over USB

Making a Bluetooth Connection

If the above options don’t work, use Bluetooth to connect. Start by pairing the iPad with the computer. Follow your computer’s instructions for doing this. The iPad will likely show a box asking to pair with the computer. It may ask the user to enter a code.

On a Mac start by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the Menubar and chose Open Bluetooth Preferences. A box opens and shows a list of connected device in the upper part of the box and available devices in the lower part, if Bluetooth is turned on. If not, turn it on to see the list. Click on the Pair button next to the name of the iPad. A box pops up showing a code on the computer as shown above. On the iPad another box pops up with the same code. Make sure they match and tap on Pair. Now the computer can access the Internet through the iPad.

5 Ways to Live a More Organized Life with Your iPhone

5 Ways to Live a More Organized Life with Your iPhone is a post by Craig Lloyd from Gotta Be Mobile.
Your iPhone is the one thing that you keep on your person at all times. It contains pretty much every piece of digital media you could want, including your music, movies, games, notes and other apps that help you through life. Your phone is meant to be your planner that helps you stay organized, but in reality for a lot of folks, that’s not the case.
Some people are just unorganized; that’s just how they are. Even though your phone is meant to act partially as an organizer, planner and reminder, many phones merely just serve as a distraction rather than help get you organized. However, with a little bit discipline and simplifying, your iPhone will become the pocket organizer that you’ve always wanted.

Audit Your App Collection Regularly

Before you can get organized, you need to clean out all of the clutter first. One of the easiest ways to clean up clutter on your phone is to delete apps that you hardly ever use. Currently, I have 77 apps installed, which may sound like a lot, but that’s hardly any compared to a lot of people I know.
However, a lot of the apps that folks have installed are rarely used. I’m guilty of having a few apps myself that I hardly ever touch, including the Pizza Hut ordering app and Kindle app (I don’t like reading digital books). You might ask, “why do you even have those apps installed if you never use them anyway?”, and I’d ask you to ask that same question to yourself.

If there’s an app that’s currently on your iPhone that you haven’t used in the past six months, get rid of it. Not only does it clean up the clutter, but it also saves on storage space, which most of us are concerned about with our devices.
Better yet, take advantage of folders and organize your apps into different categories of folders, such as Social, Travel, Shopping, Entertainment, etc. This allows you to cut down on the number of pages you need to scroll through in order to find that one app you’re looking for.

Use a Single Note-Taking App

Back in the day, I had digital notes spread all over the place. I jotted stuff down in the iOS Notes app, kept larger documents in Google Drive, and uploaded reference screenshots or photos to Dropbox. It was a mess, and I would usually have to go through each service to find something that I needed.

However, I now use just one note-taking app that handles everything that I need to either jot down or remember for later. It’s up to you what app/service to use, but I prefer Evernote, since it’s fairly comprehensive. You can take down quick notes or type out longer documents, and even save screenshots or photos right to the app. Feedly also has seamless Evernote integration, so any articles that I want to read later I can just save them to Evernote.
Granted, note-taking styles are different for everyone, and some people don’t mind having their notes spread out over different services for different purposes because it works for them, but a lot of people aren’t like that, and they need a centralized location where they can find everything that they saved.

Use Siri to Your Advantage

iOS comes with a lot of great utilities to make your life easier and less stressful, including settings reminders, creating an alarm clock for the morning, and setting timers for cooking or even naps. However, this is a category where I feel Siri is undervalued. Siri is very good at creating reminders and setting alarm clocks for you. Just say something like “remind me to pick up my son at 7pm,” and Siri will be sure to let you know.

We suppose you could fiddle with the app itself and type in everything that you want to set, but who has time for that? Just give Siri a quick ring and she’ll take care of it.

Use Passbook to Store Loyalty Cards, Coupons, Etc.

At first, I wasn’t really into Passbook, but once I found out that I could store all of my loyalty cards and gift cards in one app, I was intrigued. Passbook can store all sorts of stuff, including tickets to sporting events, boarding passes for flights, gift cards, loyalty cards and coupons.

On my last flight, it was really nice not having to carry around paper boarding passes with me and making sure I didn’t lose them. Instead, I just pulled out my phone and let the desk clerk scan the barcode on my phone to let me hop on board. It’s also way easier to have all of my loyalty cards on my phone, rather than thumb through my wallet in order to find the right card.

Use a Digital Wallet to Store ID Cards, Debit Cards, Etc.

In this instance, when I say “digital wallet” I’m not referring to Google Wallet or other mobile payment platform. Specifically, I’m referring to an app such as LifeLock Wallet (formerly Lemon Wallet), which can store ID cards, insurance cards, debit cards, etc.

Of course, it doesn’t substitute for the real thing, because you need your physical ID card to prove your age at bars and such, but if you’re shopping online and don’t have your physical wallet on your person, you can just pull out your phone and get your debit or credit card information from within the app.

Why Sony Selling Its PC Business is Good For Microsoft

Why Sony Selling Its PC Business is Good For Microsoft is a post by Travis Pope from Gotta Be Mobile.
The rumors were true. After just a day of speculation concerning the fate of its PC business Sony announced that it’d entered into a formal agreement to sell Sony VAIO to a Japanese investment firm. Since rumors of the potential sale first hit the internet yesterday, computing industry insiders have clamored over themselves to list reasons why getting out of the PC business is good move for Sony.

Most would agree that the PC business just found itself lost in a sea of Sony’s other businesses. Others have pointed to the decline in sales that most PC makers are seeing. None of that’s up for debate.

What’s more interesting is that most seem to think that Sony’s leaving the PC industry is bad for Microsoft, that this somehow reveals just how weak PC sales are expected to get as tablets and smartphones change the way casual users get tasks done. That’s certainly one aspect, but there’s another way to look at this news: Sony’s selling its PC business is actually great for Microsoft.

Surface 2

That’s because when most users think of PCs, they think of mostly low-end devices that get the job done. They think of products from Acer and HP that exist only to provide an entry-level point for users who need something portable with a mouse and keyboard. What they mostly fail to realize is that Sony VAIO almost exclusively dealt in high-end PCs. These PCs usually cost upwards of $800. They were meant to be both tools and art. In effect, Sony meant for VAIO to be what the Mac is for Apple’s ecosystem.
Ironically, that’s exactly what Microsoft is hoping to do with its Surface line of PCs and tablets. That much isn’t speculation. It’s not something the company has just hinted at. That the Surface is intended to allow Microsoft to reel in PC users looking to pay a premium has been something the company is very open about. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said exactly that during an exit interview with ZDNet.
“[Ballmer] knew that it would not be the simplest discussion to have with our partners, who(m) I wanted to stay our partners.” Ballmer decided to go through with the project because he felt that Apple’s dominance in the high-end computing space left Microsoft vulnerable. It was Microsoft’s belief that its hardware partners were having a hard time “investing in and competing with the higher-end brand.”

Today’s developments would seem to validate Microsoft’s original arguments for the Surface’s existence, that by offering its own high-end PCs to users it’s better able to guarantee a decent experience for users who are willing to pay for it. Sony’s financial health has been in question for years and reports indicate that the VAIO PC business simply wasn’t making money at the time it was sold.

To be fair, Sony’s only selling VAIO. However, the plan is to have its new owner focus on moving PCs in Japan first. All indications are that the new company won’t have new products to offer in the United States in the foreseeable future.
With VAIO gone, Microsoft presumably has the opportunity to grab even more market share in the high-end PC space. Thanks to its other operations, Microsoft can afford to bankroll high-end PC operations without making a profit in the short-term.
In fact, Sony selling its PC business isn’t just good for Microsoft’s efforts to reinvent itself, it’s great for Microsoft’s efforts to reinvent itself . The company’s decision to produce Surface hardware and its predictions about how the market is moving were all just validated in one day.

15 Hidden Moto X Features

15 Hidden Moto X Features is a post by Cory Gunther from Gotta Be Mobile.
Motorola has been through a lot of changes lately, and more are coming now that the company was just sold by Google to Lenovo, but they still have an excellent smartphone in the Moto X.
Launched back in August of 2013 the Moto X has been available for about five months. With prices dropping and customization features available on all major US carriers, we figured a few helpful hints and tips sharing hidden features was in order for eager buyers or those who’ve purchased the Moto X. Many of these are stock Android tweaks, then Motorola’s filled this phone with additional features not offered by any other smartphone manufacturer.

Most of these won’t be new to advanced users, but if you’ve just bought the Moto X, are new to Android, or just haven’t explored your new device there’s tons of goodies packed inside the X. From touchless controls, audio equalizer settings, camera shortcuts, and auto-unlock for trusted devices nearby. Read on for our list of features you’ll want to know about.

The Moto X runs a nearly stock version of Android 4.4 KitKat right from Google, and has the least amount of changes and interface skins available when compared to Samsung or HTC. We have a clean version as Google intended it, but then Motorola tossed in new and useful features like never before. Some of these are explained on first setup for buyers, others aren’t, so check them all out below.

Camera Shortcuts

Since millions of smartphone owners snap photos daily with their devices, you’ll be happy to know there’s a few extremely quick and easy ways to instantly launch the camera and never miss a shot. Just like stock Android from the lockscreen when you first hit the power button a quick slide from the right edge to the left on your screen will instantly launch the camera. Alternatively, so you know this is available, there’s a camera icon on the lower right you can slide to open the camera. This works instantly, without inserting a password or PIN, and you’ll never miss that quick photo.

Then, Motorola took this a step further and made it so users don’t even need to unlock or even turn on the display. Simple give a double flick of the wrist while holding your Moto X, and the camera instantly fires up and you can start snapping photos. Neat right?

HDR Camera

While we’re talking about the camera there’s one thing you all should use from time to time, and that’s the HDR camera mode. A slide of the finger from the left side of the screen while using the camera opens settings. The top HDR option should be enabled if you’re not taking action shots. Any still object will benefit from this.

HDR mode (High Dynamic Range) takes both a high and low exposure photo to get the best of the lights, as well as the darks and shadows and combines two photos into one. Giving the user the optimal photo no matter the setting, but especially during low light.

Burst Mode

As a reminder, a tap of the screen will instantly focus and take a photo all in one swift motion. However, if you tap and hold the screen the phone will focus and then snap as many photos as you’d like while you’re holding down. Burst mode is great for action shots, when you’re not using the HDR explained above.
Then we have one last photography tip. While shooting video a tap on the screen will capture a photo at the same time, so you’ll never miss a great photo while recording video on the 10 Megapixel “clearpixel” camera.

Lockscreen Widgets & Controls

Next is the lockscreen, which has tons of features and controls that aren’t new to Android but many users don’t know about. Simply head into settings, select security, and tap “Enable widgets” or lockscreen widgets. This will allow users to put Gmail, Twitter and Facebook widgets, weather and more all on the lockscreen. Giving you easier and quicker access to all your information.

This is disabled by default as a security concern so people can’t see a users information without unlocking a device, but once enabled there’s tons of widgets you can add by swiping to the right on the lockscreen. Not to mention apps like Dashclock from the Google Play Store which will add a host of new features.
Then on Android 4.4 KitKat we have fullscreen album artwork while using Google Music, and a long press on the pause button will bring up a slide bar for seeking. That’s a neat little trick most don’t know about.

Read: Moto X in Walnut Wood Hands-On

Touchless Controls

The touchless controls feature is one of the biggest selling points for the Moto X, and it’s awesome. You’re prompted multiple times on first setup to do this, so it shouldn’t be new. However if you missed it, head into settings (gear-shaped icon) and select Touchless controls to configure.

Touchless controls lets you instantly send a text, make a call, or search Google with your voice, even when the phones display is off. It’s extremely powerful, and you’ve probably seen it before but above is a quick look and we show you how to enable it

Shown above during our hands-on video review is one other feature that you’ll want to use, which is highly customizable, called active notifications.

Active Notifications

Active notifications shown above is another neat addition to the Moto X and DROID Ultra lineup that most users love once they set it up. Allowing the phone to illuminate small portions of the screen in a low-power battery saving state with quick and active notifications. A circle will dimly light up showing you have a missed call, incoming text, Twitter mention, and more. Then the screen goes back to sleep as shown in the video above. However, tap the circle and the Moto X gives you more details with the top half of the screen, which again, is a battery saving feature.

Slide up and you’ll unlock right into that notification and app whether it be the dialer for a missed call, Google Hangouts, Gmail, Twitter, or even a text message. It’s super simple and easy, yet no one’s done it in such a smooth way as we have here with the Moto X.

Screenshots

Taking a screenshot of what’s on a smartphone display is an easy way to share a funny message, crop a Facebook comment to share or view later, or screengrab an important email. People use screenshots for all types of things, and its very easy even though some users don’t know how to do it.

That’s it. Simply long press power and the volume-down button at the same time and you have a screen grab. Another hidden feature is also shown in the video above. Expandable notifications. They’re nothing new to Android, just like screenshots, but many users don’t know you can pinch to expand a notification.
I went from seeing the screenshot in a small box, to getting a large preview and the “share” button to send it to friends. You can do this with two fingers, or one as shown in the video. Long press and then slide to expand or close notifications of all types in the Moto X notification pulldown bar.

Moto Assist

This section has more than two hidden features, so lets get started. Moto Assist is an app built-in to the Moto X which will help assist and automate your life. Have a work meeting every Friday at 3 PM? Assist will learn that once set, and always silence your phone at 3PM on Fridays. All automatically once it learns. It’s a nice touch Motorola.

Moto Assist helps with hands-free driving and touchless controls to respond to a message or get directions, and will even read a message aloud to a user while driving. The same area will automatically have the phone go to speakerphone if it detects the owner is driving, to keep your hands safely on the wheel.
Everything from driving, messages, meetings, stop disturbances while sleeping, VIP caller lists and more. Check it out in the app tray to learn more. It’s all extremely self explanatory and there’s how-to guides right on the phone.

Supercharge the Keyboard

You can count this as one hidden feature or trick, but below is a video showing you five tips to type faster on Android using the stock Google Keyboard found on the Moto X. Things like gesture typing, next-word suggestions, and even text expansion support all can make you faster when it comes to typing on a smartphone.

We’re using the Galaxy S4 there, but the same features are all on the stock keyboard, which is used on the Moto X. Just head into settings to do all the same things shown in the video above. There’s plenty of little things hidden in the keyboard, you just need to know where to look. While we’re talking about the keyboard, here’s how you can swear on Android.

Read: How to Cut, Copy & Paste on Android

Improve Battery Life

There’s tons of battery-saving features built into Android, and the Moto X, but here we’ll detail a few other small ones. Since we’re on nearly the same stock Android 4.4 KitKat as the Nexus 5, most of these battery saving tips apply to the Moto X.

Everything from screen brightness and sleep times, WiFi and Bluetooth, Location services and GPS, and much more is all explained in the link above. Setting what uses location services will play a major role in the Moto X battery life, and another thing is you can enable ART. This is for advanced users, and you can learn more on ART here.

Moto Connect

This is another app that comes pre-installed, but it’s actually useful unlike most bloatware carriers install on a new phone. Moto Connect lets you pair the phone to your PC or laptop, which will then allow a user to send and receive calls and texts on a computer using the Moto Connect Chrome Browser extension. Send texts from your PC through the Moto X.

Just find the Moto Connect app on your smartphone and it has a step-by-step guide to get up and running in about 4-5 minutes. Give it a try and improve your daily experience on the Moto X.

Equalizer

Most smartphones don’t have an equalizer option to customize and tweak audio settings, but Motorola delivers that. The Moto X has fairly good speakers, and sounds great with headphones, so head into settings > sound > audio effects to improve your music.

This can be set separate from the wired stereo, and from the speaker, for those needing different settings one each.

Trusted Devices

This feature is something you’ll need to setup and control under the settings > security tab once you’ve setup a passcode, unlock PIN, or pattern. This essentially allows a user to set certain devices to be trusted, so once the phone is nearby you won’t need to use an unlock pin.

Basically if you’re home and it’s connected to a speaker dock, there’s no need for a security pin. However, once you leave the house and are no longer within range of the dock, or other trusted devices, the security pin is re-enabled and protects your device from prying eyes. This works for speakers, docks, accessories, and even NFC enabled devices.
Then of course nearly everything that’s new with Android 4.4 KitKat is available on the Moto X, and you can find out what’s new by clicking here.
We could go on and on regarding little features in Android, but surely a quick look through your settings users will find plenty of good tricks. Try pulling down with two fingers instead of one on the notification bar, and you’ll instantly get into the Quick settings menu. Easy right? There’s even a notification LED inside the speaker grill, only available to tweak if you root (Android’s version of jailbreak) your device.
This was just a few of our favorite little shortcuts, tips and tricks, or hidden features of the Moto X we figured all users would enjoy.