Lauren Doucette

Photo Credit: flatpanelshd.com AirPlay is a great feature of iOS 7 and iOS 8 that enables you to wirelessly share photos, music, movies and more with other AirPlay users. However, did you know you can also use it to see all of that content on your TV screen? With AirPlay Mirroring you can see anything on your iPhone in real time on a flat screen TV from the comfort of your couch. It’s surprisingly easy to use this feature, though it does have certain hardware requirements: you must have a 2nd or 3rd generation Apple TV, as well as an iPhone (4S or […]

Ok, let’s talk about how to block numbers on iPhones. I’m not exactly sure why, but for some reason telemarketers and scam callers and survey collecting people love to call me. I don’t know how they get my number, and I never answer the phone if I don’t know who’s calling, but yet they still insist on calling, sometimes multiple times in a row –they’re like the mosquitoes of the communication world (I mean, I admire your persistence – “A” for effort, guys – but seriously, stop calling me). So, I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that

So, you’ve accidentally deleted some important text messages, and you’re worried they’re now gone forever, right? Well, not necessarily. There are a few different options you can try in order to recover deleted text messages from an iPhone. Now, your ability to recover deleted messages will vary depending on your device and carrier. However, we’ll discuss a few different options below which will hopefully up your odds of success. From iTunes Whenever you sync your iPhone with iTunes, an automatic backup is saved. If a previous version of your phone has the missing texts, you should be able to restore

I hate declining calls. I always feel guilty and so I allow my phone to ring and ring for fear that, if I try to decline it, I’ll give away the fact that I am totally aware I have a call, but am pointedly choosing not to answer. Of course, sometimes I’m actually busy, and can’t answer the call; in which case, I still feel guilty (though that may be residual guilt left over from my years of Catholic school…). However, now iOS 8 gives you the ability to quickly send an pre-written text when declining a call, somewhat softening the blow

“So what’s that weird gray screen that sometimes pops up accidentally when I’m trying to scroll to the right?”, you may ask. It’s Spotlight search–remember that? But this time around, they’ve done more than just add a few new cupholders. Spotlight has been a function on the iPhone for years, however with iOS 8, Apple has greatly expanded its capabilities. For those unfamiliar with the feature entirely, Spotlight has been the Google of your phone–searching music, voice memos, messages, you name it–to help you find things within your phone. However, with iOS 8, it now has the ability to access

iOS 8 has expanded it’s organizational abilities and come up with some new features that make storing and viewing your pictures much easier. Check out four of my personal favorites below. Hidden Folder If you ever feel pangs of terror when showing photos on your phone to others, for fear they might swipe too far to left or right and accidentally encounter a photo of a personal nature (or, if you’re like me, one too many photos of my dog in cute sweaters, all time-stamped on Saturday nights- proving my social skills might rival those of Liz Lemon), you can now easily

As you might have noticed, you astute iphone-r’s you, your new favorites bar contains a bunch of gray circles above each of your recent contact’s names. These little bubbles are meant to contain photos, so that each of your contacts has a picture. Fun, right? So, how do you manage to get photos assigned to each of your contacts? There are a few ways to go about this, but easily the fastest option is to sync your contacts with your Facebook account, importing your friends’ profile pictures into your phone en mass, and filling those lonely little gray bubbles with

With the addition of the new app switcher in iOS 8,  your contacts are more prominent than ever. You can have easy access to your favorites, or see who your recent contacts have been. This is a very convenient feature, and I find myself using it often. However, in my opinion, it’s a lot more fun if your contacts have thumbnail photos, rather than the stock gray bubble with the contact’s initials inside of it. I love being able to choose my favorite pictures of my favorite people and have them appear when they contact me. I suppose it’s also

I had yet to even open, let alone explore, the iOS Pages, Keynotes and Numbers apps, when one day while on the train, I got an email requesting an invoice ASAP. As I was going to be away from my computer for the rest of the day, but do enjoy being paid, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Then suddenly, it occurred to me to check out my Numbers app and see if it could help. Boy, could it ever! I was able to quickly and easily create a sleek looking invoice and send it off, all in the

Apple heard its users’ complaints loud and clear, and, thankfully, with iOS 8 comes a host of editing features for your camera. You no longer need to rely solely on third party apps to choose filters, or change light levels, you can do it all from your Photos app. Follow the steps below to get to the editing screen, and from there keep reading to learn about some of the new editing features your phone now offers. 1. Open Photos. 2. Tap the photo you wish to edit. 3. Tap “Edit.” Once you’re in the editing screen, you’ll be able