Jason Cipriani/CNET You may have noticed your Lumia device randomly displaying the current time and notification thumbnails when your device is in standby. This feature, called Lumia Glance, allows for you to simply “glance” over and view important information, forgoing the requirement to unlock your device. The default setting for Glance is always on, but …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Having a device become unresponsive can be a frustrating experience. Just over the weekend I was testing an Windows Phone 8.1 device, answered an email, and sat the phone back down. A few minutes later I tried to check my email, but found the device to be unresponsive. No matter what I did I couldn’t get the screen …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Windows Phone 8.1 introduced a brand-new notification shade. Similar to what’s currently found on Android, the notification shade houses recent alerts and what Microsoft calls “Quick actions.” These quick actions are simply shortcuts to common device settings. Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET Four buttons are displayed at the top of the notification shade. Tapping any of the buttons will …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Last week, Google rolled out the ability for Play store users to purchase apps and various digital content using a PayPal account. As Scott Webster mentioned in his post, you won’t have the option to purchase hardware with a PayPal account, but everything else is fair game. I prefer to use a PayPal account for stuff like this …

Jason Cipriani/CNET From almost day one, Glass Explorers who have only ever known iOS have asked Google to allow for SMS and iMessage to be viewed on Glass. Most even asked for complete send and receive integration. Sadly, iOS in its current form will not allow for third-party apps to send content through the Messages app. But as many have …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Taking a screenshot can be of tremendous help when trying to troubleshoot an issue, show off your tile layout, or mock a random post on Facebook. With Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft has made the screenshot process simple and fast. To take a screenshot on a Windows Phone device running 8.1, press the power button and volume-up key at …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Beginning with Google Glass XE 16.2, Explorers have had the option to control when photos and videos are backed up. Previously, Glass users had to wait for Glass to backup photos and video when the unit was connected to Wi-Fi and charging. With the new option, users can force a backup at any time, regardless of the data …

Jason Cipriani/CNET “Do not disturb” (DND) is quickly becoming a feature found on all flagship smartphones. When enabled, the feature prevents your phone from alerting you of incoming messages or calls, avoiding any interruptions during a meeting. Or more importantly, you can schedule DND mode to turn at night while you sleep. During the setup process for the Galaxy S5, …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Samsung has changed how the settings menu looks on the new Galaxy S5, and it doesn’t look horrible, but the change might be a bit much for some. Thankfully, with just a few minutes of your time, you can easily change the look and feel to your liking. To start, launch Settings and tap on the menu icon …

Now playing: Watch this: Transfer data from an iPhone to a Galaxy S5 2:05 It’s natural to dread the process of changing from iOS to Android. To begin, Apple does the inexplicable by holding your phone number hostage with iMessage, and getting your vital information from iOS to Android can be a chore. Then there’s figuring out how to get …