Now playing: Watch this: Are heart rate monitors on fitness trackers accurate? 5:04 There may be a problem with your fitness tracker: it could be misreporting your pulse. Mine did, though it took a cardiologist to tell me so. As I stood on a treadmill in his office with an EKG machine connected to my …

Most of the old wives’ tales about saving wet phones just don’t work. The bag of rice, a sunny window sill, a hair dryer, and the horrid oven method will quickly get you (and your phone) nowhere. Having suffered through several waterlogged phones and sacrificial experiments, I’ve found only one unexpected method to be reliable. If you’re lucky enough to …

Sarah Tew/CNET Just when you cozied up to the new-looking iOS, Apple dropped a software update that adds a handful of new features. But have no fear — the look hasn’t changed too dramatically, and the new features are very much welcome.If you haven’t already, upgrade your iOS device to the latest operating system, and check out these new tools …

Now playing: Watch this: The Fix: Building a home theater 9:28 By the end of this week’s episode, you’ll be able to call yourself a home theater specialist. (At least, to your family and friends.) First, Eric offers his definitive guide to finding the perfect TV distance. A clever formula will help you figure out if you need to scooch …

TV factory settings are generally designed to look good in bright, fluorescent retail stores — not your living room. To get the best TV picture, you’ll need to make some adjustments. This guide begins with some of the simpler (but impactful) settings — like disabling unnecessary features and adjusting basic options — before diving into some of the more in-depth …

Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET If you lock your iPhone or switch apps while playing a video, both the audio and video cut out immediately. It’s a huge annoyance if you’re one of the many people who uses YouTube for music, listening to long interviews, or even guided workouts. According to some reports, Google might be adding the option to multitask …

Now playing: Watch this: Extend battery life on Android 4.4 KitKat 2:32 With every new operating system comes a fresh set of features that serve up convenience…at the cost of your battery life. In many cases, it’s just not worth having your phone die when you need it most. If you’re looking to get more juice out of your phone’s …

You could say iOS 7 is revolutionary — in the world of Apple. For several iterations now, Android users have had access to some of iOS 7’s most heralded features, leaving some avid fanboys going pfffftttttt. But maybe you’ve taken Android’s offerings for granted. Maybe you overlooked these now-glorified features. Maybe it took the release of iOS 7 to appreciate …

Now playing: Watch this: Mirror your Android device’s screen with Miracast 2:34 Every so often, another device is touted as supporting “Miracast.” Fighting its way into the mainstream, Miracast is a killer feature poised to wipe out other video streaming standards in a very fragmented Android market. Acting like a wireless HDMI cable, Miracast mirrors your Android device onto your …

Casting a wider net than ever, Apple launched two iPhones this year, the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. For some, choosing a device is as easy as picking a color, but with $100 separating the two prices, making that decision might be a little more difficult than expected. As you consider your choices, use this infographic to see how …