screen – PSafe Blog

Is Android Going to Offer Flexible Screens Soon?

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 17:49:53 +0000

Back in May, Samsung showed off a rather radical design for a potential Android display. At SID Display Week in San Francisco, the South Korean tech giant literally rolled out a flexible smartphone interface, a 5.7 inch display that offered 1920 x 1080 resolution that could bend and twist as effortlessly as fabric. This demonstration shows that Android is certainly interested in the technology, and can make superbly performing interfaces using flexible materials. The question, then, is when to expect this type of technology in your next phone?

While it is fairly likely that you will eventually see an Android OS smartphone touting this kind of technology in the near future, it is currently unknown how much more work Samsung’s designers must put into the project until it is ready to hit the commercial market. For one, the display shown at that San Francisco convention was just that — a display, one which was already 0.3mm thick. Were designers to add the touch layer beneath that, it could affect the flexibility and thickness of the screen.

An additional design problem? The lack of a place to fit the battery. In conventional smartphones that are used today, such as the one you might be using to read this very article, rechargeable batteries are utilized that require protection from the elements — hence the hardened screen. Additionally, that battery takes up considerable space, and the materials that comprise its design are not nearly as flexible as those used to create the SID Display Week demo screen. All of this is a long-winded way of saying, in all likelihood, you won’t be unrolling a smartphone like you would a paper towel or a newspaper for the foreseeable future.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that advances and improvements to the rollable screen design can’t be made to make that future arrive sooner than anticipated. Samsung has also tested the rollable screen out for a prototype television display earlier in 2016, so it isn’t as though the technology is not of serious interest to the company. The more research and development that goes into making displays like that a reality, the more likely solutions will be discovered that can incorporate a practical, cost-effective battery and touch sensor layer into a flexible, rollable smartphone interface. Until then, however, you’ll have to make due using a smartphone that is merely ultra-thin.

How to Change the Font Size Displayed on Your Android

PSafe Newsroom — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 18:50:14 +0000

Don’t strain your eyes to read the text on your Android phone. The display sizes and font style of text are completely customizable, so you can make them as big or as small as needed. Many Android users feel as though their mobile devices’ screens are too small. People complain of the headaches they get from squinting and straining their eyes to read the text on their 2.5” by 4.5” phone. If you’d like to make the font bigger to read more comfortably, or smaller to fit more text on the screen at once, Android phones will easily accommodate you.

Here is a step-by-step guide to changing your Android phone’s font size.

The first step is to click the home screen app drawer button and select “Settings.” Next, choose the “Display” option. On the right side, you will now see “Font.” Below that select “Font Size.” You will now be able to choose your font size. You can select from “Tiny,” “Small,” ‘Normal,” “Large,” and “Huge.” When finished selecting, you can exit the “Settings” page. The “Huge” font size setting should be big enough to allow you to read comfortably. If you are an eagle-eyed speed reader, the “Tiny” setting will let you pack as much text onto the screen as possible.

In addition to customizable font sizes, Android phones have various font styles from which to choose. Here’s how you can select your favorite font style.

First, choose the app drawer button and click “Settings.” Once you’re in the “Settings” page, select “Display.” You will now see an area labeled “Font.” Click the “Font style” button located beneath that. You will now be able to choose from a list of desired font styles. There is a somewhat limited selection of font available, so if you want more options, click “Get New Fonts Online.” From here you’ll be able to download compatible fonts from the Internet.

Once satisfied with your choice, you can close out of the settings page. Now that you have the perfect font settings to read comfortably, don’t let your Internet speed slow you down. Avoid the frustration of lag time by using PSafe Total. Their Internet Booster will closes applications that are running in the background on your phone, letting you use data more efficiently.

Your Guide to Unlocking Your Android With a Cracked Screen

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 21:19:17 +0000

We’ve all been there. You’re juggling your phone, your coffee, and your dry cleaning when BAM! You walk into a stop sign, spilling your coffee all over your dry cleaning and dropping your phone on the concrete. You frantically dive for your phone as if it were your baby and nearly break into tears when you see your phone’s screen crushed into a thousand pieces.

If this sounds like a common occurrence for you, you’ll need to know what to do if your phone’s screen becomes shattered beyond recognition and you’re unable to enter your passcode to gain access.
In this event, there are a couple possible courses of action.

1. Use a USB Mouse.

If your Android’s touch screen is too cracked to function, you can try accessing your phone with a USB mouse and an OTG adapter. Connect the mouse to the adapter and the adapter to your phone. Once connected, the mouse can be used to unlock the phone with either the pattern lock code or your passcode.

The USB mouse eats up battery life quickly, so make sure to have the PowerPro by PSafe downloaded onto your Android. The PowerPro can identify programs that consume too much of your phone’s battery. The app will suggests solutions to make your battery last longer.

2. Use an Android Debug Bridge

This method of accessing a cracked phone is a little bit more complicated. It requires you to have already turned on your phone’s USB debugging option. Of course, if your phone’s screen is too cracked to access your settings, this method won’t be very helpful for you. To be safe, turn on this option before your screen is cracked, and you can save yourself a headache in the future.

To use an Android debug Bridge, you’ll need to download the Android Software Development Kit for your platform. Next extract the file and open the folder into which you extracted the Software Development Kit and run the SDK manager. Install the SDK Platform tools package and connect your phone to your PC with a USB cable.

Now go to the Device Manager, right-click your device on the list and choose Properties. Click “Update Driver” and browse your computer for your driver software option. After installing your device’s driver, you should be able to use the Android Bridge Debug and access your phone.

To further protect your phone, be sure to download PSafe Total. This anti-virus software defends your phone from malicious online threats and lets you share files and browse the internet safely. PSafe’s anti-virus software has the highest score in AV-testing and the extra edge of advanced protection.

The 4 Best Screen Dimming Apps for Android

PSafe Newsroom — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:28:21 +0000

Studies show that exposure to blue light at night — the kind given off by almost every device with a backlit screen — can disrupt your natural sleep cycle. Blue light keeps you awake and alert by suppressing melatonin production. At the very least this means you’re not waking up feeling well rested in the morning, but preliminary research indicates there may be a link between melatonin suppression and other health risks such as cancer and diabetes.

If you like to cozy up with your phone before getting some shut eye, using a screen dimmer may counteract the harmful effects of blue light and give you a better night’s rest. Here are a few of our favorites.

Twilight

Twilight adapts the highly popular desktop application f.lux for use on mobile devices. It works to filter blue light by changing the hue and dimming the screen of your device gradually throughout the day. During daytime hours, your phone appears normal, but in the evening the screen will start to take on a reddish overlay that gets darker as the night progresses. It takes a little getting used to, but is well worth it.

CF.lumen

CF.lumen acts much like Twilight but with one small difference: it uses the times of sunrise and sunset at your location to dim the screen and apply a blue light filter. The app also offers enhancements for color blindness. Rooted users gain access to more powerful features, though installation requires advanced technical knowledge.

Lux

Unlike other auto-dimming apps, Lux responds to your environment, not just the time of day. Its pre-set configurations give you precision control over how and when it dynamically adjusts brightness. If that wasn’t cool enough, the link tool lets you teach it how you want it to respond. Another neat feature it offers is sub-zero brightness, or the ability to darken more than your phone’s lowest brightness setting. This not only prevents eye-strain, it helps extend your battery life as well.

Cobrets (Configurable Brightness Presets)

The Cobrets widget offers a handful of predefined configurations. Among them is a night filter that sets your phone’s brightness lower than the system’s default and a diurnal filter that makes your screen less straining in dark environments. Each setting comes with several customization options so you can tailor them to your liking.

Using multiple screen dimming apps is not recommended, as they may conflict. Try one at a time and see which one works best for you. While you are protecting your health with one of these apps, let PSafe Total protect your phone. With its antivirus software and advanced protection, PSafe keeps your Android safe from virtual (virus) and physical (theft) threats.