Jerry Hildenbrand
Jerry has been a smartphone user since the BlackBerry days, having moved through the tech’s progression from Palm to Nokia to Apple and Android. He even waited in line at a Washington, DC T-Mobile store to buy the first Android phone. Combined with an Electrical Engineering degree and years of experience working with machine vision and learning equipment all over the world he has a passion for knowing how tech products work and what matters to the people buying them. He’s been in this industry longer than most of the companies we cover. With 15 years of experience writing about tech he has seen how smart devices have morphed from a luxury to a necessity and offers a unique perspective on both the good and bad consequences of it all. Currently covering the broader ecosystems of hardware and software products, his industry contacts and experience help break down the decisions tech giants make and the products they offer into the most important thing: how this affects us, the consumers and end-users of the products and services. With no affinity to one company Jerry can help you find the tech that’s right for you and help you understand what it can do for you. When things go south, he can also help you fix it or point you in the right direction for help. In his personal life Jerry loves to tinker in his workshop and work on his antique truck.
Latest articles by Jerry Hildenbrand
Ask Jerry: How much does Chrome Incognito know about me?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Ask Jerry Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE: a good deal or a total waste of time?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Deal or no deal The "cheap" Flip 7 still costs $900. Is it worth the asking price?
The alternate history of Android
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Android & Chill Android wasn't always great. But we had a lot of fun trying to make it that way!
Tech Talk: How does a tiny smartphone camera take such good photos?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Say Cheese It usually has plastic lenses, no real shutter, no focal length, and a teeny tiny sensor. But your phone's camera is the only one most of us will ever need.
Ask Jerry: Why are some health features for wearables not available in the US?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Ask Jerry Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!
Only you know what the best smartphone is for you. But we're here to help
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Android & Chill If you're looking for the "best" phone, you need to know what it's supposed to be the best at.
Google Cloud used the MLB All-Star game to show off AI doing what it does best
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Play ball! Google teamed with MLB to predict where a home run would land using AI. That's a perfect demonstration of how AI actually works and what it does best.
It's time to check your T-Mobile privacy settings again
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Cash cows T-Mobile has opted you into even more data collection, this time it's financial.
The evolution of Android: Decades of transformation
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Android & Chill Android is a success story like no other, both for Google and for consumers. It changed everything.
The best last-minute Prime Day deal for headphone lovers - a pair of Sennheiser HD 599s for under $100
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Sweet sounds These $100 headphones sound like a million bucks compared to anything wireless. They're a perfect way to start a collection of audiophile gear.
10 Prime Day tech deals under $50 that I'd actually buy
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Impulse buying You'll find a pile of worthless junk out there, and on Prime Day, it's all on sale. Here are 10 cheap products actually worth buying!
From $19 earbuds to flagship phones — here’s the Prime Day travel tech I’d actually buy
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Primed for travel You need the right stuff to take along wherever you go. Prime Day is one of the best times to buy it!
I did the math and saved about $150 buying on Prime Day
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Penny Pinching I knew I could save cash by buying what I needed on Prime Day.
Ask Jerry: Problems with mobile data while away from home. Can you help?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Ask Jerry Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!
I'm broke as hell. This is what I'm buying on Prime Day
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Android & Chill Just because I don't have the cash for a few fun toys doesn't mean I'm not looking for a good deal.
OnePlus is in hot water for something that all of our smartphones do
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Location, location, location OnePlus is being investigated because of where the company is, not what it's doing.
Tech Talk: NFC is getting an upgrade. But how does NFC work?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Tech Talk NFC: the magic transmission protocol that seems to work without power.
Ask Jerry: Who are the 3 billion Android users?
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Have a question about the tech in your life? If so, maybe we can get them answered!
Millions will be scammed on Prime Day. Don't be one of them
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Android & Chill Keep your money away from thieves by using common sense and good old-fashioned paranoia.
A modular phone isn't what you think, but it's still pretty cool
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Tech Talk Modular means being able to swap parts. You can't really do that to a phone, but being "modular" is still important.
Google finally adds long-awaited feature to Chrome for Android, and does it the right way
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Works for everyone Moving an app's layout can be really helpful, especially when you decide whether to do it.
America's rural broadband landscape will never be good enough
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
no internet Rural broadband is still slow, unreliable, and monopolized in many places. There's no real way to fix it.
Apple just turned the iPad into the best Chromebook
By Jerry Hildenbrand published
Better than a Chromebook Apple's new iPadOS brings a slew of nice changes making it a real lightweight computing platform.
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