Thursday, May 16, 2013

Android Central

Android Central

Relive the mammoth Google I/O keynote in full

Posted: 15 May 2013 05:15 PM PDT

Clear your evening, you'll need in excess of three hours for this one!

If you missed todays mammoth keynote from Google I/O 2013, there's no need to be disheartened. You've got a couple of options. The first -- and one we recommend -- is to hit the Android Central Google I/O portal to catch up on all of the days news. Once you've done that, Google has put the whole thing online for you to watch back at your leisure. 

Be warned though, you'll need to clear your evening. All of it. Or watch it in two parts. The keynote clocks in at well over 3 hours long if you count the Q&A time at the end with Larry Page. Which you should, because it's Larry Page. So, enjoy it, and drop into the comments below and let us know what your favorite part was out of everything you saw today.

    

Google TV gets updated to Android 4.2.2, swifter updates promised for the future

Posted: 15 May 2013 04:58 PM PDT

Android Central

Google TV also now moves on to the latest version Chrome, jumps onto the six-week regular Chrome update cycle

Despite being omitted from the 3-hour Google I/O keynote completely, there is some good news coming out of San Francisco for Google TV. Google already pushed out the update to their YouTube app for the platform, but also announced today is the bump up to Android 4.2.2. And, with the jump to the latest version of Android, the latest version of Google Chrome is also on board, with Google TV joining the regular six-week update cycle for Chrome. 

Chrome for Google TV also gets support for hardware based content protection. Simply put, this means that developers have the ability to include premium high definition TV content within web apps for Google TV. 

The good news doesn't end there either. Alongside the software updates Google is also announcing that they have refactored Google TV so that OEM partners can update to future versions of Android in "a matter of weeks rather than months." 

The update to 4.2.2 is expected to roll out to current Google TV devices "in the coming months" with new devices expected to be seen later this year. Great news for the Google TV fans out there that Google continues to push the platform forwards.

Source: Google TV Developers

    

Hands-on with the new Google Play Music app and All Access subscription service

Posted: 15 May 2013 04:54 PM PDT

Google Play Music All Access

Improvements in design highlight the latest music subscription service

At today's massive Google I/O keynote, one of the bigger announcements was centered around music. Not only did we get the rumored Google Music subscription service -- now called "All Access" -- but we also got a completely refreshed Play Music app and web interface to go along with it. Google is making a pretty compelling push with its new music service, which goes beyond just radio and just streaming to offer customizable playlists with unlimited skips as well as unfettered online and offline access to any music in the Play Store catalog. You can also now access that music through  a beautifully redesigned Android app and web player that just tie the entire experience together.

Hang with us after the break for a closer look at Google's refresh of Play Music, one that is likely to be a hit well after the Moscone Center empties this week.

More: Android Central @ Google I/O 2013

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YouTube for Google TV gets updated with a whole new homescreen UI

Posted: 15 May 2013 03:59 PM PDT

Android Central

New home screen UI, paid subscriptions and enhanced playback controls the name of the day

While all eyes were on the 3+ hour monster keynote at Google I/O, Google quietly slipped out a decent looking update to their YouTube app for Google TV. Top of the order is a nice looking new user interface for the homescreen, that simplifies everything and makes it all a little more user friendly. 

Official support for Google's new paid subscription channels is also included, with Google TV surely being a prime option to take advantage of the new content. Playback video controls are also improved, and it's easier to subscribe to that content creator's channel. Grab it now from the Google Play Store, and be sure to let us know what you think of it. 

    

Google adds 'Send Money' option to Gmail and Google Wallet

Posted: 15 May 2013 12:54 PM PDT

Send money to anyone for free from a linked bank account; with small fees via credit cards

It wasn't a headline part of the Google I/O 2013 keynote, but the Google Commerce Blog has just dropped a pretty sweet feature on us -- the ability to send money to anyone from Gmail with Google Wallet. The option is being rolled into Gmail as just another thing that you can attach when sending a message. Right next to the paperclip for attaching files you'll see a "$" icon where you can click and send money free of charge to the recipient -- who doesn't have to have a Gmail account -- if you have a bank account connected to your Google Wallet account. Transfers sent by an attached credit or debit card are assessed a small transaction fee, and it is clearly shown when sending whether or not there will be a fee.

The ability to send money via Gmail will roll out over the coming months to U.S. residents over the age of 18, and won't be available on mobile through the Gmail app but will be possible with the Google Wallet mobile website. We would expect that once the security aspect of sending money on mobile gets figured out that the feature will hit the Gmail for Android app eventually.

Source: Google Commerce Blog

    

Hangouts app now available in the Play Store, comes as update to Google Talk

Posted: 15 May 2013 12:24 PM PDT

Hangouts

Google's new cross-platform group messaging service is pushing out to devices

Hangouts, the long-rumored messaging service from Google that pulls together text, photo, video and group chat all into one service, is pushing out in the Play Store today as an update to the Google Talk app. The app is a serious departure from the old-school design found on talk, with an all new layout that focuses first on conversations and then on individual contacts. The main screen is a list of your different ongoing conversations -- "Hangouts" -- with pictures of the people involved in them. When you start a new hangout you can search people by name, email, circle or even phone number and start a chat.

Right now it looks like it's basically building on just the previous Talk system of chatting, and although it does ask to confirm your phone number and you can search contacts by their numbers, there's no SMS support here just yet. Go grab a download of the new Hangouts app from the Play Store link above.

    

Google introduces conversational search in Chrome and an expanded Knowledge Graph

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:44 AM PDT

Google search

Google has shown off what's new in search at Google I/O and during the keynote they announced improvements to conversational search,  Google Now and the Knowledge Graph. We've had conversational search on Android and iOS for some time, but now you'll be able to access it through Chrome on any laptop or desktop. You can click the mic to start talking or simply say "Ok Google". It looks pretty slick.

In addition, they also announced support for 4 new languages for their Knowledge Graph: Polish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. The Knowledge Graph is the search iteration they unveiled a while back that presents relevant, immediate data based on what you're searching for.

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Google Play Music updated, includes UI overhaul and All Access subscription service

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:38 AM PDT

Google Play Music update

Google announced a music subscription service today called Google Play Music All Access. It provides unlimited access to music for $9.99/month (or $7.99/month if you sign up for the free trial before June 30th.)

The Google Play Music Android app has been updated to reflect the All Access subscription service, but also provides an entire UI overhaul that is very slick. It's simplified and much easier to navigate, in my opinion. There is a navigation pane to the left that allows you to select between Listen now, My Library, Playlists, Radio and Explore. You can quickly swipe it away to view your choice, which will be taken over by larger album art.

The update is available via the Google Play Store. If you don't see it just yet, sit tight, you'll see it soon. Follow our Google Play links for the update.

    

Google previews next major version of Maps for Android

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:36 AM PDT

Google Maps update

New look, new features for Google's mobile mapping software

At the Google I/O keynote in San Francisco, Google showed a sneak peek at the "next major version" of Google Maps for Android. Visually, it looks a lot like the iPhone Google Maps app, with a big search bar front and center, and re-vamped, smoother graphics. There's also a new Zagat experience built-in, with a new five-point rating scheme. Google Offers are now built into the app too, allowing offers to be saved directly from the Maps app.

The tablet maps UI has been overhauled too, with a UI tweaked to take advantage of the additional screen realestate. And in big news for iOS, there's finally a dedicated iPad app for Google Maps.

The company also showed off a re-vamped version of Google Maps on the web, with WebGL-based vector graphics as standard, and a bigger focus on search, through a large search bar at the top of the screen. There's been a complete UI overhaul too, designed to make features like navigation and public transit directions easier to use. For the first time, Google Earth-like 3D imagery is included in Maps on the web, too.

The new Google Maps experience for Android is due to launch "this summer."

    

New Google Now cards and 'hot words' for voice search launching today

Posted: 15 May 2013 11:19 AM PDT

Google Now

Reminders. Music albums. TV shows. Public transit. Books. Video Games.

Update: The newest version of Google Search has just been pushed out to the Play Store

In among the host of other search features unveiled at the Google I/O keynote today, Google announced that six new cards will be coming to its card-based predictive search system, Google Now. Reminders -- like "get milk" -- details for music, TV, books and video games and public transit messages.

Google also demonstrated "hot words" in Google voice search, allowing potentially ambiguous queries such as "show me my photos from New York" or "when does my flight leave" to produce accurate results based on the information at Google's disposal. The demo ran remarkably smoothly and quickly, and with seemingly perfect accuracy.

The new Google Now cards will begin rolling out from today. Remember we're still liveblogging the I/O keynote, so head over there to see everything as it happens.

    

New Google+ picks out your best photos

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:59 AM PDT

Photo highlights

At the Google I/O keynote in San Francisco, Google VP Vic Gundotra demonstrated a ton of new features for the company's social network, Google+. Among these is a bevy of photographic capabilities, chiefly Google Photo Highlights. If you've ever uploaded a massive cache of photos to a social network and had to sort through to pick out the best ones, you may appreciate this.

Google's algorithms can cut down a large group of imperfect images and pick out the best-looking ones, reducing potentially thousands of image to a smaller collection of only the very best.

We're still covering the event live from Moscone West, so stay tuned for continuing coverage.

    

All new Google+ Hangouts app unveiled, cross-platform messaging service

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:48 AM PDT

Android Central

Much rumored service becomes official, available today for Android, iOS and the web

Messaging has been one of the hot topics leading up to Google I/O, and today Vic Gundotra took to the stage and introduced the all new Google+ Hangouts. A cross-platform messaging service available starting today for Android, iOS and the web. 

We'll be taking a closer look at Hangouts once the dust settles, but one of the headline features is group video chat, available at no extra charge. We're also getting photos stored in albums, the ability to turn off history or save your chats, regular old group messaging, typing notifications, and notifications that will sync across all of your devices. 

A new messaging platform has been one of the most talked about items heading into Google I/O, and the app itself looks pretty nice. We're looking forward to putting it through its paces. It's a stand alone application, breaking free of the main Google+ app.

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

 

    

Google+ for the web taking on new look similar to current apps

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:47 AM PDT

New Google+ Design

A unified design across different screen sizes provides a better experience

In working to unify its different platforms, Google is rolling out updates to Google+ on the web and mobile apps to create a more consistent experience across screen sizes. The big focus from the keynote is on the web component, which has taken on a view with multiple "cards" and columns in the same way that you'd expect to see on the Google+ app on a tablet. The design is responsive and resizes based on the size of your screen and webpage to give more or less information. The cards feel more "alive" and move as you scroll along them. 

Google is also introducing new features for these web cards, such as auto hashtagging for images you post, related hashtags and posts based on cards you see, and many more. These features are just hitting the web starting today, but we would expect many of the same features to be folded into the mobile apps in their own way soon as well.

    

Google announces Google Play for Education

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:33 AM PDT

Android Central

Google making strides into the classroom with new education focused Google Play service

Google is making a push to get technology, more specifically tablets into schools with the announcement today of Google Play for Education. Officially launching in the fall, submissions will be accepted soon. 

Google Play for Education will allow for the mass deployment of apps to education tablets. Not just apps either, books, videos, all available through Google Play for Education with mass licenses chargable against school purchase orders. 

6 elementary schools have been involved in a pilot scheme, with 550 different third-party apps deployed in a single day. This is huge for the education sector, and its great to see Google making strides into improving education with technology. 

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Google Play Music All Access live on the web

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:23 AM PDT

Google play music all access

Earlier in the still-ongoing Google I/O keynote, Google announced Google Play Music All Access, a new subscription service aimed at providing any music you want for a monthly fee of $9.99 ($7.99 if you try the free trial before June 30th). The service will be available on both mobile devices and the web. The web version just went live for US users (internationla is coming 'soon') is asking us to join the free trial. We're not seeing it on Android just yet, but it's a safe bet that we'll be seeing it very soon.

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Chrome for Android adds data compression option, Youtube now supports VP9 video

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:22 AM PDT

Chrome Data Compression

Save substantially on your mobile data usage when using Chrome and Youtube

As the Google I/O 2013 keynote gets moving along, Google is getting into some of the new technology it is using to save users data when using their products. First up is an update to the beta channel of Chrome for Android, which adds a "data compression" option in the settings to cut down on data usage. When turned on, it will use a compression proxy to pass pages through, converting images to the WebP format (which are 30-percent smaller than JPEG) and compressing all components of the page. The example given over a month of browsing with this Nexus 10 tablet above is a 46-percent savings in data usage. That's a big deal on today's limited data plans.

Also on the data usage front, Google is announcing that Youtube will start making the move to supporting the VP9 video format as a possible replacement for H.264. You don't have to know much about what VP9 does behind the scenes, but the end result is raw data savings with no loss in quality. Google used the example of a short HD video clip in VP9, which used about half of the bandwidth (~150MB vs. over 300MB) when compared to H.264. 

    

Google Play Music All Access unveiled

Posted: 15 May 2013 10:05 AM PDT

Play Music All Access

Google launches subscription music service, $9.99 per month, 30-day free trial

We're live in San Francisco for the Google I/O keynote presentation, where the search giant unveiled its new music subscription service, Google Play Music All Access. All Access includes such features as Listen Now, which uses Google's data to create a "never-ending" list of music based on your tastes. Demonstrating All Access on-stage at the keynote, Google's Chris Yerga showed the app's music discovery features, including a re-orderable queue of music and music discovery based on your existing library. Yerga described the service as "radio without rules."

Google Play Music All Access will become available today in the U.S., with additional countries following in the future. The price is $9.99 per month, with 30-day trials available. Even better, if you start a trial by June 30, you'll only pay $7.99 per month.

Keep watching our Google I/O keynote liveblog for continuing coverage of all the day's announcements.

    

Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition is real!

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Google I/O

The Samsung Galaxy S4. Plain old vanilla Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It's real

Hugo Barra came back to the stage at Google I/O and dropped a huge bombshell on us. The Samsung Galaxy S4 'Google Edition' that has been rumored in the run up to the event is indeed real, and it's going on sale via Google Play! 

This Galaxy S4 runs Android 4.2.2 just as the regular one does, only this one has absolutely no Touchwiz on it whatsoever. This one runs pure, un-tampered, Google fresh Android. 

Available from Google Play on June 26 in the U.S, compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile US. 16GB of on board storage expandable via microSD card, LTE, unlockable bootloader, and prompt software updates. Google promises that this Galaxy S4 will provide a "Nexus user experience." Wow. All this will cost $649.

So, is this now the Galaxy S4 of your dreams? 

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

 

    

Developers can now manage Beta Testing & Staged Rollouts for their apps

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:51 AM PDT

Beta Testing and Staged Rollouts

Carefully manage app updates for a small set of core users to squash bugs

Google I/O 2013 is plugging along today, and one of the biggest features from a developer point of view is that they can now manage both Beta Testing and Staged Rollouts for updates to their apps. Rather than using a third party system to offer plain .apk downloads to certain users, developers can now plug into Google+ to give certain users access to early updates directly from the Play Store that no one else can see. This way, only the people that developers want to beta test will have access to the latest. Staged Rollouts is similar, but isn't tied to specific users. With this function, developers can choose to only push an update to a specific percentage of their users -- say 10-, 20-, or 30-percent -- and ramp up over time. This way you can get a slow and steady stream of input from users to address.

Feedback and comments during beta testing and staged rollouts isn't posted publicly to the Play Store, but rather goes directly to the developer to manage bug reports and test out the new features. As the rollout picks up, things will eventually go public so users can give a proper review in the Play Store. We look forward to seeing how many developers take advantage of this.

    

Google Play Store getting 'designed for tablets' category in top charts

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:48 AM PDT

Android Central

Android tablets are growing in popularity, and Google recognizes this and is setting out to make great tablet apps more visible in the Play Store. Starting today, there will be a new "designed for tablets" section in each of the top charts tabs in the Play Store when accessed from an Android tablet. Great news for Android tablet users and developers of great tablet apps alike. 

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Android Studio unveiled at Google I/O keynote

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:43 AM PDT

Android Studio

Brand new Android IDE to make it easier to build and preview apps

Google has launched a brand new IDE (integrated development environment) for building Android apps at today's Google I/O keynote presentation. Android Studio is based on the community edition of IntelliJ, and includes a number of unique tools designed to make the development and previewing process more easy.

Among these are the ability to preview strings in code as if they were hard-coded, see colors based on color codes and even preview layouts on different device sizes -- everything from a 3.7-inch phone to a 10-inch tablet. It's even possible to preview different languages and see if everything will fit right with overflowing.

The developers in the room seemed really excited about the new previewing capabilities of Android Studio, and we're sure this will be hugely useful to both seasoned devs and newcomers.

Keep watching our live coverage of the I/O keynote for more news from the show.

    

New app translation service announced for Google Play developer console

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:42 AM PDT

Android Central

New developer tool to take away the difficulties with language barriers

During the Google Play developer console presentation in the Google I/O 2013 keynote, a fantastic new tool has been unveiled for the first time. Language barriers are tough to overcome, but Google is introducing a new app translation tool right within the developer console. 

The demo given by Ellie Powers on stage showed the new feature, by choosing a language -- Russian -- desired for translation. Then developers can select a translation service, pay, send their app away, and in around a week it comes back all translated and ready to go. Fantastic news for developers to help them get their apps out to a wider audience. 

Developers interested in trying out the pilot program are invited to apply now.

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Dozens of developers on-board for multiplayer gaming

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:37 AM PDT

Google I/O 2013

Developers get ready for the latest in Google Play Gaming features

Google has just rolled out a huge number of features related to gaming at Google I/O 2013, and even on day 1 over a dozen developers are partnering to have the new services ready at launch. Popular names like Miniclip, Glu, Spryfox, Ironhide Game Studio, HandyGames, Hemisphere and several more are all on board to provide multiplayer game services, the new game data syncing feature, and more. These are the developers that make many of the top games we know and love, which will be great to get multiplayer gaming the exposure it needs right from the start.

We'll continue to bring you more from the Google I/O 2013 keynote as it becomes available.

    

Google Play Game Services gets officially official at Google I/O and it's going cross-platform

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT

Android Central

The worst kept secret from Google just became officially official. Google Play Game Services has just been formally announced by Hugo Barra in San Francisco. We'll be taking a more detailed look at this later on, but the service centers around a few key elements:

  • Cloud Save - progression and game states saved to the cloud and synchronized across devices. 
  • Achievements
  • Leaderboards
  • Google+ Circles to make connections

Perhaps more impressive still, though, is that Google is making the Google Play Game Services cross-platform. There is an API for the web and for iOS. So, Google will be taking on Game Center on Apple's own turf. Interesting stuff! 

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    

Google+ Sign-In API improved with cross platform sign-in

Posted: 15 May 2013 09:28 AM PDT

Google+ sign-in

We're at Google I/O, where they just announced improvements to their Google+ Sign-In API, which is cross platform sign-in. What does that mean? If you find a cool website that you like (they demoed it with Fancy), you can sign in with Google+. If you do, you will automatically be asked if you would like to install the app on your Android device. If you say yes, the app will download and log you in automatically on your current device and other Android devices on your account. Very cool improvement to a good API. 

Follow our live coverage of the Google I/O keynote for the rest of the day's news!

    
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