Android Auto Combines Your Phone and Car for Safer Driving

android autoAuto in-dash entertainment and navigation systems feel woefully out of step with the rest of the tech landscape. These types of services are far more powerful and updated far more frequently on our phones and tablets. There have been many times I’ve personally just wanted my phone to be the brain of my car.

Starting the Open Auto Alliance, Google plans to provide just that. Plug your phone into your car, and your car screen will show simplified driver friendly versions of the apps and services you might need while operating a motor vehicle. Relying on steering wheel controls and voice recognition services like entertainment, communication, and navigation should help reduce the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road.

A new Android Auto SDK will help streamline the process of building a car app and releasing it. The initial push will focus on messaging and music services, and the API’s are almost identical to Android Wear.

Over 40 automobile manufacturers have already joined the Open Auto Alliance, and the first Android compatible cars will be released later this year.

Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch Available Today on Google Play

android wear smartwatch releasedWe’ll have to wait another month for the gorgeous circular Moto 360 smartwatch, but if you’re jonesing for some Android Wear action Samsung and LG will have you covered starting today!

Featuring an always-on display which provides contextually aware information relevant in that moment or location, Android Wear will be the backbone OS for a number of manufacturers looking at Smartwatches.

A full developer SDK will also be available today allowing future apps and services to feed info to your wrist. As apps are installed on your phone, if they have a Wear component, your watch will automatically update with an applet and interact with that service on your phone.

We’re waiting for the Google Play store to get updated with the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live, so make sure you melt down Google’s servers by smashing your F5 button.

Android One reference design to bring low cost phones to developing markets

android one micromaxIt’s an area where Android often lags. How to bring functional low cost phones to developing markets?

Google has been looking at software optimization with KitKat, who to provide a less punishing experience for low power handsets, but that still requires manufacturers to tailor the experience on the phones they produce. That can be a tough decision for a company to make, how much man power to assign to a device which likely wont generate as much profit as a flagship phone.

Android One is a program which aims to streamline the development, manufacturing, and support process. Android One devices will run stock Android like Nexus phones, though carriers and OEM’s will be able to pre-load apps to customize the experience. Google will also be responsible for providing updates to One phones as further incentive for manufacturers, saving them a little on support costs.

Micromax was on hand to show off an example One device and they’re expected to release a dual SIM handset with a 4.5″ screen and SD card slot for under $100.

Android One will start up in India first, with devices expected to drop later this Fall.

Google Docs To Receive Native Office Support and Mobile ‘Slides’ Presentations

google docsGoogle acquired QuickOffice around two years ago, and we’re now seeing the fruits of that acquisition.

Often when a Google user receives a Microsoft Office file, it needs to be converted to work in Google Docs. As we all know, any kind of conversion will often break SOMETHING in a doc or spreadsheet, be it formulas or formatting. Now Google will be rolling out native Office support built on the QuickOffice system with support for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Files will still need to be converted however for full online collaboration.

We’ll also see a Docs update to provide full presentation creation and playback support for mobile and tablet users.

A new Drive for Work program with enhanced encryption and admin controls, audit and activity API’s, and unlimited Drive storage for $10 per month per user. It’s a tactical move to keep the pressure on Microsoft as a number of companies are investigating the move to cloud services.

Google Previews Android L and Material Design

material design google android lGoogle looks to be streamlining the Android experience, and more polish to the already functional UI will always be appreciated.

For Android L (no candy or dessert title G?) the focus is on flat simple design which improves on the cards layout of apps like Google Now. Dubbed ‘Material Design’, elements will slide in and expand fluidly, and depending on hardware it should render at up to 60fps for buttery smooth transitions.

We should also see improved notification support from the lockscreen, improved battery life with a new battery saver mode, a new Do Not Disturb mode, and support for Bluetooth 4.1.

Developer Previews will be rolling out later today, so get cracking developers! Expect to see L for everyone else later this Fall.

See the new UI elements in action below!

Qualcomm adds Stopwatch to Toq Smartwatch

qualcomm toq activity tracker update smartwatchIt’s a simple update, but it’s nice to see a company committed to improving their product.

Rolled out this afternoon Toq owners found a new little applet which provides a simple stopwatch and lap timer. It’s one of those things which probably should’ve been included from the beginning, but better late than never.

While it’ll never unseat dedicated fitness trackers, the Toq is shaping up to be one of the better smartwatches for active folks, thanks in part to the screen which is visible in direct sunlight, and these most recent software updates.

If you’re rocking a Toq, check out Google Play to see if you’ve got the update yet, and you can see the watch in action below.

Amazon Fire Phone Coming Exclusively to AT&T – 32GB for $199 on Contract

feature-fireos._V349436017_The long rumored Amazon phone is official!

The Fire Phone builds off of Amazon’s Kindle ecosystem, delivering a similar “FireOS” user interface running on top of a custom build of Android. This means 3rd party Android apps will be compatible, but Google services wont be included as this will use the Amazon App store instead of Google Play.

The hardware is a mix of mid-range and high-end. I’m glad to see the slightly smaller 4.7″ screen, though it’ll come in at 720p instead of the terrific 1080p found on the HTC M7. The venerable Qualcomm 800 quad-core is on board backed up by 2GB of RAM, plenty powerful for gaming on this screen resolution. Storage comes in 32GB and 64GB flavors, with no MicroSD card expansion it seems like a good platform to push Amazon Cloud Storage, as you can upload photos taken from a Fire Phone for free. Continue reading “Amazon Fire Phone Coming Exclusively to AT&T – 32GB for $199 on Contract”

Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A with QHD Screen Officially Headed for Korea

galaxy-s5-lte-aFollowing LG’s  release of the G3 with a QHD screen, the rumor mill has been cranking on what Samsung’s response might be. It doesn’t look like this is the mythical Galaxy F or S5 Prime, but it could be an indication of where Sammy might go with a beefier Galaxy.

Maintaining the same waterproof body as the “normal” GS5, the LTE-A variant will come with a 2560×1440 resolution screen (QHD) powered by a Qualcomm 805 Quad-Core processor, 3GB of RAM (up one gig from the stock GS5), and will pack 32GB of storage with a MicroSD card slot. Of course the most exciting element of this refresh is the hyper-fast LTE radio capable of connecting to Korean networks with download speeds topping out at 225Mbps. Sure puts our “Super-Fast” Time Warner Cable connection into stark perspective when they start bragging about “50 megs innernet” in my area… Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A with QHD Screen Officially Headed for Korea”