Tag: Google

Posted on

Hangouts 2.1 for Android Improves SMS, adds Homescreen Widget

google hangouts_resultGoogle has thrown a lot of muscle into improving the Hangouts experiences. It’s a one stop shop for group IM, video calling, and it can replace your phone’s stock app for text messaging.

Alongside some bug fixes and performance improvements, Hangouts 2.1 also brings a merged conversation interface for SMS and Hangout IM. This makes it easier to move conversations back and forth between SMS and IM-ing as it’s now all under the same view.

There’s also a new widget to throw on your homescreen to help you keep up to date on all your communication endeavors.

Full press release below, and the Hangouts update is rolling out now on Google Play! So Google, think you can turn some of that attention to Google Voice anytime soon?

Continue reading “Hangouts 2.1 for Android Improves SMS, adds Homescreen Widget”

Posted on

Project Ara Modular Phone Will Arrive January of 2015 for $50

ara1blogpostThis is maybe the phone I’m most looking forward to. Project Ara is a modular phone, allowing users to swap out specific pieces when they wear out or want upgrades. You’ll no longer have to toss your whole phone for a better camera, faster processor, or new battery.

Originally developed by Motorola, Project Ara will remain at Google after Moto is sold to Lenovo. While we’ve seen teasers and rumors have been pointing to release dates, we haven’t had any concrete info on pricing and availability until now. Project Ara will arrive in January of 2015 at a starting price of $50.

Now that’s a bit of a misnomer as that $50 is basically an unusable “motherboard” and you’ll have to buy other components to piece it together into a working device. We still don’t know what hardware will be available at launch, but the first color will be a “boring grey” to encourage customers to customize their phones.

It’s a fairly aggressive timetable. Only two years from concept to delivery. Ara will run Android, but that means adding driver support to the OS so it can recognize different hardware components, something our phones are very poor at doing outside of SD cards and mass storage. Carrier certification is expected by November.

Are you looking forward to Ara? At $50 will you take the plunge on a modular phone? Leave us a comment below!

Posted on

Chrome Remote Desktop App: Control Your Computer Remotely with Android!

Nexus 7 Chrome Remote Desktop Windows 8 SomeGadgetGuyThere are probably few things more horrific to the Android faithful out there than seeing their precious Nexus devices running Windows 8 Live Tiles…

I kid. I kid. For you folks looking for a free way to remote control your computer while you’re away from home, the Chrome Remote App might be just the ticket. Having just left BETA, Google is releasing it for free, for any device running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher.

Running a small Chrome app on your desktop or laptop communicates with a web service, and that links up with an app on your phone or tablet. This allows you to see what’s on your computer screen and control the action remotely. Depending on your data connection there will be some lag, but I haven’t found it to be any worse than some of the paid services available for Android.

Google claims this app is designed for phone use, but it seemed to function just fine on my Nexus 7. You have keyboard support for text entry (mouse is controlled via screen touch), and a dedicated Ctrl+Alt+Del macro for those of you controlling Windows PC’s.

Give it a whirl, and drop us a comment below if it works for you!

For Android: Chrome Remote Desktop App (Google Play)
For Windows/Mac/Linux: Chrome remote Desktop (Chrome Web Store)

 

Posted on

Google Camera App available for all phones running KitKat – Full Review and Feature Walk through!

Another handy Google announcement. After updating Youtube, Google is also making their stock camera available on Google Play!

If you’re familiar with a recent Nexus or the Moto X camera, Google is now allowing ANY phone running Android 4.4 (KitKat) to download the app for free. It’s helpful consistency if you’re considering switching to a different manufacturer for your next phone or tablet, you wont have to re-learn the camera UI. It’s also nice knowing that your camera software can be updated like a regular app instead of waiting for a full OS or ROM update to get carrier approval.

Here’s our full hands on feature walk through and review!

Google Camera (Google Play) Continue reading “Google Camera App available for all phones running KitKat – Full Review and Feature Walk through!”

Posted on

Youtube Android App Update Supports Chromecast Live Video Streaming

youtube app for android update lg g2 somegadgetguySweet little update for the YouTube app on Android. Now there’s support for captions, for those who like/need to read what’s being said on screen.

Also a handy little feature for Chromecast users, you can now cast live video from your phone to a TV using Chromecast. Perfect for live hangouts and events. Hopefully Google also lands some kind of deal for live sporting events for all the cable cutters out there.

Hit the update, and let us know what your think!

Youtube (Google Play)

Posted on

Anyone Can Buy Google Glass on April 15th, but Should You?

google glass cameraOn April 15th at 6am PDT Google will open up the Explorer program to anyone interested in owning their own heads up display.

Here’s the deal though, it’s still a BETA product, and it’s still fairly expensive. While it’s currently our best hope for a consumer, wearable, eye-level computing solution, you’ll have to pony up $1500 + Tax to grab one of your own.

I’m very positive on Glass, but it’s fairly apparent that Google hasn’t handled the launch of this project well. The general public is still fairly ignorant as to what Glass can and can not do, resulting in dramatic interpretations of privacy abuses. People have been written tickets for wearing them while driving, restaurants have asked customers to leave for wearing them, and an Explorer was even physically assaulted by a mob of people.

Google should be praised for pushing the envelope, but the Explorer experiment was flawed from the beginning. When it’s an invite only program for geeks, and the cost of entry is north of $1500, you have to expect that a statistically significant number of participants wont be the kind of people that you’d want as ambassadors for something so new. This has resulted in the coining of the term “Glasshole” to represent people who use Glass in a rude fashion. Unfortunately that term is starting to generically describe anyone with Glass, as it only takes one bad apple to taint the whole bushel. Continue reading “Anyone Can Buy Google Glass on April 15th, but Should You?”

Posted on

AT&T to Beat Google in Offering Gigabit Fiber in North Carolina

How fast is 1 GBPS?Competition is good. Even the threat of competition from companies like Google is spurring more traditional carriers and ISP’s to step up their game. Pricing is getting better in “threat” areas, and speeds are starting to improve. Google doesn’t even need their own Fiber service to be profitable for this experiment to be successful, so long as potential Google customers have access to the next generation of web, media, and advertising services.

Case in point, AT&T is already putting out rumblings of offering their GigaPower Fiber to another community outside of Texas. Residents in North Carolina might soon their broadband increase to 1Gbps over the next two years. This investment should also improve their LTE and WiFi hotspot offerings in the area.

Coming on the heels of Google’s announcement that they were examining expanding Fiber to 33 new cities over the coming years, traditional ISP’s are starting to take the threat seriously. It’s no longer a passing oddity, and are starting to proactively respond. Consumers only stand to benefit so long as competition is increased.

Full AT&T PR below.

Continue reading “AT&T to Beat Google in Offering Gigabit Fiber in North Carolina”

Posted on

Select AT&T Phones Now Supporting Google Wallet Tap & Pay, But Is It Too Late For NFC?

Google wallet on ATT LG G2The saga of mobile payments continues.

I woke up this morning to find my LG G2 had an update ready to install. I couldn’t find any changelog for what was being updated or what bug fixes were included, but I went ahead and ran it. Immediately following the procedure my phone had a new notification from Google Wallet.

Tap & Pay functionality is now supported on my LG G2.

Google tried to shake up mobile payments almost two years ago introducing the idea of NFC backed mobile payments. The first devices supporting it were the Nexus line, for me personally, the Nexus 7 tablet. I tried it out exactly once, as trying to pay at CVS with a mini-tablet tethered to my phone’s data connection was cumbersome to say the least.

Since then we’ve seen something of a feud over mobile transactions between Google and various carriers. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T worked together on creating the ISIS platform, which is slowly starting to find support on the phones sold by those companies. Over this time period they largely blocked any momentum for Tap & Pay by banning Google Wallet on the devices they sold.

Is it too late for NFC?

Almost two years where consumers could have been getting used to the idea and building an infrastructure were essentially lost.

Recently it was announced that Best Buy and 7-Eleven would be getting rid of their NFC supported mobile payment machines. Credit card terminals which are more expensive to install, require more cashier training, and often can result in higher fees from banks.

More competition in this space is looming  from the Merchant Consumer Exchange. Like Best Buy and 7-Eleven, other companies such as Target, CVS, and Sears are a part of the MCX and are considering their own payment protocol based on barcodes like the ones used at Starbucks. A system like this could gain traction quickly as NFC payments require a special radio which the iPhone lacks, but barcodes only need to display on your screen.

The knowledge of this outside competition might be just the pressure needed to ease some of the entrenched cold war between Google and the carriers, but their squabble has cost them a considerable lead.

Are you currently using an NFC payment system like ISIS or Wallet? Are you more likely to try one in the future? Leave us a comment below!

Proudly powered by WordPress