Tag: Google

Posted on

Google Chrome for Android and iOS now includes data compression

chrome bandwith management reduce data usage

It’s funny how tech moves in cycles.

When data networks were slow, and our mobile smartphones were far less powerful, we usually could count on unlimited data here in the States, even through the 3G revolution. Companies like Opera would release 3rd party browsers to help reduce data use and to speed up web browsing. Especially during the Windows Mobile days, this was tremendously helpful as web browsing could be somewhat painful on smaller screens and under-powered hardware.

Now we have devices which do a remarkable job of replicating the desktop web browsing experience, on screaming fast hardware, with broadband bandwidth over the air. Unfortunately, all of these improvements came with caps and throttling for most consumers. We don’t necessarily need the speed benefits of compression anymore, but saving a few MB’s while browsing would certainly come in handy.

Rolling out today, Chrome will now offer up data compression for Android and iOS. Once you’ve received the update, go into settings, hit Bandwidth Management, and enable “Reduce Data Usage”. Easy peasy. This wont help reduce data on any of your other apps or services, but if you use the browser, it will be able to reduce your data footprint by up to 50%, while improving your “Safe Browsing” security.

Android users will also receive an update to add website shortcuts to their homescreen directly from the browser menu. Not too shabby.

Check the Google Chrome Blog for the full scoop.

Posted on

User Experience: Google vs. Microsoft – A Battle of Apps

gvsm

I totally understand healthy competition however what about user experience for Windows Phone 8 users that would like to use Google powered apps such as Google+, Google maps, YouTube and Google Hangouts.

Back in October Google decided to pull it’s access key from Microsoft’s official YouTube app leaving us with a barebones user experience. Luckily there is YouTubeHD that gives us a great YouTube experience.  As far as maps go, gMaps is right on the mark for all your navigation needs, if you’re not a fan of HERE maps. Gchat is a great instant messaging app for your Google+ friends and contacts in your Gmail. As far as Google+ and Google Hangouts go, the apps I found did not work very well. All of the Google+ apps I tried were just shells or opened up in the browser and anytime I tried to upload photos using these Google+ apps it never worked. Speaking of browsers, I did download the UC Browser and if you like Google+ this is about as close as you will come to a Google+ app like experience. The UC Browser will let you upload photos to your Google+ account.

Finally Google Hangouts. I have tried some of these apps and there were pretty poorly designed.  A friend of mine asked me how I felt about this seen as they know I really like using Google+ over Facebook. It’s a little disappointing that there is no official Google apps for us Windows Phone 8 users. The developers of these third party Google apps really took the time to give us a close Google experience.

Whether you have iOS, Android, or Windows Phone 8 I would think we all would be in the same boat and want a great user experience. Sure Microsoft and Google may never get along but they really should think of us consumers. We buy all our everyday items from reading reviews or past purchases. I wish these two giants would just drop the “I am better than you” buffoonery and really think of the consumers who buy their products. I have had both Android and WP8. 6 months ago Juan was kind enough to tell me about the Nokia Lumia which I now use. It was definitely different going from an Android phone to a Windows Phone. I read reviews and watched videos on the Nokia Lumia 521. It’s a great work horse of a phone.

Though I do miss the official Google apps that are available on Google Play. I was even thinking of contacting Rudy Huyn who is the developer behind the super rad 6tag Instagram app to see if he would make a Google+ and Google Hangouts app for us Windows Phone users. Maybe start a Kickstarter to raise some funds for him to develop some sweet Google apps for us. Even if Google seems intent on shutting down 3rd party app development.

So Google and Microsoft it’s a new year and both of you really should get along and collectively collaborate on apps to make a better and brighter user experience for all.  Can we have official Google apps brought to the WP8 community? What do you say Google and Microsoft?

Continue reading “User Experience: Google vs. Microsoft – A Battle of Apps”

Posted on

Experts Q&A 02: Android Boogaloo! We’re answering YOUR Android questions LIVE!

experts round table androidROUND 2!
If you missed it live last night, our SECOND Experts round table is now available on Youtube, and this time we’re chatting ALL things Android! Your questions answered by some of the best minds on the web! Tablets, phones, OS updates, Chromecast and more!

The Experts this week:
Andrew Kameke from Mobile Burn – @AndrewKam
Warren Bowman from BWOne – @BWOneDotCom
Enobong Etteh from Boored at Work – @BooredAtWork
Russell Holly from Geek.com – @RussellHolly
Tshaka Armstrong from Fox LA – @TshakaArmstrong

Links to specific questions after the jump!

Continue reading “Experts Q&A 02: Android Boogaloo! We’re answering YOUR Android questions LIVE!”

Posted on

Want to use a Flash Drive on a phone or tablet? Sony launches drive with full sized and Micro USB connectors!

Sony-2-in-1-USB-open-1024x866This one’s pretty much for the Android users.

Did you know that most modern Android Phones support USB host to some degree? That means you can often connect low power USB devices to your phone or tablet, and the device will recognize them. Does your phone lack a MicroSD? You can probably augment your storage with a USB Flash Drive. Of course this often means have to keep track of an adapter cable, one that will convert your phone’s Micro USB port into a full sized USB port.

Sony’s new 2-in-1 drive offers up a potential solution for this issue. With a full sized USB 2 jack on one side and a Micro USB on the other. This should make sneaker-netting your files between computer and mobile device much easier. While Cloud Storage can help expand our gadget’s capabilities, sometimes it’s just faster and easier to go old school Plug & Play.

Sony says the device will work on most Android devices starting with Android 4.0.3 and newer. Prices start at $20 for an 8GB drive and scale up to $63 for 32GB. Drives should be available starting January 2014.

Full PR after the jump!

Continue reading “Want to use a Flash Drive on a phone or tablet? Sony launches drive with full sized and Micro USB connectors!”

Posted on

Google Sheets rebuilt to better compete with Microsoft Excel

new-google-drive-sheetsGoogle is getting more serious with their office and productivity solutions.

Sheets was one area where Google Docs solutions fell flat. It was good for basic usage scenarios (my wife and I share one for our household finances), but it was severely limited for more business-grade spreadsheet needs. Limitations like 400,000 cells and 256 columns, meant it couldn’t be incorporated into a mainstream workflow. No longer. Sheets has been rebuilt. Google has the technology. It’s stronger, faster, better.

According to the video posted below, you can now work with millions of cells, with no limit on columns or the number of cells you can cut and paste. The engine driving Sheets is smoother, allowing for faster scrolling, and offline support has been beefed up a bit for those times you’re working without a data connection. 20 new functions are on board for your programming needs, and Google is including custom views to help you organize the data you’re looking at without affecting other people who might be working on the same spreadsheet.

In all, a pretty formidable update, and good timing by Google as they’ll be facing more Office enabled tablets from Microsoft next year. Hit the video for more info.

Posted on

Android Device Manager now a Standalone App: Locate Lost Phones, Reset Passcode, Remote Wipe Data

android device manager on google play app protection remote lock wipe screenshotBabysteps people…

I still find supremely frustrating that we don’t have a kill switch option on our phones. A self destruct setting. Something that would make our glowing rectangles FAR less attractive to thieves. In the meantime, services like this help move us in the right direction.

Android Device Manager was built into newer releases of the Android OS, but that didn’t help folks on OLDER versions of Android. Now you can grab it as a standalone app, and that makes me really happy. Again, we’re seeing Google side step manufacturers and carriers which aren’t updating older phones, and offering more of their OS services as standalone apss they can update and control. Wise move.

Android Device Manager allows you to track a lost phone, reset your password, and in the event you can not retrieve the device you can wipe it out to prevent your data falling in the wrong hands. We still don’t have a hard lock/brick setting, but at least we have better, officially supported tools to protect our Android phones and tablets.

Go get at folks. It’s compatible with Android 2.3 and newer models!
Data and device security is something we should all be on top of.

Android Device Manager on Google Play

Posted on

Chromecast supporting 10 new apps, Plex and Avia media streaming!

google chromecast tv hdmi dongle somegadgetguyDevelopers are moving forward with Chromecast integration, and it’s starting to look really good.

Announced today on the Chrome Blog, ten new apps have been officially added to the Chromecast repertoire. The list of standalone services includes VEVO, Red Bull.TV, Songza, PostTV, Viki, Revision 3, and BeyondPod.

What’s also interesting is the growing list of local streaming apps. Chromecast allows you to share a tab on your computer’s browser, but it wasn’t a great solution for streaming music or video stored on your computer’s hard drive. Now with Avia, RealPlayer Cloud, and Plex this process should get a lot easier.

Alongside recent additions like Hulu, HBO Go, and Pandora, the Chromecast ecosystem is looking a little healthier. Who needs a Nexus TV AmIRite?

Our setup and review video of the Chromecast!

Posted on

Google adds Sony Z Ultra to Google Play Edition stock Android Portfolio

sony z ultra google play editionNo sooner do we post on the LG GPad 8.3 GPE, then we discover the Sony Z Ultra is also playing ball.

Yup, we now have a proper phablet offering for those who want a true-blue stock Android experience on a larger screened phone. Offering up a 6.4″ 1080p display, it’s also the first GPE device to rock Qualcomm’s screamer Snapdragon 800 quad core. 16GB of storage on board with a MicroSD card slot, and the Z Ultra is also water resistant. A nice little touch there, helping the survivability of a somewhat pricey gadget.

Speaking of price, you’ll drop $649 for a Z Ultra of your very own. Not a bad price at all for a proper phablet, and it looks like handsets should be shipping out in 1-2 days. Get at it folks!

Sony Z Ultra GPE on Google Play

Proudly powered by WordPress