Gmail adds Google+ Circles features, contact info in search

Jordan Kahn

Google just announced a small, but welcomed, update to Gmail. Among the new features is the ability to quickly access contact information and Google+ circles from within your inbox.

When searching for an email address in Gmail, in addition to person’s profile image and past conversations, you will now see the person’s contact details like email, phone number, and quick links to start voice and video chats. Google noted the contact data would automatically stay updated for users who have a Google+ profile.

Google has integrated with Gmail through a number of ways in recent months, but today’s update brings further integration with the ability to use Circles in search and filters by typing circle:[circle name] or has:circle. The update also adds profile photos of people in any selected circle in the upper right of the page. The new features will roll out to all Gmail users today.

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Gmail introduces interactive Google+ notifications; view, comment, and +1 from your inbox

Jordan Kahn

Google+ always allowed you to receive notification emails for specific activity from the network, such as comments on your posts and when another user mentions or shares with you. Today, Google is making the experience even better for Gmail users by making those notification emails interactive. In Gmail, you can now “view, comment on, and +1 posts” directly from within your inbox. Google noted, “Comments appear in the Google+ stream in real-time, and responses from others instantly appear in Gmail, as part of the notification message.”

Google explained replying to the notification emails is now possible from your mobile device through a “Reply to this email” prompt (pictured, right):

Tap reply, send your comment, and we’ll automatically add it to the ongoing Google+ conversation. Even if you don’t use Gmail, you can still reply by email from many different services.

Google will make these new features available to Gmail/Google+ users over the coming week, and you can always manage your Google+ notifications in settings here.
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Google Docs amps offering with 450 new fonts, 60 templates

Author profile

Google launched a new “Go Google” campaign today to flaunt its array of cloud-based services, and now the Google Docs team is doing the same by rounding up a host of improvements it made to Google Docs in April with the announcement of 450 new fonts and 60 new templates.

“Today, we added over 450 new fonts to Google documents to make it easier for you to add a little something extra to whatever you create,” explained Software Engineer Isabella Ip on the Official Google Docs Blog.

To select the new fonts, click on the font menu, and then select “Add fonts” at the bottom. This will open a menu to all the Google Web Fonts available. Users can narrow their search for the perfect font by alphabetical order, date added, and “trending.” Once a font is selected, users are free to implement them in Google Docs, especially in one of the service’s 60 new templates that were unveiled today.

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Gmail update adds automatic translation, smart mute, and tab title tweaks

Author profile

Gmail just received three handy improvements, while killing off some aging features, but the most notable update is automatic message translation.

According to the Official Gmail Blog, Google pushed Gmail Labs’ automatic message translation to everyone today after receiving overwhelming positive feedback on the feature from Google Apps for Business users:

We heard immediately from Google Apps for Business users that this was a killer feature for working with local teams across the world. [...] Since message translation was one of the most popular labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world. Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email.

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Google Drive iOS app is ’98 percent done’—launching soon

Jake Smith

With the launch of the highly anticipated Google Drive earlier today, many iOS users were left wondering where their iOS-optimized app is. Do not fear, because AllThingsD confirmed with Google that the Google Drive iOS app is launching soon. In an interview with Google SVP of Chrome and Apps Sundar Pichai, the executive told AllThingsD that the iOS is “98 percent done, and it will be here soon.” Soon is hopefully this week.

Luckily for Android users, Google launched an app alongside Google Drive. After playing with the app this afternoon, I can tell you it is very sleek. It is an awesome solution for managing files—especially documents. Google also launched a Mac app, which is useful.

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Gmail gets bumped up to 10GB free storage in celebration of Drive unveiling

Jordan Kahn

Alongside the unveiling of its new Google Drive cloud storage service that essentially replaces Google Docs, the company confirmed today it would increase Gmail’s free storage allotment to 10GB. Before today, Google offered users roughly 7.5GB. Google said the change would take place over the next 24 hours, so you should get your extra space any time now.
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