Google announced last night that the web interface for Google+ has received a facelift, bringing many visual cues from the company’s Material Design language. The new design sports a hamburger menu that slides in from the left side, a bright red toolbar at the top of pages, and a floating material-y circle in the bottom right that should look familiar to those using Google’s latest mobile operating system…
As per Danielle Buckley‘s Google+ page:
Today we’re excited to announce the new and improved Google+ experience for mobile web. We focused on making everything faster, more beautiful, and more intuitive. To check out all the new updates, visit plus.google.com on your phone or tablet’s browser. As always, we’d love to hear what you think!
This update brings the app up to 2015 standards, but there’s a still a lot of disparity between Google+ on different platforms. We have a newly redesigned web interface that is now closer in functionality to the Android app (but not quite the same), an iOS app that is unique in its own ways, and a desktop experience that is completely different than the mobile apps. Hopefully we’ll see a more unified experience over time.
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Stephen Hall
stephenjhallStephen is Growth Director at 9to5. You can find his current work at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google 9to5Toys, Electrek, and more. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.
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Google’s Android and Chrome lead comments on Apple relationship, China, Google Play ads
Google’s Sundar Pichai recently sat down with Forbes to talk about the Mountain View company’s ambitions in China, its relationship with Apple, and what its overall vision looks like. Some interesting quotes from Google’s Android and Chrome head have surfaced as a result, and among other comments, Pichai took a moment to respond to constant criticism from Apple that Google is in the business of monetizing its users. Pichai also touched on Google’s aspirations in China as well as the sponsored ad program it is testing in Google Play…
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Google+ mobile web interface gets a facelift in latest update
Google announced last night that the web interface for Google+ has received a facelift, bringing many visual cues from the company’s Material Design language. The new design sports a hamburger menu that slides in from the left side, a bright red toolbar at the top of pages, and a floating material-y circle in the bottom right that should look familiar to those using Google’s latest mobile operating system…
As per Danielle Buckley‘s Google+ page:
This update brings the app up to 2015 standards, but there’s a still a lot of disparity between Google+ on different platforms. We have a newly redesigned web interface that is now closer in functionality to the Android app (but not quite the same), an iOS app that is unique in its own ways, and a desktop experience that is completely different than the mobile apps. Hopefully we’ll see a more unified experience over time.
Popular iOS & Mac text editor iA Writer makes its way to Android
When it comes to apps that journalists and writers hold dear to their hearts, iA Writer is commonly on the list. Its simplicity, functionality, and meticulous design sets it apart from the rest, but until today, the app was only available on iOS and Mac. Now, iA Writer is coming to Android, and its maker, Information Architects (hence the “iA” in its name), says that developing for Google’s mobile platform wasn’t nearly as bad as they thought it would be.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 $245, LG G Flex (unlocked) $230, Samsung 55″ Smart HDTV $700, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 SM-T530 10.1″ 16GB WiFi Android Tablet: $245 shipped (Reg. $299)
Black LG G Flex (first generation) L23 32GB, 4G LTE, unlocked for GSM carriers: $230 shipped (Reg. $300)
Samsung 55-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $700 shipped (Reg. $800+)
Logitech 330W 2.1-Channel Desktop Speaker System $100 shipped (orig. $150)
Southwest Airlines has one-way flights from $73 to cure your winter blues
More new gear from today:
Bose QuietComfort 20 from $245 shipped (Reg. $300)
More deals still alive:
New products & more:
Google ups free song storage limit to 50,000 songs on Google Play
If you’re a user of Google Play Music, you probably know that you can store your own music on Google’s servers for streaming from your various devices, but now Google has announced that the amount of songs that you can store for free has been increased, up to 50,000 songs from 20,000. While many of Google’s competitors charge for this kind of service, Google has long offered the ability to store several thousand songs for free—and now they’re upping the limit.
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Mysterious Motorola boxes arriving w/ a 2nd generation Moto E packed inside
Update: Pictures of our Moto E box after the break…
Motorola sent out emails last week saying that they’d be shipping mysterious boxes soon with a surprise announcement within, and today many publications and journalists are receiving their boxes. We haven’t received ours quite yet, but the cat is pretty much out of the bag. Inside, Motorola announced the 2nd generation Moto E, the company’s latest fresh of its budget smartphone.
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Google testing new direct-to-business chat platform powered by Hangouts
Google is testing an interesting new feature in search, as spotted by one Matt Gibstein on Twitter. As you can see in the above screenshot, there’s a small “Chat” icon next to the phone number of a business called “Dizengoff” in Philadelphia—and it looks like clicking it will launch you into a chat session directly with that business via Hangouts.
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9to5Toys Last Call: LG G2 (unlocked) $210, Kindle Fire tablets 15% off, Bluetooth speaker bundle $25, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
LG G2 w/ 32GB flash storage, factory unlocked for GSM carriers: $210 shipped (Reg. $300)
15% off Amazon Kindle Fire tablets: Fire HD 6 $84, Fire HD 7 $118, Fire HDX 8.9 $322, Fire HD Kids Edition $126
Lumsing 4-port USB wall charger $11, Bluetooth speaker and dual USB car charger $25 Prime shipped
Belkin Secured Wired Keyboard for Samsung Micro-USB Tablets: $10 shipped (Reg. $30)
One-year magazine subs from $5/yr: Architectural Digest, Wired, Dwell, Runner’s World, more
More new gear from today:
Headphones: Klipsch X11 in-ears $100 (Reg. $132+), Sennheiser HD205-II over-ears $25 (Reg. $50)
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More purported press renders of upcoming HTC One M9 handset leak out
The teases and leaks have gone into overdrive this week as the Mobile World Congress approaches, and now the familiar @upleaks Twitter account has shared some press renders that purportedly show the upcoming HTC One M9—with the “M9” name sans the parentheses as has been widely speculated.
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‘Pebble Time’ officially announced at $199 with color e-paper display, new timeline interface, Kickstarter discounts
Update: Less than 30 minutes after launching its Kickstarter campaign, the Pebble Time is fully funded.
Pebble has this morning announced the next generation of its smartwatch, called Pebble Time. The device, as we reported last week, sports a color e-paper display, a thinner design, a microphone on board, and a completely revamped ‘timeline’ interface. Pebble Time is launching on Kickstarter with early bird pricing tiers at $159 and $179, but the device will retail for $199.
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Gorgeous design of the LG Watch Urbane shown off in new promo (Video)
LG announced the LG Watch Urbane earlier this month, and the first impression of many was that it was entering the market to compete with the to-be-released Apple Watch. But whether or not that was the Korean company’s intention with this device, it’s undeniably classy and gorgeous. Now LG has given us a better look at the upcoming Android Wear watch, showing all its edges from dozens of angles in a new promotional video…
The device is basically a G Watch R in a different body, sporting IP67 dust and water resistance, a thinner bezel, and either a gold or silver trim. LG says that the details you’re probably interested in—like its price and release date—will be unveiled next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. We’ll be on the ground to keep you in the loop, so stay tuned for more information on this beautiful watch.
Render of Verizon’s 2nd generation Moto E w/ LTE leaks out
The second generation Moto E was spotted earlier this month on the Best Buy website, but now we have what looks to be a render of the device all stamped up and ready to ship on Verizon (via Android Police). And to the delight of many, it looks like the device is going to pack 4G LTE, a feature that isn’t common in phones in the price range this one will likely fall into.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 $295, LG G Pad w/ LTE $90, Griffin Lightning cable $10, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Samsung N9000 Galaxy Note 3 32 GB factory unlocked for GSM networks: $295 shipped (Reg. $500)
LG G Pad V410 AT&T GSM Unlocked 7-Inch 4G LTE 16GB Tablet: $89.99 shipped (Reg. $300)
Belkin Secured Wired Keyboard for Samsung Micro-USB Tablets: $10 shipped (Reg. $30)
More new gear from today:
Xbox One w/ 2 controllers & 3 games $349 shipped (Reg. $443+), PlayStation 4 + free PSTV $400 shipped (Reg. $470+)
More deals still alive:
New products & more:
Google buying ‘some’ tech & IP from Softcard, Wallet to be pre-installed by select carriers
Google has announced this morning that the company is planning to pre-install its Google Wallet mobile payments app on the phones of some carriers, notably those sold by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. While Google was reportedly in talks to acquire the mobile payments company Softcard—previously known as ISIS— earlier this year, the Mountain View company says that it is at this time simply acquiring “some” technology and intellectual property…
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HTC teases ‘bigger boom’ for upcoming HTC One M9
The teases keep rolling in as HTC, Samsung, and others compete for the spotlight this week going into the Mobile World Congress. We’ve already seen several HTC One M9 leaks from @upleaks, including the device’s purported specs and another today that revealed the device’s three color variations. Now the HTC Ireland Twitter account has come out with a video that looks to be teasing the device’s speakers.
Not long ago a system dump of the device revealed the apps that will be packed with HTC’s Sense 7, making it clear that software-wise, the next HTC One isn’t going to be much of a departure from its predecessor. The below tease tells us that we’re six days away from the announcement of the device, but a recent tweet from the Taiwanese company’s UK Twitter account originally revealed that the “new HTC One” will be announced March 1st.
HTC One M9 purportedly coming in both ‘Dark Gunmetal’ & ‘Gold’ color variants
Purported HTC One M9 renders <a href="http://9to5google.com/2015/01/28/evleaks-htc-one-hima-render-m9/">via Evleaks</a>
The next HTC One is right around the corner, but more and more details continue to stream out as the device’s March 1st reveal date gets closer. Most recently, a system dump of the software shipping on the HTC One M9—codenamed “Hima”—leaked out, giving us an idea of what HTC’s Sense 7 software is going to look like (spoiler: not much different than Sense 6). Today, the same source of that information has come out to share the color variants of the device.
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New wider color-screen smartwatch appears on Pebble’s website
Update: The image has been removed and replaced with the below image of an actual pebble… Oops?
We told you last week that Pebble is likely about to announce the next-generation of its smartwatch, featuring a thinner design, a color e-paper-like display, and a revamped OS. Now, thanks to an image hosted on Pebble’s own servers, we have a look at a device with a physical appearance matching the device we described. The device looks to have a larger bezel, as well as buttons that are smaller compared to its predecessor.
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Developer hacks Android Wear to show iPhone notifications (Video)
Android Wear is great, but if you’re an iOS user, it looks like the Apple Watch is going to be your only option for a while. Google has yet to make any of Android Wear’s functionality compatible with Apple’s operating system, and it doesn’t look like they plan to do so any time soon. But that’s not stopping one developer, Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh, from hacking Android Wear to at least support notifications from iOS devices.
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New search box user interface rolling out to Play Store Android app
A server-side update is rolling out the Play Store Android app that packs a pretty subtle-yet-big update to the way search works. Currently, there’s a large toolbar at the top of the app labeled “Play Store,” and searching for something means tapping the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner. This update, which was first posted about on the Google+ page of Kirill Grouchnikov, replaces that toolbar with a much more prominent search box.
Additionally, users will notice that tapping the magnifying glass from elsewhere within the app will slide out the search box from the right. This update will bring the Play Store app more in line with the design of some of Google’s other apps, the one you’re most familiar with likely being the Google Now launcher:
According to another post on Grouchnikov’s Google+ page, the update is coming “soon”. And, as mentioned, this is a server-side update that Google will push over-the-air. Don’t bother checking the Play Store because the app is going to be updated behind the scenes. Like magic.
Exclusive Google Glass Vol 001 book includes interesting insight into early days of the project
You may have heard that Google shipped some lucky select Glass Explorers a book—labeled simply “Vol 001″—to officially close out the Explorer Program. Within it is a collection of #ThroughGlass phot0s, quotes from some influential members of the community, and a few words of thanks to those that made the program possible.
Among some of the more interesting quotes thrown in are some from team members that were actually part of the Glass project in its earlier days, including one from Lasse Wassermann that details the hectic process of setting up a Basecamp in San Francisco…
And another from Greg Priest-Dorman, who mentioned an experience with the earliest builds of Glass, one of which that was named “Dog”:
Sarah Price documented what it was like launching the #ifihadglass competition:
And there’s another hilarious account from Stephen Lau, previous software Technical Lead of the program, who notably just recently left Glass to join the YouTube team:
There’s plenty more to be read, but these are some of the most interesting. If you’re a Glass Explorer and weren’t lucky enough to be chosen for a book, Google says that you can head over to this support page and download the book in PDF form.
9to5Toys Last Call: 1st gen. Moto X (unlocked) $200, Google Play movies $5, 200GB OneDrive Storage free, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Brand new Motorola Moto X Developer Edition 32GB, 4.2 Verizon + unlocked for GSM carriers: $199.99 shipped (Reg. $350)
Google Play movies $5: Inception, The Butler, Napoleon Dynamite, much more
Confirmed! Stack these two Microsoft promos for 200GB of OneDrive storage for free
More new gear from today:
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New products & more:
Google shuffling engineers on Glass project, ‘new team’ developing next version under leadership change
A lot of movement has been happening on the Glass team this month in Mountain View. In January, the project graduated out of the company’s Google[x] experimental projects lab and into the hands of ex-iPod-head Tony Fadell—although still being lead more directly by Google’s Head of Glass Ivy Ross. But with this change, it appears as if Google is doing—as is fairly common at the company—a bit of shuffling in the engineers who are working on the project…
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Google already seeding early next-gen Google Glass prototypes to select partners
Google Glass has been getting slammed by the media since it was announced that the Explorer Program was being shuttered, with countless outlets claiming that the project is simply dead in the water. I’ve already told you on a couple different occasions why this isn’t the case, but now we have more confirmation that Glass isn’t dead yet (beyond Google simply telling us that they’re “excited” to be working on something). Google has given—and continues to give—a select group of its coveted Glass at Work partners very early versions of the next iteration of the device to test and develop for, according to several sources…
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Pebble teases new model, sources say thinner watch with color screen in the works
Pebble hasn’t introduced new hardware (besides some pretty new colors) since it launched the Pebble Steel in January of last year, but now it appears that the company is about to introduce what’s next in the pipeline. Rather than just iterating on the device’s current hardware with a black-and-white epaper display, we’re hearing the next Pebble might be getting a brand new color display and an overall design that’s a bit thinner…
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