Yes, the day many have been waiting for in eager anticipation is finally here: Google has officially announced in a blog post that Hangouts version 4.0 goes live in the company’s Play Store today.
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iOS users of Google Maps just got some new functionality that has been in the Android version for some time now. Version 4.9 (iTunes link) brings a new night mode as well as the ability to label custom places so they can be easily found on the map and in search.
Night mode does something pretty common amongst dedicated GPS navigation units: It darkens the maps on-screen while you’re navigating somewhere. The reason this matters is because distracted driving is one of the biggest causes of driving-related accidents, and the white glow of a smartphone screen directed at ones face at nighttime can most definitely make it difficult to see what’s in view of the vehicle.
The other notable addition to come with this update is the ability to label places on the map that aren’t already in Google’s own database of places and points of interest. It’s already possible for anyone to add new places to the map through the iOS app, but these were only for public places and, if approved, would be seen by everyone using the app. The new labels are private, intended to make it easier to find and navigate to places that matter to you.
Google Maps for Android already has these features, but for iOS users who still cannot stand Apple’s own mapping product, they’re surely a welcome addition.
Real world, on-the-fly language translation has always been a little gimmicky if only because it still doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of accuracy. Human spoken languages are a lot different from computer code in that words can have many meanings based on the context of the other words surrounding them. But that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from releasing its own translation app for Android called Microsoft Translator.
As you can see from the images above, the app is pretty simple. You speak or type in some words you want to translate, then choose the language you want to translate them into. You can save the translated result for later by pinning it, and then come back to it when you really need it — say, if you’re hitting a vacation town for the evening and need some common phrases to help you get around.
Unlike Google Translate, Microsoft Translator has a companion app for Android Wear so you don’t have to pull out your phone to make a new translation or access your pinned translations. Google Now can do some short translations, but nothing very long from my experience. Where Google Translate may lack, however, it makes up in a conversation mode which requires less tapping of the microphone to translate the voices of two people having a conversation — something Microsoft’s solution does not do.
Microsoft Translator, the underlying translation technology powering the app, supports just over 50 languages (yes, including Klingon), and Microsoft periodically adds new languages. The company says that the most important data its translation tools need to accurately translate languages on-the-fly is a lot of existing translations — 1 million translations of the same text into two languages, approximately.
Clearly, though, the new Wear app in particular is an experiment for Microsoft. From their blog post on the launch:
Wearables are a fascinating place to understand user experiences for translation. No other type of device allows people to interact with so little physical intrusion from the device itself— PC’s, tablets, and even phones can be occasionally awkward and unnatural in the middle of a conversation. With these smart devices, we want to learn how people use the apps and how effective the translation experiences can be. By integrating translation capabilities into devices that are instantly on hand (pun intended), we hope to continue to break down the last barrier in human communication— language.
Hitman creators, Square Enix are about to launch their next mobile title for Android. Lara Croft GO will hit the Google Play Store on August 27 and will feature similar gameplay to the popular Hitman GO title. The developers promise beautiful graphics and challenging stages:
Square Enix Montréal today announced that Lara Croft GO™, the follow-up to the hugely successful Hitman GO® mobile game, will release on mobile platforms Aug. 27. The turn-based puzzle game offers a never-before-seen take on the iconic franchise, featuring challenging levels, gorgeous visuals and a mesmerizing soundtrack.
If it’s anything like the Hitman GO title, the Tomb Raider inspired version is going to be frustratingly addictive and could be one of the surprise hits of the year. Hitman GO was incredibly well reviewed. Just browsing through the Play Store listing shows glowing reviews. And — for once — it’s not a freemium game. So let’s hope Lara Croft’s version sticks to that pricing model.
As well as announcing the impending arrival of Tomb Raider GO, Square Enix has joined with Crystal Dynamics to launch an art contest. Artists are being invited to submit their own original Lara Croft GO-inspired artwork between now and August 21. The top 10 entries will be selected by a panel of “experts” and will be showcased during a party at PAX Prime in Seattle on August 28, one day after the game lands on the Play Store. Of these 10 entries, three will be selected to go to auction, with the proceeds going to Child’s Play, a “game industry charity”.
If you want to submit artwork, simply email info@square-enix-montreal.com with the subject line ‘Lara Croft GO Art Contest Submission’, along with your name.
Once upon a time there was a small Finnish game development company called Rovio. It wasn’t particularly famous, nowhere near the likes of EA Games, but then Angry Birds happened. The original title took the iOS App Store by storm before eventually landing on Android. Since those early days the brand has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. There’s clothing, toys and even short animated shows as well as numerous movie tie-in games like Angry Birds Rio and Star Wars. What was once the popular darling of the App Store is now a digital behemoth.
Google has announced today that, thanks to a recent update to Google Slides, users can now quickly and easily share their presentations over Hangouts video call.
Google Slides helps you share your big ideas with the world, but sometimes presenting these ideas can be challenging. In June, Slides added support for Chromecast and Airplay, which made it easier to project your slides on the big screen. Now there’s another new way to share your work: easy presenting to Hangouts video calls. Teammates, partners, clients and classmates can see your ideas, even if they’re on the other side of the planet.
As you can see in the below video, all you need to get started is an Android phone or tablet. Tapping the play button along the top bar of the app will let you present to a new video call or one that’s already ongoing.
Earlier this year Google unveiled its new YouTube Gaming service to rival Amazon-owned video game streaming site Twitch after several months of speculation. Today, Google has released the version of the YouTube Gaming app for Android, albeit in an early “Creator Preview” form. The changelog of the app reveals that the app is capable of many of the features previously announced.
Runtastic, developers of several popular fitness apps, today announced it has been acquired by Adidas for € 220 million. The move, according to a press release from both companies, will help Adidas bolster its efforts in offering connected products and its vision of “the convergence of sport, digital and data in an always connected and always on-demand world.” Or in other words, Adidas now has a strong software component with a large user base to integrate with its digitally enabled sports products including balls, wrist devices, apparel, and shoes.
Adidas already offers several of its own mobile apps that cross over into Runtastic’s territory, such as the miCoach train & run app and the Adidas Go app that integrates with Spotify to offer music matched to a user’s running pace. Runtastic, however, has around 20 mobile apps related to fitness and health and claims around 140 million downloads and 70 million registered users. The company also offers a few hardware products, including a scale and fitness tracking devices, that compliment its fitness apps that integrate with other third-party hardware including Android Wear devices and other wearables.
It’s unclear what Adidas has planned for the company and its apps, but Runtastic will be joining the Adidas teams and building new experiences as part of the brand going forward. What exactly that means for the Runtastic brand and integration with Adidas products remains to be seen.
Google announced today that it’s aiming to improve its security efforts for its Nexus line of Android devices by introducing new monthly security updates and offering a 2 to 3 year guarantee for updates to the devices.
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Language annotation platform Genius, formally known as Rap Genius, has launched an Android version of its mobile app (Play Store link). Genius originally launched as a music annotation service popular in the rap community, but has since expanded to cover basically the whole human corpus with vertical sections for annotations on poems, books, and more.
Not quite in time for the influx of visitors that surely happened earlier this summer, Disney has now released an official Disneyland app for Android. As you might expect, the app is intended to basically be your companion during your visit, allowing you to do everything from buy your tickets in advance to browse detailed maps of the park…
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Viber has updated its Android app to add a range of improvements based on user requests, says the company. Version 5.5 allows you to start a video call directly from your recent calls list, rich links now display content previews when links are posted into text chats – and Viber says more efficient data compression has allowed it to improve the quality of both audio and video calls while reducing data usage.
Users can also now share contacts within both one-to-one and group chats, and invite an entire group to follow a public chat.
Viber is a free download from Google Play.
Chrome Beta version 45 for Android is rolling out today (Play Store link) and includes some nice interface tweaks as well as one addition that was previously announced at Google’s I/O developer conference back in May. Chrome Beta is a build of the Chrome browser which includes features and changes that are almost, but not quite, ready for use by the masses. Showing up in the Beta build of the browser is a good indicator that a feature or adjustment will soon reach those masses, so it’s always interesting to see what’s been added.
Hangouts, since the beginning, has separated incoming messages into two categories. Either the app detects that you probably know the person that’s contacting you (by way of you circling them, them having your email address, or otherwise) and lets them send you a message directly, or it puts incoming messages into an “Invitation” that you have to accept. How this works has never been customizable, but now Google is letting you customize these invitations to make them more or less strict.
Here’s the image that Jordanna Chord shared:
In the new options, you can choose to go with Google’s recommended system, or you can opt to customize three different categories of incoming messages yourself. If you’d like, you can require that only invitations can be sent — regardless of if the sender has your email/phone number or not. Or, if you’re more of a free spirit, you can conversely use this opportunity to open up your inbox to any and all messages and allow everyone to contact you directly. Personally, I like the way Google has things set up. But I also like options. Options are good.
These settings will be available across the Hangouts apps, and of course, those who are using the Hangouts app on the desk through Google+ or otherwise will be able to take advantage of them as well.
Chrome v44 hit the beta channel last month and today the update is rolling out to the stable app via the Play Store. While Google isn’t very specific in what has changed, there are usually several hidden features in Chrome version bumps.
Update: Google posted to Google+ shortly after we published this to announce that Play Movies is actually now available in three new countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Our report below doesn’t mention Singapore as a new supported country.
Google Play and Play Movies are both getting some international love today. Play is Google’s store for apps and games, while Play Movies contains movie and television content.
First up, developers in India can now price their Play Store apps lower than ever before: Rs. 10, which comes out to approximately 10 cents in US dollars. This is major because while India is a rapidly developing country with many starting to rise to the middle class, its per capita GDP is still much smaller than that of the United States. Also, and this is just my opinion, 10 cents is much more of a impulse buy area. This new minimum pricing only applies to India. Google recently began selling Play Store gift cards in the country as well – India is very reliant on cash over plastic (credit, debit cards), so by making gift cards available that can be purchased with cash, the company has ostensibly increased its potential customer base in that country.
Also new today, or at least very recently, is the launching of Play Movies in Indonesia and Malaysia. Several people have reached out to Android Police as of late with tips and screenshots of its availability in the two countries, so it’s pretty assured to be real. Play Movies is, as mentioned, Google’s movie and television entertainment store for Android devices. The company also rents out video content through YouTube, although the availability of both of these varies widely by region and country.
We saw leaked screenshots of both the upcoming Hangouts Android app and its Android Wear counterpart, and now the app has leaked again (via Phandroid). Everything looks basically the same, and there’s not much new to see in this leak. And while Phandroid seems to claim that their version of the app is somehow special, the currently-available build of Hangouts now lets users send messages from Android Wear…
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Up until today, testing out an Android app that’s in beta has required going through a non-intuitive process that includes joining a group on Google+ (or Google Groups) and then clicking a special Play Store link which typically doesn’t even work until a few minutes after you join the associated group (which can lead people to thinking that something isn’t working). It’s weird and inelegant, so Google has just announced two new (easier) ways through which developers can grant users access to their betas.
The rollout of Android Auto, Google’s smartphone-based infotainment system for the road, is in full swing as several automakers and developers are announcing specific cars and apps to support the feature. Audibooks.com is the latest to release an Android Auto-compatible app with the most recent update to their Audio Books app for Android.
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Xbox Music changed its name to Groove at the beginning of this month, and today, the rebranding has made its way to the music app on Android’s Play Store. It’s free to download, and is available right now.
Along with the new look and name, the app has had a couple of new features added. More devices can now download tracks for offline listening thanks to newly added compatibility. Music stored in your OneDrive folders will automatically show as music in the new Groove app. What’s more, you won’t need a paid subscription to make use of the app, although you will need one to access the entire streaming catalogue ad-free.
As per the Play Store listing:
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StubHub is rolling out an updated version of its Android app today that adds integration with Uber for requesting rides to events.
With the udpated app, users can now request a vehicle directly from within the app when purchasing event tickets or setup a reminder to do so for an upcoming event. Once you’ve booked a ride with Uber, StubHub automatically provides the location of the event venue to the driver:
After completing a ticket purchase on StubHub, fans will now be able to set a reminder to arrange transportation through Uber when the event is imminent. Users who purchase tickets within two hours of the event will be able to order an Uber directly from the order confirmation page.
The Uber integration is available for users in the updated Android StubHub app on Google Play alongside a few other fixes and improvements. The Uber feature, however, is available only for users in the UK, US, and Canada.
Google at its I/O developer conference back in May took some time to discuss improvements it was making to its Play Store for Android devices. Of those, one area in particular the company touched on was improving the discoverability of apps through better categorization and the ability for developers to A/B test their listings to find which combination of titles and screenshots would lead to the most downloads.
Another way the company has been working to help developers drive awareness of their apps has been through testing Play Store search advertisements, placing a developers’ app at the top of search results against specific keywords. The ability to purchase these placements is starting to roll out today.
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Update: As expected, the app has just gone live in the Google Play Store for the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and UK. You can download it here, and Livetext should also be rolling to to U.K., Canada, Germany and France as we speak.
After testing the waters by releasing the app to the iOS App Store in certain regions a few weeks back, Yahoo has come out publicly to unveil Yahoo Livetext, a new (unabashedly Snapchat-like) messaging app from the company with some unique twists to it…
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If you travel internationally, you’re well aware that Google Translate’s visual translation features — which originated as the Word Lens app — are invaluable. Today, Google announced that the app has added support for 20 new languages, bringing the total up to 27.
Today, we’re updating the Google Translate app again—expanding instant visual translation to 20 more languages (for a total of 27!), and making real-time voice translations a lot faster and smoother—so even more people can experience the world in their language.
The app originally supported English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
As of today, you can now translate to and from Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian. You can also do one-way translations from English to Hindi and Thai.