Google this evening has announced a trio of updates to its Drive suite of apps. First off, Google Docs has been updated to add the ability to merge the cells of a table. In order to merge cells in Docs, simply highlight the cells to be merged, then right-click and choose the “Merge cells” option from the pop-up menu.
Microsoft announced today that it acquired Acompli, an email client for Android and iOS, in an effort to own more productivity apps on each mobile platform:
This acquisition is part of our company-wide effort to help people accomplish more with their mobile devices. This year we brought Office to the iPad and the iPhone, and we recently announced that we’re bringing Office to Android devices. These are significant steps in our work to deliver the best productivity experiences across mobile platforms, and we’re continuing to push forward.
Acompli also wrote about the acquisition news while discussing support for various file services:
Soon after launch we started working with a number of enterprise IT departments who believed, like we do, that great products need to be “Loved by Users, and Trusted by IT.” Right around this time we began conversations with the folks at Microsoft about how we could go farther by integrating the capabilities of their Office 365 platform into our product while continuing to provide amazing support for email and file services from Apple, Dropbox, Google, and Box. Those conversations led to today, where we have decided the opportunity to join forces in pursuit of a better, faster, more powerful email experience is something we can do better as one company.
The acquisition follows Microsoft’s announcement last month that Android tablet users can sign-up to preview the upcoming version of Office. Microsoft also integrated Office support with Dropbox as part of a new partnership between the two companies.
According to Re/code, Microsoft spent more than $200 million to buy up the email app although neither company disclosed that amount.
Google is starting out Cyber Monday with up to 50% off “top titles” including apps, games, music, movies, books, and more on the Play Store. Deals include a wide range of content like movies including The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in HD for $9.99 down from the regular $17.99 price and Fight Club for $4.99 down from $9.99.
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Like it has done in recent years, Google is today displaying its list of top app picks for the year with around 70 apps total receiving the award.
Google has a section on Google Play displaying the “Best Apps of 2014” and in it includes a number of high-profile apps alongside lesser known entrants. The majority of the apps are free, but there are also a few paid offerings like Over, 7 Minute Workout, djay 2, and others. Some of the bigger names on the list include IFTTT, Shazam, Yahoo News Digest, CNN, Uber, and Mailbox.
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Today, the Amazon App Store is celebrating Thanksgiving by offering a bundle of paid apps for nothing, on top of its Free App of the Day. There are 40 apps worth around $115 available to download for free on Android and Kindle devices. One standout from the bunch is Sonic Jump which is regular $2.99 and has received 4+ star ratings from over 8,000 reviews across Amazon and Google Play.
The original platform jumper is back as Sonic leaps up an all new vertically challenging adventure in stunning HD graphics! Play as Sonic or his friends leaping through familiar and new Sonic worlds to battle Dr. Eggman, as you tilt and tap your way through fixed Story levels and Arcade infinite modes.
Other notable apps in today’s Thanksgiving bundle include Bejeweled 2 (Reg. $2.99, 4 stars from 3,000+), Angry Birds Seasons (Ad -Free), Quell Memento (Reg. $2.99) and many others.
Head over to the Black Friday coverage on 9to5Toys for more holiday deals, including the daily roundup for all the best game/app deals.
Twitter is about to get very nosey with its mobile subscribers, and if you’re among the millions of people using the company’s app on your smartphone, you’ll definitely want to listen up. The short-form social media outlet’s new app graph feature will soon start tracking which applications you have installed on your devices. This opt-out feature is being introduced to help the firm insert better ads and recommendations into your timeline.
Following an announcement in August that Google was officially releasing Google Chrome for users to download in Cuba, today the company said it’s making more services available to users in the country with the roll out of free Google Play content and Google Analytics.
Up until recently, Chrome and other Google services had not been available to users to in Cuba due to trade restrictions that also block the use of some other Google services in the country. When it released Chrome in the summer, the company said that it’s “been working to figure out how to make more tools available in sanctioned countries” as U.S. export controls and sanctions change. It also made Chrome available in other sanctioned countries in recent years including Syria and Iran.
While Google isn’t sharing many details regarding what’s happening behind the scenes, it did confirm that free apps and games are now available through Google Play in Cuba in addition to a free version of Google Analytics.
If getting lost in Vine videos is one of your favorite pastimes and you follow a lengthy list of content producers, then you’ll definitely appreciate the platform’s latest update for its mobile apps. Starting today, you’ll be able to favorite a Vine user’s profile simply by tapping a Twitter-esque star.
Following an announcement earlier this month that Microsoft was adding Dropbox integration for syncing and sharing to the Office mobile apps, Dropbox announced today that the feature is now available in its latest app updates for Android and iOS.
The integration essentially allows users to tap into Dropbox storage directly from within the Office mobile apps, but it will also include the ability to send links to files from Office using Dropbox, open documents from Dropbox in Office, and more. Dropbox has instructions on how to use the new integration with Microsoft’s Office apps on its website.
To get started, make sure your Dropbox app is up to date on your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone, then open any Office doc, spreadsheet, or presentation in your Dropbox. Tap the new Edit icon (shown above) to start editing in the latest Office apps. When you’re done, your changes will be saved back to Dropbox automatically.
Earlier this month the Microsoft Office Mobile for Android app was updated with its part of the integration allowing users to “open, edit, and save documents from Dropbox.”
You can get the new features through the latest Dropbox app for Android starting today and the latest version of Microsoft’s Office Mobile for Android app. The integration is also expected to arrive for web users early next year.
Sony’s Backup & Restore Android application that comes pre-installed on its Xperia Z3 smartphone appears to have been compromised. A Google Play entry has been added for the app listing “Nirav Patel Kanudo” as its publisher, along with the software’s description claiming that it’s managed by the “HeArT HaCkEr Group.”
Today, Google announced some new security features for its subscribers that should make it easier to manage the equipment linked to your account. While some people may have already had access to these options, Mountain View has now made them available to its entire user base. The gist of the search company’s new dashboard is a quick way to review and control the gear tied to your profile. This will let you quickly revoke a device’s access if you happen to lose your phone, laptop or tablet.
T-Mobile announced today the addition of 14 music streaming services to its Music Freedom program including Google Play Music. First announced at its Uncarrier 5.0/6.0 event in June, T-Mobile’s Music Freedom program allows customers on the network to stream content from supported music services without it counting against a monthly data cap. T-Mobile promised the addition of Google Play Music by the end of the year in August when Google’s subscription streaming music service was voted most wanted by T-Mobile’s customers.
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The Chromecast isn’t just for cord-cutters. Google’s popular media stick also extends its content streaming capabilities to cable customers as well. Less than a fortnight ago, the search giant announced that Chromecast support was coming to Showtime Anytime and the company has now made good on its word.
United Airlines announced today it’s bringing its latest in flight entertainment service, previously available in beta mode for laptops and iOS devices, to Android users with an update to its United app for Android smartphones and tablets. The app will allow users to view hundreds of TV shows and movies on Wi-Fi enabled flights:
Content, stored on on-board servers, is available on nearly 200 United aircraft, including the carrier’s entire Airbus A319, Airbus A320 and Boeing 747 fleets and its Boeing 777 aircraft that operate primarily between the continental United States and Hawaii… In the coming year, United will further expand personal device entertainment availability to hundreds of additional aircraft, including two-cabin regional jets and domestic and international aircraft that do not currently offer customers an on-demand entertainment option. By late 2015, most United and United Express aircraft will offer customers personal device entertainment, personal on-demand entertainment via seatback monitors, or live television.
Android users can access the service through the updated United Airlines app available on Google Play. They’ll also be able to check whether or not a flight offers Wi-Fi (and the entertainment service server) through united.com.
What’s New
Entertainment, personalized
o United’s personal device entertainment service, now available on select aircraft on your Android device.
o United app version 2.0.18 adds software to browse and watch select movies and TV shows on your mobile device when connected to the “United_Wi-Fi” network.
o To see if your flight offers personal device entertainment check the Amenities in the United app within 24 hours of your flight departure. (Amenities subject to change until departure.)
Motorola Mobility recently updated its Camera and Gallery with a splash of Material Design, giving its in-house software a refreshed feel. Owners of the Droid Turbo, Moto X and Droid Ultra can now use a wrist twist hand gesture to alternate between their respective handset’s front and back cameras, and they’ll also notice a refined flat interface that should fit in nicely with Motorola’s latest smartphone.
Just weeks after receiving a Material Design makeover for Android Lollipop, the popular custom keyboard SwiftKey for Android has been updated with performance improvements and support for twelve new languages. The latest version of SwiftKey for Android is available now through the Play Store as a free update.
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In addition to a major update to its OS X app, Evernote is also now rolling out an update to its Android client. The update brings a handful of new features, the most notable of which is the ability to scan business cards into the app. The process is incredibly simple and involves just taking a picture of a business card. The Evernote app will then auto-populate all of the appropriate contact fields.
Pebble is today releasing a firmware update (version 2.8) bringing multi-language notifications and other features alongside a completely rebuilt Android app.
Firmware 2.8 adds full character support for the broadest set of languages to date. For Pebblers who receive notifications in the newly supported languages, special characters like “ß” and “Ż” will appear correctly, as opposed to showing up as “unknown character” boxes. Over 98% of Pebblers in the world can now fully receive messages and alerts in their native language. Today’s update paves the way for more languages to come in the future, as Pebble steadily lands in more countries around the world.
As for the updated Android app (version 2.1.0), the standout new feature is full notification support for devices running Android 4.3 and up: “now send notifications to Pebble from any app, via the new Notifications » All Apps menu. From there, you can Select All, Select None, or toggle apps individually. Pebble says a future update will bring the feature to devices running Android 4.0+.
Pebble’s blog post notes that you’ll have to grant the app permission for the notifications and that notifications for some popular apps like Facebook and Hangouts are on by default (pictured below).
The update also includes a number of new features not to mention the fact it has been completely rewritten to, according to Pebble, provide “improvements to reliability, performance, and user experience.” Full release notes for the new Pebble firmware and Android app below.
Pebble said its slowly rolling out the updated Android app to Google Play with around 10% of users getting access today and the rest over the coming weeks.
To update to the latest firmware: Pebble Android App 2.1.0 Release NotesPebble Firmware 2.8 Release Notes
Last week, Twitter announced a list of improvements coming to the service including enhancements to Direct Messages and video capabilities slated for next year, and today the social network started rolling out its new features as promised. With the latest version of Twitter for Android, you can now share public Tweets privately over Direct Messages with native embedding. You can see the new feature in action below…
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Google, in its continued effort to support developers and users from all across the world, announced today that developers in China are now be able to list both free and paid apps on the Play Store. The company made the announcement via a post on the official Android Developer Blog, saying that the addition of China means that developers can now sign up to be merchants in more than 60 countries. Users in more than 130 countries can purchase apps those apps, as well.
As part of that continued effort, we’re excited to announce merchant support in China, enabling local developers to export and sell their apps to Google Play users in more than 130 countries. Chinese developers can now offer both free and paid applications through various monetization models, including in-app purchasing and subscriptions. For revenue generated on Google Play, developers will receive payment to their Chinese bank accounts via USD wire transfers.
RelativeWave, the company behind the mobile app prototyping software Form, today announced it’s joining Google. The company made an announcement on its website noting that it will continue working on the Form app and as of today make it available for free through the Mac App Store. The app previously sold for $79.
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Samsung today announced that it’s launching a “Milk Video” service that accompanies the Milk Music streaming service it launched earlier this year. Like the music service, Milk Video is only available to Galaxy device users in the US and provides a mix of web content and originals:
The beautiful, simple design makes browsing effortless — searching is a thing of the past. Personalized at its core, Milk Video will learn and refine its content recommendations with every use. By understanding what consumers watch, who they choose to follow, who they like or repost as well as which videos are dismissed, Milk Video will deliver the content that is relevant for each user. In addition, users can follow friends, brands and other users within the app. Sharing with friends outside of the app via Facebook®, Twitter® or email offers another option for others to see what you’re enjoying on Milk Video whether or not they have Milk Video.
Samsung mentioned some contributors brining exclusive content to the service including Condé Nast, Funny Or Die, Red Bull, Vevo and VICE, among others.
Milk Video is available through Google Play now for users in the US with one of the following Samsung devices: Galaxy Note® II, Galaxy Note® 3, Galaxy Note® 4, Galaxy Note® Edge, Galaxy Mega™, Galaxy S® III, Galaxy S® 4, Galaxy S® 4 mini, Galaxy S® III mini and Galaxy S® 5 devices.
The Wall Street Journal reports that WhatsApp has been updated with end-to-end encryption for messages sent and received between Android smartphones and tablets. The cross-platform messaging service claims it will be unable to help decrypt messages for law enforcement, a noteworthy move given increasing concerns about government surveillance and tracking over the past few years.
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Today Facebook has added yet another app to its growing portfolio. Facebook Groups is its latest standalone app with features dedicated to managing and interacting with groups on Android. Unlike its approach to Facebook Messenger, however, the social network says it will not remove existing group features from the primary Facebook app.
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