Apps and Updates

The latest version of Picasa includes an additional bit of software called Google+ Auto Backup, as reported by Google Operating System. The new software can be used to automatically backup photos and videos from user-selected directories to your Google+ account. Interestingly, the app has nothing to do with the Picasa service, even though it ships exclusively with the Picasa app.

The app can save unlimited 2048px photos to your account, or upload full-quality versions at the expense of Google Drive space. It can also intelligently copy media from storage cards and other devices that are attached to the system. Furthermore, the app can be configured to backup all media to a designated location on the local hard drive, putting all of your backed-up media in one convenient place.

You can get the Google+ Auto Backup app by downloading the latest version of Picasa.

Through the holidays, Amazon is offering a $5 App Store credit to anyone who downloads an app from the newest version of the company’s Android Appstore. The promotion will run from December 24th through December 28th. The $5 credit will be valid on any apps, games, and in-app purchases in the Amazon Appstore (via SlickDeals).

In addition to the $5 credit, Amazon is also offering more many paid apps for free over the next week. On December 25th, Amazon will be offering a “Free App of the Day Welcome Pack,” which includes things like a note taking app, alarm clock, and more. On the 26th, Amazon will be offering Office Suite Pro 7 for $.99, down from $4.99.

Other deals include: 
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Earlier this month, ClockworkMod developer Koushik Dutta made his AllCast app available in beta to people willing to provide feedback on the app. This morning, however, Dutta released the app to the Play Store, making it available to everyone. AllCast is free to download, although there is a $4.99 premium option available to remove ads, splashscreens, and the limit on video length.

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Christmas is just two days away and with plenty of unsuspecting kids (and parents) awaiting new smartphones and tablets Disney is taking the opportunity to knock down app prices. For a limited time, numerous Disney apps within the Play Store are on sale for $0.49 and below.

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Google has updated its Google Play Music app for iPhone with several new features and a refreshed UI for iOS 7. The app was first released last month but had not yet been designed for the latest version of iOS.

Besides the updated interface, the app includes support for “I’m feeling lucky” radio stations, the ability to search for music and create stations by genre, and auto-playlists.

iOS users can grab Google Play Music for free on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 1.1.0.988

– UI updated for iOS7

– Added support for I’m feeling lucky radio

– Auto-playlists (including Thumbs Up playlist) added to playlist view

– Genre radio stations added for All Access users

– Added ability to search for genres

Thanks for the tip, Isa!

Holy wowzers Batman as BlackBerry announces over 40 million “newly registered iOS/Android users in the last 60 days.” The BBM tidbit dropped during this morning’s BlackBerry Earnings Report and while we’ll ignore the economic crisis that is BlackBerry, the messaging numbers are pretty interesting.

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From 9to5Mac:

Chalk up another Google app for iOS update as the app goes all iOS 7-fied as the official app finally receives the treatment. It takes a few seconds to notice the changes as I almost missed the full screen front page that now omits the signal, battery and carrier label. Overall, the update introduces:

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According to source code discovered by the unofficial Google System Blog, Google Play Music users will soon get the ability to upload music directly to the service from directly within their browser. As of right now, in order to upload files to the service, you have to download Google’s Music Manager app and select which files you would like to upload.

The source code discovered reads  “Drag songs or folders here to add music to your library. Or, if you prefer, select from your computer.” Google already allows users to drag and drop files to nearly all of its other online services, so it makes sense that Play Music would be next in line to receive the feature.

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When Google announced Glass, people instantly became worried about the privacy implications that came with it. One of the biggest questions surrounded the potential to use the device for some sort of facial recognition. Google quickly confirmed that it would not allow such apps to be officially installed on the device, but as we all know,  there are multiple ways to install an app to Glass and Google can’t stop everything.

Forbes reports on a new app, dubbed FaceRec, that will collect and catalog images of faces a user sees throughout the day. In addition to faces, the app will also work with things like computer screens and license plates. The app will integrate the image data collected with location coordinates to create a map. This will allow users to go back and see exactly who they saw and where they saw them. 

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BlackBerry isn’t letting BBM go down without a fight as it strikes a deal to preinstall the application on select LG smartphones. BlackBerry’s once wildly popular Messenger application will come pre-installed on the LG G Pro Lite in “markets around the world.” The deal will allow a bundling agreement with LG involving “both the standard and virtual preloading” as well maintaining that BBM is available as a free download in Google’s Play Store.

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In a world where families can all share one household tablet, the introduction of profiles for Netflix is huge news. Gone are the days when you had to see a mix of suggestions with other people sharing the device, now it’s just your recent shows and movies.The newest update began yesterday, December 14th and introduces:

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-Manual control of focus and exposure

-Locked exposure during Panorama capture

-Enabled additional language support

-Bug fixes

Just in time for the holidays and peak travel season, Google is adding some awesome features to Gmail on Android. Just announced via Google+, Gmail on Android now includes a vacation responder, attachment support for any file type and print capability for hard copies of emails for users on Android 4.4 KitKat.

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A quick but notable update to Google’s Play Books app as it includes some performance enhancements and a new option to upload files. The newest update, available now via the Play Store includes the ability to “upload EPUB or PDF files to your library from your phone or tablet. From email or Downloads, touch the file to open it and choose Upload to Play Books.”

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(via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/apollo_zac" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)

Google announced today a major round of app additions for its media streaming Chromecast HDMI stick including Plex, Vevo, Songza, and more.

Chromecast, which retails for $35 (currently $32.88 on Amazon Prime), can now play local files synced with your Plex media library from iOS, Android, or Chrome. Plex support is highly requested and offers a major advantage for content consumers looking to play content from a device to an HDTV.

Today’s update also brings support for the music video streaming service Vevo as well as the music discovery radio Songza.
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On the heels of our editorial yesterday asking what is your favorite app of 2013, Google is adding their own selection of the “Best Apps of 2013.” The selection itself is filled with some usual suspects like Wunderlist, theScore or Photo Editor by Aviary. Thankfully, the best apps list also includes my own favorites with Circa and Duolingo.

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Google this afternoon announced an update to its Search apps on both Android and iOS that includes voice search support for three addition languages. In a blog post, the company announced that the app can now understand French, German, and Japanese. In addition to being able understand the new languages and give text results, the Search app can also now give spoken answers back in those languages.

To try it out, simply tap the microphone in the search box and ask for anything you’re looking for. If you need some coffee in Munich, just say “Wo bekomme ich Kaffee in München?” to get a list of local options. Wondering what the height of the Eiffel tower is? Get a quick answer by asking, “Quelle est la hauteur de la Tour Eiffel?”. Maybe you need to know who invented the transistor ? Try asking in Japanese for “トランジスタを発明したのはだれ？”

Google says it will continue to work on adding even more languages to its Search app and that this is just the beginning of its efforts.

The Google Search app update is available for free in both the iOS App Store and on Google Play. 
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