WhatsApp’s founder Jan Koum has announced today that the widely-used messaging service is now free to customers. The Facebook-owned company is dropping its subscription service immediately. While it’s only 99 cents per year to use WhatsApp‘s multi-platform messenger app, Koum states that the annual subscription was still a barrier to some users…
Google’s Maps app for iPhone and iPad got a small but useful update on the App Store today. The latest version of the Google Maps iOS app now includes a couple of handy features.
First up, and undoubtedly the most useful for drivers is the up-to-date gas prices in the US and Canada. The feature was included in the Android version of Google’s app a couple of months ago and lets users check nearby gas stations to see which has the most affordable prices. You can find prices simply be searching for ‘gas’ or ‘gas stations’ in the search field and Google Maps will automatically bring up the nearest options and list pricing for those locations.
Business hours have been included in the app for some time, but today’s update also lets you check when is best to avoid/visit particular businesses. Like its online search and maps tools, the updated iPhone app brings the ability check popular visiting hours for local stores and outlets. Now you can see what you always knew about any business or retail location: It starts getting busy after lunch.
Google Maps version 4.13.0 is available to download from the App Store for free and requires users to be running iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
With Mailbox now decommissioned, the third party Android email app scene is a little more bleak than it was before. One company hoping to bring us a little joy is Yahoo. It recently updated its Yahoo Mail app to version 5.1.0 which (among other things) now includes support for Gmail. With it being an Android app, you’d assume that it should have Gmail compatibility from the outset. But apparently, Yahoo didn’t see it that way.
Gmail support is added to the pre-existing list of providers, including Outlook, AOL and Yahoo mail accounts. What’s more, you can search your inbox and archive messages just as you would with any good Google-supporting email client. Along with the ability to connect with Gmail accounts, version 5.1.0 also brings the option to select all messages in any individual folder for mass-deleting and moving. They’ve also made it easier to access different accounts and settings.
Here’s the change log posted to the Yahoo Mail Play Store page:
5.1.0:– Connect Gmail mailboxes to read, organize, search and respond to your Gmail messages within the Yahoo Mail app– Select all messages in a specific folder on your device – just tap on the select all icon in the upper-left corner when moving or deleting multiple messagesInterface improvements for account switching, settings, touch targets, and message list readability– TalkBack accessibility improvements– Performance enhancements
Google today has pushed a beefy update to its Play Movies & TV app on iOS that bumps it to version 2.0.7910 and brings several new features. The update gives the app a refreshed interface, AirPlay support, recommendations, and more.
When Pebble announced its new Pebble Time watches and (later on) the Pebble Time Round, it also released a brand new operating system for its popular wearable. This new Timeline was a drastic departure from its original user interface. Sadly, it was a UI only available to those with the new Time models, although the company did promise that the new OS would make its way to older devices too.
SwiftKey is no stranger to releasing innovative communication products. In fact, its original keyboard for Android (at time of launch) was arguably the smartest and best virtual keyboard for word prediction and customization. The app it launched this week has potential to be even more innovative, even if only a small percentage of people actually use it. SwiftKey Symbols has been designed to help people on the Autistic Spectrum, particularly non-verbal people, to communicate using images to build phrases…
Historically, Chrome to Phone has been one of the most useful apps and extensions to be launched by Google. Using it, Android users could send links from web pages direct to their Android phone from the Chrome browser. It made its official entry in 2010 with the aim to bridge the gap between desktop and mobile. Earlier this year, Google announced that it would be discontinuing the extension.
As spotted by Android Police — to add the final nail to the coffin — the company has marked the Android app as [DEPRECATED] on the Play Store, and intends to shut it down by March 2016.
Chrome to Phone was launched in 2010 to help bridge your desktop and phone experience by making it easy to send Web links to your phone. Over the years, Google’s core products have evolved to be more integrated across different form factors. As of today, Chrome to Phone is deprecated. The app will continue to work until Mar 31st 2016 after which it will no longer work.
If you’re still using the service, there are several alternatives. One of which — of course — is Google’s very own Chrome tab-sync which synchronizes tabs across all of your devices with Chrome installed (assuming you’re signed in to all with the same account). Another third party option is Pushbullet which lets you sync notifications from Android to desktop, send SMS messages, share links and even remotely access files.
Just when you thought Pushbullet couldn’t get more useful, the company has updated its popular cross-platform app to include remote file browsing. With the new update you’ll be able to access files on your phone from your computer, or vice-versa, even if you don’t have one of the devices with you. It’s a pretty great feature if you’re known to accidentally leave your phone at home, or leave a file on your work computer that you need at home…
If you’re using a smart TV running Android TV or using a set-top box like the NVIDIA Shield TV, you’ll be glad to know the launcher has been updated to include a much-needed feature. With the latest software version, you’ll be able to reorganize apps on your home screen so they’re laid out exactly how you want them to be.
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If, like me, you grew up in the 90s there’s a very good chance you came across a certain strategy PC game called Age of Empires. In it, your mission was to explore territory, build your kingdom, defeat enemies and make allies. In a lot of ways it was similar to Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise, and it was awesome…
In past years, Google just highlighted the best apps in their end of the year list. But to demonstrate the content store’s shift into more than just apps, other forms of entertainment like music and movies are getting their own section in the Play Store’s Best of 2015 this year.
Yahoo Messenger has long taken a back seat to other Yahoo products on mobile devices, but today the company is finally unveiling a revamped app that brings its messaging platform into this decade with a completely redesigned user experience and new features.
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According to one Reddit user, Google is now seemingly beginning to allow users to part-pay for items using their Google Play Store credit. Previously, if you didn’t have enough credit to cover the entire cost of a download, you couldn’t use it. It’s particularly frustrating if an app or download is only a few cents more than what’s in your balance. If you don’t have enough, it usually defaults to your registered credit card to pay the full amount, leaving your Google Play balance untouched.
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Google’s latest Chrome feature includes more ways to improve your web browsing experience by reducing data consumption by up to 70%. Chrome’s Data Saver achieves the impressive consumption savings by blocking images when the web page initially loads, although it does give users the opportunity to manually select to show images if they want to. Google announced the development in a blog post yesterday…
Popular messaging app WhatsApp, which has nearly one billion active users, has today started a shady method of discouraging its users from switching to one of its primary competitors, Telegram. Telegram has been gaining in popularity recently and WhatsApp clearly is threatened by that. With a silent update pushed to WhatsApp this morning, the company began blocking links to Telegram.
From 9to5Toys.com:
As expected from its leaked Black Friday ad, Sam’s Club is now offering a $100 Google Play gift card for $79.64 shipped. That’s more than 20% off your next Google Play purchases on games, apps, movies, TV shows and more. While we do see iTunes gift cards go on sale quite often, these Google Play vouchers are much harder to come by. They can be amazing gifts for Android users and anyone who’s locked into Google’s video services.
It ships free and can be redeemed on the web or Android devices. Full details/instructions can be found below. Head over to 9to5Toys for all of the best Black Friday deals the entire weekend-long.
Includes:
One (1) $100 Google Play gift card
To redeem on the web:
- Go to play.google.com/redeem.
- Scratch label off of card & enter code.
- Start shopping – your gift card value will be added to your Google Play balance.
To redeem on an Android phone/tablet:
- Launch the Google Play Store app on your Android phone or tablet.
- Select Redeem.
- Scratch label off of card & enter code.
- Start shopping – your gift card value will be added to your Google Play balance.
Specifications
Terms and Conditions
Use of card subject to additional terms and privacy policy: play.google.com/about/card-terms.html. Valid only for users 13+ years of age and resident of U.S. Redemption requires Google Wallet account and internet access. Limits may apply to redemption and use. No fees or expiration dates applicable to this card. Card may be used for purchases of eligible items on Google Play only. Any refunded amount will be credited back to your Google Play balance for future use under same terms. Card is not redeemable for cash or other cards; not reloadable or refundable; cannot be combined with other non-Google Play balances in your Google Wallet account, resold, exchanged or transferred for value (except as required by law). Once card is purchased, risk of loss and title for card passes to purchaser. Google Payment Corp. and its affiliates disclaim all express or implied warranties as to the Google Play card and Google Play.
Google has updated its Handwriting Input app to include five new languages. Now, customers who speak Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hebrew and Burmese will be able to scribble words on to the input pad, instead of having to tap or swipe across the virtual QWERTY keyboard. By adding these five new languages, Google’s handwriting recognition tool now supports 82 languages from across the globe.
What’s great about the tool from Google is that, even if you have untidy handwriting, the software still seems to do a good job recognizing your scrawling and changing it in to text on screen. In most cases, it seems to understand what I’m trying to write, even though my scribbles aren’t the most legible. Google describes it as such:
Google Handwriting Input allows you to handwrite text on your phone or tablet in 87 languages. It supports printed and cursive writing, with or without a stylus. Google Handwriting Input also supports hundreds of emojis, so you can express yourself in any Android app.
Key features:
• A useful complement to touchscreen typing or voice input
• A fun way to enter emojis by drawing
• Useful for languages that can be challenging to type on a standard keyboard
• Works across your Android phones and tablets running Android 4.0.3 and up
• If you claim your handwriting is terrible, try it out and see if it can convince you otherwise
Google Handwriting Input version 1.5.1 is available to download for free from the Google Play Store and is compatible with any Android device running Android 4.0.3 or later.
Google Play will soon show users what apps are ad-supported before downloading as the company asks developers to declare the status of ads in their apps by January, 2016.
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Not long ago, Microsoft announced it would be bringing an updated look to its Outlook app for Android, killing Sunrise in the process. While iPhone users got the updated redesign almost immediately, Android users had to wait a little. Today, Outlook 2.0.0 is finally available to download with some refreshed user interface design and a couple of new features. You can download the app directly from APK Mirror, or wait for it to hit the Play Store officially (it shouldn’t be too long until the update hits).
Having launched in the US back in February, YouTube’s child-friendly video service is making its way across the globe from today. YouTube Kids is now available in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The app is free to download on iOS and Android and offers customers a curated YouTube experience with content aimed specifically at children.
In the UK, content will include the likes of Wallace & Gromit, Morph, The Magic Roundabout and Teletubbies among many others. Featured content will differ depending on your region, but the service is essentially the same in all available markets. Since it’s free, the app is supported by ads, but only advertisements suitable for children are shown in the YouTube Kids app. As reported by The Guardian:
“We only show ads that are approved as family-friendly – for example, we don’t show any food and beverage ads – and all ads undergo a rigorous review process for compliance with our policies,” a YouTube spokesperson told the Guardian.
“All ads are clearly labeled and include ad intros. Ads don’t include any click-throughs to websites or product purchase flows.”
Now, parents outside the US will be able to let their kids watch ‘The wheels on the bus’ without worrying they’ll end up following through links and watching something slightly dubious content. On the negative side, undoubtedly, I’ll now have to watch more loom band how-to videos with my 6 year-old.
The app is available to download from the Play Store now, and is compatible with any Android device running version 4.1 or later.
Google has announced today that — following a successful trial in India — it will allow developers in 17 more countries to charge a lower price for its premium apps and in-app purchases. This news comes a couple of weeks after the company raised the maximum price, now giving developers much more flexibility in what they can charge customers, and hopefully enabling them to reach more customers.
The full list of countries this reaches, and the minimum prices:
If you’re a developer in one of these countries, you can lower the prices of your app by going to the Google Play Developer Console and clicking “Pricing and Distribution” or “In-app Products” for your apps.
According to a report this morning from The Wall Street Journal, Google will now be able to show publicly available info from the Facebook app in mobile searches. Clicking on such a link while on your smartphone will take users directly to the relevant part of the Facebook app. The agreement between Google and Facebook went into affect last Friday, according to an Alphabet spokesperson.
A couple of weeks ago, SwiftKey brought a number of new features to its beta app for Android. Perhaps the biggest on the usability side was the addition of double-word predictions. With this improvement, users can select two words at once which SwiftKey predicts are coming next. This feature — along with many others — has been added to the public SwiftKey 6 app…
Spotify has updated its Android app to include local live concert discovery. The new feature, named Concerts, arrived on the popular streaming app this morning and uses similar technology to the Discover Weekly feature. It uses its knowledge of your favorite artists and listening habits to recommend live acts worth seeing nearby.
Our new Concerts feature lets you know when your favorite artists announce new concerts near you so you’ll never miss another show. And for artists, it’s easier than ever to get the word out to fans about new concerts. On your phone, simply open the Browse tab on Spotify and select Concerts to see a personalized list of what’s playing nearby.
If you’re travelling you can hit ‘change location’ and find concerts for the artists you enjoy all over the world. The Concerts feature uses Songkick’s services to gather information, and uses knowledge of your music listening patterns to determine the bands and singers you like, and those you might like to discover.
As with any location-based service, how great this is depends heavily on where you live. Sadly if, like me, you live in a remote city miles from anywhere, you’re likely just to be reminded that there are no concerts near you. Ever.
You can download the update app from the Play Store now.
