apps

Today, Google launched a new mobile app for startups called Primer, an interactive tool that helps companies with their marketing needs. Available now on iOS, the software cranks out five minute lesson plans for subjects like Content Marketing, PR & Media and Search Advertising. A simplified experience, Primer is packed with case studies, insider tips and quizzes designed to make marketing easier.

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Google started accepting PayPal payments for Google Play app purchases earlier this year in 12 countries, including the US, France and Germany. Today, the company has expanded this payment option to Australia, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore and Sweden.

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If you abstained from trying the recent leak of Nokia’s HERE Maps for Android, you can now download an official release — as long as you’re using a compatible Samsung device. Available from the Galaxy app store, this Google Maps alternative packs some nifty features like turn-by-turn directions, public transit routes and its standout offline navigation support.

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From keeping soldiers safe to assisting doctors during surgery, Google Glass is slowly transitioning from being a cool tech demo to a useful real world tool. Soon to contribute to the wearable’s mainstream appeal is a new text captioning app developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology that transcribes spoken word via a companion Android app.

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Google will soon list a price-range for in-app purchases on items in Google Play. Hopefully this new policy will help reduce the number of misrepresented software lurking in the Play Store. In some cases apps, especially games are listed as free, but later reveal subscription fees and pricey in-game items that can be purchased with real world cash.

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Today, Google announced a couple of updates for its office software suite that should increase productivity for frequent users. The search giant has added a new formatting feature to Docs, Slides and Drawings that automatically creates bullet points or numbered lists after typing an applicable character at the beginning of a paragraph. For example, if you type an asterisk followed by the spacebar, Docs will automatically add a bullet point to that particular segment.

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Today, Microsoft announced that its OneNote application is now available for Android Wear smartwatches. This means that owners of devices like the LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live and Moto 360 can now install the 3.2MB software and start recording notes with their wearable by saying “OK Google, take a note.”

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You’ve got questions. Chrome for Android has answers. A new experimental feature lurking inside of Mountain View’s mobile browser will attempt to address your queries as you key them into your smartphone or tablet. Similar to the answers displayed at the top of Google’s search results , this new functionality will produce a card in response to your question.

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If you’re eyeing a new smartphone and plan on unloading your old gear on eBay to finance your next purchase, you’ll be glad to know that the world famous e-commerce company has redesigned its Android app. Hopping on the Material Design bandwagon, version 2.7 ships with a simple, flat, sterile look that features larger photos and refined search results.

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Last month, we found out that Google was extending the return period for some of Google Play’s games from 15 minutes to two hours. A new update to the company’s support page has confirmed the change, making the two hour refund policy official for paid applications and games. An extra hour and 45 minutes sounds great, but it should be noted that way back in the days of the Android Market, Google used to give customers a full day to return undesirable software.

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Casual Chrome users rejoice! You can now install free apps without having to sign into the Chrome Web Store. Revealed by platform evangelist François Beaufort, this new option lets people pick up software without the need of a Google account. This type of setup could be useful to people who haven’t fully committed to using Mountain View’s web browser on a full-time basis.

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Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage mobile app received an update today across multiple platforms. The Android flavor of the new software push mixes work with play, giving users access to their personal and business files at the same time without having to switch accounts.

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Today, Google announced an update that improves Hangout’s integration in Gmail. In an effort to make your contacts more accessible, this new tab displays friends who are online first, followed by those who aren’t. You can still send messages to offline contacts, however they won’t get them until they sign into Hangouts from a desktop, smartphone or tablet.

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Google announced today that it’s completely turning down Google Maps API for Flash on September 2nd. This decision follows suit with the company’s initial depreciation period, which started almost three years ago. Developers now have three weeks to migrate their outdated applications to JavaScript Maps API v3 in order for them to remain relevant.

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