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Google’s Moscow offices

Google has started to block AdSense and Adwords accounts in Crimea, and Google Play services will cease on 1st February, reports TechCrunch. The moves are being made in order to comply with sanctions on the Crimea region of the Ukraine imposed by the US Government.

Free services, like search, maps and gmail are all expected to remain unaffected, but all services involving payment to or from Google will cease, said Russian site Lenta.ru.

“Google’s prohibited from providing paid services in the Crimea,” a source at Google told Lenta.ru. “In addition, Google cannot make payments to anyone in the Crimea. It is now technically impossible, as almost all international banks have ceased to make payments.”

The US joined the EU in imposing economic sanctions in protest at Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which legally remains part of the Ukraine. TechCrunch notes that the political conflict could escalate, with the possibility that Russian government may retaliate by blocking the sale of US imports into Russia–an important market for many US companies, including Google.

Apple terminated its own agreements with app developers in the region earlier this week, and has announced that all sales of Apple products and services will cease as of 1st February. Other companies are similarly ceasing business in the region, including both Steam and PayPal.

Amazon fires its Mobile Wallet app less than 6 months after its launch

Stephen Hall Jan 21 2015 - 8:09 am PT

Amazon has closed its beta Mobile Wallet app today, marking a step away from the mobile payment space for the Seattle, Washington-based company. We first told you about the app, which served as a hub for gift and loyalty cards, in July of 2014. The app launched in beta and was sadly incapable compared to the app offerings of other companies like Google Wallet and PayPal, not even giving users the ability to load debit or credit cards.

Instagram inviting Android users to beta testing program

Zac Hall Jan 20 2015 - 1:50 pm PT

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Instagram users on Android could soon be using pre-release versions of the photo sharing app before updates hit the Google Play Store.

Instagram is currently inviting testers on Android to take pre-release versions of its social app for a spin through its beta program for users. The social network shared a Google Group found here where potential testers can apply to test and give feedback for versions of Instagram currently being developed.
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Play Store reportedly topped App Store in total apps and developers for the first time in 2014

9to5 Staff Jan 14 2015 - 8:10 am PT

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The latest numbers from app metrics tracking firm AppFigures reveal that Google’s Play Store topped Apple’s App Store based on total number of apps and developers for the first time in 2014. Google moved ahead of Apple with 1.43 million Android apps in the Play Store, compared to 1.21 million on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
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Nexus 9 ‘Sand’ color variant finally available on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Jan 13 2015 - 7:31 am PT

The Nexus 9 has been out for quite some time now, but the device has—until today—only been available in black and white variations. Now, those in the United States can purchase the device in its third color option, “Sand,” but for the time being there’s only one specific model shipping in that color. You’re going to have to settle for the 32 GB capacity and no LTE compatibility—and a $479 price tag—if you’re interested in grabbing the “Sand” variant today. There’s no telling if Google plans to start shipping other variants of the device in the future, but the one model that the company is offering supposedly leaves the warehouse within a couple business days.

Head over to the Play Store to grab the new color variant.

(via Android Police)

Google now prohibits developers from including user testimonials in app descriptions

Chance Miller Dec 23 2014 - 3:56 pm PT

Google today has updated its Play Store guidelines with yet another restriction on what developers can put in the descriptions of their apps. With today’s update, developers are now forbidden to include user testimonials in their app’s description. Any developer who breaks this rule could see the app in question pulled (via Android Police).

Google testing new layout for Play Store app pages

Stephen Hall Dec 19 2014 - 8:13 am PT

The current version of the Play Store

Some have started to notice yesterday and this morning that Google has apparently begun testing a new layout for app pages on the Play Store (via Android Police), and the new look seems to do away with the full-width layout of old, replacing it with a more traditional 3-column look. I don’t see the new version of the Play Store when using the latest stable build of Chrome, but when using the latest Beta, it pops right up.

Here’s what it looks like:

A newer version being seen by some

The new looks compacts some of the previous information into a thinner middle column, making room for a new column on the right that offers suggestions for similar apps. In addition to apps that are simply similar, there’s also a new section that shows apps that were created by the same developer. I haven’t noticed any other changes to the Play Store after clicking around for a little bit, but if you notice something else, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Google launches Android TV Launcher on the Play Store

Stephen Hall Dec 18 2014 - 10:48 am PT

Google has now listed the Android TV Launcher on the Play Store, providing a much more efficient way for the Mountain View company to update the main interface of any device running the TV flavor of Android. It’s worth noting that this isn’t an Android app for your phone, but rather an official listing of the Android TV Launcher (much like the Google Now Launcher, for instance) on the Play Store.

Android TV Launcher is the jumping-off point for starting all activities on your Android TV entertainment device. The Launcher is optimized to put content at the center; from casual movie-watching, to edge-of-seat, immersive gameplay. It’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction and providing quick access to all the features Android TV has to offer.

In this version, there’s apparently a slew of bug fixes to be had. Since this app only works with Android TV devices, you’re currently restricted to the Nexus Player and the ADT-1 developer kit. That means that, sadly, this isn’t going to work on any of Google’s older Google TV devices and most definitely isn’t going to be of any use for Chromecast owners.

You can get the Android TV Launcher on the Play Store.

Google brings Play Store gift cards to six new European countries

Chance Miller Dec 16 2014 - 7:13 pm PT

Google this evening has announced that Play Store gift cards are now available in six new European countries. Previously these countries were listed as coming soon, but Google has since updated its support page for Play Store gift cards to announce that they are now available.

YouTube 6.0 for Android enables live chat for streaming videos

9to5 Staff Dec 15 2014 - 7:29 am PT

Earlier this month, YouTube for Android was updated to version 6.0 with Material Design, new search filters and several other features. One enhancement in YouTube 6.0 that wasn’t mentioned following the update is newly added support for live chat on streaming videos (via Android Police). The feature is accessible by tapping or dragging open the Live Chat menu at the bottom of the app on live streaming videos.
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BlackBerry updates BBM with Android Lollipop support and landscape mode

9to5 Staff Dec 13 2014 - 9:05 am PT

BlackBerry might have pioneered the smartphone industry, but the iPhone and Android-based devices have since captured the market and left the Canadian company in the dust. Looking to remain relevant with modern smartphone users, the company ultimately caved in and released its popular messaging app BBM for Android and iOS. Today, users checking the Play Store will find a major new update for the app in their queue.
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Google Play Newsstand comes to four new countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Korea

Stephen Hall Dec 12 2014 - 9:41 am PT

Google Play Newsstand, which serves as the hub of all kinds of news and magazines for your Android device, is apparently coming to four new countries as of today. According to a post made by the Google Play team on Google+, those countries include Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and South Korea.

Prepare the comfy chair. Google Play Newsstand is now in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Korea.

This addition, while expanding Play offerings to these countries, leaves a lot to be desired. Many of Google’s other Play services, like Play Music and Play Movies & TV, are still missing in a few of these countries. You can get Google Play Newsstand on the Play Store for free.

Plex for Android updated w/ playlist support, improved play queues & more

9to5 Staff Dec 12 2014 - 7:28 am PT

Plex, a popular app for streaming media from your personal computer or server to a smartphone, tablet or other device, has been updated (via Android Police) with support for playlists, improved usability of play queues, bigger art and a dismiss button for playback notifications, the ability to play unwatched TV shows and seasons by default, option to play episodes from On Deck continuously and more.
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SwiftKey updated with five new festive themes in time for the holidays

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2014 - 4:57 pm PT

The popular third-party keyboard SwiftKey for Android has been updated today with minor performance enhancements and five new festive themes in time for the holiday season. The update arrives less than a month after the last major version of SwiftKey was seeded with faster performance and several new languages. The update should be rolling out on the Play Store now.
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Google forces removal of Amazon app from Play Store over hidden app store

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2014 - 1:35 pm PT

Back in October, Amazon updated its official Android app with hidden yet fully functional access to its own app store. Amazon then vaguely mentioned the new feature in a subsequent press release, perhaps hoping the move would go unnoticed. But it hasn’t taken long for Google to catch wind of what happened, and the search company clearly isn’t happy about the move.
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Reddit could be working on official Android app as it hires mobile engineer

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2014 - 8:11 am PT

Reddit has hired seven people to join its growing team, among them David Forsythe, a mobile engineer that specializes on Android. The hiring is further evidence that an official Android app for Reddit could be on the horizon, following the company’s acquisition of Alien Blue for iPhone and subsequent rebranding of the app as its official iOS client.

Forsythe did not directly confirm that he will be working on an Android app, although he cites experience building things like web apps and mobile apps in the past. Despite being one of the most highly-trafficked websites online, Reddit surprisingly still lacks a mobile-friendly website for smartphones and tablets.
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Indiegogo launches official Android app for crowdfunding on the go

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2014 - 7:09 am PT

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Following the launch of its official iPhone and iPod touch app earlier this year, crowdfunding service Indiegogo has now launched an official Android app on the Play Store. Indiegogo promised that an Android app was coming back in July after its international traffic on mobile devices doubled in the previous year.
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Google shares this year’s most popular apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books & news

Ben Lovejoy Dec 11 2014 - 5:59 am PT

Google has put together a hefty infographic showing 2014’s most popular apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books & news.

Health and fitness was the fastest-growing app category, with MyFitnessPal topping the charts within the category. Candy Crush remained the most downloaded game. Other app category chart-toppers were Facebook, Netflix, Pandora, TripAdvisor, Duolingo, Flipagram and NFL Mobile …
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Official Android Wear, Google Wallet, and Chromecast apps get minor updates

Stephen Hall Dec 10 2014 - 2:59 pm PT

Google has slowly but surely been updating its apps to fit its own design guidelines, and even as late as yesterday updated the Hangouts application (and that one’s still not quite there). Today, both the Android Wear and Chromecast apps have been updated to sport the Material look and, while not many other drastic changes have come to either app, it’s nice to have a bit of consistency between Google’s first-party offerings.

The Android Wear app companion app was suitably updated today amidst the release of Android Wear 5.0.1 Lollipop, providing support for the new version of the operating system. But the new version, thankfully, packs a redesign that brings it more in line with Material. The Chromecast app also got an update today, and on top of the fact you can now use the screen casting feature on any Android phone running 4.2.2 or higher, it now sports Material as well.

Google Wallet was also updated today, with its main new feature mentioned on Google+ as being the fact you can now manage your gift cards and loyalty programs from just one section of the app. As you can see above, under the “Loyalty and gift cards” section, you now have three sub-sections: Active, Expired, and Featured. The app also got a slightly tweaked appearance, bringing the app closer in line with the Material Design guidelines.

You can get the latest versions of Android Wear, Google Wallet, and Chromecast on the Play Store soon.

Google announces Android/Unity SDKs for Cardboard VR headset, dedicated Play Store section

Jordan Kahn Dec 10 2014 - 11:21 am PT

Google today announced some updates for its Google Cardboard virtual reality experience that it says is now in the hands of around 500k people since launching in June (not including unofficial versions). The main updates include new SDKs for developers building experiences on Android and Unity and a dedicated section for virtual reality Cardboard apps in the Google Play store.
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Nokia releases HERE Maps for Android w/ offline navigation & real-time traffic updates

9to5 Staff Dec 10 2014 - 7:47 am PT

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9P3xf85R1w

After brief availability as a beta version, Nokia has now released the full version of HERE Maps for Android on the Play Store. The mapping app enables you to search, navigate or get directions around the world, with the ability to download interactive maps to your smartphone or tablet for offline navigation.
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Shazam for Android updated w/ redesigned home screen, all-new ‘Play All’ button & more

9to5 Staff Dec 10 2014 - 7:02 am PT

Shazam for Android received a major update on Wednesday with a redesigned home screen and music player for more conveniently keeping up to date with the latest artists you have identified, finding out what songs friends are listening to and accessing the latest Shazam charts. A brand new Shazam.com was also launched with a Hall of Fame for artists and other new features.
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Google removes several piracy-based apps from the Play Store

Chance Miller Dec 5 2014 - 1:18 pm PT

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TorrentFreak is reporting that Google has removed several Pirate Bay apps from the Play Store today after strong pressure from copyright holders. Google sent an email to a handful of developers, informing them that their apps were being removed from the Play Store. The email explains why the apps were removed, citing violation of the intellectual property portion of the Google Play Store Content Policy.

“REASON FOR REMOVAL: Violation of the intellectual property and impersonation or deceptive behavior provisions of the Content Policy. Please refer to the IP infringement and impersonation policy help article for more information.”

The apps removed include The Pirate Bay Proxy, The Pirate Bay Premium, The Pirate Bay Mirror, and PirateApp…

Google Play Store update rolling out w/ new My Account page, interface tweaks, more

Chance Miller Dec 4 2014 - 1:55 pm PT

A day after rolling out updates to nearly every app it makes, Google this afternoon has announced an update to the Play Store itself. In a post on Google+, Google employee Krill Grouchnikov announced the update, saying that it’s coming soon to Android devices everywhere. The update makes several user interface tweaks for both pre-Lollipop devices and ones on Lollipop. It bumps the app to version 5.1.