Google Play Store

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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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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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 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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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 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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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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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…

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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.

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AirDroid is a well known Android app that has long allowed you to remote-control your Android phone from a Windows or Mac OS X machine. But with the countless updates that Apple brought to iOS this year and the continuity features that tie the iPhone and Mac OS together seamlessly, Android users were left with much to desire. The latest version of AirDroid makes an attempt at filling that hole in Android users’ hearts with its latest release, bringing tons of features that make using your phone from a desktop environment easier than ever.

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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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With the release of Android Lollipop for a wider lineup of Nexus devices expected to occur any day now, the official Google Search app has been updated with a brand new design and several new features that make searching for everything from the best sushi in Chicago to Van Gogh research for a school project that much better of an experience.

First and foremost, the Google Search app has been revamped with a Material Design user interface and that includes bold colors, fluid animations and simplified layouts. Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 users also benefit from being able to activate “Ok, Google” searches even when the smartphone is unplugged and the display is off.

The latest version Google’s official app is more effective at organizing your day-to-day life by automatically pulling events that it feels you might want to follow up on, like catching up with Chris over dinner or getting drinks with Susan. Normally, these small events would be buried in your inbox and you might forget to follow up on them later.
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When the Nexus 6 first went up for order on the Play Store, the process was anything but seamless for customers. The device sold-out almost instantly and Google’s servers took a massive hit, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get through and place an order. If you’re still looking to get your hands on a Nexus 6, however, Google this evening has announced its plans for restocking the device.

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Continuing its barrage of Android announcements today, Google this evening has announced that developers can now start submitting Android TV apps to the Play Store. This is to be expected as the Nexus Player starts to make its way into the hands of consumers. Google says that in addition to publishing apps exclusively for Android TV onto the Play Store, developers can also extend their existing apps for TV and publish them.

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Google’s Motorola-made Nexus 6 is finally a thing. Preorders didn’t go over well for everyone, but hopefully it won’t be too difficult to pick one up from a carrier or the Play Store after its official launch. Meanwhile, here’s what you can expect from the Nexus 6 if you decide to grab one. We’re unboxing the Nexus 6 and taking a closer look at what it has to offer in terms of design and overall first impressions. Is this going to be the best Android flagship in 2014? Let’s find out…

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