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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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Google Music for Android received an update this morning, bumping it to build 5.3.1316. Most notably, the update adds the ability to store cached music on an external SD card for KitKat users . For devices that still have an SD card, which aren’t many at this point, this is a very nice addition. Also coming with this update is the ability to share links to songs with social networks, as well as the ability to shuffle all songs by a specific artist. Design-wise, the update also makes some slight tweaks to the pull-out notification panel.

Full changelog:

As December continues to tick away and as we look back at 2013, I’m about to cleanse my smartphones (plural) and kick out all the apps I haven’t touched in months. There’s little question that this year has been chalk-full of all-star apps and even some duds. It’s tough to narrow down all my favorites of the year especially when you factor in some app updates that made at least one or two of my favorite apps jump from the second or third page right up to my first page of apps.

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Google just announced a major update to Google Search for Android that is going to make finding information a whole lot easier. In simple terms, Google had added app listings to search results which allows your apps to show up in search results, as well as results from Google Play.

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The moment I saw news hit that Cal by Any.do hit the Google Play store I wanted to run around the room screaming at the top of my lungs. Ok, maaaaybe I wasn’t that excited, but I love this app so much from iOS that it will instantly become my Android calendar app of choice. I’d download this twice if I could, if only because that’s how much I encourage you to give this a shot.

Google Play Cal by Any.do

From the makers of the popular to-do list Any.do, Cal is a “free, simple & smart calendar app for your Android. With a fast, intuitive and beautifully designed interface Cal is the only Calendar app you’d want to have on your homescreen.

With Cal:
■ Your events will come to life beautifully with smart maps, contacts, apps and social integrations.
■ Seamlessly connects with all your existing calendar services so you’re always up to date (supports Google Calendar, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL & iCloud)
■ Fast and intuitive – Schedule with one click and use voice control to add events
■ Awesome widget – We’ve created a widget that makes any peak at the agenda – a fun experience
■ New day, Every day – Each day starts with a fresh & gorgeous photo to celebrate the day in a fun way.
■ Daily Planning made simple. By connecting Cal with Any.DO you can check out your Any.do tasks for the day.
■ It’s always someone’s birthday. Write on your friends wall, buy a gift, make a call, or send them a message. It’s really easy.
■ At your fingertips – Cal makes it easy to find great places, restaurants, and bars nearby for meeting friends, family, and coworkers
■ Scheduling made easy – Simply jump to a specific date from the month view or swipe to next week.
■ Need a ride? Call an Uber with one click from Cal (available on supported locations)
■ Landscape view – tilt your phone for a more open view of your calendar (Android only feature!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIgW719D4AQ&w=560&h=400]

Far be it from me to pass judgement on which Android tablet is the true “gamers” tablet, but a new survey via AllThingsD suggests the Kindle Fire is the people’s choice for gaming. According to a survey conducted this past June by IDC and App Annie, Amazon’s Kindle tablets received around 12% of the votes, far more than all other Android tablets combined. 

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Google has now added the Play Music app to the MyGlass page, allowing Glass users to use voice controls to play music through the device. The announcement was made by Google engineer Stephen Lau on Google+.

The Play Music APK was first spotted in the Glass XE11 update last month, and users were able to side load the app, but it was not officially listed by Google at the time. Now it is. As we explained then:

Once the app is loaded, simply say “OK Glass, listen to,” then the name of a song, artist, album, or playlist. A card will then pop up with results and allow you to specify what to play. A new card also stays pinned for further music control, including Play, Stop, Skip, Rewind, and volume control … 
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Visual Supply company, the group behind the uber-popular VSCO cam for iOS has finally set December 3rd as their Android release date. The app, available for most Android devices running 4.0 and above is a great camera app in the iOS arena and a most welcome addition to Android. This announcement in and of itself is good news, but what’s really great news is the price: free.

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If you’ve been looking for a good book these days, Google just made selecting your next novel a little easier with a special Google Books sale. The Cyber Monday deal is good on over 100 bestselling books, with discounts up to 75% off the cover price.

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We’ve already had a glimpse at Google’s Cyber Weekend extravaganza with deals on games, books, music, gadgets, magazines and TV series. However, even with our Cyber Weekend announce post earlier today, a new post with a broken down list of ALL the deals Google is hosting over the weekend was in order. Below you’ll find a list of all the hardware, software, subscription, music and game deals you will find from Goog this weekend. Credit goes to The Verge for compiling the full list but hit the Google Play link below to get your shopping groove on.

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Google’s Play Store Cyber Weekend deals are now live with some excellent savings on games, movies, bestselling books, TV seasons, movie deals and in-game discounts!

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Google’s support for Chromecast is still fairly limited even as the promise of more apps continues to be on the horizon. Thankfully, the apps that do support Chromecast are some of the most notable and widely used across the web: YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and as of the last week, HBO Go.

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Oh Google, you’re so good sometimes when you let the world know that the HTC One Google Play edition isn’t the only device receiving KitKat today. According to the +Android page on Google+, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Google Play edition is also beginning its Android 4.4 KitKat rollout.

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ZOMG, it’s happening! Google Play edition HTC One owners should be on the lookout for an over-the-air update to Android 4.4 KitKat. The update weighs in at 320MB and according to Android Central, is arriving automatically on some handsets already.

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Say hello to Google Newsstand, a brand new app for your Android phone or tablet which brings together all of your favorite news sources in one place. Do you subscribe to magazines, newspapers, blogs and news sites? Of course you do and Google is putting all of the full length articles, complete with images, audio and video right inside the app. Articles will be available for offline reading or can be bookmarked to read later.

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Android Police reports that Samsung is offering a $50 Google Play Store credit to owners of its Galaxy Note 3 phablet.

The good news is that, unlike most promotions, this one appears to apply to existing owners – a welcome unexpected bonus. The bad news is that it’s U.S. only. Full details of how to get your credit below the fold … 
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