Google

Hot on the heels of updating the Docs app for Android, Google has just started rolling out an update to Sheets on Android, as well. The update is packed full of changes, both feature-wise and in terms of design. The update comes just days after Google announced it was shutting down Quickoffice on iOS and Android and introduces several features formerly available in the mobile editing app.

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It’s official. Google has purchased music streaming service Songza (Play Store). Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a report broke last month that Google was offering $15 million to acquire Songza. The deal follows Apple’s announcement earlier this year that it bought music streaming service Beats Music and headphones and accessories maker Beats Electronics for $3 billion.

The service is expected to improve Google’s own Play Music service as well as YouTube (and could possibly benefit YouTube’s potential music service) and other services, and Google says that nothing will change for Songza users in the immediate future.

If you’re not familiar with Songza, the service offers curated playlists in a music streaming service across various platforms including Android, iOS, and the Web. Playlists are chosen in several ways including based on moods and occasions.

Check below for statements on the acquisition from both Google and Songza…

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The Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition has been the subject of a lot of leaks lately, between it passing through Bluetooth certification, briefly appearing on the Play Store, and appearing on a Play Store support page. Now, notorious Twitter leaker @evleaks has posted a render of the device, seemingly confirming its existence, yet again. The Google Play Edition S5 looks identical to its TouchWiz counterpart, aside of course, from the software.

The Google Play Edition HTC One M8 is already available on the Play Store, so it seems a bit odd that it is taking Samsung and Google so long to release its Play Edition device for the year, but with this render coupled with all of the other leaks, the device still seems to exist and is presumably coming sooner rather than later.

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Google’s Play Music All Access service may soon be getting a rebrand, at least according to a support page that appears to have been preemptively updated. First noticed by Android Police, this support page refers to Google’s streaming music service as the catchy “Google Play unlimited music subscription.” The support page in question is for a promotion currently running for the Nexus 7 that offers Google Play Music All Access.

This change is most likely to help people differentiate Google’s music streaming service from the reportedly upcoming YouTube streaming service that has been in the works for a long time. YouTube’s music streaming service will reportedly run entirely separate from Play All Access (or Google Play unlimited music subscription), so it is believable that Google would want to change the name of the service to something more recognizable. Although, we can’t say that Google Play Unlimited Music Subscription is a very catchy name.

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Google this afternoon started rolling out an update to its Play Music app on Android that bumps it to version 5.6. While the update is not all that big, it does coincide well with the recent announcements at Google I/O this week. One of the biggest changes comes to how device authorizations are handled. You still get to have 10 devices active on your Google Music account, but now only five of them can be phones. The other five can be any combinations of tablets, computers, and other devices. This is obviously not a huge deal for the average user, but could cause issues for power users. The account switcher UI itself has also been updated.

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Google today in a blog post announced that it is closing down its first attempt at a social network, Orkut. Google says the network will officially bite the dust on September 30th, though starting today, it is no longer possible to create an account for the service. Leading up until September 30th users will be able to make the transition to Google+ or another social network of their choosing. Users will also have the ability to export their profile data, photos, and posts through Google Takeout. The Orkut app will be removed from the Play Store and App Store today.

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The Independent is reporting that UK cinemas are to ban the wearing of Glass in movie auditoriums over fears the device could be used to video films for piracy purposes – the same month Alamo Drafthouse implemented a ban in the U.S.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, said: “Customers will be requested not to wear these into cinema auditoriums, whether the film is playing or not.”

The Vue cinema chain said it would ask guests to remove the eyewear “as soon as the lights dim” …

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Way back in 2012, Google announced that it was acquiring the mobile document editing company Quickoffice. At the time, Google said that it had no intentions on shutting the service down, but would also work to integrate the unique features of QuickOffice into its own suite of editing apps. Following the announcements of new features for Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets at I/O, the company has announced that Quickoffice will soon be shutting down (via The Google Operating System Blog).

“With the integration of Quickoffice into the Google Docs, Sheets and Slides apps, the Quickoffice app will be unpublished from Google Play and the App Store in the coming weeks. Existing users with the app can continue to use it, but no features will be added and new users will not be able to install the app.”

Quickoffice for Android was last updated on February 14th of this year, while the iOS client hasn’t seen an update since January 6th. We knew that eventually, Google would be forced to shut down Quickoffice to focus exclusively on the Google Drive suite of apps. Google never promised to keep Quickoffice running forever.

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At Google I/O this year, the company unveiled a trio of new operating systems, Android TV, Android Auto, and Android Wear. All of these operating systems, of course, run with an interface designed by Google itself. There was doubt, however, surrounding whether manufacturers would be allowed to overlay their own interface on top, like many do with Android. While speaking with Ars Technica, Google’s engineering director David Burke put an end to our doubts and confirmed that OEMs will not be allowed to overlay their interfaces on top of Android Auto, Android TV, or Android Wear.

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I was debating which Android Wear watch to get at Google I/O between the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch. Sadly what won out overall was probably the look of the Gear Live (which looks like a Tizen-powered Gear 2 minus the camera and a few other minor details). Samsung’s offering also has heartbeat monitor and a higher resolution OLED display but LG has a bigger battery and LCD display (which didn’t help much with outside viewing from my brief usage).

I’ll say what everyone else was saying: We’d all rather have the Moto 360. But those come later this summer – which ends in September. Both the industrial design and the almost round face put the Moto 360 in another league but will probably put it in another price league as well. Both LG and Samsung will come in around $200.

How was the experience with the Samsung Gear Live?
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After an interview this morning on how Google came up with idea for Material Design, Google vice president of design Matias Duarte sat down with The Verge for another interview. In the talk, Duarte discussed a variety of things that Google set out to achieve with Android “L” and the Material design aspect of it.

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Google this morning rolled out an update to the Maps app on Android with a feature that will certainly make Google I/O 2014 attendees happy. Bumping the app to version 8.1.1, the update resolves the issues surrounding Android Wear’s compatibility with Google Maps.

Many Google I/O attendees noted that the Maps integration with the new Android Wear devices was entirely nonexistent, despite Google’s on-stage demos. Today’s update, however, adds integration between Wear and Maps like Google showed us during its keynote. With Maps on a smartwatch, you can search for a location and start navigation directly from your wrist. The watch, of course, still communicates with your phone for the data.

Now that Google has officially released the full Android Wear SDK, we expect to see a lot of apps updated with Android Wear support over the coming days and weeks. You can download the Google Maps update on the Play Store now.

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For several months now we’ve been hearing rumors that Google’s new Android Silver program was going to replace the Nexus line of devices. This, of course, caused some uproar among the stock Android faithful. David Burke, head of Android engineering and the Nexus program at Google, spoke out in an interview today to put those rumors to rest. Speaking to Read Write, Burke said that people are simply getting excited about the concept of something new (Android Silver) and forgetting about Google’s reasons for the Nexus line in the first place.

“People just get excited by concepts and forget why we do things. We are still invested in Nexus,” he said. “People have been commenting about Nexus because there is something else and they think that means the end of Nexus. That is the totally wrong conclusion to make.”

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After calling it the biggest update in Android’s history, Google yesterday announced that it would be making its Android “L” update available, albeit in preview/beta form, to developers today. The files were posted on the company’s official developer website earlier, and since then I’ve installed the preview on my Nexus 5 and been digging through it, seeing what kind of changes I could find, both mentioned and unmentioned by Google…

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After its keynote yesterday, Google gave all of its I/O attendees a makeshift virtual reality headset, dubbed Cardboard, because well, it was made out of Cardboard. On its website, Google broke down all the parts you would need if you wanted to build one on your own. It looked relatively easy, but with out the pre-perferated cardboard that Google gave out, it could be tricky. Dodocase, the company behind some of the best looking iPad and iPhone cases, decided to take advantage of the hype surrounding Cardboard and release a kit for making your own.

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During a session at its I/O developer conference today, Google announced that it’s partnering with LG to build a tablet that’s part of its Project Tango program to release to consumers next year. Google earlier this month announced that it was releasing a prototype Tango tablet, but only for developers. The version made by LG will be intended for consumers, and presumably, cheaper than the $1024 developer version.

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After launching a red color variant earlier this year, it looks like Google is now planning to release a yellow Nexus 5 sometime soon. If you look on the official Android website and scroll down to the Nexus 5 section, you’ll now see that the description touts it as being available in “black, white, red, and yellow.” Prior to the red model of the Nexus 5 launching, there were some whispers of a yellow variant, but nothing ever came of them.

Seeing that the yellow Nexus 5 is listed on the official Android website, it seems likely that it is legit. The only question now is when it will launch officially on the Play Store. We’d assume that the shade of the yellow used will be similar to the bright yellow used on the official Google bumper for the Nexus 5.

With Google I/O taking place this week, it seems like the perfect time to launch a new color variant of the company’s flagship device. Keep your eyes on the Play Store.

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Yesterday at its I/O developer conference, Google introduced its new take on bringing the power of Android to the living room with Android TV. Google’s new “L” version of Android will power set-top boxes and full TV sets from Razor, Asus, Philips, Sony and more bringing voice control and gaming capabilities to the entertainment experience.

In addition to making an Android TV SDK available later today so developers can create software for Android TV, Google has already released a remote control app on the Play Store for use with Android TV when it’s available later this year. Google notes that the app is intended to work with the ADT-1 Developer Kit. The app features both a d-pad and touchpad for using your Android device to maneuver around the Android TV interface. Android TV Remote Control is available today on the Play Store.
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The WSJ is reporting that Google has begun removing search results following a European court decision that individuals have a right to require Google to remove links to information which is “outdated or irrelevant.”

Following the ruling – known as the ‘right to be forgotten’ – Google created a webpage application and announced that each would be evaluated by hand on a case-by-case basis, balancing the right to privacy against legitimate public interest. The company now says that it has begun acting on these requests … 
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