update

OnePlus announced this morning that its flagship One smartphone, announced last April, will be updated to run the latest Android L operating system within 90 days of Google shipping the final release of the software. 
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Almost immediately following the pandemonium that was the release of Android 4.4.3, Google is now rolling out software version 4.4.4 of its mobile operating system to Nexus devices via an over-the-air update. Yesterday, the company released factory images of its newest version of Android, so device updates were pretty much inevitable. The new release only weighs in at 2.5MB and is believed to squash a few bugs that were missed by its predecessor.

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Google-owned, social navigation app Waze for Android and iOS has been updated today. Version 3.8 introduces a cluster of new features, including friends via contacts, which lets you sync your phone’s contact list with your Waze friends, keeping you connected when heading to the same destination. Also new is the ability to send your current location to friends, as well as addresses from your favorites and history. When you share an address with a friend, they’ll receive a link from Waze with directions to the location that can be used whenever they’re ready.

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The streaming media app AllCast received a hefty update this morning with some much needed features. Koush, the developer and creator of the app, updated AllCast to version 1.1.1.6 on the Play Store. New with the update is a new tablet interface. The tablet design has a split view that allows you to browse your media selection on one side of the interface and control playback on the other side.

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SwiftKey may be working on an iOS version of its popular input app, but its roots are with Android. Aware of this, the smart keyboard’s Android variant is now free to download from Google Play. Without a doubt one of the better input options for mobile devices, this is almost an irresistible option for anyone looking looking to replace their device’s stock keyboard.

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If you’re among the elite group of people who ponied up $1,500 for Glass, you’ll be glad to know that Google’s popular wearable computer has learned a few new tricks. First off the bat is an upcoming update to MyGlass for Android that will instantly display pictures on your compatible phone as soon as you open the app. To launch the apps’ new filters and editing tools, simply tap a photo. Once finished, you can then export the finished product to your favorite photo sharing app like Facebook, Instagram or VSCO.

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After teasing the redesign earlier this year, 1Password has finally launched a much-needed update to its Android app. Prior to this update, 1Password on Android was hideous, to say the least. The new version released today brings an entirely refreshed interface to the app that puts it on the same level as its iOS counterparts.

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The forthcoming update for Minecraft Pocket Edition is said to be the game’s biggest patch to date and judging by developer Mojang’s recent blog post, there’s a whole lot of change on the world builder’s docket. Some of the new features for this mega-release include: unlimited worlds, a new culling algorithm, updated falling mechanics for gravel and sand, along with new insta ticking for water and lava.

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Yesterday, Google released the factory image of Android 4.4.3 for a fleet of Nexus devices. This was all good and well, but not everyone was comfortable with the idea of manually flashing a device. Thankfully, the folks from Mountain View didn’t leave people waiting too long and as of this very moment, Google is in the process of pushing out an over-the-air update of Android 4.4.3 for last year’s Nexus 7.

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Following announcements for the roll out of Android 4.4.3 for a number of Android devices yesterday, Motorola today confirmed its own roll out schedule for Moto X, Moto G, and Moto E. Here’s the break down of who gets it first starting this week:

• Moto X T-Mobile users
• Moto G users who bought online in the U.S. (includes Moto G 4G LTE) and at retail in Brazil
• Moto E users who bought online in the U.S. and Canada. For Moto E users, you are still up for the next major Android update as well. Consider this the cherry on top.

While users will get the improved dialer (pictured above) and other fixes we previously detailed for Android 4.4.3, Moto X and Moto G users will also get the Moto Alert app, and “pausing for video recording with a convenient pause/resume button on the viewfinder,” while Moto X gets improved camera image quality:
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Google has just released an update to its Camera app on Android, as part of its “Update Wednesday” regiment. The update bumps the app to version 2.2 and adds several new features. One of the biggest new features is the ability to shoot photos in either 4:3 or 16:9 cropped resolutions. Although, it’s important to note that the cropping affects the total resolution of the image. So if you were to shoot in 16:9 on a Nexus 5, the resolution maxes out a 6MP. This changes depending on the phone you’re using, of course.

Google has also added the timer feature back to its Camera app with this update. The company removed it earlier this year, for some odd reason. The picture timer allows you to choose either 3 and 10 second timings for taking an image.

The update also adds new modes for shooting panoramas, including a fisheye setting. There’s also now a small settings icon on the first launch.

Google’s Camera update is available on the Play Store now.

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Google this afternoon released a small update to its Text-To-Speech app on Android. The update bumps the app to version 3.1, and while it may not be the biggest update, it certainly packs some useful changes for a handful of users. The update adds support for selecting and speaking text in Polish, Dutch, and Russian. It also improves its already existing support for some English dialects spoken in India.

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Earlier this week, Google rolled out Panda 4.0 and Pay Day 2.0. These updates to the search algorithm were touted as being designed to further reduce the ranking of low-quality and spammy content. According to analysis by Searchmetrics, Panda and Pay Day did just this, with websites that offer undifferentiated content suffering in terms of overall ranking.

However, Panda did not just punish websites: various major websites actually increased their rank in Google Search as a result of the change in algorithm. From the study:
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Google has made two notable changes to its search algorithm in the past 24 hours, both of which continue Google’s crusade to keep its search results relevant. The 4.0 release of the Google Panda algorithm is intended to make it more difficult for websites with poor quality to rank highly in search results (via SearchEngineLand).

Payday Loan Algorithm 2.0 was also released yesterday, and it targets “very spammy queries,” and is unrelated to Panda’s rollout:
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Sony today released Android 4.4 KitKat for some of its Xperia line of devices, including the Z, ZL, ZR, and Tablet Z. The update is rolling out based on location, as well as by carrier, so it may still be some time before you see the update notification on your particular device.

The release includes the performance optimizations and tweaks found in stock Android 4.4, but also carries various Sony enhancements.
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There’s leaks, and then there’s this. @evleaks has posted a full, rotating render of the HTC M8 Prime. The Prime is rumored to have updated specs and a larger design in order to better compete with the LG G3, rumored Galaxy S5 Prime, and a larger iPhone later this year. The full render is included after the break.
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