Author: Clinton

Earlier this week I posted a Public Service Announcement to remind everyone to keep their eyes open for updates to their favorite apps as Google and other developers prepare for the release of Android Marshmallow next Tuesday.  It seems now that is happening in earnest and Google Messenger is the first app I’ve found in my updates that explicitly calls out Marshmallow support.  The update is version 1.5 for those of you keeping score at home and it is available now in the Google Play Store.  If you already have Google Messenger installed on your Android phone, it make take a day or two to hit your account.

For those not familiar with it, Google Messenger is the SMS/MMS app from Google that came standard as part of Lollipop but is now a stand alone app.  You can read my review of it here.

Google Messenger for Android – Free – Download Now

At the Google event earlier in the week, we heard about the new Nexus Protect program for the first time.  The program covers your new Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P against manufacturing defects or inflicted damages on the devices for 2 years.  Now Google has pushed the button and the MyNexusProtect is now live.  While you can’t make claims or really do much more than search details on the site, this eventually will be the portal by which customers who sign up for the service when they get their new 5X or 6P can make claims.

LG has pulled back their rumored LG V10 today, showing a 5.7″ QuadHD device with some pretty impressive specs.  The new LG V10 will come with Android Lollipop (I’m assuming it will be upgraded to Android Marshmallow at some point) and features dual front facing cameras and an always on feature on the display to allow users at a glance to see information like battery remaining, weather and of course the time.  When the display is on, this becomes the app launcher in what LG is calling a second screen.

Working independently, the Second Screen can be set up as an “always on” dis- play to enhance the V10’s productiveness all without impacting battery life. Set the Se- cond Screen to display the weather, time, date and battery icon when the main display is off. With the main display on, the Second Screen can be set to convert to a dedicated launching area for shortcuts or your favorite apps. What’s more, when you’re enjoying a movie or game on the V10, the Second Screen will notify you discreetly without block- ing your view when a call or text comes in. Ignoring the notification won’t distract you from your enjoyment or you can pause whatever you’re doing to respond.

It is a somewhat unique answer to getting the maximum amount of information to users without cluttering things up on the display.

Yesterday as part of the Google event, the company laid out a lot of the changes that are coming to Google Photos.  One of those big new features was support for Chromecast which will allow you to share your photos via a cast and even allow you to navigate your photos while others are viewing an image on the television.  That update, version 1.6 for those keeping score at home, has now been published to the Google Play Store and available for download.  You can even cast photos that you haven’t backup yet.  It’s an great new feature that anyone with a Chromecast will appreciate.

Google Photos – Free – Download Now

Yesterday’s Google event threw out a lot of facts and figures that could have easily been missed if you were distracted at any moment during the 1 hour plus presentation.  If you haven’t had a chance to view it by-the-way, you can do so here.  One interesting number that was thrown out yesterday is actually very telling about where the personal computing industry is today.  Google announced yesterday that there are 1.4 billion active Android users in the world today with a new 400 million active users added since May of last year.  That figure is important because it is only 100 million shy of the once all dominant Windows platform.

Paul Thurrott has some great insights on this over at his site if you want to research this a bit more.

In an effort to bolster their own Rich Communication Services (RCS), Google has acquired Jibe Mobile, a leader in the space.  For those who don’t know, RCS is a new standard that is being rapidly adopted by mobile carriers as an they look to provide richer content than SMS can provide.  RCS allows you to do things like group messaging and high resolution photos and Google is working closely with the mobile industry to help get this new service enacted.

In a post on the Official Android Blog, Google outlines that the acquisition of Jibe Mobile will help them continue this adoption work and will build upon what Jibe Mobile has already built in this space.