Author: Clinton

Earlier this week, Google dropped a pretty big update to Google Clock in the Play Store.  While most of us look at clock apps as pedestrian and not very exciting, this update to Google Clock actually brings a lot of new functionality and features that will make this utilitarian app a bit more useful and personal.  The update is build 4.2 for those keeping score at home and is available for both Android phones and tablets.

Among the changes in this update is the ability to have your alarms gradually increase in volume so you are gently notified or awaken instead of being jarred awake by a blasting alarm.  Speaking of alarms, you can now also select your favorite ringtone as your alarm sound instead of the standard ones the app offered previously.

Google Clock for Android – Free – Download Now

Without a lot of fanfare or hoopla, Google quietly celebrated the 7th birthday of Android.  On September 23, 2008, Android 1.0 made its debut with T-Mobile G1, also known as the HTC Dream making it commercially available for the first time.  To celebrate the release of the mobile operating system 7 years ago, Google has released 3 celebratory wallpapers which you can download for your device.  All three feature a sweets-and-treats them, as you would expect, and come in a shade of blue, white and black backgrounds.

Clinton’s Wallpaper Pages

It has been a long time coming but EA Sports has finally released FIFA 16 Ultimate Team for Android today.  The updated game brings you access to 10,000 players across 500 licensed teams globally, meaning that you can build your ultimate football team to take on the world.  There are a lot of improvements to this years game, most notably the graphics.  The game play and graphics in FIFA 15 were not bad but FIFA 16 Ultimate Team really improves upon them both.

FIFA 16 Ultimate Team – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Google Text to Speech, the underlying TTS engine that powers many other apps on Android devices, has been updated today and coming with that update is support for four new languages.  You won’t find a Google Text to Speech app on your devices.  Rather, think of this as a service that runs in the background that other apps like Google Translate uses to translate text to spoken word or Google Play Books when you have the app read the book to you.  The update is build, wait for it, 3.7.12.2235583 for those keeping score at home and is available now in the Google Play Store.

Google Text to Speech for Android – Free – Download Now

Starbucks has dropped an update to their official app in the Google Play Store that rolls out nationally the Order & Pay functionality.  The update is build 3.2 for those keeping score at home and you can now order your favorite Starbucks drink or food item, order and pay for it on your Android phone, then simply go to the store and pick up your order.  No more waiting in queues!

The update is available now in the Google Play Store and expands the Order & Pay function as part of the rollout the company announced today.  While it is only available in the United States currently, it is expected that support for the feature will roll to the United Kingdom and Canada in October.  It should also be noted that the feature only works with Starbucks company stores, not those run by franchises.

Starbucks for Android – Free – Download Now

Google has released an update to the Gmail app for Android and with the update comes some nice inbox management tools.  The update is in the process of being released into the Google Play Store and should be arriving on your Android phone or tablet over the course of the next few days.  With the update will come the ability to block senders (something you can already do but it is improved) and unsubscribe to a newsletter from the message menu.  It gives you a bit more control over your inbox and should help declutter it a bit.

Gmail for Android – Free – Download Now