Author: Clinton

Toshiba has pulled back the covers on their latest Chromebook, the Chromebook 2, which will be available next month and starting at only $329.99.  The 13.3″ displayed device which weighs in at only 2.9 pounds and has a full HD display running at 1920 x 1080.  To come with that display are front facing Skullcandy tuned speakers for a superior audio experience.

The Chromebook 2 will come in two variants according to the Toshiba press release.  For $329.99 you will have the Intel Celeron powered device while for $100 more you can have the 5th Generation i3 processor powering your Chromebook.

The Rugby World Cup 2015 started this past week in England and if you are a big fan of the game, the official Rugby World Cup 2015 app for Android is a must have app for your phone or tablet.  Not only does it provide you with the latest scores from each match but it will give you the times of the matches in your local time zone and you can stream audio from the matches on your devices.  It’s a great app that is easy to use and gives you news and other information about this year’s tournament.

Rugby World Cup 2015 – Free – Download Now

Over the course of the past two weeks, there have been a significant number of updates to a wide range of Google apps in the Google Play Store.  These update primarily have been laying the foundation for Android Marshmallow which is expected to be released next week.  While those on Android KitKat or Android Lollipop will not see the full benefits of many of these update until Marshmallow, there are a few apps that have hints as to what is coming.  One of these is the Google Search app.

The Google Search app has been updated to build 5.3.19.19 for those keeping score at home and one of the big changes that comes with the update is an all new App Drawer and the ability to quickly and easily search for apps that you have installed on your Android phone or tablet.  The update has been published to the Play Store but it is slowly trickling out so you may not see the update for a few days via OTA updates.

Google Search for Android – Free – Download Now

There are cases for protection and cases for looks and every once in a while you find one that does both for your devices. For me, both are equally important and one of the best at providing both of these is Noreve.

Noreve is a French company who has been making leather cases and accessories for mobile tech for years and I have been fortunate enough to review some of their products in the past. Recently they sent me the Traditions B case for the Google Nexus 7 tablet and it is, as I expected, superb in every way.

Google has quietly rolled out a major update to the Google Fit website, the site that accompanies the health and fitness app for Android phones and tablets.  Since the launch of Google Fit a couple of years ago, the site has been a somewhat bland white and grey look with whatever highlight color you selected for your information.  The information was there but frankly the site wasn’t very organized.  That has all changed.  The Google Fit site now has a beautiful Material design look with far more information at your fingertips.  In fact, it makes the Google Fit app (which I’m a big fan of and use daily) look a bit antiquated.

If you have been waiting for the least week or so since its launch for your Google Wallet app to update to Android Pay, you can now take matters into your own hands.  Google has released the Android Pay app into the Google Play Store for you to download to your NFC compatible devices.  The app is free and if you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you can read my first look at the app from last week when I got it on my Nexus 6.  Essentially this is the replacement for the old Google Wallet app (there is a new one for sending and receiving funds) rebranded with some security improvements and other performance updates.  There are a long list of retailers that are already accepting Android Pay because they were accepting Google Wallet prior to the launch.  Additional retailers and financial institutions are there now too and many more are in the roadmap to be added in the coming weeks.

Android Pay for Android – Free – Download Now