With personal assistants like OK Google, Cortana and Siri becoming omnipresent on our devices, inevitably the question arises as to what commands you can use with these services. In the case of Google, they have made it quite simple. If you are using the Google Now Launcher on your device or simply use the Google search function, you are one voice command away from getting a good list of all the things you can do with OK Google.
If the title of this post wasn’t clear, let me solidify it for you. I love Google+. I appreciate that it is a somewhat dying (at least in the eyes of Google), stepchildish social network that is the butt of many jokes (“the only people who use Google+ are people who work for Google”) but it continues to be a key part of my day. There are a lot of reasons why, which I will share, none of which may be applicable to you. I’m not here to try to convince you to use the service. I look at all of the technology and services we use and I say the same thing to anyone who asks the question of which is better: You have to find the one that works for you. It could be an iPhone or a Nexus 6. It could be Facebook versus Instagram. It could be Google+ versus Facebook. There is no right answer here and I’m not going to try to tell you otherwise.
What I am going to do is tell you why Google+ continues to grow as a part of my everyday life. It comes down to content and community.
It is pretty much a given that Android Pay is just days away and Google continues to prepare apps and devices for that eventuality. The latest is a completely new Google Wallet app for Android phones and tablets. Now to be clear, this is a completely new and separate build of Google Wallet that is available today – and is still available. That’s right, if you use the link below to download Google Wallet you will have this new build and the old Google Wallet app. Why would Google do this? Think Android Pay.
Confused? Don’t be. Let me explain.
Google has dropped an update to the Google Play Newsstand app into the Google Play Store today that brings a new ability to keep track of news and scores from your favorite teams right from within the app. The update is version 3.4.4 for those keeping score at home (get it? Score? Sports? Work with me people) and is available for Android phones and tablets. If you aren’t familiar with Google Play Newsstand, it is the app that serves quite a few purposes for users. It is news collector from a wide range of sources from major news sources but also is a place where you can search specific topics and of course subscribe to magazines through the Play Store. The idea is that it is a one-stop shop for all your needs and periodicals and this update will help it achieve that goal.
A day after T-Mobile announced they were releasing security updates for the Nexus devices on their network, Google has now published the Factory Images for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013) Wi-Fi and Nexus 9 on the Android developer site. The images are available for anyone to download and install assuming they have root access to their device and are familiar with the procedure. Those who had rather not go through the process can simply wait and the update will be coming to the devices in the coming days via OTA. The build number, for those keeping score at home, is LMY48M and is an update to Android Lollipop as you would expect.
When it comes to Bluetooth keyboards, there are plenty to chose from in the market. The questions for most of use come down to two big factors: A comfortable keyboard layout (not too cramped) and the overall footprint of the device. It is a difficult combination to find but the team over at iClever have come up with what I think is an excellent and functional solution. The iClever Foldable Wireless Keyboard gives you the full keyboard feel of a keyboard you would have on your desktop (or close to it) while it neatly folds into a compact square that you can easily carry with you without taking up a huge amount of room. It works on any device that supports Bluetooth 3.0 or higher and it has OS-specific function keys for Android, iOS and Windows. With a standby time of over 200 days and 84 continuous hours of work time, this keyboard should meet the needs of even the most demanding user. All of this is in a package that sells for $34.99, a steal of a deal for all that this keyboard has to offer.
With the 2015 National Football League (NFL) season kicking off in a few days, the NFL has updated their NFL Mobile app for Android with several improvements for the 2015 season. In addition to getting you ready for all the stats, news and information about the league or your favorite team, the NFL Mobile app also has improved video playing and improved navigation. The update is version 12.0.66 for those keeping score at home and it is available now in the Google Play Store.
NFL Mobile for Android – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now
A couple of weeks ago I posted about Google moving the Google Hangouts traffic to a new domain, as part of an effort to increase security and performance. Now the company has indicated that Google Calendar traffic will be doing the same. Over the course of the next few weeks, Google Calendar traffic will start traversing calendar.google.com in what the company indicates is primarily a security improvement. Today when you want to see your calendar online you go to http://www.google.com/calendar. When this rollout happens, you can still go there but will be redirected to http://calendar.google.com.