Category: Android Tablet

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.

Google Play Newsstand – Free – Download Now

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.

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.

With Android Marshmallow only days or weeks away from release, Google is starting to pave the way for it with updates to their various apps and services.  One update that is rolling out now is the Google Play Store app for Android phones and tablets.  The update is build 5.9.11 for those keeping score at home and it has an improved look to it as well as underlying services to improve the overall functionality of the store as it relates to Android Marshmallow.

The update is rolling out in the Google Play Store now so it may take a few days for it to hit your devices.

Google has reported that Android Lollipop now makes up 21% of the Android device population that is hitting the Google Play Store which is certainly good news but it still lags behind Android KitKat by a considerable margin.  If you remember back in August I reported that the Android Lollipop figures that Google reported was at 18% so within a month there has been a healthy 3% bump.  This is good as it means that OEMs are getting their updates out and new devices hitting the market are running Lollipop in some form or another.