Category: Android Tablet

For those of you who use Google Photos, there are some big updates coming your way both in the Android app and on the services website.  In a post on his Google+, Google’s John Elstone posted about the changes which are going to be released this week, likely today or tomorrow.  The first two updates have to do with the Android based Google Photos app and focus on being able to delete backed up photos from your devices and SD cards to save space.  The third update is on the Google Photos website that brings a much wanted downgrade feature for photos from “Original Quality” to “High Quality”.

Google Photos for Android – Free – Download Now

Google’s efforts to continue to improve the suite of Google Docs apps continues as the inch ever closer to being on par with Microsoft Office.  The latest update is to Google Slides, the presentation app for Android, with the addition of some more advanced editing features as well as bug fixes and improvements. The update is build 1.2.452.11.30 for those keeping score at home and is rolling out now to the Google Play Store. If you have Google Slides installed already, you should see the OTA update for it in the next few days.

If you missed it, I did a four part series on my migration from Microsoft Office to Google Docs for my day-to-day work. At the time of those posts, Google Slides was already powerful and very close to being on par with PowerPoint.  That gap is now closed further with this update.

My Migration to Google Docs Part 1 – The Setup

My Migration to Google Docs Part 2 – Google Docs on All The Toys

My Migration to Google Docs Part 3 – Between the Google Sheets

My Migration to Google Docs Part 4 – Sliding to Google Slides

While I said in the first part of this series that this migration isn’t for everyone, I do encourage to give the Google Docs suite a try. I think you will find that they can accomplish 95% of everything you need in these apps (save you power Excel types).

Google Slides for Android – Free – Download Now

You install a new app on your Android phone and suddenly, stability is out the window.  While it doesn’t happen often, there are times when you have a misbehaving app that is just creating havoc on your ability to use your phone.  Sometimes it is to the point where you can’t even get your phone to a point where you can deal with the misbehaving app.  For such circumstances Google has built in a Safe Mode into Android that allows you to boot your phone into a mode where all 3rd party apps are disabled, giving you the opportunity to deal with it in a stable environment.  Getting into Safe Mode is pretty easy and you should only use it in a situation like I’ve described above.  In this How To I’ll show you how to get into Safe Mode on your Android devices.

Google Docs for Android has received a nice update today that brings with it several new and important features to the document processing app.  The update is version 1.4.412.07.30 for those keeping score at home and brings things like spellcheck and word count to the app amongst other features and improvements.  The update to the app is rolling out to the Google Play Store now so you should see it as an OTA update any time today or over the next couple of days.

If you have been considering moving from Microsoft Office to Google Docs, I posted a 4-part series on my move over.  It’s not for everyone but with improvements like the ones today, the transition is certainly getting more on par from a feature perspective.

My Migration to Google Docs Part 1 – The Setup

My Migration to Google Docs Part 2 – Google Docs on All The Toys

My Migration to Google Docs Part 3 – Between the Google Sheets

My Migration to Google Docs Part 4 – Sliding to Google Slides

Over the course of the weekend, Netflix dropped an update for their Android app in the Google Play Store.  The new 3.15 version – for those keeping score at home – is primary a bug fix release while also bring full support for Android Marshmallow to the app.  Nothing super news worthy but what was worth a mention was a tease that Netflix put at the bottom of the release notes:  Call Netflix Help directly from the app.  While no indicator of timing was given in the notes, the idea of being able to get technical support directly from within the app is one that could help users quickly if they are having trouble.

Netflix for Android – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Last month during the Google event that saw the Nexus 5X and 6P announced, Google made several announcements around other services including Google Play Music.  While the big news was the upcoming family subscription service, the ability to send subscription gives was also very briefly mentioned.  That feature it appears has now gone live.

If you navigate to the Google Play Music app on your Android phone or tablet and open the hamburger menu, you will now see a “Send gift” option.  Tapping it will take you to the Google Play Music website where you can then place your gift subscription order.

Google Play Music – Free (in-app purchases) – Download Now