Category: Android Tablet

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

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

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

While speculation has been rampant the last few weeks, it is now confirmed that Google is hosting an event in San Francisco on September 29th.  The event has all the makings of a huge showing from the company with a wide range of products expected to be announced and of course the launch of Android Marshmallow.

Invites to the events tagline  “Join us for some tasty treats and much s’more.”  is a great play on the whole Marshmallow theme and pretty much guarantees that the next version of Android will be officially launched at the event.  With the huge number of app updates from the Google stables happening these past few days, that’s hardly a surprise as all of them are prepping for Android Marshmallow.

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.