Category: Android Tablet

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

Google has released an update to Google Play Music for Android that should be a welcome sight… erm, I mean sound, to users.  The update, version 6.0.1995S for those keeping score at home, has completely overhauled support for Chromecast with all of the new updates and features of this release focusing on your ability to stream music through your Chromecast.  The update is rolling out now to the Google Play Store so if you haven’t received it yet, you should over the course of the next 2-3 days.  For those who haven’t tried Google Play Music, it is a free app (ad supported) that allows you to stream music and store your own music in the service.  For $9.99 per month you can get ad-free listening and the ability to download content to listen offline.

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

I will admit that I’m a bit retentive when it comes to my work space. Everything has a place and everything should be easy to reach but equally, it needs to be tidy and organized. I don’t like seeing cables sticking out everywhere and I certainly don’t like my devices sitting on the desktop. They take up space and I already have a small enough desk space.

When I started looking for a desk stand for my Nexus 6 and Nexus 7, there were plenty out there but I couldn’t find that perfect one. That was until I discovered the Kbtel Micro Suction stand on Amazon. The aluminum body is angled perfectly for device viewing while you are stat at your desk. It also has a unique micro-suction technology that securely holds your device in either landscape or portrait mode. Add to that cable management on the back of it and the Kbtel stand is an elegant and simple design that just works.

Kbtel Universal Micro Suction Stand – $16.99 – Amazon

One of the most common questions I get here on the site has to do with screenshots.  The questions generally fall into two categories.  First, how to actually take the screenshot itself and second, how I create the images that you see in reviews or posts on applications.  In both cases they are easy and free to do and hopefully this How To will clear it up for you.

First, let’s focus on the actual screenshot taking process itself.  On your Android phone or tablet, when you are viewing the screen you want to capture, press the power button and volume down button at the same time.  You will know that you have captured it when your screen flashes and you see a fading image of what you captured on the display.  You will also get a screenshot notification in your Notification area.  The screenshot itself will be a PNG file and will be stored in your device’s photos folder.

Google has released an update to Google Slides today that will bring improve slide sharing, especially for those of you who share slides while using Google Hangouts.  The update is build 1.2.372.11.35 for those keeping score at home and it is a build for both Android phone and tablet devices.  It was released by Google today into the Google Play Store but it may take a few days to reach your devices.

As a reminder, for those who did not catch my series of articles on migrating to Google Docs, you can read Part 4 which covered my move to Google Slides.

Google Slides for Android – Free – Download Now

Over the past several weeks I have been migrating my office productivity apps from Microsoft Office to Google Docs. This is part four of the four part series and will cover Google Slides, the presentation application of the Google Docs suite.

If you have not read the first three parts of the series, that may be a good place to start if you are interested in making a similar migration yourself. If you are only wanting to learn my thoughts & opinions on Google Sheets, this article will do it for you.

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

With this final part of the series, I will be keeping the same format as I have on the other three parts:  Focusing on how Google Slides performs in Chrome, on a Chromebook and on Android devices.

As a reminder to everyone who is thinking of making this migration, a word of advice-meets-warning I posted as part of the first article.

Take your time.  You will find that the majority of features in Microsoft Office are in the Google apps but they will be in different places.  It may take you a few menu clicks to sort it out.  Be patient.  Give it a chance.  Sure it may turn out that it isn’t right for you and your needs but I would suggest trying the experiment over a week or two before you make a final verdict.  It isn’t as big a migration from say a PC to a Mac but it is similar to moving from Internet Explorer to Chrome in many ways.  Same thing, but bits in different places and this process or that process may be a little different.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and your migration to Google Docs won’t happen that fast either.  Patience is the word of the day.