Category: Android

Microsoft has released another big update to their collaboration app, Microsoft Teams.  The app has brought some much needed improvements to both the Android and the iOS versions of the app, bringing it more inline with the desktop version.  In this update, version 1416/1.0.0.2017051604 for those keeping score at home, finally brings tabs visibility to the mobile app.  This includes being able to see the Planner and OneNote.

The other big feature is the ability to edit messages that you have already sent.  This feature includes messages with images.

Today’s Deal over at Amazon is a quick, 4 hour sale on the Anker PowerLine USB-C cable.  The 3-foot USB-C to USB-A 3.0 cable is down to $5.59, down from it’s normal price of $11.99.  This price is good until the timer runs out or the designated number of cables are sold.

Anker makes some great accessories and I have no hesitation in recommending them.  Their cables are well designed and constructed so they will last a long time.  They are also backed by an 18-month warranty.

One of the best apps of late last year was Gboard from Google.  It replaced Google Keyboard and it is a much smarter, faster keyboard for your Android devices and for iPhone, where it debuted originally.  Now Google has quietly added a nice new feature to Gboard when you use it within Google Assistant.  It provides you with common search phrases just above the keyboard to make interacting a bit faster.

Assuming that you have Google Assistant on your phone (if you have Android Marshmallow or Nougat, you likely do), just long press the Home button on your phone to bring up Assistant.  Normally at this point I find it faster just to speak to Assistant to get the information I need but there are times that I can’t do that (I’m in a quiet place for example).  After you open up Assistant, note the keyboard icon in the lower left corner.  Tap it and that opens up your keyboard so you can type a query.

Мои русские друзья, это хороший день для вас!  Good news for those in Russia.  Android Pay has come to your country with 15 banks supporting it.  The tap-to-pay service has been rumored for weeks to be coming to the country but Google made it official on their Russian site today.  It’s good news for a country and good for Android Pay as it continues its slow march across the planet.

As for the banks supported, here is the rundown:

• Sberbank
• Alfa-Bank
• VTB24
• Russian Standard Bank
• Raiffeisen Bank
• Bank Otkritie
• Rocketbank
• Tochka
• Russian Agricultural Bank
• Yandex.Money
• B&N Bank
• Tinkoff
• Promsvyazbank
• Ak Bars Bank
• MTS Bank

While it certainly isn’t every bank in the country, key large banks within the country on on the list which means it will hit a large percentage of customers.

The calorie and diet tracking app MyFitnessPal has an update rolling out to Android users that will more granular nutrition information to your diary entries.  When you add an item to your diary, be it from a manual entry or a barcode scan, the app will now give you information such as calories, carbs, fat and protein in that item.  It will also give you the percentages of your daily goals in these areas with everyone getting calorie percentages while Premium subscribers get carbs fat and protein percentages.

The information is aimed at helping you make informed and wise food and drink decisions to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

One of the announcements this week at Google I/O ’17 was the addition of Smart Reply to Gmail.  This one-tap feature allows you to reply to an email quickly and without having to type anything in response.  It is a feature that has been in Google Inbox for some time now and it appears that users of the Gmail app on Android are starting to see it show up.  If you aren’t familiar with Smart Reply, here is how it works at a high level.

Using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the email you receive is interrogated for information – Is there a question?  Is there a date or time?  Those kinds of things.  If such an item is found in the email, you will see a selection of replies to that question at the bottom of the page.  Just tap the appropriate response and a new email pane is opened.  Tap send and you are done.  That’s it.