Category: Android

The Google Docs team has started the new month with some great new features in the suite for those in education and in business.  The biggest change is a new research function which allows you to harness the power of Google search all from within the app.

Now we’re taking the first steps to incorporate the power and intelligence of Google into Docs. We hope to make analyzing your data more intuitive, editing more accessible and document styling more dynamic – now your documents can be as beautiful as your ideas are bold.

The biggest and boldest new feature is the Research function in the Google Docs apps for Android.  Now you can research information from within the app leveraging Google.  To do this you will need the latest builds of the Google Docs (build 1.4.352.09.34) and Google Sheets (1.4.352.09.34) which are now rolling out to the Google Play Store.  As with most updates like this, you could see this update in a matter of hours or a few days.

Last month I began a series of four articles on my migration from Microsoft Office to Google Docs. In part one of the series I covered the foundations for making Google Docs work the best for you both online and offline. In part 2 I focused on Google Docs, the document editing app that is most analogous to Microsoft Word.

In part 3 I am going to focus on Google Sheets, the spreadsheet application that is part of the suite. Like I did in part 2, I am going to cover the app from the perspective of working with it from a desktop, from a Chromebook and from the Android app.

If you have not had the opportunity to read part 1 and part 2, you can find the links below for your reference.

My Migration to Google Docs Part 1 – The Setup

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

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.

As expected, the flow of Google apps updated today after the new company logo was revealed has been pretty constant. The first one I saw was Google Maps but now many of the other apps have been updated. A key one is Google Search and the new Google Now that comes along with it if you are using the Google Launcher.  Google Now is a much cleaner, more refined design now and it significantly more organized.  I personally live in and love using Google Now and this upgrade is just fantastic in my view.

Google has released an update to the Google Play Music app for Android that brings several fixes to the streaming music app as well as support for Android Wear.  The update is build 6.0.1984S.2219729 for those keeping score at home and like playing Google Version Bingo and it is rolling out to the Google Play Store now.  The update will benefit everyone, especially if you like to stream radio from the app so it is worth taking the time to pick up the update.

Google Play Music – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Arguably one of the best mobile racing simulators available today is Real Racing 3. It has outstanding graphics and game controls and the FireMonkey team over at EA Sports are continually adding to the game, bringing more tracks and more cars. Now, finally, it has NASCAR.

The mega update to Real Racing 3 that is available now in the Google Play Store brings the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) to your Android phone or tablet. In brings you the ability to race as a top driver including the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. amongst them as you go for oval racing glory.

Real Racing 3 for Android – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

The startup team over at Nextbit have finally launched their first glimpse of their first smartphone, the Nextbit Robin, or simply the Robin.  This new smartphone will be powered by a pure version of Android Lollipop (with Marshmallow in the works) and will have a unique blend of cloud storage and on-device storage.  The reality is that we all access cloud storage on our devices anyway.  Nextbit’s point is why not leverage that to its fullest.  That’s exactly what the San Francisco company wants to do with their first smartphone.

To that end, you won’t find massive amounts of storage built into the Nextbit Robin – 32GB.  But it comes with 100GB of cloud-based storage with apps designed to help you keep track of just how much storage you are using.  Plus, it dynamically moves apps (not your personal data) to the cloud storage when you have not used that app for a long time.  That way you can free up space on your phone but instantly get that app back on the device.  Its a slick concept.