Category: Google

Earlier this week Google released the Pixel C, their latest-and-greatest Android tablet, into the Google Store and now you can download the factory image of Android 6.0.1 for it.  The code name for the unit is Ryu and the latest build for the tablet is 6.0.1 (MXB48K).  Given that the Pixel C is a Wi-Fi only tablet, we likely won’t see a lot of variations on the factory images going forward which will make it easy for those who want to flash them to the device.

For those who aren’t familiar, factory images are full builds of Android for the various Google Nexus and Pixel devices.  Aimed mostly at the developer community, anyone can flash their device with the latest factory image if they want to regress to a previous version or want to always have the latest version of Android on their device without waiting for the carrier or Google to send out the over-the-air (OTA) update.  To use a factory image, your bootloader must be unlocked and you can find the full instructions on the Factory Images site.

For subscribers to Project Fi, there is a new version of the app for Android available.  The update is version G.1.7.12 for those keeping score at home and while it brings some bug fixes and stability improvements, it also adds a key feature:  Notifications of service outages.

I have been using Project Fi on my Nexus 6 for a couple of months now and while I have not been impacted by an outage, there have been issues in the past like any other carrier (especially a new one like Fi).  To this point, in order to find out about an issue, you can to email, call or chat with the Fi team which can be a bit more time consuming.  Now that requirement is gone as you will get notifications of any outages right within the app.

If you are curious about Project Fi, you can read my review of the service to see what my experience has been like with it.

Back in September at the Google event where we saw the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X for the first time, Google teased that Google Play Music for families would be coming soon to the streaming music service.  Since then, thanks have been a bit quiet on the offering but that ended earlier today.  On the Official Android Blog, the company outlined that the service will be available “in the coming days”.

You and your family will be able to sign up for a Google Play Music family plan in the coming days on Android devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France and Germany, with more countries coming soon. You and your family members can listen on Android, iOS and the web.

If you are a family with lots of music lovers, this will be a great plan at only $14.99 per month for unlimited streaming and downloading for up to 6 members of your household.  Keep in mind that a single subscription is $9.99 per month so basically for $5 you getting 5 additional accounts.

If you are a Chrome browser user on Windows, Mac or Linux, there is another new update coming your way.  The team announced on the Chrome Releases blog yesterday that build 47.0.2526.80, for those keeping score at home, has been released to the stable channel and that updates to your installed version of Chrome are rolling out.  In all, there are 7 security fixes in this release, 2 of which were considered high priority.  As has become the practice, Google is not releasing details of what exactly was addressed in the release just yet.

Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.

If you have Chrome installed on your PC, Mac or Linux device, the update will come to you via an OTA update.  You can also force the issue by going into Settings>Advanced Settings and check for an update.

While the numbers are not dramatic, Android Marshmallow continues to gain in use and share according to the latest Android Developer Dashboard on versions of Android in use.  The latest version of the mobile OS made its debut in the report last month and as of the report today, is on .5% of all devices that went to the Google Play Store for the period ending December 7, 2015.  That is up from .3% in the initial report.  Although it is far from where everyone would like it to be, the growth is significant in these early days of Marshmallow as it shows more manufactures are getting the update out to their devices.

In comparison however, Android Lollipop still has 29.5% share which actually increased a bit as well over last month while KitKat, the top version out there, fell by nearly 1% which should be expected at this point in the life cycle of the release.

Google has finally released the Pixel C, their latest Android tablet meets laptop replacement device, to the Google Play Store.  The Pixel C was announced at the Android Marshmallow and Nexus event a few months ago and it has only been a matter of when the Mountain View company would release it.  That wait has ended today with the 32GB unit starting out a $499 while the 64Gb until will start at $599.

Like Apple with the iPad Pro, Google is trying to develop an answer for the Microsoft Surface which this past month out sold the iPad lineup.  Google’s focus with the Pixel C is like the iPad Pro which is to bring laptop-like functionality in an easy-to-use and highly available device.  While it will remain to be seen if the 10.2″ display device will meet the need, many Android users and fans have been waiting for its release.