Category: Google

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.

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

Yesterday Google released an update to the Google Search app for Android.  While that itself isn’t really news worthy, it is what is in it that makes it so.  Google Now on Tap is included in this build, something that was mentioned at Google I/O at the launch of Android Marshmallow but to date hasn’t made an appearance.  With this new version, 5.3.19.19 for those keeping score at home, Now on Tap is enabled but you have to be running the Android Marshmallow developer bits to get the benefits.

Google Search for Android – Free – Download Now

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

While Chrome OS is rock solid as a platform, like any Operating System, there are times where things go wrong.  The technical term is “poop”.  Sometimes it just poops and you are stuck looking at a screen that tells you there is a problem with it.  Fortunately Google has made it very easy to recover your Chromebook and Chrome OS through a Recovery drive.  You can create these drives ahead of time which is a good idea so you have one with you in your back while you are traveling.

Creating a Recovery drive for your Chromebook is pretty easy but you have to make sure you follow the steps to assure you get the right build for your particular Chromebook.  In this How To I’ll show you how to create a Recovery drive so you have it ready in case the worst happens.

There are plenty of Android tablets on the market of all sizes but one of the best remains the Google Nexus 7. The Asus built 7″ tablet hit the market in 2013 and two years later, it is still one of the best tablets you can buy. It offers fantastic specs that rivals many tablets today plus has a display that is nothing short of amazing.  Couple that with a pure Android experience and you have the complete package.

I’ve been using the Nexus 7 for the last couple of weeks as my main tablet over my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 and I don’t see myself going back.  I’m personally a big fan of the 7″ to 8″ tablets as they travel well (and I travel a lot) and while the Nexus 9 certainly offers many of the same benefits, the size of the Nexus 7 is a big advantage if you are looking for this size device but don’t want to compromise on features or functionality.  Equally, the tablet is still readily available with the 32GB Wi-Fi unit priced at only $199 making it a great value for what you are getting in the Nexus 7.

Google Nexus 7 – 32GB Wi-Fi – $199