Category: Android Phone

Fitbit has released an updated version of the app for Android phone that, while mostly focused on fixes and improvements, also brings a new look to the exercise tracking of the app.  The updated build is version 2.15 for those keeping score at home and it is out in the Google Play Store now.  If you have the app installed you can expect the OTA update at any point over the next couple of days.

The Fitbit app has always had a exercise log where from the main page you could enter in exercise (or sync it from another app if you log elsewhere (I log in MyFitnessPal personally and have it sync)) and see in a calendar form how you did for a particular week.  That information along with minutes exercised and calories burned is still there, but now you have a weekly challenge that you configure to help you stay on task of getting and staying healthy through exercise and a sensible diet.

Fitbit for Android – Free – Download Now

Today the Google team has rolled out a great improvement to the search results on your Android phone or tablet.  Now when you do a search of a band, actor or actress, TV show or Movie, you get a significant amount of more information about them than just the search results themselves.  The update was announced on the Inside Search blog and it is a behind-the-scenes update from the company.  That means it is working now for everyone on Android devices and soon will work for iOS Google Search.

If you search for a band, you will see an overview of that band, albums and photos of the band, see songs information, links to videos of the band of particular songs, their discography and you are a tap away from playing their music from sources like YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.  It is a great way to help you identify more music from a song you have heard or if you have a favorite band (Rush fans unite!) you can get all kinds of great information on them.

After using an invitation system on all three of their devices, OnePlus has announced that starting Saturday, December 5th, an invite will no longer be required to purchase a OnePlus 2, the companies 2016 flagship device.  The news came via the OnePlus forums and it certainly welcome news.  As I put in my article on why the OnePlus 2 needed to be successful for the company, I pointed out that the invite system had to go smoother than it did with the OnePlus One. It didn’t really and in fact many people found it quite frustration.  I get it though as it was a great way for the company to determine their production needs.  That, unfortunately and by their own admission, messed up (again) and that has not helped the nearly 2 year old startup phone company.

The OnePlus 2 has had good reviews and most users seem to be very pleased with the device.  For a 3GB RAM/64GB Storage device at only $389, it is a great value and should make everyone’s short list of device to consider for the holidays.  One key feature to be aware of however is the lack of NFC, something the still invite-only OnePlus X does have built in.

As a Nexus 6 user, I have enjoyed using Google Contacts for managing my contacts and Google Phone as my dialer since Day 1.  These are, after all, the default apps that come on Nexus phones as well as several others.  Now everyone can uses these apps if they chose as the company has rolled them out as standalone apps in the Google Play Store.   I would say that this has been a long time coming.

Google began rolling out standalone versions of many of their apps at the beginning of this year and that has continued throughout 2015.  It is all part of an effort by the company to provide a “Google experience” through their apps and not simply mark them for Nexus use only.  Indeed I wrote on this very subject back in July and I firmly believed then as I do now that this is part of the larger strategy that will bring additional success with Android to Google.  Key to that is the fact that they can roll out updates like these today without requiring a new build of Android – or carrier involvement in that process. You can read why Google apps are so important to the future of Android at this link.

Google Contacts is a solid contacts manager

The updated version of Google Contacts is 1.3.07 for those keeping score and while the big news is the standalone distribution of the app, there are also some nice tweaks and improvements in the

Google Contacts for Android

release too.  The editing of contacts is now a bit more streamlined and you won’t have to do as many taps to add information or edit existing information.  It’s not a big change mind you but it is a change that long time users of the app will appreciate.  There are also a fair number of bug fixes and other improvements in performance to the app.

Fundamentally Google Contacts is much like any other contacts manager so those of you who are new to the app, don’t expect a lot of bells and whistles.  It gives you what you need and it is a solid performing app like many of the other Google apps.  Perhaps more importantly though, you will get to experience what Google really had in mind when they came out with these and Android.

Google Contacts is free in the Google Play Store.

Real Racing 3, arguably one of the best racing simulators for mobile platforms, has received another big update this month that brings a whole host of new cars, challenges and events.  Amongst those update is the new Lamborghini Huracana LP 610-4 which for most of us, let’s be honest, is the closest we will ever get to driving the real thing.  Not a Lambo fan? No problem as you can also try your driving skills in an Aston Martin Vulcan, Koenigsegg Regera and the McLaren MP4-12C Spyder.

If you are looking to drive a hyper-car, this game has it for you.

This update to Real Racing 3 is big at 48MB but certainly not as big as some of the updates in the past.  Still, you will want to make sure you are on Wi-Fi to do the download so you don’t eat up your data plan.  For those keeping score at home, this update take the game to version 4.0.3.

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

One of the key features that has been missing from Instagram for, well really forever, has been the ability to log into multiple accounts.  For individual users, that may be no big deal. But for those of us who have a personal account and a corporate account for example, you are constantly having to log into one account then to the other.  It is a bit of a time suck and when you are in a hurry, undoubtedly you enter in your password wrong.

There seems to be light at the end of this particular tunnel.  Over the weekend, Instagram started rolling out a beta version of their Android app that allows you to sign into multiple accounts in the app at once.  Once you have your accounts in the app, you simply toggle between them much like you can do with the Twitter app for Android today.  This new feature is in beta so it isn’t something everyone can go download but after the break I outline how to get in on the action.