Category: Android Phone

If you are a fan of Google and have been reading the Interwebs today, you know it has been a busy day.  Loads of leaks and other details about the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P have been flowing like water and this is all the day before the actual Google event tomorrow in San Francisco.  Some of the news has been confirmation of what we already pretty much know like the specs of the 5X and the 6P but some of it has been new tidbits.  One of those new rumors is that Google plans to sell the new Nexus lineup online only through the Google Store.  Some have read this as a risky move by Google given that they will ultimately be bypassing the carriers who did sell the Nexus 6 and previous devices as well as other retailers.  In fact this decision to sell them online is the first time Google has done this since the original Nexus One back in 2007.

To me however, this is a smart move by Google.  It gives them the cleanest path to the consumer and it follows the trend that the market is dictating, namely people want to buy devices and not necessarily be tied into a carrier contract.  Yes they have to get it right and there are examples of how to get it wrong, including Google themselves, but this could be the way of the future for all manufactures.

Earlier this afternoon I posted the full specs of the Nexus 5X and now its time to tell you about the Nexus 6P.  The Nexus 6P is the larger of the two devices, coming in with a display of 5.7″ and is expected to be announced be available for purchase tomorrow at the Google event in San Francisco.  The 6P is expected to start at $499.99 and will be the first Nexus device to offer 128GB of on-board storage should you want to go that route.  The Nexus 6P certainly has the specs of a flagship but like the 5x, there are some things that make me scratch my head a bit.

While all of the Angry Birds hype these past few months has been on Angry Birds 2, the franchise itself still has a lot of older games that are just as fun.  The 2nd oldest in the series, Angry Birds Rio, received a somewhat rare update today, bringing with it 20 new Amazon River themed levels to the game.  The update is version 2.5 for those keeping score at home and it is available for both Android phones and tablets.  It is a freemium game so it won’t cost you anything to download but there are plenty of in-app purchases to further yourself along should you chose to do so.

Angry Birds Rio – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Earlier this week, Google dropped a pretty big update to Google Clock in the Play Store.  While most of us look at clock apps as pedestrian and not very exciting, this update to Google Clock actually brings a lot of new functionality and features that will make this utilitarian app a bit more useful and personal.  The update is build 4.2 for those keeping score at home and is available for both Android phones and tablets.

Among the changes in this update is the ability to have your alarms gradually increase in volume so you are gently notified or awaken instead of being jarred awake by a blasting alarm.  Speaking of alarms, you can now also select your favorite ringtone as your alarm sound instead of the standard ones the app offered previously.

Google Clock for Android – Free – Download Now

It has been a long time coming but EA Sports has finally released FIFA 16 Ultimate Team for Android today.  The updated game brings you access to 10,000 players across 500 licensed teams globally, meaning that you can build your ultimate football team to take on the world.  There are a lot of improvements to this years game, most notably the graphics.  The game play and graphics in FIFA 15 were not bad but FIFA 16 Ultimate Team really improves upon them both.

FIFA 16 Ultimate Team – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Google Text to Speech, the underlying TTS engine that powers many other apps on Android devices, has been updated today and coming with that update is support for four new languages.  You won’t find a Google Text to Speech app on your devices.  Rather, think of this as a service that runs in the background that other apps like Google Translate uses to translate text to spoken word or Google Play Books when you have the app read the book to you.  The update is build, wait for it, 3.7.12.2235583 for those keeping score at home and is available now in the Google Play Store.

Google Text to Speech for Android – Free – Download Now