Category: Android Phone

Google has released an important update to Google Sheets today that will help power users while on their Android phone or tablet.  The latest update brings the ability to Auto-Fill cells and will auto switch the keyboard based on the content of the cell you are editing.  These features should make a huge difference for users on mobile devices.

Google Sheets for Android – Free – Download Now

Google has dropped a couple of small updates in the Google Play Store for the Android Wear and Google Messenger apps for Android Phone.  Both updates are in the bug fix and performance improvement categories so don’t look for any new features in either of the releases.  In fact, the updates don’t even update the release notes.

Android Wear, the app that lets you sync up your Android Wear device to your phone, has been bumped to build 1.3.0.2171751 for those keeping score at home.  It builds on the last major update to the app, just last week.  In testing the update this morning with my Moto 360, I’m not seeing any changes in functionality and frankly, it was stable for me before this update so its a bit of a wash.  If however you have been having issues, get this update and see if it addresses them for you.

Android Wear for Android – Free – Download Now

Google Messenger for Android – Free – Download Now

When compared to some of the more advanced activity tracking apps available in the Google Play Store, Google Fit seems pretty basic.  And it is.  While designed to be a hub of all your physical activity, Google Fit has some growing up to do.  Yet there is a simplicity about the app that makes it a joy to use.  It’s not cluttered with endless bar charts or huge amounts of data shoved in your face.  The data’s there, but tucked away so you only focus on the here and now.

I’ve been using Google Fit for the past several weeks as I explore its benefits and its limitations.  There are plenty of both and if Google continues to build on it as they have done over the past few months, it will be a powerful application for you to keep track of your steps, miles walked, runs, swims and other activities along with your weight.  Plus, there are already other apps like Withings and RunKeeper that plug into Google Fit to be that central hub of activity.  And it’s free and with Android Wear support, the future is bright for this app.  But you will need a bit of patience for now.

Google Fit – Free – Download Now

Over the weekend I posted all of the wallpapers for the new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and S6 edge+ here on the site.  Today I’ve managed to get all of the wallpapers that are shipping with the new OnePlus 2 and have uploaded them for everyone to download and enjoy on their devices.

Over the course of the past month I have been in the process of trying and slowly migrating to the Google suite of Office apps:  Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides.  It started as an experiment to see if it would hold up to the compared to Office 2013, up until now, my main Office suite.  I have to say, for my work and what I need out of these applications, they work amazingly well and the transition has not been nearly as painful as I expected it would when I started this little science fair project.  In fact, it’s to the point now that I probably won’t go back for 99% of what I need to do.  Indeed this weekend I plan on uninstalling Office 2013 from my laptop because for that 1% of the time where I need something extraordinary, I can simply use Office online.

Is it the right thing to do for you?  That’s a personal decision but here is how the migration has gone for me.

This will be the first of a multi-part series I’m writing on migrating to the Google suite of Office apps.  This first part is going to cover the setup and foundation of getting your files migrated to Google Drive, setting up for offline work and using Chrome extensions.  Part 2 is going to cover Google Docs on a desktop PC, a Chromebook and the mobile apps.  Part 3 will do the same for Google Sheets while the final part will cover Google Slides.

The personal finance, Mint for Android, has received another minor update that brings with it a new Weekly Summary Page.  If you aren’t familiar with Mint for Android, it is designed by Intuit, the same folks behind Quicken and Quickbooks.  Mint is for personal finance, allowing you to quickly add your banking, credit card, loans and investment accounts to the service which allows you to quickly and easily track them as well as your budget and spending.  This latest update, build 4.3.4 for those keeping score at home, is available now in the Google Play Store.  To use the app and service, you will need a Mint account which is free & you can sign up for it within the app itself or on the Mint website.

Mint for Android – Free – Download Now