Tag: Android

I am apologetically addicted to skiing.  I love tech and my career but at 9 times out of 10, if you ask me what I’m thinking about, I’m going to tell you skiing.  2017 has been a great season for me so far and like many skiers and riders, I want to keep track of where I’ve been, how fast I’ve gone and how many vertical feet I’ve skied in a day.  One of the best and most complete apps for this is Snocru.  The app allows you to track all of these statistics for the day and does it in a battery friendly way.  Snocru also lets you link up with friends who are skiing with you so you can compare stats and share that information with each other or on social networks like Facebook.

I’ve been using the app for the past few weeks to track my skiing and it has quickly become a must-have app for me.  If you are a skier or snowboarder, you will probably find it a must-have app too.

After five years of virtually no updates or improvements, the all new Google Voice experience launched today.  The new 5.0 build of the app brings a Material Design look and feel to the Android app as well as an improved Web and iOS interface.  Functionally, there isn’t much new as far as what you get with Voice.  The apps however are a big improvement.

The new Google Voice apps has the more contemporary three-tab navigation with a FAB (Floating Action Button) for various activities in the app.  The app’s tabs are for messages, Calls and visual voicemail.  The new web interface has a similar design with the different tabs being accessible on the left side of the screen.  It is a vast improvement over the clunky KitKat-style previous build.

For a while now, the Chrome OS team has listed the various Chromebooks that support Android apps on the Chrome OS Systems Supporting Android Apps page.  To this point, the page listed the devices that would be seeing Android app support which has been through the developer and beta channels of Chrome OS.  It is expected that the stable channel will see Chrome OS 56 this month and fully launch app support for everyone.

Over the weekend, the support page changed with a clear and important statement regarding future devices.  Any Chromebook from 2017 onward will have Android app support.  While this isn’t entirely unexpected, the news is good for those who are considering a Chromebook and it further solidifies the relationship between Google’s two platforms.  While it appears unlikely we will see a merger of the two, it is clear their handshake relationship is supported and will remain so for the immediate future.

Today’s Deal over at Amazon is on the BLU R1 HD.  This 5″ HD curved display phone has been out of stock for a while but has returned at a great price of $59.99 for the 16GB storage model.  Like other Amazon Prime exclusive phones, the R1 HD comes with adverts on the lockscreen.  If you can live with that and are looking for a solid performing phone for yourself or a gift, take a look at it.  Normally it is $99 and if you order it you can get it in a couple of days thanks to free Amazon Prime shipping.

The BLU R1 HD is powered by a quad-core MdeiaTek 6725 processor running at 1.3GHz and has 2GB of RAM.  The 16GB of built in storage can be expanded up to an additional 64GB thansk to the MicroSD support.  The R1 HD is also a dual SIM phone for those who travel abroad.  The cameras on the phone include an 8MP primary camera and a 5MP front facing selfie camera that includes an LED flash for your selfies.

With the election of the 45th President tomorrow, now is a great time to check out the White House.  Can’t make it to Washington, D.C.?  No problem.  Google Street View has added a wall through tour of the residence of the President that allows you to explore all the different rooms of this grand house.

The tour of the White House is available in Google Maps online but if you have the Street View apps on your Android Phone, you can just search for White House and it will get you there, complete with a wall through that you can do at your own pace.  And the best part is, there are no queues to enter.

The Project Fi app for Android and Fi members has an update rolling out that allows some management features of Group Plans.  Referred to as the “M” update, users who upgrade and have group plans enabled will be able to manage some elements of that plan including being able to limit a users data allocation.  However, in order to create a group plan, add or delete a member of the plan, you will still need to go through the Fi website.

Group Plans have been in Fi for a few months now and had been one of the most requested features of the MVNO service from Google.  Like other carriers, group plans allow you to share a pool of data with up to 5 members.  It is great for families or even small businesses.