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Kiwanuka is a Lemmings-inspired physics puzzler that we've been looking out for on Android since we heard about it on iOS. Thanks to a partnership between original devs CMA MegaCorp and the developers at Jakyl, the game has finally made its way to our favorite platform, and it's awesome.
One of my few complaints with the Netflix app for Android has always been that the app makes it more difficult than it should be to indulge in binge-watching behavior. Watching episode after episode of a TV show meant either going back into the episode list again, or hitting the show's tile from the home view again, and neither was ideal.
Google translate can be tricked into providing some hilarious results, but for average queries, it generally does a really good job of translating and offering additional information like synonyms and usage types. It looks like Translate on the web is learning a couple of new tricks though - recently, Google flipped the switch allowing Translate to show usage examples and word definitions. Various alternate translations (sorted by frequency) still appear on the right, while the new bits of info appear in a column on the left.
A couple of months ago, we posted one of our early Google Search/Now rumors, and it was something of a long range rumor compared to others. While things like parking reminders, proper timer management, and bill pay reminders have already seen their public release, the ability to set contact-based reminders ("remind me when I'm with this person"), hasn't come forward yet. But it will likely appear very soon with a new feature in Android called Nearby, which will allow new interactions between you and nearby people, places, and things.
For some reason, it seems that streaming music is the new hotness in the world of tech firm acquisitions. Today, the New York Post reports that Google is eyeing the acquisition of Songza.
Kingsoft, makers of the popular productivity app Kingsoft Office, today announced that the Android app has reached 210 million users around the world. To mark the event, the app has been rebranded to WPS Office and given a new icon to match. The announcement comes on the heels of the app's update to version 6.0, which introduces "over 100 feature updates and enhancements," including a revitalized interface, support for 44 languages, and - in Kingsoft's words - "much more."
It looks like Hangouts on the web is learning a new trick. Some users are reporting that Hangouts can now sketch a message, drawing with a variety of brush widths and colors on a little scratchpad, which is sent to the user on the other end of the conversation as an image. To sketch, users need only hover over the camera icon, click on the pencil icon that appears, then draw away. Once a sketch has been sent, it can apparently still be edited, as shown in the gif below sent to us by a kind tipster.
A while ago, we posted about information we'd received indicating that sometime soon, Google's search functionality (and other actions) would be expanding beyond the Search app, moving into other apps for device-wide search interaction and - eventually - app-specific functionality.
Google's reinvention of the Chrome bookmark system, called Google Stars, was first spotted by Florian Kiersch nearly a month ago. Today, it looks like the Chrome extension and web interface are already live for the public, preceding any official word from Google about the burgeoning bookmarking service. For now, it looks like Stars is still in a dogfooding or testing phase.
Samsung's Galaxy S5 Active Made Official, Available From AT&T In Camo Green, Ruby Red, Titanium Gray
The Galaxy S5 Active, Samsung's much-leaked ruggedized version of its latest flagship, is now official, and available from AT&T in three colors - Camo Green, Ruby Red, and Titanium Gray.
Several days ago, it was brought to our attention that Google's Search app finally allowed completely touchless reminders, whereby a user could set a reminder from start to finish without touching the device. Previously, reminders required a touch confirmation at the end of the process. Now, the "voice of Google" simply asks if the user would like the reminder to be set. Saying "yes" will complete the interaction.
During CES this year, Google and NVIDIA announced partnership with GM, Honda, Audi, and Hyundai in forming the Open Automotive Alliance. The initial announcement was predictably sparse on details, noting only the initiative's core principles, and the goal of bringing Android to cars. After hearing approximately nothing about the effort since then, we now have information that gives us a first look at Google's vision for Android in the Car, referred to internally as Gearhead.
Yoel Kaseb, who last month posted a series of screenshots purporting to show a revamped Google+ interface (which ended up being proven mostly accurate in a recent update), is back again, this time posting photos of what is allegedly a new Gmail interface.
Back in April, we posted a rumor that Google Now was on track to properly handle timer queries (like "set a timer for five minutes") using the clock app's built in timer functionality, rather than simply setting an alarm.
Gmail just got an update to version 4.8, an update that brings with it some refreshing UI changes, and a few other features too. First, we'll take a look at the UI tweaks.
A few days ago, Google added a line of official snap cases to the Play Store for the Nexus 5. Some readers may be yearning for a closer inspection of Google's late-entry accessory, which - at first glance - looks a lot like the myriad cheaper options available online, so we're going to give it a quick look.
As promised, the companion app to Google Glass, MyGlass, got a big update today. The bump from version 2.2 to 3.0 allows for sharing from Maps directly to Glass, but is otherwise purely aesthetic. Users will enjoy a slick new interface centered around a slide-out menu, which breaks out the Glassware Gallery, your active glassware, device info, and selected contacts into separate views.
In case you were getting bored with the already reasonable selection of official Nexus 5 accessories on the Play Store, Google has just slipped in a new series of Google-branded snap cases for the phone, priced at $29.99 and coming in Black, Aqua, Silver, White, and Clear variants.
After holding a one day sale, running out of inventory, and accidentally leaving the store open, the team behind Google Glass promised to find more ways to expand the Explorer Program to those who wanted in.
The Google Glass team hasn't taken a break since pushing out XE16 - there have been four updates so far, and according to Glass team member Kiley, there's another on the way: XE17.1.