Google - 30/79 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

How To: Redeem Google Play Gift Cards Using The Device Play Store App

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Tips & Tutorials

If you've been following the Play Store-related news cycle recently, you are probably well aware that Google is on the verge of releasing gift cards for use on Play Store's digital goods. The Redeem functionality, along with a new Wishlist, came with the new Play Store APK v3.8.15 that started rolling out yesterday but, unfortunately, the UI does not expose it yet.

There is no web interface for redemption either, but after digging through the APK, I discovered that it was set to intercept calls to http://play.google.com/redeem. So, while you can't pop up the Redeem Activity in the app directly without hacking, removing the stock app, and installing the re-signed hacked version, there is a much easier way.

Aug

One Lucky Guy Buys $25 Google Play Store Gift Card, We Successfully Redeem It [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News

Well, well, well, what have we here? It's one of those upcoming Play Store gift cards we discovered yesterday and saw earlier today. This specific one was purchased at a local Turnersville, NJ Target by one of its employees. The kicker? He claims they are just hanging out in bins next to the checkout counters waiting to be put up on one of those gift card walls. Anyone shopping at the store can grab them from the pile, purchase (the system already allows it), and give them a new home.

Here, check it out:

Now for the best part. The code from this gift card is now in our full possession (thanks, Mongocrush!).

Aug

Google Flips The Switch On Smart App Updates In The Play Store [Video]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Videos

There seems to be quite a lot of movement happening behind the scenes at the Play Store - yesterday we discovered that Google Play Store gift cards and wishlist are getting prepped for launch, and today Google seems to have enabled those smart app updates that we've been salivating about since Google I/O.

Normally, when an update to an application comes out, the Play Store downloads it in full, which with large apps and slow connections can get quite painful (think 50MB+ sizes). Smart app updates, announced at an I/O session in June, was the solution. When enabled, only the incremental difference (a.k.a.

Aug

[Update: It's Live!] Google Maps Is About To Get An Update To v6.10, Adds A Ton Of New Public Transit Info And Features

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

It's not quite live yet, but Google would like you to know that Google Maps 6.10 is on its way to handsets by the end of the day. "What's new for me, the public transit user?" I hear you ask. Quite a bit, in fact! First off, Google has announced that it now has data on more than one million transit stops worldwide, spread throughout almost 500 cities. In an effort to make that information more usable, the Transit Lines map layer can now me narrowed down to a single method of transportation. Um. Yes please.

In addition, station pages will now show departure times, which lines serve the station, and how far to other platforms nearby.

Aug

Now You Can Add Your Discover Card To Google Wallet Straight From Discover's Site

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

When Google announced that it would support all major credit and debit cards, it was big news. What may have slipped under the radar, however, is that Mountain View also sent an open invitation to card issuers to sign up for tighter integration into the service. Today, Google is announcing that you can add your Discover card to Google Wallet directly from your account on Discover's website. You even get fancy card graphics now, too!

The process is stupid simple to set up:

To save your Discover Card to Google Wallet, just follow these short steps:

Visit discover.com/googlewallet and sign into your Discover account

Click “Add Your Card”

Sign into your Google Account

And that’s it!

Aug

Google Play Movie Rentals Come To Germany, Hangouts On Air Spread Through Europe

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, News

One of the most common complaints against Google's Play Store is the lack of certain content or functionality in countries outside the US. Google has been making progress in expanding access to other corners of the globe, though. You may remember, for example, that Play Books hit France just last month after Play Movies opened for the French in March and for Spain in June.

Today, Google (finally) brought Play Movie rentals to Germany, much to the delight of German users who have been asking for more Play content for quite some time. Strangely, the addition of movie rentals to the German market came without an official announcement, but was confirmed by multiple Twitter users and our own readers.

Aug

Google Is Gearing Up To Finally Introduce Play Store Gift Cards And A Wishlist [APK Teardown]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, APK Teardown, Apps/Games, Google, News

Last Updated: October 17th, 2012

A new Google Play Store v3.8.15 apk started rolling out to Android devices today, but upon running through its UI, I was unable to uncover anything different from the versions before that. Yet the apk size gained a few ~~pounds~~ kilobytes, and not knowing what the 300KB of code and resources added was killing me. Not to worry, a few minutes later, I decoded both 3.7.15 and 3.8.15 and compared their contents.

Play Store Gift Cards

What I found inarguably points to Google gearing up to finally release redeemable Play Store gift cards - something we've been anxiously waiting for since the Android Market started supporting paid apps.

Aug

Google+ App Updated To 3.1.1: Now You Can Join Hangouts On Air From Mobile, Other Less Cool Features Added Too

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

Google has released an update to its social network app on Android today that should please Hangout enthusiasts both young and old. For starters, now you can join Hangouts on Air via your mobile device (like the one we use to broadcast our weekly podcast every Thursday at 8pm EST hint hint). This is fantastic news as Hangouts on Air are among the most useful application of the already-awesome Hangouts feature. Unfortunately, until recently, you could only join via a desktop, but no more!

Additionally, Google is now allowing teens to create and join Hangouts via mobile. Which, apparently, they could not do before.

Aug

Google Adds 'Prior Art Finder' And European Patents To Its Patent Search Tool, Pretends There's No Subtext

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Earlier today, Google rolled out a brand new feature for its online patent research tool: prior art search. Now, while looking at a patent, you can click a single button to pull up a host of results from Google Patents, Google Scholar, Google Books, with a bit of Google's typical search results sprinkled on top. The goal, of course, is to aid in researching whether a patent that's been filed is "new and not obvious." Which is far more complex than it sounds.

Reading between the lines, one could possibly infer that Google wants to make it easier on its partners (or itself) to prove their inventions are unique, or to avoid infringing patents that have already been granted (which is different from a patent that has been filed, mind you).

Aug

Googorola, Phase 1: Trim Product Lines And 20% Of Workforce, Focus On Making Just A Few High-End Products

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Google, Motorola, News

Just three short months ago, China approved Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility, effectively finalizing the deal. Apparently, neither company is looking to waste any time, as Motorola's new Google-driven leadership has already revealed the basics of the big turnaround plan. The first step: lay off 20% of its employees (including about 1,330 in the US) and close 94 offices around the globe. Given that Moto's phone unit has only made a profit in 6 months of the last 4 years, that's not so surprising.

What is perhaps more interesting is that Googorola will cut the number of devices made to "just a few," including dropping low-end devices from the portfolio entirely.