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May

Google I/O Schedule Is Now Live, Get A First Look At All The Cool Android (And Other Google) Session Topics

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

In case the parade of trade shows and device announcements in the first half of the year aren't enough to keep you excited, Google I/O stands as the centerpiece of Android and Google hype. If you're just too eager to see what's going to happen late this June, then here's something to whet your appetite: The Google I/O schedule is now live at Google's developer site.

The schedule includes information for all tracks, including Android, Chrome, Google TV, YouTube, and all your other favorite Google products. As always, we can expect some great announcements at the keynote sessions, which will likely be the highlight of the event for most of us.

May

Google Play Store Expands Carrier Billing Options To Include Books, Movies, And Music On Sprint

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sprint

Last Updated: August 23rd, 2012

Two weeks ago, Google announced a series of expansions to carrier billing options for Play Store Apps, Movies, Books, and Music on various carriers. While some changes went into effect immediately, Sprint, which already allowed direct billing for apps, was one carrier that was listed as "coming soon."

As of today, all three additional options are available to Sprint customers: books, music, and movies. Not surprisingly, carrier billing is the default option since it's by far the cheapest to carriers and Google as they get to bypass credit card fees. While this addition doesn't benefit everyone, I can see a few handy uses for carrier billing:

you don't own a credit card at all
you don't want to add a credit card to your Wallet account for some reason, be it security, paranoia, or a medical condition that prevents you from typing 16 digits in a row (also known as laziness)
you don't want to pollute your credit card statement with multiple charges
you don't want your significant others with access to your credit card statement to see what you're doing

Enjoy, Sprinters!

May

Google Is Reportedly Planning A Renewed And Expanded Nexus Device Assault This Fall, And This Is Why I Love It

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Carriers, Editorials, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Rumors

This is the sort of quasi-rumor (it's fairly detailed and comes from the Wall Street Journal, so we're inclined to trust it) that makes me happy to be an Android fan.

According to the WSJ, Google is in cahoots with up to five device manufacturers to provide early access to the next iteration of the Android OS (Jelly Bean, we assume) so it can have an entire "portfolio" of Nexus devices ready by Thanksgiving - that's late November for those without turkey day. It will then sell said devices, phones and tablets, unlocked through (again, presumably) the Play Store, much as it has done with the unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus.

May

Google Working On Its Own Version Of Game Center, Says Business Insider

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

In a continued attempt to make Android more viable as an entertainment platform, Google is working on a social gaming app in the same vein as Apple's Game Center, if Business Insider's sources are to be believed. The app would be a huge boon for social gaming on Android. As the platform grows, and gaming along with it, Google risks losing a golden opportunity to be even more deeply embedded within one of the biggest growth markets in mobile.

The usual features are expected: social achievements, awards/trophies, and player leaderboards. What's unclear is whether or not Google will try to integrate Plus into the mix.

May

[Updated x2] Titanium Backup Adds Google Drive Backup Option

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

After the long-awaited launch of Google Drive, it was only a matter of time before users began seeing integration with Android apps. While there's no official Android API for Google Drive just yet, many devs suspected that Drive's Java API would work just fine, despite a confusing statement on Google's developer site:

Warning: Apps will not have any API access to files unless the app has been installed in Chrome Web Store. To test an app during development, you must first create a listing and install it.

Putting that idea to the test, popular (and extremely versatile) backup solution Titanium Backup has made use of the cloud service's Java API to bring Drive backup options to users in a recently released update.

May

Google Announces Carrier Billing For Movies, Music, Books, And Apps From The Play Store On Some Carriers

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

If you prefer not to give Google your credit card info, and would rather consolidate all your Play Store payments into one big carrier bill, then we've got some good news for you. Google just announced an expansion to the carrier billing system that now includes the ability to charge books, movies, and music to your carrier bill, in addition to apps.

The full list of carriers that support the new billing is above. Sorry Verizon users, you're still not on the list. The other three major US carriers, as well as a host of international carriers, support the new payment system, though.

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Have You Switched Your Primary Cloud Storage Service To Google Drive?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Do You Use Cloud Storage With Your Android?

Google's much-anticipated cloud storage service, dubbed "Drive," finally dropped on Tuesday. Based on our tests, we think the service could still use some work - and we think it has the potential to gain some serious popularity as the kinks are worked out and the gaps are filled. But we're curious: have you switched already, despite the shortcomings? Or are you sticking with your tried-and-true service for the time being?

Apr

Movie Rentals From Google Play And YouTube Now Available In Australia

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Google, News

Despite Australia's historically diverse movie industry, up until recently, Aussies found Google's Play and YouTube services devoid of films available to them.

But no more! As of late yesterday, Australian Google users can access both the Movies page on Google Play and the YouTube counterpart. They'll have access to countless movies, both from US studios (e.g. The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Village Roadshow Pictures and Lionsgate) and from Australian producers (e.g. Roadshow Films, Icon Film Distribution, Madman Entertainment, Hopscotch and Transmission Films). Viewing options include your desktop browser (of course) as well as Android phones and tablets, so long as the Google Play Movies app is installed.

Apr

[Deal Alert] Expansys USA Drops Unlocked Galaxy Nexus To $399.99, Beats Google By Almost $50 With Free Shipping And Lack Of Tax

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, Galaxy Nexus, News, Samsung

Just yesterday, Google started selling the Galaxy Nexus on its Play store. The news caught many off guard - not only had Google not done anything of the sort for quite some time, but the price ($399) was surprisingly low for an unlocked, contract-free device. Unfortunately, however, there was a catch: namely, the gadget was still subject to all the usual taxes and shipping fees (at least in all the states we tested - CA, TX, KY, MN, and likely many others), bringing the total cost up by almost $50. Here's a screenshot:

But fear not - Expansys USA has come up with a solution.

Apr

Google Drive "Support" Is Coming To Linux, Pray That It Doesn't Involve WINE

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, News

Good news, Penguins! Google is working on a Drive client for your favorite OS!

Google Drive, if you haven't heard, is Google's Dropbox/Google Docs hybrid. It launched yesterday with 5GB of cloud storage and desktop apps for Windows and Mac, but our tuxedoed counterparts were left out in the cold.

The lack of Linux love caused a bit of an uproar on Google+, where #driveforlinux was a trending topic for a good part of the day. Teresa Wu, the Community Manager for Google Docs, took to a G+ thread and gave the happy news: