15
May
Google-Plus-Games-logo

PSA: Google+ Games Will Disappear June 30, Google Play Games To Blame

Posted by in Google, News

Those of you who like your games served fresh while you peruse the day's social updates might want to sit down. Google+ Games will shut down on June 30, taking users' game data with it. But social gamers aren't aren't entirely without hope. Some developers will designate new destination sites for their games, and a few games already have alternative links set up.

Google Games

In-game payments inside any of the games that are set to disappear will have to be used up before June 30 arrives. There will be no refunds. Sucks, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Anyone who wants to chew out a particular developer can pick out their name from the list below:

Why is Google shutting down its first attempt at social gaming?

15
May
Hangouts Logo

Hanging Out With Google Hangouts - Google's New, Beautiful Messaging App That Doesn't Really Unify Anything

Posted by in News

The new Google Messenger is real! It's not called Babel, or Google Talk, but "Hangouts." It also isn't the unified messenger we've all wanted - maybe it will be someday, but Hangouts is strictly a Google Talk replacement - there's no SMS or Google Voice integration.

What Hangouts does have going for it is that it is really pretty. It supports group messaging, pictures, video chat, and even has read receipts! Hangouts completely replaces Google Talk, so if you have a fondness for the past, say your goodbyes before you update. Let's take a look:

The Hangouts List

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This is the "front page" of Hangouts.

15
May
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Google Play Games Is Live, And Here Is A List Of Games That Already Support It

Posted by in Games, News

Google officially announced the not-so-secretly-kept Play Games this morning, which brings game sync, leaderboards, achievements, and more to Android. Naturally, the first question on many users' minds is do any games already support it? In fact, several developers have already updated their games to add this new feature. Here's a look at what we've found so far:

15
May
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[I/O 2013] Google Announces 'Google Play For Education,' A Specifically Curated Program For Schools

Posted by in Development, News

For Android fans with children, it can be a bit disheartening to learn that your kids are using iPads and iPods for learning every day. While this is becoming more and more standard across the country, Google is looking to change that with its newly announced "Google Play for Education." This is exactly what it sounds like: a specially curated version of the Play Store made for educational environments. It offers curriculum-based discovery for grades K-12, which will make it easy for teachers to find apps appropriate for his or her students. The program also includes bulk-ordering of unspecified Nexus tablets (assume the Nexus 7) to round out the experience.

15
May
2013-05-15_13h47_50

[Update: Hangouts Is Live! | I/O 2013] Google+ Gets A New Stream, And Hangouts (Read: Babel) Becomes Real, Unifies Messaging Across Android, iOS And The Web

Posted by in Google, News

Today, Google announced a new look for the Google+ stream. Gone is the weird, bubbly look that we've had for forever. The cards-centric UI that we've seen on phones and tablets is now coming to the desktop as well. You can select a one, two, or three-column layout and each individual card can flip over with a slick animation and provide more information and options.

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Google's also improving its search and tagging functionality. Now, the service will analyze tags that you've provided and G+ will provide related hashtags to improve discovery. Even when you don't provide tags, Google can infer them.

15
May
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[I/O 2013] Google Unveils New Version Of Maps App For Android w/ New Navigation UI, Looks Absolutely Gorgeous

Posted by in Applications, News

Google just announced that a brand-new Google maps smartphone experience will be landing on Android and iOS soon, and it looks astoundingly good. The aesthetics of 2D street maps have been completely redesigned to be easier on the eyes, and better at organizing information. The only downside is that it's not coming until "this summer."

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Nearly every aspect of the Maps app has been reworked. Zagat ratings are no longer the default ratings system for places (it's now a 1-5 star user rating), and place cards have an all-new look. I really can't go through every single change, because it seems like Google's had its hands in every corner of the APK.

15
May
play music logo

[I/O 2013] Google Launches Play Music All Access, Finally Updates The Music App, Combines Your Library With A Subscription

Posted by in Google, News

Today, Google brought it's A-game with a subscription service for Play Music. Now, you can pay a $9.99 monthly fee to get unlimited access to a library of music. It also comes with a new, updated Play Music app that doesn't look like complete garbage. There's also a host of features including the ability to turn any track into a radio station.

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The one key way that this service distinguishes itself from other subscription services is that this includes all of your own personal music. In other words, the MP3s you've purchased and own are in the same app as all the music you've added to your library via your subscription.

15
May
2013-05-15_12h22_45

[I/O 2013] Google Officially Launches Play Games, Brings Achievements, Game Sync, Leaderboards And More

Posted by in Games, Google, News

Today, Google announced Google Play game services that brings a suite of new features that game developers can integrate into their titles. The biggest of them is cloud data sync. Game developers can sync their players' progress across devices and platforms. Yes, this feature works on Android and iOS. This is hot.

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In addition to cloud data sync, the suite of services also brings achievements and leaderboards. Any game can now tap into a unified system for showing off your accomplishments. If you want a more personal grandstanding experience, Google also introduced both live and turn-based multiplayer features for game developers to utilize.

15
May
2013-05-15_12h14_53

[I/O 2013] New Numbers: 900 Million Android Activations Worldwide, 4.5 Billion People Are Now Google's Target

Posted by in Google, News

Speaking at Google I/O, Android and Chrome chief Sundar Punchai just let on that there has now been over 900 million device activations. However, Google can't rest on its laurels. In the same breath as the announcement that Google has reached nearly a billion users in just a few years, the company showed off a map of countries where Android has less than 10% penetration. Those countries are green in the map below:

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The message to the rest of the world is clear: Google's on its way to your town, too.

15
May
io

[Live Blog] Android Police's Live Coverage Of The Google I/O 2013 Keynote

Posted by in Android OS, News

Welcome to Android Police's live coverage of the Google I/O 2013 keynote. We'll be bringing you text and photos directly from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, courtesy of Artem, and the rest of the AP team will be on hand to provide commentary and additional details as the keynote progresses. To watch the keynote live on YouTube, head to this URL, or use the embedded video above the ScribbleLive widget.

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