Google - 17/42 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

Google Releases November's Platform Distribution Numbers – Gingerbread At 50.8%, Jelly Bean Up To 6.7%

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

With the end of another month comes a fresh batch of Android platform distribution numbers. Like clockwork, Google has once again updated their numbers, showing Gingerbread's cold, withered hand still holding almost 51% of the pie (though it's down from 54.2% in October), with Jelly Bean making gains to 6.7%, up 4% from last month.

Predictably, Ice Cream Sandwich is still making some gains, rising about 2% to 27.5% from October, Honeycomb is holding tight at 1.6% with a mere 0.2% change for API level 13, and pre-2.3 releases are still dropping off (though Cupcake and Donut are still holding on for dear life).

Nov

Tip Of The Day: How To Defeat The Pesky Play Store Server Errors And Order That Elusive Nexus 4

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Nexus 4, Tips & Tutorials

And the tip of the ~~day~~, ~~month~~, year goes to... Syko Pompos! Here I was, sitting on the couch, trying to order the 16GB Nexus 4 for the last 4 hours. That's a lot of hours practically wasted. And I'm not even talking about the first batch which resulted in exactly the same failures and poor experience.

Turns out, there's a little trick you can use to defeat these errors and finally place your Nexus order. Sure, it'll arrive weeks or maybe even months later, but at least you'll reserve your place in line and stop ripping out hair from places where you might still need it.

Nov

Now You Can Pre-Order Books On The Play Store

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

When Ron tore down the most recent Play Store APK, he discovered references to pre-orders hiding within. It wasn't clear at the time just what this option would apply to, but now we know! It's books! According to a new help page, if an item on Play Books is not yet available, you may find a pre-order option that you can use to place a reservation. Neat!

The page also states that when you place a pre-order, your credit card will not be charged until the book is available. This may be nice for some people who would prefer to pay later rather than sooner.

Nov

Google+ Integration For Play Store Reviews Is Live - All Previous Reviews Say "A Google User" [Updated]

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Google, News

Well, folks, we don't want to say we told you so. But if you'll take a look at any app in the web version of the Google Play Store, you'll see that almost all of the reviews have had the name entry changed to "A Google User." Try to add a review, and you'll find that you're required to do so from your Google+ account.

The change seems to have affected the on-device view a little differently - according to checks on multiple devices here at Android Police, the names that were formerly there (usually linked to the old Google Profiles) are just plain gone.

Nov

Google Reaches Deal With European Music Publishers, Adding 5.5 Million Works To The Play Store

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, News

Just one week after bringing Play Music to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, Google has reached a major licensing deal with Armonia, a music licensing initiative that represents an alliance of publishers from across Europe. The deal will give Play customers access to Armonia's 5.5 million musical works licensed across over 30 countries.

Nov

[Editorial] Yes, Google Done Goofed, But This Botched Nexus 4 Launch Is A Fantastic Sign (Or: Please Be Patient)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials, Google

In case you haven't heard (and how could you not?), Google has sold out of pretty much every new Nexus they've launched. If you head to the Play Store as of this writing, you cannot buy a Nexus 4 or Nexus 10. Even the 3G-connected Nexus 7 was unavailable for a while. As if that wasn't enough, customers started receiving emails saying their shiny new Nexus 4s were going to be delayed as much as three weeks.

So, what do we do now? Call up customer service and yell and complain? Vent on the internet and talk about how much Google screwed up this launch?

Nov

Last Nexus Standing In The US Falls – 16GB Nexus 10 Now 'Sold Out' [Update: It's Back]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Google, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4

Update: It looks like the 16GB Nexus 10 is back in stock now. If you were one of the unlucky few who missed the first batch of orders, go ahead and claim yours now.

There's no denying Google's launch of its new Nexus lineup has been a little bumpy. On launch day, we saw near-instantaneous shortages of the Nexus 4 in multiple countries including the US. Shortly after the Nexus 4 sold out in the US, the 32GB Nexus 10 fell. Then the Nexus 7 3G. Just today, we heard reports that many US customers were receiving "backorder" emails, indicating their Nexus 4 order may not ship for up to three weeks.

Nov

Gmail Advanced Search Options Expanded, Search By Size, New Date Options, And More

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Google, News

Google announced today on the official Gmail blog that advanced search in Gmail has been expanded. You can now scour your mail with more flexible date search options, by attachment size, exact query match, and more.

The new syntax works in any version of Gmail, including the Android app, allowing you to use flags like 'size:value' and 'older_than:value' in order to pare down results. For example, below we've used 'size:5m' and 'older_than:1y' to search for mail with attachments of 5MB and that are older than a year, respectively. You can find the full list of advanced search flags here, including the new ones.

Nov

Google TV Poised To Get Update With Voice Search, PrimeTime, New YouTube Experience

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, Google TV, News

Today, in a post to the Official Google TV Blog, Google announced officially the new functionality offered by the YouTube update we covered yesterday, along with a few other treats set to hit Google TV users starting with LG devices "this week."

First among the enhancements is the addition of Voice Search, allowing users to "simply speak to watch anything." Voice Search recognizes commands for opening apps, playing YouTube videos, visiting websites, and even finding channels or specific TV shows. For example, if you don't remember what to punch in to get from the Golf Channel to CNN, you can just say "CNN," and Google TV will do the work for you.

Nov

Now You Can Install Android Apps Directly From Google+ Play Store Links

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

One of the neatest things about the Play Store is that, as long as you're signed in to your account on the web, you can install apps directly to your device without ever picking it up. Now, Google has integrated this functionality into Google+. If a user shares a link to an app on the Play Store, that friendly blue "Install" button will now be embedded directly in the post. A-like so:

This is a nifty new addition to Google+. Of course, the embeds don't include ratings, user reviews, or any of the other key information that everyone should probably at least glance at before installing apps on their devices.