Google - 6/42 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Full Google I/O 2013 Agenda Goes Live - 120+ Sessions And Labs, But Only A Single Keynote This Time Around

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Google, News

Google just updated the sold out I/O 2013 conference website with the full schedule developers have been dying to see for months, ever since the initial announcement back in February. During the three days in mid-May (May 15-17), the company's engineers will host over 120 talks on such topics as:

Android
Chrome & Apps
Google+
Google Cloud Platform
Maps
YouTube
Glass
Ads
Wallet
Knowledge & Structured Data
and other tech subjects

On day 3, developers will also be able to participate in Code Labs on the topics of Android, Google+, Chrome & Apps, Google Cloud Platform, and YouTube.

The full agenda of everything (not just code labs and tech talks) that's going to be happening is live as well.

Apr

Google Shows Us 'The Basics' Of Using Glass In New Video

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Glass, Google, News, Videos

Google's official Glass YouTube channel released its first video today – a minute long introduction to Glass' most basic controls. The video is titled Glass How-to: Getting Started, which leads this writer to believe there may be more How-to's in the works.

Impressively well-produced and perfectly simple, the video discusses Glass' gestures – tapping, swiping forward, backward, and down, and gives a very digestible explanation of the device's time-based card interface. The video shows off a few possible Glass cards, but nothing we've not seen before – Google Now notifications for a flight and nearby places, a message, the clock home screen, and calendar items are all represented.

Apr

Google Supposedly Snaps Up Aggregator Wavii In $30 Million+ Acquisition

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Google, News, Rumors

Wavii, a service that promises to help you "keep up with everything you care about" has been snapped up by Google, according to Tech Crunch, for a sum totaling over $30 Million.

The deal, which signals an end to an apparent acquisition battle between Google and Apple, likely means that Wavii's language processing prowess will be integrated with Google services from the Knowledge Graph all the way down to (perhaps) Google Now. It also means that Wavii will not be joining forces with Apple's Siri.

For those unfamiliar with Wavii, the service is basically an aggregator of news it thinks is both interesting and relevant to you, the user.

Apr

Eric Schmidt: Google Glass Will Go On Sale In Approximately A Year, Your Responsibility To Not Be A Weirdo

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

While the Explorer Editions of Google Glass are making their way out to the lucky early adopters (with extra cash), the rest of the world is wondering when it can get its eyeballs on the product. According Eric Schmidt speaking to Radio 4, the answer is roughly a year from now.

He also believes that the technology behind Google Glass goes beyond just this one product:

"At the moment what you do is you wear it. There are tremendous numbers of applications that can be imagined - augmented reality - where you see what's going on in real-time and then we annotate that.

Apr

Design: How Should Google Advertise Glass? Here's One Idea

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Design, Editorials, Features, Glass, Google

A lot of people are excited for Google Glass right now. The first Explorer units began rolling into the happy embrace of those selected for the exclusive pilot program just last week, and we've already seen a ton of feedback. Combined with decent pre-release coverage, it's clear that Glass has the potential to shake things up once more people have it in their hands. Of course press coverage and user excitement only form part of the story. Another critical piece is advertisement and marketing.

Public image and privacy concerns aside, Glass will need to win the hearts of consumers, in a way Google has striven in the past to capture hearts through advertisements for the Nexus family.

Apr

Google Invites Users To 'Do A Little, Change A Lot' With Charity-Minded One Today App

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, Google, News

Google has just launched a new app that brings a charitable side to the Play Store, making it easier than ever to – in Google's words – "do a little. Change a lot."

The basic idea behind the app (which, for now, is limited to the US) is that users can donate $1 at a time to a daily project such as saving cheetahs, bringing clean water to those in need, or providing a roof for school children. That's not all it does, though – users can track their "impact," and almost gamify the process by challenging friends to match contributions or sharing their good deed via social media.

Apr

AppAnnie: Play Store Downloads Reach Nearly 90% Of App Store Levels, iOS Still Bringing In 2.6x Revenue

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, Google, News

Last Updated: April 19th, 2013

Back in January, we learned that if you want to be a developer and avoid leaving money on the table, you need to be on both Android and iOS. One or the other isn't going to cut it. However, according to AppAnnie, if you have to choose just one platform, Android is still struggling to prove it's the one you should go with.

According to the report, Play Store downloads are nearing App Store levels, reaching close to 90% as much as the iOS store. Unfortunately, equal exposure isn't quite translating to equal revenue. As it turns out, Apple's platform is still bringing in about 2.6 times as much revenue as Google's counterpart.

Apr

Quick Look: Official Book Cover For The Nexus 10 – It's Something

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Accessories, Google, Nexus 10, Other Reviews, Reviews

In the interest of time, I'll spare you, dear readers, my usual spiel and say simply this: I like official accessories. In theory, anyway. I like the idea of accessories specifically made for specific devices by the device's original manufacturer. I've been delighted by the Nexus 7 pogo dock, and love the Nexus 10 pogo charger (though it isn't actually official yet).

Then there's the official book cover for the Nexus 10. We first saw this cover when the Nexus 10 was announced, and then it vanished into thin air for nearly six months before making a sudden appearance in the Play Store.

Apr

Were The Nexus 10 Book Covers Left Lying Around For Months Prior To Release?

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Google, News, Nexus 10

Just last week, we saw the launch of the elusive book cover for the Nexus 10 – the only official accessory of its kind to come out of the Play Store for the 10" slab. Since we spied it at the Nexus 10's original launch, all had been quiet. Presumably, the covers simply weren't ready to be sold.

Naturally, I had to pick one up and give it a shot. After all, I have something of a penchant for official accessories, and promised to give it a quick look. When the cover did show up, however, I noticed something curious.

Apr

Google Updates Developer Guidelines For Tablet-Optimized Apps – Separate Screenshots And Verification Of Tablet UI

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Google, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 7

Google has been pushing developers to build tablet-optimized UIs for their apps since the Xoom was the hot new challenger to the iPad (haha). Okay, so that didn't work out very well, but with the release of devices like the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, devs are finally starting to see the value of building a great tablet experience. Of course, it's not like you'd know. The Play Store is terrible at showing off tablet UIs, but that's about to change. Google is updating the developer console to verify tablet compatibility and break up screenshots for tablet/phone interfaces.