Following Google I/O’s big Google+ announcements and the web browser version of Google+ getting another feed redesign, the Android app has been updated. What the update brings is bigger cover photos with a bigger aspect ration, support for strikethrough formatting, and last but not least some bug fixes and performance improvements. The update doesn’t quite bring the Android app’s feed up to par with the browser version with the inclusion of hashtags and what not but we’re sure the next update will do so.

Now I know you all wanna ask this question: does Google+ messenger finally get updated to Hangouts in this update? The answer is yes and no, as of now if you click the messenger icon in Google+ it will just provide you with a button that takes you into the Hangouts app but they are not integrated with eachother just yet unfortunately. And yes the app icon for Google+ messenger will still exist after you update to the latest version of Google+. Fret not everybody because not only will the next update probably bring the Android app up to par with the browser version but it will have to also integrate Hangouts seamlessly into the app so lets keep our fingers crossed and hope this next update is in the near future.

UPDATE:

It turns out that the hashtags have now appeared in the Google+ Android app bringing together Google+ for the browser and the Google+ Android app. Hngouts also now has it’s own icon within Google+ even though the messenger icon still exists within the app as well.

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When the newest Google Music update happened during Google I/O a couple days ago Nexus Q owners found out to their dismay that the two were no longer compatible. But fret not media lovers as a new Google branded Media player has been spotted passing through the FCC. It’s model number is H2G2-42 which is an obvious movie reference to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It’s main function is just what you thought, being a media player, but it can also connect to a WiFi network and is powered through an AC connection. Is this Google’s attempt to correct the obviously dead Nexus Q?

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As i’m sure many of you found out the hard way the new Google app Hangouts had a bit of a rocky release to say the least as many users were having problems downloading the app and tablet users couldn’t get the app at all. Luckily later yesterday the app received an update that I was hoping to be SMS support but turned out to be something different but still good. There were no official release notes stating this but as far as we can tell the update fixed a lot of compatibility issues with devices, mainly tablets like the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 that as of yesterday for most users were unsupported.

Now it seems though that Google has got the ball rolling and that they are aware of the compatibility issues that currently plague the app and have fixed most of them. Hopefully soon this will be completely fixed and then Google can focus on getting SMS support into the app and later on Google Voice support as well.

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One of the Android topics talked about at I/O this year was Google’s redoing of the Google Talk app. The app received a complete UI  overhaul and name change that essentially made the app an entirely new app called Hangouts.

The UI overhaul that the app received looks great as does the new green color scheme. Everything looks clean, green, and runs smooth. There is something significant missing from the new app though that has a good majority of people including myself very disappointed, SMS support. Yes that’s right folks, no SMS support, this is a huge letdown as this was supposed to be Google’s solution to having many messaging apps and cross-platform messaging. At this time all the app can do is what the old Google Talk app could do, instant message other people who have the app downloaded onto their phone as well. There is a little bit of good news though, the Hangouts app is available on the Apple App Store and for Chrome Store for your desktop which does slightly help with the cross-platform messaging problem but it still requires both users to have the app downloaded if they want to message eachother.

Download Link: Hangouts

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Hey there everyone, as you all know Google I/O 13 just took place and it was just like any other Google I/O…amazing and inspiring. Nothing really spectacular took place and unfortunately there was no talk about Android 4.3 but there will be in the near future we’re sure. So much did take place though and this article is gonna sum that all up for you. For this article we are going to focus on the user based announcements and skip over the developer information and save that for another time.

So the first announcement we got was the official announcement of Google Play Game Services, a service we all knew was coming due to leaks. It turns out is was everything we thought it was going to be, cloud saves, achievements, leaderboards, connection to Google+. The next thing we got was the Google Play Store receiving a ‘designed for tablets’ category in the top charts section which features apps that are specifically designed for tablets. Then we got our only hardware information of the entire keynote, the Google Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Yes you read that right it’s an S4 running stock Android that is promised to receive updates of Android as they become available just like Nexus devices. Music came next, Google Play Music All Access that is. This is the much anticipated Google music subscription service that cost $7.99 a month with a 30-day free trial which gives you streaming access to all of Google’s music library. Next came Google+ which got a redesigned feed and the addition of hashtags that are automatically created by Google on posts so that content is much more connected. Also pertaining to Google+ was the huge focus on image uploading. Now Google will automatically spruce up your photos you post on Google+ and make them look “professional”. On top of that when you go on vacation and take a bunch a pictures it’s very hard and time consuming to pick out the best ones to share with friends and family so now Google will use algorithms to pick out your best photos for you. Then Google revealed their solution to messaging across platform, Hangouts. It is a redone Google Talk app that looks great but lacks SMS support for now but will almost certainly receive it in a later update but for now it’s just Google Talk with a redesigned UI. Then came the super awesome stuff, new Google Now cards, integration of conversational search into Chrome. And last but not least Google maps on mobile and desktop both got a redesign.

It all ended on a Q&A with Larry Page which was amazing and a nice touch. Larry Page does not do things like this very often so it was very nice to see and hear.

The post Everything You need to know about Google I/O appeared first on AndroidMeter.

The patent, filed on October 26th, 2011, details a “smart-watch with user interface features.”  It has been a long time rumor that Google will also be creating a smart-watch as a companion to Android phones/tablets.  With this second patent filed for a wearable computer on your wrist, and the countless rumors/leaks, it is extremely clear that Google will for sure bring the smart-watch to the market.

The patent details information about how the bezel would be used like Glass’s side touch-panel.  The touch sensitive side will be used to get around the interface.

Personally, I hope that Google’s smart watch works perfectly with Glass.  Specially, I am hoping that the watch will replace the smartphone.  As long as the watch can have 3G/4G radios in it, it would work perfectly with a modified version of vanilla Android.  Then once connected to Glass, it would be the device that tethers internet to Glass.  With the two devices I do not see the need for a phone since the watch will be able to view websites, show widgets, and play games while Glass can answer texts, emails, phone calls, and do searches.

Source | USPTO

Via | Droid-Life

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Google Keep, the note keeping / checklist application that Google released for Android awhile back now has a companion application for the Chrome browser.  Previously, if you wanted to access your Keep files, you would have to go directly to where they are saved on Drive (drive.google.com/keep).  With this new application, users can edit it in real-time with the application on your Android devices.

Once you have downloaded and installed the Chrome application, Keep creates its’ own window. The window shows exactly what you would see on your phone/tablet.

Download| Chrome Web Store

Source | Google

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Google I/O is now just around the corner and Google is reminding us of that by posting it’s session schedule for the conference earlier today. Said session schedule will give you all the info you need to know about Google’s conference this year from times and locations of each of the sessions.

If you are planning to be watching this from home you can, at least the main keynote that is. It will be streamed live on YouTube so be sure to head there when the main keynote is taking place.

Link| Google Session Schedule

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This morning Project Glass has released a how-to video for those getting their Glass devices.  This getting started video helps the user “Learn about the touchpad, the timeline and how to share through Glass.”  Hopefully more how-to videos will be uploaded soon.

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Google Glass is a very new idea to us as humans, it is something not too long ago that was only thought to be a sci-fi idea. Now that Google Glass has become a reality, a real life physical product it is amazing and for at least me it blows my mind. But what is a huge part of Google Glass? It’s built in camera. And unfortunately that built in camera is raising some pretty serious questions concerning privacy.

Due to privacy issues Google glass has already been banned from 5 types of establishments; bars, strip clubs, movie theaters, casinos, and cars. Most places of these types already have Google Glass in their crosshairs and have rules against them not letting anybody in if they are wearing a pair. These places do have probable cause to do so, after all like I said before, Google Glass does have a built in camera that can be used at any time the user pleases. Nowadays we don’t have much privacy with everyone walking around with smartphones in their pocket and people don’t want that little bit being taken away by people walking around with a camera strapped to their head.

On the other side of the argument most people nowadays already have smartphones in their pocket with a camera built into it so what’s the difference between that and Google Glass’ camera? Not much, pulling a phone out of your pocket and opening your camera app doesn’t take much effort or time. There is one difference though, you more than likely won’t know if someone if filming you with Google Glass like you would if someone was pointing a phone in your direction filming you. But either way I can understand people being scared of Google Glass’ but banning it is too far in my opinion.

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