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Google and LG fixing hardware issues with Nexus 5 with minor redesign

Google’s Nexus 5 is one great phone for its price and currently it is Google’s best smartphone in the market. Google is giving all the attention that this handset, manufactured by LG, demands. Earlier, when the phone was launched, people claimed that the camera was not up to the mark as Google had widely advertised the camera on the Nexus 5. Then there were reports from users that the loudspeaker audio isn’t that great and that the physical buttons on the sides are not that great and clunky.

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Google Maps Navigation expands reach to 25 more countries

Google today announced that their Maps Navigation beta will now cover 25 more countries including a healthy spread between Africa, Europe, Central America and Asia. This brings the total tally up to 99 countries. Continue reading “Google Maps Navigation expands reach to 25 more countries”

Gmail now displays images in messages by default, rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS early 2014

Gmail images now showing

Google has finally implemented the option to show embedded images in all your email messages by default. This restriction was to prevent users from opening emails from unknown senders who might try to use images to compromise the security of computer or mobile device. Google has implemented new improvements in how Gmail handles images to load all the images from default. Continue reading “Gmail now displays images in messages by default, rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS early 2014”

Gmail 4.7 update brings zip file downloading, vacation responder and more

Android users have long lamented the absence of the ability to download zip files. In the new Gmail 4.7 update, Google has finally brought in the ability alongside additional features that should be appreciated by most users.

First up is the all new Vacation Responder. What this allows you to do is to set start and end dates along with a subject and text following which you can use the toggle to send your vacation response only to contacts. The vacation responder can also be completely disabled using a toggle.

The next major feature is essentially something that is built into Android 4.4 KitKat. The Gmail 4.7 application gets the ability to print email messages via cloud printing. You can select a single message or all messages in a thread.

The third and most important feature is the ability to download archive formats including zip, gzip, bzip2 and tar amongst others. This has been a long requested feature and it is good to see Google finally implement it. The update should roll out to your phone over the next few days.

[Via – Engadget]

Nexus 7 Folio case goes on sale in the US, priced on Play Store in India at Rs. 3299

Google Nexus 7 2013 Folio Case

Google started selling the Nexus 7 (2013) on the Play Store in India last month, and the tablet was officially launched last week. The Nexus 5 Bumper Case went on sale on the Play Store in India last month, but the Nexus 7 Sleeve and the Nexus 5 QuickCover are still listed as coming soon. Google has released another accessory, Nexus 7 Folio bumper case, that went on sale in the U.S. yesterday, priced at US$49.99. It is priced in India at Rs. 3,299 on the Play Store. Continue reading “Nexus 7 Folio case goes on sale in the US, priced on Play Store in India at Rs. 3299”

White Nexus 7 launched for $269, available in US, UK & Japan

Alongside a suite of Google Play Edition devices, Google has today also revealed a brand new variant of the Nexus 7 tablet. The white version of the popular Android tablet will only be sold in the 32GB version. The white color extends only to the back of the tablet with the front remaining black. This leads to a dual tone color finish.

Continue reading “White Nexus 7 launched for $269, available in US, UK & Japan”

LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition announced, comes with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box

The LG G Pad 8.3, announced a couple of months back as the company’s first small Android tablet, has now gotten itself a Google Play Edition in the US. This tablet is the first OEM device to get the Play Edition treatment, which will let consumers get the latest versions of Android faster than the original, which might or might not get the updates as fast as this one. That’s the main purpose and selling point of the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition. It will be free from any sort of OEM customizations, and is going on sale starting today, at a price of 350 USD. The tablet sports a great looking 1920×1200 8.3 inch screen and a metallic body to complement its huge phone-like looks. We had taken a hands on look of the original tablet at IFA in Berlin this year, take a look at the video –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AosOVdjrIZA

Continue reading “LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition announced, comes with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box”

Android Source Code reveals push towards a consistent Action Menu

Google has always been in favor of on-screen buttons and it is pretty evident in all their Nexus devices. Sometime back, Google introduced the action menu(the vertical dots) as a method of opening the settings for an app or screen depending on the context. Despite Google’s attempts to unify the Android experience(atleast in terms of these vertical dots), manufacturers(especially Samsung) have continued to use hardware buttons for home and other navigation options.

Continue reading “Android Source Code reveals push towards a consistent Action Menu”

Android 4.4.2 rolling out less than a week after Android 4.4.1

Google announced their Android 4.4 KitKat version on November 1 and unveiled the next Nexus smartphone – Google Nexus 5. The camera of Google Nexus 5 did not prove to be the camera it was meant to be and Google put the blame on the software. The search engine giant promised that the problem would soon be fixed and less than 50 days after the announcement of Android 4.4 KitKat, Google started seeding a minor update in the form of Android 4.4.1.

nexus-5-442-4 Continue reading “Android 4.4.2 rolling out less than a week after Android 4.4.1”

Google Play Music All Access can now store music on SD cards

Avid users of Google’s Play Music All Access service have long lamented the lack of ability to set a download location for offline music. With the latest update, Google’s Spotify Competitor lets you store the tracks on the SD card instead of eating up valuable internal storage. Google Play Music All Access is a service by the search giant that lets subscribers stream music from a 16 million track library and also lets you keep tracks offline.

If you just stream music or have a device that lacks a card slot then this won’t affect you much. However, if your use case scenario is similar to ours where you end up saving playlists offline over WiFi to avoid going over your data limit then you’d know how quickly all those tracks can eat up space. Simply head to the settings option in the app and click storage location. A pop up will let you decide between internal storage or an SD card if you have it installed in your phone. In the brief amount of time we spent with the updated version of the application, we couldn’t spot an option to move already existing tracks over to the SD card so you might have to redownload those.

Asus and Google launch the new Nexus 7 in India officially

Nexus-7-2013-LTE-unboxing-2

The new Nexus 7 (2013) manufactured by Asus went on sale on the Play Store in India last month along with the Nexus 5. Now the company has officially launched the latest Nexus 7 tablet in India. It has a 7-inch 16:10 Full HD (1920 x 1200 WUXGA) display with 10-finger multi-touch, powered by a Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064-1AA, with Krait 300 cores) processor clocked at 1.5GHz and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), which already got the KitKat update. It has Dual stereo Sonic Master speakers with Fraunhofer Cingo virtual surround sound technology and Wireless charging. Continue reading “Asus and Google launch the new Nexus 7 in India officially”

Google powers up Google Search to search through apps

When Google introduced Google Now as their primary search option on Android smartphones, we knew they were headed for something big. Google Now has been trying to take over your Android smartphone as it tries to provide you all the “relevant” information that you may want. The latest power that Google Search has got is the ability to search through applications and show them in the results.

App Indexing Continue reading “Google powers up Google Search to search through apps”

Round 1 – Apple iPhone 5s vs Google Nexus 5 #SmartFone13

The second leg of the “Best Smartphone of 2013” championship‘s Round 1 begins today with an interesting battle. It’s the Apple iPhone 5s, the Cupertino company’s latest flagship device vs Google’s latest iteration of its famed Nexus line, the Nexus 5. Apple and Google might have been close partners before, but ever since Android happened, Apple has been seeing Google as a threat. For sure, Android has very well catapulted into leadership in the market, but most of it is attributed to third party players like Samsung. With that said, Nexus 5 is Google’s own, only made by LG and the iPhone 5s is well, the best iPhone till date, as all the new iPhones have been. Both these phones take an evolutionary approach, with the 5s differentiating with its Touch ID fingerprint sensor while the Nexus 5 has its humble approach to keep the phone affordable. Out of these two, which one would you pick? It’s time to cast your votes.

Continue reading “Round 1 – Apple iPhone 5s vs Google Nexus 5 #SmartFone13”

Which is the best smartphone of 2013? Vote for your favourite! #SmartFone13

Remember “Battle of the Flagships 2012” that we conducted last year? Well, it’s back this year, only in a different name. Yes, we have another set of eight devices that launched this year, which have not only served as the respective companies’ flagships but also have been iteratively innovative in most of the cases. We have carefully selected these eight devices, which we personally think have a chance at the best flagship device title, so which one would you vote for? Dive in below for more.

Check here for the best budget smartphones of 2013 Continue reading “Which is the best smartphone of 2013? Vote for your favourite! #SmartFone13”

Google Nexus 5 Review

Google Nexus 5 Review

The Google Nexus One was strictly a developer device, with promises of instant updates and stock Android experience. It did not retail at prices that undercut the competition($530) but managed to become the only device that had the latest Android version. The Nexus S was similar, but with Galaxy Nexus, Google managed to price it surprisingly lower than the competition with similar hardware, thanks to introduction of the Google Play ecosystem. Somehow, from being a costly developer device, the Nexus became a highly desirable and affordable device, that brought users the best Google experience.

Video Review

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1qKZAXVVbw

Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 Review”