Google launches indoor Maps in India, available in 22 cities

Google Indoor Maps India

Google has introduced indoor Maps in India finally, that lets you determine where you are, what floor you’re on, and where to go indoors and more, when you are visiting popular venues such as malls, supermarkets etc. Google Maps for Android got the Indoor maps feature back in 2011, later it was updated to support walking directions. This feature is also available for Apple’s iOS devices. Continue reading “Google launches indoor Maps in India, available in 22 cities”

Google announces Project Ara developer conference

Project Ara module

Motorola announced Project Ara, an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. Even though Google sold Motorola to Lenovo, Google announced that it will keep Project Ara. Google has created a dedicated webpage for Project Ara and has also announced that it plans for three Ara Developers’ Conferences in 2014. The first one is scheduled for April 15th to 16th. Continue reading “Google announces Project Ara developer conference”

Google Now Launcher arrives on Google Play for Nexus and Google Play Edition devices running Android 4.4

Google Nexus 5, that was launched with Android 4.4 (KitKat) was the only to come with Google Now Launcher to directly access Google Now from the home screen. Earlier this month there were reports about the launcher coming too Google Play. We even saw APKs to side-load the launcher on other devices. Today, Google has released the Google Now Launcher on Google Play for its Nexus and Google Play Edition devices running Android 4.4 (KitKat). Continue reading “Google Now Launcher arrives on Google Play for Nexus and Google Play Edition devices running Android 4.4”

Google Nexus 8 tablet and Android 4.5 rumored to arrive in July

new-google-nexus-7-2013-4

Google will launch Android 4.5 and the Nexus 8 tablet in July, according to a report from Android Geeks. Yesterday, Android and Chrome’s chief Sundar Pichai said Google will host the I/O 2014 on June 25th and 26th, 2014. Google will only focus on new services at the I/O 2014, according to source, allegedly from Google’s Dublin office. Continue reading “Google Nexus 8 tablet and Android 4.5 rumored to arrive in July”

Google announces Project Tango, to help phones understand surroundings

When Google bought Motorola, they got most of their teams and when they let go, they made sure they kept the ATAP(Advanced Technology And Projects) group. Now, Google has announced their latest Project Tango which is a smartphone that can measure dimensions of the surroundings. Project Tango is an ambitious project from Google and is now currently a 5inch Android running smartphone that comes with specialized software and hardware to map the world around it.

project-tango Continue reading “Google announces Project Tango, to help phones understand surroundings”

“Flappy Bird” clones being flapped out of app stores

If you thought it was the end of “Flappy Bird”, then you were right and wrong. After having had enough with his immensely addictive and frustrating game, developer Dong Nyugen pulled the game from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. But because of the immense popularity that the game gained, developers and clone makes just can’t seem to get enough of the “Flappy Bird” sensation.

Flappy-Bird-windows-phone Continue reading ““Flappy Bird” clones being flapped out of app stores”

Google acquires a sound based login startup, SlickLogin

Google is trying to compete with Yahoo in the acquisition spree and after a stellar purchase of Nest, a hardware company that produces smart home products, Google has now acquired a software startup – SlickLogin, whose chief area of expertise is a sound based login. Just six months after they showcased their product at TechCrunch Disrupt, Google acquired them.

Google Logo Continue reading “Google acquires a sound based login startup, SlickLogin”

Google Now can now directly let you call or text your loved ones

ok-google-call-mom“Ok Google, Call Mom!” is now possible thanks to a new update for Google Now Voice Search. Being one of the more popular features that worked well in Apple’s Siri ever since its first release, Google Now finally steps it up in this department. The feature incorporates specific contact look up through voice, in case you have saved it by the same name, or even help you set up specific titles for you close ones. If you call it out, Google Now will pick that nick name first, and only then will look up names generally. This makes the contextual assistant more personal, and makes the process of calling so much easier. This update comes at a time when Android is gearing up to be inside cars, in which Google Now’s voice control would play a major role. With Siri already set to be inside cars, with its own mapping, Google’s efforts seem directly aimed at it.

Continue reading “Google Now can now directly let you call or text your loved ones”

Google Now Launcher coming soon, not exclusive to Google Nexus 5 anymore

When Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat on their latest flagship Google Nexus 5, they showcased the then Google Experience launcher that was exclusive to Nexus 5. Google Experience launcher brought along the goodness of Google Now right into the homescreen. With Google Experience launcher, you were just a swipe away from accessing Google Now which provides contextual information cards.

google-nexus-5-review-39 Continue reading “Google Now Launcher coming soon, not exclusive to Google Nexus 5 anymore”

Google Maps for iOS and Android updated with faster route notification

Google Maps for iPhone and Android Faster route notfication

Google Maps app for iPhone, iPad and Android already shows you alternate routes when you request for it while navigating. Google has updated these apps to show notifications if there’s a faster route. Google maps already shows bands of red, yellow and green along your route based on traffic conditions. The new notification option now lets you reach the destination faster with dynamic rerouting so that you can avoid heavy traffic in your chosen route. Continue reading “Google Maps for iOS and Android updated with faster route notification”

Google Nexus 5 in Bright Red goes official, available in India now

Nexus 5 Red

Hankering for a bit of color in your favorite Google edition device? The Nexus 5 in red is now available on the Play Store in the same 16 and 32GB capacities as the other variants. The phone has a dual tone finish with the front being black, and the matte red finish extending to the edges. The specifications of the phone remain identical to the black and white versions and are detailed below.  Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 in Bright Red goes official, available in India now”

John Nack leaves Adobe to join Google’s Photography team

Google is working on its photography suite seriously and it was pretty evident after the Mountain View company acquired Snapseed photo editing app. In the latest move to strength its photography team, Google has pocketed Adobe’s John Nack.

google-nexus-5-review-22

John Nack has been associated with Adobe and one of its primary offering – Adobe Photoshop. John Nack was the Senior Product Manager for Adobe Photoshop. He had been associated with Adobe for 14 years and was the man to lead the company’s first public beta – CS3. Apart from that, he was also responsible for features inside Photoshop like Smart Objects.

In a blog post at Adobe’s website, John Nack bid his former company a adieu and hopes for a great experience at Google. He also said that the two companies have been in good terms and are working to make the best for photographers to tell their tales.

Source

Google opens up Chromecast for developers, makes streaming main stream

Google announced their 35$ dongle – Chromecast at the Google I/O 2013 event last year. At launch, Chromecast was restricted to US and eventually started rolling out to other countries. It is officially available in India and is priced around Rs. 3,300 from Amazon. What this Chromecast does is that it lets you stream content from your iOS or Android device or PC to your TV via WiFi.

Chromecast-4 Continue reading “Google opens up Chromecast for developers, makes streaming main stream”

Red Google Nexus 5 leaks again in a press image

evleaks-red-nexus-5

Not long ago, we saw that the UK retail box of the red Google Nexus 5 leaked out. It was an interesting colour choice for the popular smartphone, which released with only two colours – Black or White, back in October. We had compared the two colours and found that the material used for them are vastly different with each providing a different level of build quality and handling. Now, we have a new red coloured version which looks like the real deal, as the press image leaked by evleaks showcases it in bleeding red. Riding the colour wave started by Nokia with its Lumia series of devices, the Nexus 5 in red might be really tempting for people who are still holding back on the purchase because of the lack of colour choices.

Continue reading “Red Google Nexus 5 leaks again in a press image”

AOSP commit suggests Android to replace Dalvik with ART in upcoming release

android-4-4kitkat-overview-walkthrough

When Android KitKat rolled out we got our first glimpse of what could be the new runtime heading to Android. Dubbed ART, it was introduced as a preview for enthusiast users and came with a fare share of warnings. Code changes spotted in a recent commit to the AOSP ie Android Open Source Project suggest that the switchover from Dalvik to ART may be coming sooner rather than later. Owing to the rapid adoption in the community, numerous bug reports, it is quite possible that the Android team has managed to get the runtime ready for primetime sooner than expected.  Continue reading “AOSP commit suggests Android to replace Dalvik with ART in upcoming release”