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Google, Audi to announce Android-Based in-car infotainment system at CES 2014, says WSJ

Audi Concept

Apple introduced iOS in the car back in June 2013 for iPhone screen mirroring on compatible in-car displays. Google would partner with Audi to develop in-car entertainment and information systems based on Android, reports WSJ. The partnership is expected to be announced at the CES 2014 in Las Vegas next week. Audi is also expected to demonstrate new technologies that allow cars to drive themselves in certain situations and for short periods, and is expected to announce the roadmap of new models that would arrive in the next four or five years, the report adds. Continue reading “Google, Audi to announce Android-Based in-car infotainment system at CES 2014, says WSJ”

Google Nexus 5 with Android 4.4.2 – Is the camera better?

Very recently, Google had announced the Android 4.4.1 update to fix the Nexus 5’s camera. The update was quickly superseded with the 4.4.2 update that brought in more fixes and was directly delivered to all 4.4 users. We had reviewed the Nexus 5 initially, and found it to offer good pictures only in the HDR+ mode and not the normal mode which produced average pictures with warm saturated colours. Google says they have fixed that with the 4.4.2 update, with improved autofocus times and general overall speediness that will hopefully reduce the shot-to-shot time. Well, does it? We find out, in this video below –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ASwFFKftP8

Continue reading “Google Nexus 5 with Android 4.4.2 – Is the camera better?”

Google Glass Unboxing in India

google-glass-explorer-edition-unboxing-16

We are lucky to have Google Glass at the FoneArena for an unboxing. We have managed to get hold of a Google Glass Explorer Edition 2013 version and we are bringing you the first ever unboxing of this innovative product in India. Watch the full unboxing below.Google Glass is probably one of most innovative products from Google and it was publicly announced at the Google IO developer conference in 2012. It is currently available only in the US on a invite only basis for a 1500 USD. Thanks to some of our friends who made this possible! Watch the unboxing below and make sure to subscribe to our channel and newsletter , we have some exciting stuff planned around Glass!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlHzWL305GY Continue reading “Google Glass Unboxing in India”

iPad mini with Retina display vs Nexus 7 2013 Photo Gallery

Google and Apple haven’t really considered India as a potential market in the previous years, but things are changing pretty soon as all the products are arriving pretty soon in India. Google launched the latest Nexus 7 2013 sometime in July and the product has been available in India for nearly a month. On the other hand, the iPad mini with Retina display has been just launched. Both the tablets are in the second iteration and have amazing high resolution displays.

ipad-mini-retina-display-vsnexus-7-2013-photo-gallery-3 Continue reading “iPad mini with Retina display vs Nexus 7 2013 Photo Gallery”

Round 2 – Google Nexus 5 vs Sony Xperia Z1 #SmartFone13

Round 2 of the SmartFone 2013 championship had begun yesterday with a really close competition between the LG G2 vs Nokia Lumia 1020, and today it’s the turn of Google Nexus 5 and the Sony Xperia Z1 to fight it out in our battleground. After winning massively over the iPhone 5s, the Nexus 5 is in contention with the Xperia Z1 which initially trailed so close with the Note 3 and later pulled a massive lead out of the hat. Both these devices are flagships and have their own advantages and disadvantages, so which one do you want to vote for? Time to decide!

Continue reading “Round 2 – Google Nexus 5 vs Sony Xperia Z1 #SmartFone13”

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.

google-nexus-5-review-34 Continue reading “Google and LG fixing hardware issues with Nexus 5 with minor redesign”

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.