Google adds standalone Docs and Sheets apps for your Convenience
The Google Drive app has never been the most streamlined app out there; I know my personal Drive homepage is completely cluttered with documents. Well, it looks like Google may be trying to help us with our messes as they have released standalone apps for Google Docs and Google Sheets which gives your documents and spreadsheets a much simpler, bespoke home.
These apps also have offline support right out of the box which means you can use them like any other document apps and create documents on the go which sync when you finally do have connection. Google also says that a Slides app is also on the way which will add a home for errant presentations. Now all we need is Chromecast support for these apps. Pretty please?
You can pick up the Docs and Sheets apps from the Google Play Store now for free (links are below) but note that the Google Drive app will still be hanging around if you’re perfectly happy with it. Let us know what you think about these standalone apps in the comments.
Application: Google Docs
Price: Free
Application: Google Sheets
Price: Free
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Sunrise Calendar updated with widget and performance improvements
At AndroidGuys, we’re huge fans of Sunrise Calendar for Android. It’s a feature-packed, beautifully designed calendar that makes planning easy to bear. Though it’s still in Beta, you can grab the update today, just as long as you’re a member of the Google+ community.
First of all the update offers a few bug improvements and performance enhancements. Most notably, though, is the addition of a widget!
The new widget is exactly what you’d expect – a simple agenda view with no frills.
There isn’t much more in this update, but the biggest hurdle to jump over was the addition of a widget. It’s pretty and functional… what more could you want?
Interested in joining the community of Sunrise Calendar testers? Head to the Google+ community here.
The post Sunrise Calendar updated with widget and performance improvements appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Now for Android remembers where you parked
You probably have a trick or two up your sleeve to remember where you’ve parked amidst a sea of other cars. But if you’re still prone to forgetting your parking spot, Google’s refreshed Android Search app might be able to help you out. The update adds a new Google Now parking card that lists the address of the place where you left your car, along with a map that shows how far you are from that location. In case the card got it wrong the first time (ever got lost because Google Maps gave you faulty directions?), it can also offer alternative places that you can check. Yes, that’s a nightmare if you’re in a massive parking lot, but it sure beats going around in circles for hours. Update not showing up for you? You download the APK from Android Police instead.
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Google
Via: 9to5 Google
Source: Google Play, Android Police
T-Mobile wraps up deal that promises LTE in more places
After champing at the bit for months, T-Mobile has finally closed its deal to buy $2.4 billion in wireless spectrum from Verizon. The UnCarrier now has the all-clear to roll out LTE data on the 700MHz band, which will help it upgrade its 2G-only areas to 4G speeds; you won’t have to settle for pokey mobile internet access just because you’re visiting friends in the countryside. The expanded wireless support is also coming to big urban centers like New York and Los Angeles, so existing LTE users should see more consistent coverage both indoors (where lower frequencies excel) and in otherwise patchy places. T-Mobile has already said that all its network should have LTE by mid-2015, but you may notice improvements by the end of this year.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon, T-Mobile
Source: T-Mobile
Sony’s 185TB data tape puts your hard drive to shame
It’s hard for magnetic data tapes to stand out from the crowd in an era when it’s easy to load up on legions of hard drives. However, Sony might have managed that rare feat with nano-sized tape tech that stores much more than off-the-shelf hardware. By optimizing how it sputters argon ions on to film to create magnetic material, the company has produced “nano-grained” tape that’s 74 times denser than what you see today; at 185TB per cartridge, it makes even a 5TB hard disk seem quaint. Sony’s breakthrough won’t come to your home PC, but it could prove a big help to supercomputers and your favorite internet services — many of them need high-capacity tape storage just to keep up with demand.
[Image credit: Theilr, Flickr]
Via: ITWorld
Source: Sony
McDonald’s partners with Kobo to give UK kids free e-books
Forget racecars and Disney princesses. Kids in the UK are getting something a little more digital with their McDonald’s Happy Meal: an e-book. The golden arches is partnering with Kobo to include a download code for one of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven children’s mystery books with every meal purchased between now and June 3rd as part of its annual “Happy Readers” program. Over the past two years, the annual initiative has passed out millions of books, and is touted as quite a success (although we’re not quite sure how “happy” we’d be about getting an e-book rather than a toy). However, this is the first time Ronald has gotten a digital retailer like Kobo in on the action. Enthusiastic kids who still want to fill the bookshelf in their room (or moms afraid of ketchup stains on their e-readers) can also snag a £1 coupon with their meal to pick up a traditional copy of the books. If only the child detectives could forever solve the mystery of what’s actually in McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
Image credit: Steve Daniels
Via: The eBook Reader
Source: Kobo
Google Search updated to version 3.4.15, brings nickname support and parking Info [Download]
In addition to the update to Google Play Games, the Google Search app has also seen a Wednesday update today to version 3.4.15. In it, the major changes include Google now adding the ability to see nearby parking locations and also given you the ability to give your contacts nicknames, which opens up a whole new world of fun for voice commands. Check out the full list of changes below:
- New parking card in Google Now
- New reminders interface with better arrangement of past reminders
- Centralized list for nicknames under Accounts & privacy
- ‘Help’ and ‘Send feedback’ are now ‘Help & feedback’ (one item)
- Different offline indicator card.
Google Now is quickly becoming much more useful and natural to use, and this update to version 3.4 is another step in the right direction. The rollout of this new Search update appears to be coming in stages, but if you need to get your update fix today, we’ve got the APK file available for download below:
Google Search update – version 3.4.15 APK download
If you spot anything else different about the new Google Search, be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Source: Android Police
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Bloomberg: Sprint planning a bid for T-Mobile this summer
Those longstanding rumors of Sprint hoping to buy T-Mobile USA may soon come to fruition: Bloomberg sources claim that Sprint has met with six lending banks in preparation for a takeover bid. There aren’t any financing deals in place just yet, according to tipsters, but the carrier would make its offer in June or July. SoftBank (Sprint’s owner) and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile’s) are reportedly hashing out the details of who would own what after the acquisition, with T-Mobile’s John Legere the frontrunner for the CEO spot.
If a bid goes ahead, Sprint could be prepared for the regulatory firestorm that’s likely to follow. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is believed to be crafting pro-merger arguments that would please both the Department of Justice and the FCC. The exec is well aware of what happened when AT&T tried to buy T-Mobile, Bloomberg says. Among other things, Son purportedly wants to avoid paying a big, AT&T-style breakup fee if the deal falls apart — that just gives the government an extra incentive to say no and make T-Mobile stronger.
None of the companies involved are commenting on the apparent leak, although it may be a long while before any merger could take place. In addition to any legal challenges, the boards of Sprint, T-Mobile and their respective parent firms have to sign off on the arrangement. That could be a drawn-out process, even if there aren’t any significant disputes.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint, T-Mobile
Source: Bloomberg
LeapFrog’s latest gadget for kids is a Tamagotchi-Fitbit mashup
Look, we get it: wearable tech is big business these days. We also get that childhood obesity is a serious problem. That’s why it’s literally no surprise that the folks at Leapfrog are jumping on the nascent child wearables bandwagon with the LeapBand: an unholy combination of a Fitbit and a Tamagotchi that aims to stop kids from playing games on the couch… and get them playing games standing up.
Here’s the gist of it — kids running around wearing a $39.99 LeapBand on their tiny wrists earn energy points to level up and unlock avatars (a cat, dog, dragon, monkey, panda, penguin, robot and unicorn). The LeapBand can also issue challenges to kids, ranging from relatively ones like “wiggle like a worm” to the more abstract “pop like popcorn popping.” Meanwhile, the built-in battery should hang in there for about 4 to 6 days between charges — with any luck your little ones will tucker out before it does.
Naturally, we had to try the thing on for ourselves. It’s about the size of, well, a Tamagotchi, and the plastic wristband slid onto even the hairiest wrists without trouble. The buttons are big and gummy enough that even the least coordinated kids can interact with their pets. Ours was a lazy-looking, tracksuit-clad panda we promptly nicknamed “Rupert” and — dare we say it — we had a little fun doting on him. If we’re being honest, It’s not exactly a novel idea — iBitz has been trying to take build a data-centric approach to getting kids active, and Striiv cooked up a video game-y fitness tracker two years ago. This whole thing may seem just a little kooky, but hey — there are worse ways to give your spawn a taste of the quantified life.
The US government is using social media to battle terrorist regimes
The United States government puts hundred of billions toward military spending to fighting terrorism each year, but it’s also putting social media to work combating Al-Qaeda and other extremists. In a report released today, the US State Department revealed that its Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) composed over 10,000 posts worldwide in 2013. So, what services are being used to pass along the content? Those outlets include popular social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+ and more. There’s even a small selection of state-produced video content that’s part of the tally. “Social media platforms allowed violent extremist groups to circulate messages more quickly, but confusion and contradictions among the various voices within the movement are growing more common,” the report details. This is due in part to the government training those affected by terrorism to counter the messages with their own stories.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Ars Technica
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