How To: enable Touch to Search on Chrome for Android
Users of Google Chrome on Android have stumbled across a new feature which allows them to start a new search without leaving the current page. Touch to Search, as it is being called right now has started rolling out to devices courtesy of a server-sided update from Google.
Touch to Search allows users to highlight a part of text and they can see additional search results in nice card style popup. Google gives the description of this new feature rather ‘plainly’:
“Touch to Search sends the selected word and the current page as context to Google Search. You can turn it off in Settings.”
Touch to Search looks very much similar to Google’s Now on Tap feature which was unveiled at Google I/O 2015 as a part of Android M. Touch to Search works only inside Google Chrome for now as opposed to the Now on Tap which is a system wide feature.
Android user Blake Bryant recently discovered this feature and posted it on his Google+ page. To check if it works in your phone just highlight a word on any webpage in Chrome and see if the magic happens. Didn’t work? Well don’t be sad now, its fairly simple to turn it on.
Here are the steps to enable Touch to Search for your phone:
- Open a new tab in Chrome and navigate to this url: chrome://flags#contextual-search
- Under ‘Enable Contextual Search’ tap on the box that says ‘Default’
- Change to ‘Enabled’
- Scroll down and select ‘Relaunch Now’
That’s it! Now enjoy this new feature.
If you want to disable it, then just navigate to Chrome’s ‘Privacy Settings’ and you will see an option there to turn off Touch to Search.
Nonetheless, it’s a much faster, simpler, and cleaner alternative to opening a new tab every time you want to search.
Have you tried Touch to Search feature on your phone yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
The post How To: enable Touch to Search on Chrome for Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Sponsored by: Blood Brothers 2
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Blood Brothers 2 is a strategy RPG game that has you recruiting commanders and using their armies to do battle against opponents. Each one has a class such as archer, cavalry, or infantry and you use those to gain the advantage. The game also includes free daily commander recruiting, a PvP arena where you can do battle against live opponents, and guilds that allow you to grow your skills, get bonuses, and play as a team. It’s free to play so there’s no harm in trying it out and you’d be showing your support for Android Apps Weekly. Who knows, you might even like it.
Welcome back to a special edition of the Android Apps Weekly show! This week we’re going to run down a bunch of app-related stuff from Google I/O 2015 and talk about some other news! Let’s get started:
- Google I/O was a huge deal in the world of apps. Let’s talk about that first. One of the first announcements was of Chrome Custom Tabs which will allow developers to add Chrome Browser directly into their apps to help get rid of those terrible built-in web browsers in apps like Twitter or Facebook.
- A new app permission system will allow you to grant access or deny application permissions when the app asks for it and you’ll be able to turn off app permissions in the Settings. Of course, this will all be in Android M.
- Starting in Android M, developers will be able to use native Android fingerprint scanner support in apps. This will allow you to do things like log in with your finger or, in conjunction with Android Pay, let you pay for stuff in apps and in the Google Play Store. Oh by the way, Android Pay is totally happening.
- Also included in Android M is a new way to backup applications that will backup everything so you’ll be able to just download the app and have your data already on your device for it.
- Inbox by Gmail no longer requires an invite. Hooray! It will also be getting new features including undo sent emails, swipe to delete, and more!
- Google Now on Tap is a new implementation of Google Now that’ll gauge what’s going on with your screen and give you suggestions on what to do with that information. It will also allow for app indexing soon to work better with other Android apps.
- Google Maps will finally be getting improved offline maps support by the end of the year.
- Google announced the Google Family Star which will show up on G-rated content in the Google Play Store to help families find content that is suitable for their children. The Play Store also has ESRB, PEGI, and other ratings for games.
- HBO Now will be hitting the Play Store this summer.
- Lastly, the Chromecast will be getting an update soon that will give it auto-play capabilities, second screen support, and multiplayer gaming. No word yet on when that’s coming.
You can read up on all of the Google I/O stuff from this master list we compiled. Here are some non-Google I/O headlines from this week:
- Microsoft purchased the popular to-do list app Wunderlist this week. We have no idea what they’ll do with it but it is the latest in a string of purchases that Microsoft has been making that has also included Sunshine Calendar and Accompli which actually turned into the new Microsoft Outlook.
- In some rare Android TV news, a few new applications will be making their way to the platform in the coming months. They include HBO Go, Vimeo, Twitch, and many, many others. This is great news for Android TV because it really needed more apps.
- In our last headline, Android is getting its first full Harvest Moon game this winter. No, friends, this is not a port of a pre-existing game, this is a brand new game. It’s very exciting and we really hope it’s not Freemium. .
For all of this week’s headlines, updates, and new releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter. It’s packed full of the latest Android apps and games news including all the stuff we didn’t have time for here. If you’re so inclined, you can sign up with your email address and have the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every single Friday.
Subscribe to our Android Apps Weekly newsletter!
Imgur
[Price: Free]
First up this week is Imgur. No, this isn’t a new application but it did receive a huge update this last week. Included is a Material Design overhaul, better uploading capabilities, and the boilerplate bug fixes and performance improvements. It has always been one of the better online photo sharing apps out there and now it’s gotten a whole lot better. It’s also totally free.
Hitman: Sniper
[Price: $4.99 with in-app purchases]
Hitman: Sniper is the latest game in the Hitman series from Square Enix. In this one, you’ll play once again as Agent 47 as you complete assignments using your sniper and assassination skills. It features some beautifully rendered cut scenes and some pretty impressive graphics. You’ll also be able to replay missions to get a higher score. It’s available right now but beware of those release day bugs.
Kamcord
[Price: Free]
Kamcord is a new screen capturing application that is aimed at helping you secure footage of the Android games you might be playing. It’s simple to use and has already seen some success on iOS. It uses Android’s native screen capturing capabilities which means you won’t need root but you will need Android Lollipop or better to use it. It’s currently free with no in-app purchases.
Chaos Rings III
[Price: $19.99]
Chaos Rings III is the latest member of the Chaos Rings franchise also by Square Enix. This one features really good, Kingdom Hearts-style graphics, game play that was built for mobile, and a long story line full of lore and large weapons. It clocks in at $19.99 but there are no in-app purchases and let’s face it, that’s about how much this game would cost if it came out for the Nintendo 3DS or the PS Vita. If you like jRPGs, this is worth a shot.
Google Photos
[Price: Free]
Google Photos was released at Google I/O 2015 and is already highly acclaimed thanks to its unlimited storage and slick interface. You can get unlimited photo backup as long as you don’t mind Google compressing it a little bit or you can use your Google Drive space to save the full photos without any modification. It’s been out a week and it’s already heralded as a must-have applications. Just go get it.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps or games news, tell us all about it in the comments. See you next week!
Google Street View takes to the undersea
Ever since Google introduced Street View, they have been trying to cover as much land as possible. Adding to their ever growing collection, Street View now has a wide number of scenic spots and historical monuments covered for all to see and admire.
In a bold new move of expanding the horizons of Street View, Google has taken to the ocean now. The World Oceans Day is soon approaching on June 8 and with only days left to spare, Google has been preparing a different kind of Google Street View. It is the result of 4 years of partnership between Google and XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Chagos Conservation Trust.
Two humpback whales swimming in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific
The main idea behind this project is not just to give a ‘swim with the dolphins’ feeling but to highlight the under sea damage that humans have been causing all these years. Google commented:
“Home to the majority of life on Earth, the ocean acts as its life support system, controlling everything from our weather and rainfall to the oxygen we breathe. Yet despite the ocean’s vital importance, the ocean is changing at a rapid rate due to climate change, pollution, and over-fishing…”
Google already has 40 locations around the world ready to view, including the American Samoa and Chagos Islands and underwater dives in Bali, the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef.
Although, this is not something new for Google. We have seen earlier this year when an underwater footage from Brazil’s UNESCO World Heritage sites was unveiled.
The post Google Street View takes to the undersea appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google revamps Android TV with over 600 new apps
Google is hoping to give Android TV a boost after updating the platform to make app discovery much easier, letting you find more than 600 ‘new’ apps that have previously been difficult to find. Our chums over at TechCrunch spotted the improvement, which will now organize the features into 20 collections that run from movies and sports through to multiplayer gaming. The software requires a 29MB update and if it’s not already on your device, it shouldn’t be long before it arrives. When we reviewed the Nexus Player last year, our biggest concern was the lack of app selection. This update, combined with the addition of things like broadcast TV support and Sling TV should hopefully push Android TV a lot closer to competing with the Rokus of this world.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Google
Source: AndroidPolice, TechCrunch
UK government department swaps Microsoft for Google
For the longest time, the UK government built its systems around Microsoft software. That’s still largely the case, but things have slowly changed as departments get to grips with the cloud, and companies like Google have planted their flag. The Register reports that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has decided it’s time to make a clean break and has embraced the search giant’s cloud services, becoming the first major UK government department to shift away from Microsoft.
More than 70,000 employees will make the switch, joining 2,500 Cabinet Office users already on Gmail. Google’s obviously happy about it, with David Fitton, head of public sector sales for Google UK noting: “The acceptance by HMRC that they can store OFFICIAL information offshore in Google data-centres represents a major change and endorsement of Google’s approach to managing sensitive information.”
Of course, this is just one department, but HMRC is second-largest and arguably most-powerful government division. However, Microsoft still powers computers utilised by 450,000+ civil servants, and is still supporting their use of Windows XP. Still, it’s interesting that while HMRC will collect the so-called Google Tax from the UK’s biggest technology companies, it’ll now pay a smaller tax of its own.
[Image credit: HMRC, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft, Google
Source: The Register
Chrome will pause Flash plugins to improve laptop battery life
Future versions of Chrome for PC will automatically pause Flash plugins that the browser deems inessential, which should result in better battery life, faster performance, and improved stability.
Here’s how it works: Chrome detects the Flash plug-ins that load in a page and determines which plug-ins are central to the user experience and which are not. The former category includes, for instance, the main video in a post, while the latter may include ads and other stuff that the user probably doesn’t care about. Chrome will pause these non-essential Flash plugins, though users will be given the option to play them, should they want to.
The feature is already available in the latest stable Chrome version, in Privacy settings, but Google will soon set it on by default for all users. The feature will be activated on the beta channel first, and Google estimates that stable users should get it by September. Google has been working with Adobe, maker of Flash, to implement it.
Auto-playing Flash-based ads can be annoying, but Google is more worried about their effect on battery life and performance. Each Flash process that loads on a page uses up processor time, and over time, this has an impact on battery life. Google has not detailed what kind of improvements should we expect from the feature. Laptop (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and Chromebook users will probably see the biggest benefit in battery life, but even desktop users may observe improvements in performance and stability.
Now, if only Google would do something about Chrome gobbling up RAM.
Chrome will ‘intelligently’ pause Flash content like auto-playing ads
Few things are more annoying on the internet than auto-playing Flash ads, especially if it has audio. If you don’t already have an ad-blocker installed, then you might want to consider getting the upcoming version of Chrome. Google has announced today that it’s been working with Adobe to introduce an update to Chrome that will “intelligently pause content that aren’t central to the webpage.” That means that the browser will automatically halt auto-playing Flash content on the sidebar, for example, but will still let that Flash video in the middle — arguably the reason you’re on that webpage in the first place — play away. And just in case you do want to watch that ad for whatever reason, you can click it to enable playback.
According to Google, it’s doing this to reduce power consumption on laptops, but we can’t help but think this is pretty darn useful for anyone who wants a better surfing experience. If you want to try this out for yourself right now, you can go ahead and download the latest desktop beta of Chrome, where it’s enabled by default. But if you want to give it a go without doing that, you can actually enable it right now with your existing Chrome browser. Simply go into Settings, select “Show advanced settings,” then select the content settings for Privacy and then select “Detect and run important plugin content.”
[Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan]
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Google
Android Wear 5.1.1 update for the Moto 360 delayed due to performance complications
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If you own a Moto 360 and you’ve been wondering where the Android Wear 5.1.1 update for the Moto 360 is, here’s your answer: Motorola has taken to its Twitter account to formally admit that the update for the Moto 360 is “not quite there yet”. The tweet seems to imply that there are some teething issues with the new update on Motorola’s hardware which the manufacturer is keen to resolve, with Google‘s help, before releasing it into the wild.
@davidcstevens_ Performance is not quite there yet. We’re working with Google to ensure the software works great on #Moto360. Thanks.
— Motorola Mobility (@Motorola) June 3, 2015
We can’t say we’re not disappointed, particularly seeing as most of the other Android Wear devices are getting their updates now. But at the same time, you have to applaud Motorola for not just rushing out the update with known issues and actually making it work first. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some progress before the end of the month.
What do you think about Motorola delaying the Android Wear 5.1.1 update for the Moto 360? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter via Droid-life
The post Android Wear 5.1.1 update for the Moto 360 delayed due to performance complications appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google search on iOS now works like it does on Android
Google’s been including contextual search results (links to content from installed apps, not just web pages) for Android users since 2013. Today, iOS users will be able finally be able to do the same. Google recently announced on its Inside Search blog that the company will populate search results with in-app content for both the Google App and Chrome on iOS devices starting this week. So if you tell your iPhone, like in the example below, “I need a reservation at Bombay Cricket Club” Google will return a link to the OpenTable app that takes you directly to the Bombay Cricket Club’s reservation page.
This feature isn’t universal just yet. Initially, Google’s only returning results from a small batch of early partners including Eat24, Free Dictionary, Huffington Post, OpenTable, Pinterest, SeatGeek, Slideshare, Tapatalk, Yellow Pages, YouTube and Zillow. If you don’t have any of these apps yet, don’t worry. Google also announced today that it will begin popping links to apps that you haven’t yet installed but probably should — just like it already does on Android.
Filed under: Internet, Apple, Google
Source: Google Inside Search (blog)
Nest press conference scheduled for June 17th, new products inbound?
Google spent a massive $3.2 billion in January 2014 to acquire Nest Labs, the company that creates smart thermostats and smoke detectors. While Nest has only launched two products so far, that may change sometime soon. The company has just sent out invitations for a press event scheduled for Wednesday, June 17th, during which we may get to hear about the first products to come from the company since the big Google acquisition. Unfortunately the invitation doesn’t provide much information on the event, so right now all we can do is speculate.
While Nest has only launched a few products since its inception, the company has still been making headlines over the past year for its numerous big acquisitions. Nest bought security camera startup Dropcam last June for $555 million, then soon after purchased Revolv, the home automation company. Since Nest bought these two companies, we have yet to hear any new product announcements or updates, so perhaps that’s what we’ll see on the 17th.
Like I said before, this is just speculation for now, though it does seem like the right time for Nest to introduce new connected home products. We’ll be sure to let you know what the announcement entails when the 17th rolls around.
AIVAnet 