Google announces “Works with Google Cardboard”

Google announces the “Works with Google Cardboard” project in an attempt to breath some life into their VR product and app.

If you are unfamiliar with this cheap virtual reality option, you can read our review over here. You can build your own Cardboard viewer with just a few parts, and Google is kind enough to supply instructions for you!

With this Works with Google Cardboard project, Google plans on making the Cardboard experience better for all parties involved. What is going to happen is that companies that develop VR headsets can apply for a certification badge that will let users know that Cardboard apps and games will work perfectly with their product.

“Starting today, manufacturers can also apply for a program certification badge. This way potential users will know, at a glance, that a VR viewer works great with Cardboard apps and games.“

Along with this, there will be a QR code that manufacturers can create containing specs of the VR viewer like focal length, input type and inter-lens distance.  This is all in an effort to make Google Cardboard apps work better with all viewers available on the market.

This isn’t all that Google has done to make Google Cardboard grow. They also updated the Cardboard SDKs in order to add improved head tracking and drift correction among other things.

Google also announced a partnership with Thrive Audio and Tilt Brush to make even better VR products.

Source

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DODOcase Cardboard VR viewer being offered for free

After writing up my post concerning Works with Google Cardboard, I started looking around for a virtual reality viewer for myself and stumbled upon this deal.

DODOcase is currently offering their take on Google Cardboard for free! That’s right free. Well, sort of free. This deal comes with the heafty shipping fee of $12, but that is still really cheap for a VR headset.

If you weren’t sure that Cardboard is worth $25, maybe you will find it worth $12. If you are still unsure, you can always check out our own Robert Nelson’s review of Cardboard!

I don’t know how long you will be able to grab their viewer for this cheap, so you better jump on this deal fast! I know I will!

The sale is limited to one per customer and it is US customers only.

DODOcase

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Chrome 43 Beta released with new support for the musicians of the world

Google’s Chrome team has released an update to the Beta channel, Chrome 43, with support for MIDI devices, a new Permissions API, and a host of other changes and improvements. The new Web MIDI API included in Chrome 43 means users can make use of connected MIDI devices when accessing an online resource. MIDI devices include things like synthesizers, keyboards, DJ decks and drum machines amongst others. With the update, once a user plugs one of these devices into their system, even an Android tablet or smartphone, the device will be able to communicate with web sites without any additional work by the user to load software or drivers.

The new Chrome 43 beta also tries to make it easier on users when they receive prompts about certain systems that require permission. An example would be sites that want to geolocate a user, a step that often triggered a prompt to let the site use their location. Unfortunately, these prompts often do not include any information for a user to determine the context or purpose. The new API applies to permission status checks for Geolocation, Push, Notifications and the new Web MIDI and will allow web site developers to ask for permission with some context for the end user.

Many of the other improvements involve under the hood changes intended to help web site developers use the browser more effectively. A few of these may be noticed by end users. For instance, Google is working on code to transition unmodifiable legacy web content to encrypted and authenticated content that can be delivered via HTTPS. This means users may see fewer warnings about mixed content on a site that they otherwise expect to me secured. Another change is the ability for the autocapitalize property to be used in input and textarea elements when users are entering information.

Hit the source link below for the full list of changes included in Chrome 43 Beta as well as further info on installing the beta channel if you do not already have it.

source: Chromium Blog

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Google+ update brings major redesign for Communities [APK Download]

Google is currently in the process pushing out an update for its official Google+ application. This upgrade doesn’t deliver any new features, but it does transport a major redesign for the Communities section of the app and carries a handful of bug fixes, too.

Here’s what the search engine giant had to say:

“Check out your favorite community on Android to see the new and improved look in this week’s app update (currently rolling out). We hope you’ll love it!”

To install the update, simply open up the Play Store on your device, toggle the hamburger menu by swiping in from the left-hand side of the screen, select ‘My Apps’ and click on ‘Google+’. Next, hit the update button, and the upgrade will instantly start to download and install. Alternatively, you can download the APK by hitting the source link below.

Source: APK Mirror

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Google improves presentation of URLs in mobile search results

The next time you search for something on your smartphone or tablet, you might notice a small change in the search results. Instead of displaying long URL names, Google will now display the real-world name of the site and the actual URL will be in a breadcrumbs-like format.

This is obviously more simplified, but it also helps users understand websites better. You can see the before (left) and after (right) in the image above.

The update is taking place gradually so you might not see the change right away. Real-world names will only be available in the U.S, and the new breadcrumbs format will be available worldwide.

source: Google

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Google+ v5.3 update brings visual improvements [APK Download]

Google+’s latest update brings a few tweaks and visual improvements to their communities section, implementing a design similar to what Google Play uses for an app page’s header. This is a much welcomed improvement, and really makes communities look great.

Another visual update to Google+ is the status bar changing color as you scroll down pages. These changes are purely cosmetic, and don’t bring anything in the way of functionality. Below is a link to the APK mirror.

APK Mirror

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Does Google need to return to China? It’s complicated.

There are more than one billion mobile phone users in China, and somewhere over 40% of them are using smartphones. China became the world’s biggest smartphone market way back in 2011 or 2012, depending on which analysts you believe. It’s still growing. IDC says the 107.5 million smartphones shipped to China in the last quarter of 2014 represent 2% growth on the same quarter in 2013.

You know who’s doing really well in China? Apple.

IDC put Apple on a 12.3% market share in China for Q4, 2014, ahead of Huawei, Lenovo, and Samsung. Only Xiaomi had a larger share at 13.7%.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are selling really well in China.

If we look at the App Annie Index Market Q1 2015 report we find that China is now Apple’s biggest market for iOS App Store downloads, ahead of the United States. In the revenue chart we still find that the U.S. is top, but China has climbed to third place ahead of the United Kingdom.

That’s a lot of people and a lot of revenue that Google is missing out on.

Where is Google?

Google launched search in China back in 2006 with results subject to censorship by the Chinese government. It was an uncomfortable and controversial agreement which collapsed in 2010 when Google stated it was no longer willing to continue censoring results. This was ostensibly a response to alleged Chinese government hacking, into, among other things, Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

Since then Google services have been blocked or hobbled in China. That includes Google’s Play Store. It’s unclear what, if any, talks are ongoing between Google and Chinese companies or the government itself. But the rows continue, most recently over Google’s decision not to recognize safety certificates of trust for Chinese websites, as reported by CNBC.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, did comment on China briefly at MWC this year, suggesting that the search giant is working with local companies to bring the Play Store back to China, because there is clear demand due to the low quality of alternative app stores and the prevalence of malware. But no roadmap was revealed and it’s far from a sure thing.

The malware question

You can find some statistics in Google’s Android Security 2014 Year in Review report about the risk of potentially harmful apps (PHAs). The overall outlook for Android is good. Less than 1% of all Android devices had a PHA installed, and that drops to 0.15% for devices that only download from Google Play.

The vast majority of the malware reports about Android fail to advertise the fact that most of the malware is coming from third-party app stores in countries like China, where the Play Store isn’t dominant. You can see why people might want access to Google Play, just on security grounds.

Fears over malware and/or a poor user experience with third-party app stores could also be another reason behind the surge in Apple’s popularity in China. What choice do people have in Google’s absence?

A real Android experience

Many of us are daily users of Google’s services and have trouble imagining Android without it. There’s little doubt that Android is a less attractive prospect without Google. Imagine no Google Search, no Google Maps, no Gmail, and no Play Store.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so Google could be welcomed back with open arms by ordinary Chinese people. That same App Annie report shows the biggest growth for Google Play in the app downloads chart has been in Brazil, India, Russia, and Mexico, now 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively, behind the U.S. in the top spot.

Are the rumors about a Nexus phone made by Huawei related to Google’s potential return to China?

If the Play Store was operating in China who is to say it wouldn’t be the biggest market for app downloads? For a company like Google, so intent on increasing its user base, and working hard to tempt the online audience onto its services, China is a massive audience to lose. With over 640 million internet users, according to Internet Live Stats, China is by far the biggest audience out there. To give a comparison the U.S. is in second place and has around 280 million internet users.

How does it happen?

We’ve wondered before whether Google Play may be coming to China, but the truth is that we don’t know. It seems like a no-brainer for Google from a business perspective, and there would be obvious benefits for the Chinese people, but the situation between Google and the Chinese government is obviously complicated.

It seems unlikely that Chinese government policy is going to change in the immediate future. Realistically that means the original reasons Google pulled out are still valid. Five years ago German paper, Der Spiegel, asked Sergei Brin “Do you now fear that you will lose China, a huge potential future market?” and he said:

“If you adopt that point of view then you would agree to completely arbitrary limitations and distortion. If you take the point of view that you have to be friendly with the Chinese government and they can make arbitrary demands of you, then you can’t really run a business. I really don’t think that is a practicable way to proceed.”

It wasn’t really a business decision that took Google out of China. Is the fear of lost business enough to take it back? Has anything really changed?

Looking at this another way, Google doesn’t strictly need China. It’s not exactly struggling without a major presence there. But it’s very unusual to see business considerations take a back seat, and you can imagine there must be pressure from certain quarters to go back.

Google commits to updating Chrome for Windows XP users for another 8 months

Windows. You either love it or you hate it, and if you love it, there’s a roughly 1-in-10 chance that you love it so much you couldn’t bear to move away from Windows XP. An operating system so old that even Microsoft has quit supporting it. Luckily, Google feels different about the 11% of worldwide computers believed to still use Windows XP.  The search giant has announced that it plans to continue supporting the ageing operating system with new builds of its Chrome browser.

The announcement of a further 8 months worth of support in the form of Chrome builds means that Windows XP users can breathe a sigh of relief, at least until the end of 2015. Still, at least it means that they are able to browse the internet “as safe as possible on an unsupported operating system.”

Google has urged Windows XP users to upgrade to a secure operating system, with Linux and rather unsurprisingly, its own Chrome OS were mentioned as viable alternatives. Google does recognize though that not everyone is in the position to upgrade the operating system. This can be due to a variety of reasons ranging from lack of finances, the need to use certain programs that are only compatible with Windows XP to simply not being technically able to install a new OS.

If you are still using Windows XP, how do you feel about another 8 months worth of Chrome builds?

Source: Chromium Blog
Via: OMGChrome

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