Google is working on version of Android for virtual reality apps
You could have been forgiven for thinking that with so many companies announcing their plans for virtual reality (VR) hardware and Google remaining suspiciously quiet that the Mountain View outfit might not be joining in on the fun. Well, as Wall Street Journal reports, that definitely isn’t the case. In fact, Google has “tens of […]
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5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Welcome back to Android Apps Weekly! Here are your headlines for this week:
- NVIDIA is launching GRID game streaming in May. This will allow you to play PC games on your NVIDIA Shield and Shield Tablet and be like the Netflix for games.
- Tinder Plus is now available for those who want to pay for the dating service. Paid customers extra features but beware, the price will be higher if you’re over 30!
- Waze has been inducted into the Google Mobile Services package which means it is now an official Google app and will likely eventually be pre-installed on devices.
- Mortal Kombat X has been announced for Android and it will be here sometime in April.
- Google Play is celebrating its third birthday with a huge sale of apps, games, music, and movies. Happy birthday Google Play!
If you want to see more headlines, app updates, and app releases, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! I curate it myself every week and include all of the best Android apps news, updates, and releases. Click the button below if you’re interested.
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BBM
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Blackberry Messenger got a huge update this last week. With it came myriad improvements to channels, photo sending, picture previews, in-chat playback of voice notes, and the ability to customize your PIN if you subscribe. Along with all of that comes Android Wear support which is surprisingly forward thinking for an app that almost became totally irrelevant years ago. The update is out now if you want it.
Zombie Highway 2
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Zombie Highway was a huge success when it first came out a couple of years ago and we expect Zombie Highway 2 to continue that proud tradition. It uses many of the same mechanics as the first game, but includes improved graphics and sound effects, nitro, new cars, new weapons, new zombies, and more. The in app purchases are also surprisingly reasonable. The only downside are the release day bugs so you may need to wait a week or so for everything to get ironed out.
Alphadia Genesis 2
[Price: $9.99 ($4.99 on sale now) with in app purchases]
Alphadia Genesis 2 is the latest game out of Kemco Games who are known as one of the best jRPG studios on Android. This is a jRPG with a decently long story line, better than average graphics, and some unique battle mechanics. It uses a job system for character customization and the company promises that in app purchases are not required to finish the game. There are some release day bugs so do beware of that.
AutoWear
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
AutoWear is a new Android Wear application that allows you to create tasks in Tasker and then use them on your Android Wear devices. Using this app, you can a bunch of fun things with your watch and control it in ways you previously couldn’t. Some of the things you can do is create customized notifications, create interactive screens, utilize improved voice commands, and more. There is a free trial so you can try it before you buy it.
King of Thieves
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Last up this week is King of Thieves. This is a game out of Zeptolabs, known for their hit Cut the Rope franchise. In this platformer style game, you must dodge defenses and steal gold coins from other players, then build your own level to defend your gold against them. You can also join guilds, engage with leaderboards, and some extra stuff like costumes. It’s a different kind of platformer and worth a shot.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps or games news, let us know in the comments!
Makes sense: Google’s cell service will only work with Nexus 6 devices
Google has been reportedly working to bring its own flavor of cell service to consumers the not so distant future. It would use Wi-Fi for much of its connection, but deals are in place with T-Mobile and Sprint for when Wi-Fi is not available. Android 5.0 Lollipop has the technical functionality to handle this quite […]
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Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google team up to support marriage equality
A total of 379 companies, including tech’s biggest names, are trying to convince the Supreme Court to rule in favor of nationwide marriage equality. These corporations, including Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have filed an amici curiae or a friend-of-the-court brief prior to the high court’s April hearing that will decide the future of same-sex marriage in the US. The court is slated to discuss whether same-sex couples have the constitutional right to get married anywhere in the country. In case that doesn’t pan out, the court will also discuss whether same-sex marriages performed in states where it’s legal must be recognized even in states where it’s not. If you read the filing, you’ll see the companies emphasize repeatedly how marriage equality benefits American businesses.
They listed a number of ways how, such as that it will allow them to offer everyone the same benefits to entice top talent. It can also prevent employees from leaving and moving to states that recognize their marriage. Diversity in the workplace, brought in part by members of the LGBT community, is “crucial to innovation and marketplace success,” the companies’ wrote.
We’ve pasted parts of the filing below that explain their stance in greater detail (emphasis ours):
Some of the states in which amici (the 379 companies) do business make marriage equally available to all of our employees and colleagues; others prohibit marriages between couples of the same sex and refuse to recognize existing same-sex marriages. This dual regime burdens amici. It creates legal uncertainty and imposes unnecessary costs and administrative complexities on employers, and requires differential employer treatment of employees who are similarly situated save for the state where they reside.
State laws that prohibit or decline to recognize marriages between same-sex couples hamper employer efforts to recruit and retain the most talented workforce possible in those states. Our successes depend upon the welfare and morale of all employees, without distinction. The burden imposed by inconsistent and discriminatory state laws of having to administer complicated schemes to account for differential treatment of similarly situated employees breeds unnecessary confusion, tension, and diminished employee morale.
A diverse, inclusive workplace environment increases the total human energy available to the organization. People can bring far more of themselves to their jobs because they are required to suppress far less. Inclusive companies are more open to new ideas and opportunities, while less prone to overconfidence when approaching challenges. Companies that are diverse and inclusive obtain better profits and other outputs, thanks to improved team collaboration and commitment.
Aside from the Big Four, other tech companies in the list include Amazon, Comcast, Cisco, DocuSign, Dropbox, eBay, EA, GE, HP, Intel, Oracle, Qualcomm Incorporated, Symantec, Twitter, Verizon, Xerox and Zynga. There are multi-national corporations from other industries, as well, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Walt Disney and United Airlines. You can see the full list in the amici curiae document, along with links to the studies the group used to back their arguments.
[Image credit: Shutterstock / govicinity]
Filed under: Misc, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook
Via: The Verge
Source: Morgan Lewis
Acer adds new Intel Core i3-powered Chromebox to its CXI lineup
Acer has announced some brand new Chromeboxes in its CXI lineup, including a relatively powerful box with an Intel Core i3 processor inside. The CXI-i34GKM sports a 4th generation i3 4030u CPU, which is a dual-core processor that’s specialized in low-power consumption and speedy performance.
It’s rare to see powerful chips inside of Chromebooks or Chromeboxes, and while this i3 isn’t top of the line, it’s one of the better performing processors you’ll find in a Chrome device. It’s capable of pushing both 2k and 4k displays and is equipped with 4 GB of RAM and a 16 GB solid state drive, plus all the typical radios and connections that you’re used to.
This box was designed primarily for small business and educational use where you don’t need a ton of horsepower to do daily tasks. Basic web browsing and document editing will be no problem for the set of specs this thing comes with, and since it’ll launch at around the sub-400 dollar price point, it’s perfect for the market it’s aimed at.
source: Acer
Come comment on this article: Acer adds new Intel Core i3-powered Chromebox to its CXI lineup
Google unveils car insurance comparison tool to help you save some money
Google has just introduced a new tool to help you save some money the next time you buy auto insurance. It’s called Google Compare for car insurance, and will display both national and local insurance providers in order to get you the best deal. There are only 14 partners on-board with the comparison tool so far, but the company hopes to add many more in the near future. 
Google explains:
You can highlight what makes your business unique, whether that’s an “A” rating in customer service or better discounts for safe drivers. And when users adjust their deductible or add additional cars to their quote, you can show updated pricing that matches their needs. They can then buy their policy online or over the phone through one of your agents.
The service is only launching in California at the start, but the company says they plan on rolling it out to other states in the future. Google plans on adding ratings, reviews and local agent support for providers with agent networks as Compare begins rolling out to more locations. If you live in California and want to check it out, follow the link below for some more information.
Google Compare for car insurance
WSJ: Google’s wireless service will only work with the Nexus 6
We’ve heard rumors about Google launching its own wireless service for a few years now, and speculation has been gaining more and more momentum over the past few months. Then at MWC 2015, Google’s Sundar Pichai finally put those rumors to rest, confirming that the company is in fact launching its very own MVNO in the “coming months“. The only real details we have about Google’s plans came directly from Sundar, as he explained that Google is working with Verizon, AT&T and other “existing partners” to create its own service. Sundar also stated that he’ll have more details for us in the months ahead. But according to The Wall Street Journal, Google’s service may launch much sooner than that.
According to “people familiar with the matter”, Google’s wireless service may end up launching by the end of March, which would be way sooner than we expected. Additionally, the report states that the new wireless service will only be compatible with the Nexus 6, and no other Android devices. The report states:
The service, designed to switch among Wi-Fi and cellular networks, will initially be available only on the latest Nexus 6 smartphone designed by Google and made by Motorola Mobility, a former Google unit now owned by China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. , two people familiar with the matter said. One of the people said the service won’t work with older Nexus devices, such as LG Electronics Inc. ’s Nexus 5.
The sources claim that while there’s potential for the service to launch in the coming weeks, the start might be delayed. Also, the service will reportedly combine both T-Mobile and Sprint’s networks with available Wifi networks, in hopes to obtain the best signal from any location.
Pichai expressed to us at MWC that Google has no plans to be a “carrier at scale”, and that the company is looking to provide a proof of concept with the new wireless technologies. However, plans to only make the Nexus 6 compatible with the service, at least at the beginning, is extremely scaled back from what we were thinking.
Of course, like any other rumor, this should be taken with a grain of salt. And we won’t know anything for sure until Google makes an official announcement in the weeks to come.
[APK Download] Play Services 7.0.87 is rolling out with minor fixes
A few days back, we made mention of the fact that the new Play Services 7.0 update was released. As such it’s currently rolling out in the Google staged roll out fashion. Besides updated APIs and a partial rollout of trusted voice unlocking, the update has minor bug fixes and performance updates. We have the APK for you here, but you should be mindful of which Services version your phone uses.
Come comment on this article: [APK Download] Play Services 7.0.87 is rolling out with minor fixes
Google releases stand alone PDF viewer app
Google is now offering its PDF Viewer as a standalone app in the Play Store.
It offers the same functions as the built-in PDF viewer in Google Drive, such as view, print, search, and copy text. The app’s main intent is to be used in context of the Android for Work Program which allows the user to easily separate business apps from personal ones.
You can get it from the widget beneath the image gallery.
The post Google releases stand alone PDF viewer app appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Play Services updated to version 7.0.87 [APK Download]
Following the Google Play Store being updated, Google has now issued an update to Google Play Services, bringing it to version 7.0.87.
The update to version 7.0.87 brings some minor bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Of course, there could always be additional hidden features just disabled, so drop us a comment below if you notice anything different.
Google Play Services should update itself automatically over the next coming days, but you can also sideload the APK using the download link here.
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