Likely Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition spotted getting Bluetooth SIG Certified
Devices that are often on the imminent path to release have to go though Bluetooth SIG certification, so it’s not unusual to see rumoured devices passing through Bluetooth SIG’s website on their way to market. Sometimes though, it’s hard to tell exactly what the devices are as they only bear model numbers in the database, and a certain SM-G900FG has perked up everybody’s attention. It’s been suggested that this device will end up becoming the Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition that we’ve assumed is coming ever since the Galaxy S5‘s launch.
While there’s no real concrete evidence to say that this device actually is the Galaxy S5 GPe, the two corroborating facts being used are the fact that the model number for the international Galaxy S5 is SM-G600F and that the Galaxy S4 GPe tacked a “G” at the end of the international Galaxy S4′s model number (i.e. SM-I9505G). The release of the Galaxy S5 GPe will likely be good news for those Android enthusiasts who are yet again disappointed by the bloated TouchWiz UI but want the hardware prowess under the hood.
Would you buy the Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition if/when it is released? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
Source: Bluetooth SIG via SamMobile
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Google Maps’ bike routing now helps you avoid steep hills
Just because you enjoy cycling doesn’t mean you want a challenge every time — it’s not much fun to pedal uphill when you simply need to get to work. You won’t have to face those arbitrary hill climbs in the future, though, since Google Maps has quietly added elevation data to its bike routes. Plot your path using a desktop web browser and you’ll see both a visual representation of elevation changes and the number of feet you have to ascend (or descend, if you’re lucky). There’s no word on a corresponding mobile app update, but don’t be surprised if you can eventually chart an easier course when you’re already on the road.
[Top image credit: Cheryl DalPozzal, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation, Internet, Google
Source: TechCrunch
Apple and Motorola agree to drop lawsuits against each other, work on patent reform
And just like that, the longstanding legal battle between Apple and Motorola appears to be winding down. The two smartphone giants have reached an agreement that will see them drop patent lawsuits against each other. The truce doesn’t involve technology licenses, but Apple and Google (still Motorola’s owner at this point) say they’ll “work together in some areas of patent reform.” Neither side is revealing what this entails, although it won’t be surprising if it involves efforts to curb the patent trolls that they face.
The companies haven’t said what prompted the change of heart. However, it comes hot on the heels of an appeals court reviving patent claims from Apple and Motorola that had been dismissed in 2012. The phone makers faced the prospect of renewing a fight over some relatively old (and no longer very valuable) infringement allegations — peace may simply be the more pragmatic option. Whatever led to the decision, it’s good news for those who’d rather see phone makers compete in stores than in the courtroom.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Google, Lenovo
Source: Reuters
Quest Visual, The Minds Behind Word Lens, Has Been Picked Up By Google, All Launguage Packs Free
I remember when Word Lens was first starting out and how amazingly brilliant I thought it was at the time. After a quick search in our history I found that it was clear back in January of 2011 when the app was first demoed. It didn’t make its way to Android until July of 2012. Seem like ages ago. In case you are lost, Word lens is an augmented reality app that take text viewed on your screen through your devices camera and translates it to and from different languages visually without user input. The app has done quite well for itself over the years with a number of updates, additions of languages and UI tweaks. It would seem that they have finally caught the attention of Google and the developer company behind the app, Quest Visual, has been scooped up.
A statement that was discovered on the company’s website by AndroidPolice is as follows:
With Word Lens, we’ve seen the beginnings of what’s possible when we harness the power of mobile devices to “see the world in your language.”
By joining Google, we can incorporate Quest Visual’s technology into Google Translate’s broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future.
As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we’ve made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time while we transition to Google.
We’re looking forward to continuing our work at Google – stay tuned!
Sounds pretty good to me. I mean, why spend the time and money to develop a similar application when you can just buy people that have already done it? What does this mean though? Well, for now if you download the app you get all the language packs for free. The packs, if memory serves, were $4.99 each in the past. So it is a huge savings. While many of us might not need them all, you will have them. The statement clearly indicates that at some point in time their work will make its way into Google Translate. Google Translate has already gone under a ton of work and offers camera translations, but not real time live translations like Word Lens. Near as I can tell, I haven’t used Google Translate in a while, the visual side requires relaying information to Google thus needing a data connection where as Word lens is offline.
It all seems like it could be a win win for Google, Word Lens and consumers who need both online and offline translations in a variety of formats in one simple app. For now though, you can grab the Word Lens app along with the suite of languages for completely free. never hurts to have it around and, really, why not?
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Google Now gets billing integration, reminds you when payment is due
Google Now, with cards displaying info for your upcoming flights and shipment tracking, is becoming more and more useful. The latest improvement to Mountain View’s virtual assistant integrates billing reminders based on your emails. A tipster sent screens of the new feature to Android Police, though it doesn’t look like billing has rolled out to all users yet. If you do see it on your phone, you’ll only get basic information about your accounts, such as when a bill is due and how much you owe.
Based on a teardown of the Google Now APK, which reveals other options such as viewing minimum payments and previous balances, we’ll probably see new billing features added to Google Now at the time. Most helpful would be an option to head to your account via a “Pay now” link, and there’s no reason to think Google wouldn’t add in such functionality. Some billing providers have deeper integration than others, though, so the amount of information you’ll see will vary.
To check if you’ve received the update, head to the “Everything Else” section in Google Now. The service will ask you if you’re interested in information in bills based on messages in your Gmail. And let us know if you’re seeing the feature by commenting below.
Via: Android Police
Google Play starts accepting PayPal for digital goods, but not for physical ones
Well, here’s a surprise: Mountain View now accepts PayPal payments for apps, games, books and other digital goods on Google Play. If you’re not exactly fond of paying through credit cards cards or carriers, you can activate the option by clicking Add Paypal and typing in your log-in details. The option has a huge limitation, though: you can’t exactly use it to buy devices and accessories. So, if you want to buy a new Android phone or a Nest thermostat, you need to bust out that plastic. That said, Play has also expanded carrier billing and gift card availability to more countries, and anyone waiting for either may want to check Google Support for the full lists.
[Image credit: Steve Ganz/Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Via: Droid Life
Source: Android Developers Blog
Google Play Store now accepting PayPal
Google is now accepting PayPal for Play Store purchases starting today! In order to pay with PayPal, purchase something and pick your new payment option. The new payment option is available in 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Germany. I was curious if Google and PayPal would ever play ball and it finally looks like they have.
Google has also expanded their coverage of Carrier Billing to 24 countries, which means almost half of all Google Play users have this option when making purchases. Along with making Google Play gift cards available to a total of 13 countries, including Japan and Germany.
I would say that the billing department has been very busy pushing out all of these new options around the world. Now if you don’t see the new payment options yet, don’t worry, it will come! In the mean time, watch this neat gif all about the process! 
Source: Android Developers Blogspot
The post Google Play Store now accepting PayPal appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Crafting the perfect tweet is one-third talent, two-thirds science
Random and fickle as social networks may seem, the success of an individual Tweet or Facebook post can be hugely dependent on the way it’s worded. Some sentences will work well, while others will quietly implode in a puff of indifference. However, researchers from Google and Cornell University now claim that they can predict this outcome using straightforward linguistic rules. The rules may not be especially practical when it comes to actually crafting a Tweet (the main tips are: make it sound like a news headline, follow “community norms,” and add more detail where possible), but there does seem to be decent statistical evidence to back them up.
When the rules were applied to a real-world sample of Twitter “twins” — that is, two published Tweets by the same user, about the same subject, where the only big difference is in the wording — they were 66 percent accurate in predicting which twin got more re-tweets. By contrast, average human readers were only 61 percent accurate in spotting the better Tweet, which backs up the idea that social networking success is more about science than about emotion. Then again, the remaining 34 percent of inaccurate predictions delivered by the researchers’ model means there’s still a whole lot of literary flair which remains unaccounted for, and which probably can’t be condensed to a simple set of rules.
If you reckon you know what a good Tweet looks like, to the point where you might be able to beat the human average and the computer model, then the researchers have built an addictive little quiz to give you the chance to prove your skills. (Just to get things going, this author scored 70 percent, after ten trials. Beat that, ppl.)
Via: Washington Post
Source: Chenhao Tan et al. [PDF]
Nest strikes deal with npower to offer its smart thermostat for just £99
Now that the Nest learning thermostat on sale in the UK, the Google-owned company is pulling out all of the stops to make it your go-to smart heating controller. Today, it buddied up with its first European energy supplier to give Britons a more cost-effective solution (at least for now) to British Gas’ own Hive thermostat. npower, Nest’s partner in crime, is incentivising customers to switch over to its new dual-fuel tariffs (which fix energy prices until April 30th 2017) by offering a Nest for just £99 installed. That’s £100 less than the Hive and a third of the price of a standalone unit (with support) ordered from npower direct. You can, of course, still pick one up for £179 on Nest’s own website and Amazon, or online and in-store at Apple, John Lewis and B&Q, but it’ll be down to you to install it and make sure it works as it should.
Filed under: Household, Internet, Google
Source: nPower – Nest
Google Maps now offers ‘quick facts’ about the world’s biggest tourist destinations
Google Maps just got a new and pretty useful info card that takes data right out of the company’s Knowledge Graph. This expandable window called “Quick facts” lists, well, bite-sized factoids about some of most famous locations around the globe, including Angkor Wat, the Golden Gate Bridge and Taj Mahal, as you can see above. The feature’s only available on Google Maps for desktop (and it doesn’t work for every tourist spot out there), so it’ll be a while before you can use it to plan your yearly vacations.
Via: Search Engine Land
Source: Google Maps (Google+)
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