Did you ever wonder how Google gets all that great street view detail in National Parks? Well they do it with the Street View Trekker. It’s a backpack that weighs 40 pounds, has 15 five-megapixel cameras, a hard drive, and two batteries. It’s pretty hefty so I can’t imagine going very far with one of these. Google brought one of them to I/O to give everyone a chance to see what it’s like to wear one with a simulator. Hit the break to see it in action.
Without an official announcement today at the Google I/O keynote, Google has quietly rolled out a nice looking update to their YouTube app for Google TV. A new UI is featured, which makes navigation a bit easier and more user friendly.
Improved Playback video controls are also included, and subscription options are much easier to use as well. Check out the link to the app in the Google Play Store after the break. » Read the rest
Google TV has always been shunned a little more than other Google products, despite running Android. Well, if you were an early adopter of Google TV, there’s good news. According to Google, Google TV is being moved to Android 4.2.2, and Google TV is being reworked to allow OEM partners to quickly update their devices. The time frame will supposedly be cut from “months” down to “weeks.” Google TV will also be moved to the latest version of Chrome, as well as Chrome’s rather speedy six-week release cycle. Good news for owners, as this means your devices won’t be obsoleted quickly.
Google also said in their Google+ post that older devices should begin receiving updates soon, and we can expect to see new devices later this year. Nexus Q 2.0, anyone?
source: Google Plus
We told you about Map Diving last week. It’s a skydiving simulator created by Instrument, a Portland tech startup. We finally got to see it action at Google I/O, and yours truly even gave it a shot. They created this simulator using Google Maps and it’s pretty darn cool. Don’t worry, everyone will get a chance to try it out because it will land on Chrome Experiments soon. When that happens, you won’t use your body, but you will be able to use your tablet’s accelerometer to control the skydiver that’s on your desktop. Hit the break for the video and to find out why I never took up skydiving.
If you missed the Google I/O keynote this morning or want to watch it all over again, you’re in luck— you can view it right here at your leisure. Poke around Talk Android for other updates and releases that were announced throughout the day and check back for some more cool Google I/O news for the rest of the conference.
This day full of Google goodness, keeps on rolling, and Google just made it easier to send money to our friends and family with the help of Gmail and Google Wallet. The two have been integrated to allow you to send money. In Gmail there will be an option next to the attachments, in the form of a dollar sign $. By clicking on this button you can now send money to the people you care most about. There are limitations to the service however, which are covered after the break: » Read the rest
Very early reviews of Google Hangouts seem to be mixed. Many people love the new service, but many are also unhappy with the fact that SMS messaging is not integrated. These users have quickly dominated the app’s reviews in the Play Store, pleading for the feature to be added to what is supposed to be a unified messaging system.
However, a quick look at the permissions Google Hangouts requires reveals that SMS support could be coming soon. Among the permissions the app has access to - receiving text messages (SMS), reading text messages (SMS or MMS), and sending SMS messages – none of which the app currently seems to actually be using. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this means SMS support will be added sooner than later (maybe with Android 4.3?), making it even more of a truly unified messaging system. After the break you can read the message permissions Google Hangouts requires. » Read the rest
The long-anticipated Google Hangouts application was announced this afternoon at Google I/O 2013 and is now available in the Google Play Store for download.
The app allows for one-to-one chat, group chat, picture/video sharing, emojis, as well as video calling. It’s multi-platform integrated, meaning you can use it on your computer, your Android, or your iOS device— everything will remain perfectly synced. Conversation threads will remain on the Hangouts application until you delete them, so you can always look back and see a timeline of old photos and videos you shared with others through the app.
One pretty big disappointment is the lack of SMS support in the application. However, some have said otherwise. Google knows that apps like “Hangouts” are the future of smartphone communication, so they may just be paving the way for the abandonment of SMS-use. We’ll just have to wait and see how users react to this new technology! Check out a photo gallery and the link to the Google Play Store after the break! » Read the rest
One of the major pieces of awesomeness at Google I/O was the introduction of the revamped Search function. Right off the bat, the new Search function for you Google Now users includes not only new cards, but also the ability to set reminders or see real-time public transportation updates. So whenever you want that reminder to “take out the trash before 7am” or want to see continuous updates for the A train at New York’s Penn Station (or other select cities), then Google certainly has you covered. Voice Search users aren’t left in the dust either, as Google has gone ahead and implemented some extra functionality to the nifty tool— so users can ask more questions such as “what time it is my flight leaves Thursday” or something of that nature.
The update is already live in the Play Store now, so be sure to grab it by clicking on the Play Store link below.
Google’s new Maps feature that we told about earlier today is officially a reality. So many things to list and such little brain power to remember them all. Let’s try and cover the stuff that got the most reaction from the crowd. There have been some major improvements to the 3D rendering. Getting to see St. Peter’s Basilica in 3D at I/O on Google Maps is excellent, but what really took the cake was the integration of user photos of the Basilica. By clicking on a user submitted Geo-tagged photo, Google Maps now helps to bring the interior of the Basilica on other wonders of the world right into your house through the browser.
And of course like all of the other neat services, Google Maps can now become more personalized as you use it more and more. Picture this: you see a restaurant that may be of interest to you in a particular area, so Google Maps will showcase only the important items like specific roads or landmarks it is for you to get to the restaurant, so Maps will only show the information to you that matters most. Oh and you have friends that may +1 a restaurant or locale, so Google Maps will begin offering you recommendations based off of your friends’ interests. Pretty cool indeed. So the more you interact with the map, the better it gets. When you set your Home and Work locations, star favorite places, write reviews and share with friends, Google Maps will build even more useful maps with recommendations for places you might enjoy.