Google offers I/O 2014 app source code as Material Design sample code

The Google I/O 2014 app has successfully lived up to its initial purpose of providing scheduling for Google I/O attendees and allowing us at home to check in and watch the keynote presentation, as well as other live-streamed sessions. But what happens to the app now?

Instead of leaving the app to be forgotten in the Google Play Store, Google has decided to use the app as a shining light for developers. Google updated the I/O 2014 app with Material Design and the Android L developer preview before making the full source code free and available for developers to download and utilize as a template for their own apps.

Although the majority of actual benefits of the Google I/O 2014 app were only good during the two days of conference back in June, the app now offers developers examples of a number of features and techniques. Developers can look forward to sample code for:

• Google Drive API


• Google Cloud Messaging


• Android L developer preview


• Android Wear


• Video streaming


• Reminders and alarms


• NFC scanning and beaming


• Feedback mechanisms

In addition to simply just dropping the code on developers, there is also some reference material available on the project git page, expect also to see video tutorials coming soon through the developer channel.

Once you’ve got your Android L device or emulator up and rolling, grab the source code for the Google I/O 2014 app from the GitHub page and get on building your own Material Design apps.

What is the best Material Design app you’ve seen so far?

Via: Google;

Source: GitHub;



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Verizon Releases The Gigantic LG G Vista And The Rugged Kyocera Brigadier, $99 Each On-Contract, With Little Fanfare

Looking for a mid-range phone on Verizon? Then you've got two more choices starting today. The LG G Vista, an enormous "phablet" device, and the Kyocera Brigadier, the latest in the company's line of "tough" phones, are both on sale now at Verizon's website. They should be in at least some company-owned retailer stores starting Thursday, July 31st. Both phones are being sold for $99.99 on-contract, and both are $400 without a commitment.

Verizon Releases The Gigantic LG G Vista And The Rugged Kyocera Brigadier, $99 Each On-Contract, With Little Fanfare was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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TalkAndroid Daily Dose for July 30, 2014

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Apps

Yahoo Finance gets redesigned with new interactive graphs and real-time quotes

Carriers

U.S. Senate reports that companies are cramming customer bills with obscene charges

FreedomPop to offer LTE-enabled tablets with free voice, text and data

Samsung launches budget-friendly Galaxy Avant on T-Mobile

The FCC isn’t pleased with Verizon’s new policy to throttle unlimited data customers

Chrome

64-bit support for Chrome now in beta for Windows users

Google

Grab coffee with Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman, for winning a charitable auction

Google to show off self-driving cars at Maker Camp this Friday

Google Hangouts made more business-friendly with latest changes

Phones

HTC holding press event on August 19, likely a One (M8) with Windows Phone

Huawei Ascend Mate 3 spotted in benchmarks packing powerful specs

Huawei teases new phone to be announced at IFA in September

Analysts predict LG G3 to be twice as popular as the G2 despite imminent iPhone 6 launch

Meizu MX4 may claim title of thinnest bezels

Trademarked “Moto Maxx” hints at potential Motorola handset

Samsung launches budget-friendly Galaxy Avant on T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Alpha to be officially unveiled on August 4th

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact gets photographed again

Tablets

FreedomPop to offer LTE-enabled tablets with free voice, text and data

Miscellaneous

Samsung is still the king of smartphones but continues to lose market share

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for July 30, 2014

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Hangouts Is Now A Part Of The Apps For Business Suite With 24/7 Phone Support

Google takes pride in having their services work for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and have recently made some changes to their Google Apps For Business setup that now includes Hangouts. Now that Hangouts is part of the Google Apps For Business package, this version of the service also includes some enhanced features for businesses who will be using the suite of business focused applications. Google’s focus with this update is to enhance the way businesses conduct meetings and make it easier for them to have that face to face conversation, as they believe this is still the “best and simplest” form of communication between teams of people.

As part of this change, Google now lists Hangouts as having the same terms of service and support as other Apps for Business, and also gives it the same 24/7 customer phone support should businesses or IT people for those businesses need to get a little assistance. They also guarantee an uptime of 99.9% which should make any businesses looking at using this app for team meetings feel a little more secure that they can rely on it to work when they need it. Also along with this update, is the ability for any Google Apps customers to have the ability to join in on Hangouts meetings calls. There is no longer a need to have a Google+ profile to be a participant so long as you are a customer of Google apps. The Hangouts video meetings still support up to 15 participants, and the change here also allows any Google apps customers to start a high-definition video call and not just join in on one that is already in progress, whether that be from a Chromebook, a Chromebox for meetings, a smartphone, tablet or laptop/desktop.

This solidifies Google’s commitment to providing a great experience for enterprise solutions, by making it simpler and more reliable for businesses to use Hangouts as a viable option to communicate with team members. Google is also giving some power and ease of use to the IT community, as any IT professional will now have the ability to manage Hangouts video meetings from the Apps Admin Console to remote start, mute, or remotely end a meeting. Check out the Hangouts for Work video below and see some of the changes for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Sony Xperia Z3 will launch on T-Mobile shortly after its unveiling [RUMOR]

We’ve been hearing a lot about the upcoming Sony Xperia Z3 ever since “leaked” images of the device began sprouting up around the net. Said to become official during next month’s IFA 2014 in Berlin, we were left scratching our heads as to the phone’s sudden release. Given we have yet to see or hear any official word on a Sony Xperia Z2 coming to the states (rumors point to a Verizon exclusive release arriving soon), we’re sure many of you aren’t getting your hopes we’ll ever see the upcoming model arriving in the states anytime soon. But not so fast…

Apparently, the folks over at TechnoBuffalo heard from their own reliable source that the phone has already been picked up by T-Mobile and will launch shortly after its September unveiling. So, why on earth would Sony be gearing up to launch a redesigned followup only 6 months after the previous model? Well, that part is still a little foggy. It’s possible the Z2 was already promised to Verizon and in order for Sony to bring their smartphone lineup to the US they needed an entirely new model. This could also explain why the phone is rumored to have largely the same exact specs as the Sony Xperia Z2, only featuring a more smooth, all metal frame. New name. Mostly the same internals.

Of course, nothing has been confirmed at this time although TechnoBuffalo assures us their sources have proven reliable in the past. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the phone (whether officially or through leaks) as IFA 2014 approaches. Until then, I’ll be enjoying my newly purchased Sony Xperia Z2 (yes, I’m pretty much in love with it).

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Huawei teases new phone to be announced at IFA in September

In September, major OEMs will gather at IFA in Berlin to announce a number of new products and devices to the market.

Huawei has gotten things started in the marketing department, sending out invites for its event, and teasing a new device at the same time.

It would make sense that this new phone is the Ascend Mate 3 — we should see plenty of leaks of the device in the coming weeks.

Huawei is also set to release another Honor-branded smartphone in China, the Honor 6, which will have a 5-inch display with 720p resolution, a MediaTek MT6582 chipset, a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and 1GB RAM. The rear camera is only 2MP, so this is pretty low-end.

Source: GSM Arena

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Verizon’s Plans For Slowing Unlimited Data Bring Concerns For FCC Chairman

Does Unlimited data still exist? Sure it does, but it seems to be in short supply. While many carriers seem to be going through plans and initiatives to increase network technology and data speeds to meet the demands of the customers, Verizon’s plan to attack the very same issue is of concern to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, as he addressed Verizon CEO Daniel Mead today with a written letter explaining his expressed concerns over their plan to slow down the speeds of data for customers who are currently subscribed to Verizon’s unlimited data packages. For those who are unaware, Verizon had last week announced that beginning October 1st of this year, that some customers who are using Verizon’s older Unlimited Data plans may start to see speeds slow down.

Some people may see this as an attempt at an easy money grab for the nation’s largest wireless carrier, which appears to be exactly what Wheeler is thinking as he states that the “Reasonable Network Management” refers to the advancement or “management” of Verizon’s technical network and is not a way for Verizon to increase their forms of revenue. He emphasizes these concerns by saying this is a disturbing move from Big Red, and although not surprising in any way, it should disturb customers as well. Advancement of the network technology should be the focal point, and not a prioritization of high speed data outlined and categorized by older less expensive unlimited data plans and the newer high priced tiered packages.

Wheeler makes another statement that points out an obvious thought, saying that he doesn’t “know of any past Commission statement that would treat as ‘reasonable network management’ a decision to slow traffic to a user who has paid, after all, for ‘unlimited’ service.” Verizon will likely argue that they have the right to change their plans how they see fit and will surely have a good response to the letter from Wheeler, but according to Reuters Verizon has not yet been reached or heard from on the matter. These speed decreases have already been translated to those who use Verizon’s 3G services, and October 1st appears to mark the date when customers using those older unlimited plans on Verizon’s 4G services will see the same treatment.

The post Verizon’s Plans For Slowing Unlimited Data Bring Concerns For FCC Chairman appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Source Code Released For Google I/O 2014 App, Demonstrates Best Practices And Design Goals For Android Developers

Google I/O 2014 has come and gone, but that doesn't mean great stuff from the conference isn't still coming out. The companion app used by thousands of attendees -and hundreds of thousands of fans and followers- has been open sourced! Code for the I/O app is meant to serve as an example of best practices for Android developers, providing fully functioning implementations of the latest design principles, UI controls, networking code, and more.

Source Code Released For Google I/O 2014 App, Demonstrates Best Practices And Design Goals For Android Developers was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Google Will Host Hangouts Event This Friday To Talk About The Self Driving Car

Google’s self driving cars and the initiative to make them a reality is all the buzz, and with perfectly good reason as the idea of having a driverless car chauffeur people to work is just cool to think about. Google of course thinks so too but their reasoning for research and development in this particular endeavor is deeper than having a more relaxing personal ride to work. They are so excited by what they have done with the self driving car so far, and with where they plan to take it, that they want to share that excitement with all of you by hosting a Hangouts event beginning on August 1st to talk about the project. The Hangout, part of their Maker Camp field trip program will start this coming Friday at Promptly 11am Pacific Standard Time, which is 2pm for those of you on the east coast.

Google wants to take individuals on a virtual field trip with the vehicles that have been gracing the city streets of San Francisco recently during their tests, so make sure that you don’t miss this chance to see just what the team behind the project has been up to as of late and the opportunity to learn more about the project as a whole. On top of hosting the Hangout this Friday, Google is also reminding people to RSVP for the event, and encouraging anyone who is interested to ask a question as part of their Q and A taking place now, which will likely have some questions pulled to be answered during the Hangout event. You can click the Q and A button on the image in their G+ post which can be found at the source link below, to ask a question.

If you have been intrigued by the self driving car and have been yearning to know more, here is your time to delve into just about anything as Google is sure to cover a wide range of topics about the vehicles as well as answer questions from random individuals who submit them before the event. Google’s driverless car also lacks a steering wheel, something that certainly boggles the minds of some and rightfully so. Google has recently taken the cars to the streets of San Francisco this year mentioning that the autonomous vehicles can account for things like the distance of the wheels from the curb, stop signss and traffic lights, and even cyclists.

The post Google Will Host Hangouts Event This Friday To Talk About The Self Driving Car appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Google Hangouts made more business-friendly with latest changes

Google really wants businesses to use Hangouts for video chat, but the problem is that there are so many different alternatives with different features. Google is trying to get a leg up, by announcing that anyone with a Google account can now enter a video Hangout, regardless of whether or not the user has a Google+ profile. In addition, another big change is that up to 15 Google Apps users can be part of an HD Hangout.

In addition to those two big changes, there are numerous other updates, including additional markets for the Chromebox for meetings hardware, and increased customer support. They are outlined in the source link below.

Source: Google Enterprise Blog

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64-bit support for Chrome now in beta for Windows users

If you’re running Windows on your computer, you’re in luck.

In Google’s most recent beta version of Chrome, the browser added 64-bit support. The support had been previously available in the Canary and developer editions of the browser, but it was a bit buggy.

Now, the capability is pretty solid (of course there will be a few hiccups), but this is the closest we’ve been to a stable 64-bit browser from Google. If you’re interested in getting the beta release, just head to the source link.

Source: Google Chrome

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“Moto Maxx” trademark hints at upcoming phone, or does it?

Motorola has filed a new trademark for a “Moto Maxx”, categorized under mobile phones, smartphones and accessories. It doesn’t take a mobile expert to realize this is probably a trademark for an upcoming smartphone, but confusion surrounds the mysterious device. Mostly because its name doesn’t follow Motorola’s traditional naming scheme.

If the Moto Maxx is to reach the light of day, we could see it taking multiple roads. The “Moto” moniker has been attached to global smartphones for some time now. This series includes devices like the Moto X, Moto G and Moto E, so the brand now has a fame for producing unlocked and/or easily accessible smartphones.

On the other hand “Maxx” is closely associated with the Verizon-exclusive DROID brand. Devices like the Motorola DROID Maxx, DROID RAZR Maxx and others have been released and are known for their impressive performance in battery life. So, where does this leave the rumored Moto Maxx?

Is Verizon getting rid of the DROID branding (which does happen to belong to Lucasfilm)? Will it be part of the “Moto” family and simply come with a large battery, like other Maxx devices? For all we know this trademark could be nothing but a placeholder and will never make it to market. The Moto Maxx’s future is uncertain, but you can be sure we will promptly bring you any details that may emerge.

Via: Phonedog;

Source: USPTO;



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Motorola files trademark for ‘MOTO MAXX’, leaves us hoping for another Moto variant

We know Chicago-based Motorola is gearing up to give their flagship “Moto” line another run this year. While we’re still in search of leaks or any information on exactly what we can expect from the Motorola Moto X+1 (we certainly have our guesses), it’s Motorola’s famous Droid line that still has everyone guessing.

Is it possible we will see followups to the Droid RAZR, Droid RAZR MAXX, and Droid Mini this year? Maybe not in name (LucasFilms’ “Droid” trademark was used for Motorola’s Verizon exclusive devices), but a recent trademark filing is hinting towards a rebranding, at least for the Maxx variant. A “Moto Maxx” trademark, filed by Motorola on July 22nd, was recently uncovered at the US Trademark and Patent Office. While the trademark doesn’t tell us much about Motorola’s plans, we can always speculate.

It’s possible that Motorola’s new focus on global brand recognition (Moto E, Moto G, Moto X), they could see the manufacture scrapping the US-only Droid line altogether. Should that be the case, finding a customizable Moto Maxx variant on Motomaker is sure to leave battery hungry Android enthusiasts salivating. What say ye? If Motorola offers a bigger batteried Moto X+1 (for a premium, of course), would any of you bite?

[USPTO]

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Wednesday Poll: How Important is It to Have an SD Card Slot in Your Phone?

Back when the Galaxy Nexus was introduced, Google made it clear that they would rather not have to deal with micro SD cards in their Nexus devices or Android as a whole. Basically, they think the experience of dealing with one block of storage outweighs the experience of having removable storage.

Many manufacturers, outside of Samsung, adopted this philosophy shortly after Google made this known and removed micro SD slots from their phones for a couple of years. Then 2014 arrived and almost all major manufacturers have included a micro SD slot in their new phones, including HTC and LG. Both the LG G3 and HTC One (M8) have slots for expandable storage.

Our question to you is – how important is it that your phone have a micro SD slot? I think it’s safe to assume that manufacturers think you care or they wouldn’t have abandoned them only to bring them back as quickly. I can tell you that I appreciate the option to take storage with me from phone-to-phone, even with all of the cloud storage options available for free or little cost. But what about you? Would you pass on a phone if it didn’t have an SD card slot? Is it just an added bonus? Or does it even matter?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Wednesday Poll: How Important is It to Have an SD Card Slot in Your Phone? is a post from: Droid Life

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Google and Android Facing Potential Issues With The EU Over Web Search Practices

It appears that European Union is getting ready to take a battle to Google over their web search practices. Google has been with much resistance over Android since it became available years ago, from issues over the claimed to be copied layout of iOS, to matters of privacy and issues over the use of the play store policies on in-app-purchases and the time window during which users weren’t required to enter a password to purchase things in the store. The issue with the European Union though is whether or not Google may have been using their large 80% market share to promote apps and services, including ones like Maps and Search. We have heard this argument in some form before with complaints that Google forces device manufacturers to use their “Search” as the main service over other competitors, like Bing or Yahoo for example.

The investigation over these claims has long been in play, having started almost four years ago, and according to a source of Reuters who is said to have “direct knowledge” on the matter, the EU is preparing their case to begin within the next few months. The EU has been partly preparing for this case by sending out questionnaires to some companies that primarily deal with Google and manufacture devices that run the Android OS, inquiring as to whether or not Google had set parameters on what could be installed on devices. Specifically these questions seem to refer to the whether or not Google had set a requirement not to install any apps or services that could directly compete with the ones that Google loads into the Android OS itself as part of the software.

Google is already under investigation by the EU over the belief that they may place their own services within search results at a higher rank than those that come from other companies, even after reaching a settlement earlier this year to display links from competing services with a more focused approach. Google is also potentially facing a lawsuit over in-app-purchases, a possible upcoming issue which caused them to make the decision to stop using the word “free” in regards to apps that have IAP’s in them. This is a lawsuit battle that Amazon itself is currently facing which could jump to Google next, giving the search company quite a rough patch to travel through in the coming months.

The post Google and Android Facing Potential Issues With The EU Over Web Search Practices appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Grab coffee with Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman, for winning a charitable auction

Have you ever wanted to grab a coffee with Eric Schmidt? Well, you have the chance to do so! Thirty minutes with the executive chairman of Google is up for auction to benefit the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. Executives of other companies have done this in the past and now Schmidt is putting himself out there for one lucky bidder.

The estimated value for coffee with Schmidt is $50,000 and at the time of this post being published, there have been four bids and the highest is $8,000. Additional bids seem to be going by $500 increments. The winner can bring one other person along with them for the meeting. Also, you cannot transfer to any other person.

The auction ends on August 14. If you are bidding, we wish you good luck.

Source: Charitybuzz

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9 best new Android apps of July 2014

In the wake of Google I/O, July was all about the awesome things Google has been doing but we also saw some big Android apps and games releases. Here, we’ll round up the best Android apps releases of July 2014.

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Bamboo Paper

[Price: Free]

First up is an application called Bamboo Paper by Wacom. It’s a doodling and note taking app that focuses on precision but there are some built-in features that are pretty nice too. There are some issues that users have pointed out but overall the attitude toward this app has been positive. It’s free to use so there’s no harm in giving it a shot!

---

Commandr

[Price: Free]

Commandr was releases to a lot of fanfare. This application extends the functionality of Google Now by letting you do things like turn on and off various utilities like flashlight and Bluetooth with your voice through Google Now. There is also Tasker support and a healthy stream of suggestions that the developers are working to include. It’s free and if you use Google Now then this is a must have.

---

Leo’s Fortune

[Price: $4.99]

After it was used to demo Android TV at Google I/O, the masses waited fervently for Leo’s Fortune to be released. Then it was and, predictably, it was pretty popular. It costs $4.99 but between its smooth game play, amazing graphics, and high Google Play rating, we don’t think there are many people who would be disappointed to shell out that much for this really good game.

---

Modern Combat 5

[Price: $6.99]

Modern Combat 5 can be described as one of the blockbuster game releases of the year for Android. With it comes improved graphics, multiplayer support, and more campaign missions to do. There have been some early bugs but pretty much every big game release goes through this. If you’re not sure, just wait a few weeks for the fixes before buying it but it is a really good game.

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LokLok

[Price: Free]

LokLok is a new messaging service where every message takes place on your lock screen. This can be a pretty way to communicate with friends as you can doodle, take pictures, and doodle over pictures if you so choose. It’s free to use but don’t put anything personal in the messages because it’ll show up directly on the lock screen of the recipient.

---

Speakle

[Price: Free]

Speakle is a new social media service that specializes in being totally anonymous. When you sign up for an account you don’t provide any details about yourself. You aren’t even allowed to have a profile picture. Once signed up you can say literally whatever you want and it remains totally anonymous but may still receive likes and comments from other anonymous users. It’s great if you want to rant and rave about something but not on regular social media and frankly every person who vaguebooks should be there. It’s free and it’s nice even if the cream-sickle theme is a little much on the eyes.

---

SWIP3

[Price: $1.69]

Next up is SWIP3 and it’s the first game designed specifically for Android Wear. In this game you fling blocks around to match colors which then makes them disappear and you get points. It costs $1.69 but it also comes with online multiplayer and a phone version if you want to play it on there. It’s not a bad deal even if it’s a bit of a tired premise.

---

Timberman

[Price: Free with in app purchases]

If you’re looking for the obnoxious game of the month then Timberman is your best bet. It gained mainstream popularity after the fad blogs decided that it was the next best hard game after Flappy Bird died off. It’s free with ads but you can pay to remove the ads if you prefer. It’s easy to play and we’ve no doubt you’ll get the hang of hating so much that you can’t stop playing it.

---

Wear Mini Launcher

[Price: Free]

Last up this month is the Wear Mini Launcher. This launcher allows you to operate your Android Wear device more closely to a normal Android device by giving you an app drawer that’s almost always easy to get to. It has a lot of positive reviews, it’s free, and it’s easy to use. Who could ask for more?

Wrap up

If we missed any awesome Android apps released in July 2014, leave us a comment and tell us about it!

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