Apple re-lists free apps as ‘get’ in the App Store – how long before Google Play follows suit?

In some low-key changes that arrived with the rollout of iOS 8.1.1, it seems Apple has officially changed the wording of “free” apps and games in the App Store to simply “get.” Given the amount of “freemium” titles hitting app stores in recent years (apps and games that require additional in-app purchase to unlock more functionality), Apple’s not just trying to be more politically correct. In fact, the new move puts the App Store in accordance with new laws set in place by the European Commission requiring applications notify customers of their “true costs.”

So what about Google? Well, back in July they welcomed the changes with open arms, even committing to remove the “free” listings of apps that contain in-app purchases by the end of September. While free apps on Google Play now disclose whether or not they have in-app purchases (directly below the install button) in an app’s listing, when browsing by category in the Google Play Store there’s still no telling how “free” a free app or game really is until you click.

We have a feeling it wont be too much longer before Google adopts a model more like Apple’s, there’s just no telling when.

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Android 5.0 Lollipop spotted on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3

We can expect a fair amount of Samsung devices to receive a software update to Lollipop. The latest round of devices, such as the Galaxy S 5 and Galaxy Note 4, are locked-in to get the update. Today, we are learning that the Galaxy Note 3 is en route to do so as well. A video posted by SamMobile shows Android 5.0 running on the Galaxy Note from 2013. Even with Samsung’s TouchWiz overlay, Lollipop is noticeable. The source claims that animations are smoother and blue fills in for Lollipop’s green.

Hit the break to see the video of Android 5.0 in action on a Galaxy Note 3.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And if you have a Nexus device, go right ahead to installing the Lollipop factory image.

Source: SamMobile

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Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA Rolling Out To Nexus 10 Owners

By this time most of the Nexus devices have already started receiving their updates to the newest version of the Android software, Android 5.0 Lollipop. The Google Nexus 6 and the Google Nexus 9 came with lollipop pre-installed, and other devices like the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 2012 and 2013(WiFi only so far), and Nexus 5 as well as the Nexus 10 tablet have all gotten their factory images for Lollipop distributed to the factory image page. All of those above listed devices have also received OTA rollouts of the software short of the Nexus 10 of course, which is starting to happen today it seems. Along with all the Nexus devices, Motorola has started rolling Android 5.0 out to the Moto X and Moto G 2nd gen. devices, and Nvidia has recently launched it out to the SHIELD Tablet.

Now if you own a Nexus 10, there is a good chance that you may have already flashed the factory image to your device if you couldn’t or didn’t want to wait for the over the air update to come through. If you haven’t yet touched the Lollipop software yet though then you will definitely want to keep an eye out for the update notification to hit your status bar. The updates usually take at least a few days to reach everyone once they start rolling out to users, so if you don’t have the update come through to your Nexus 10 today it’ll likely hit sometime between now and the weekend. There’s also the chance it could end up on your device early next week too. Are there any Nexus 10 owners out there excited to have this coming in? If you don’t want to wait for the OTA rollout, you can still flash the factory images which are already available, and you can find out process on that here.

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Amazon releases Android apps for Echo and Fire TV

For many of its services, Amazon keeps support limited to in-house devices. The upcoming Echo digital assistant and Fire TV Stick, though, have dedicated apps available in the Play Store. Amazon traditionally acknowledges Android as a whole much later to push its own hardware. Both apps introduced today act as remotes for each device.

The app used as a remote for Echo does everything a user can do with his or her voice. After all, Echo is a digital assistant controlled by voice commands. The Echo app shows everything that the hardware would respond with by voice. It will display weather information, music playback, and lists. Support for the Echo app is limited to just a handful of recent flagship devices.

Play Store Download Link

The Fire TV Remote app gives control to your device. The remote that ships with the Fire TV Stick lacks a microphone; therefore, voice commands are not possible. The Fire TV Remote app is an easy (and free) solution. This app also supports a keyboard for text entry. At the bottom of the Fire TV Remote app, there are back, home, and menu buttons. Everything you would find on the physical remote is here, digitally.

Play Store Download Link

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Google acquires RelativeWave, giving away its $80 Form app for free

Google Picks Up RelativeWave And Distributes Mac App Software ‘Form’ For Free

Google today has announced that their have acquired RelativeWave, a company that has made a couple applications for Mac and iOS. The software from RealtiveWave focuses on bringing together a couple of tools for developers to see what their apps will look like through the process of development, using RelativeWave’s Mac app ‘Form,’ and the iOS app called Form Viewer which syncs together with the Form app. While there weren’t any details given by RelativeWave or Google about what the plans are for RelativeWave now being on the Google team, we can only deduce that Google will be looking to make RelativeWave’s technology more open and readily available. RelativeWave hints at this by asking us to stay tuned for information about what platforms besides Mac and iOS will have access to Form.

This means we could see something for Android in the future although how far in the future is unknown, or if it will even take shape in the same “Form”(cheesy pun intended)as the original set of apps for Apple’s software. If you’re someone who has looked into creating apps for iOS, Google has apparently made the Form application free on iTunes as of today, where as the app previously cost users $79 to use the tools. The good news it seems for anyone that had purchased Form prior to the free price tag change, is that they should be able to receive refunds for their purchase by contacting RelativeWave support.

RelativeWave makes this clear with a question in their small Q and A below the announcement about the acquisition, but they don’t mention anything about time frames, so the assumption is that no matter when you purchased Form, if you had paid for it you can apparently get your money back. That makes for some pretty awesome support from RelativeWave, where as many companies would simply try to soften the blow of a situation like this by offering discounts on other products you might purchase in the future. Google has been buying up smaller companies in good numbers these days, and we look forward to seeing what Google and RelativeWave have planned for users down the line.

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