Friday, November 22, 2013

Zombie Tycoon 2 Hits Google Play for $9.99, Made Specifically for Nvidia Shield

Zombie games are more played out than Star Wars at this point, but combining them with new and interesting genres is a way to get my attention. Thus we have Zombie Tycoon 2, the latest game to jump from the PlayStation 3/Vita to Android. But this one is unique: in keeping with its console gaming roots, Zombie Tycoon 2 requires a controller to play. That officially makes this the first SHIELD-exclusive title for the time being. We will likely see it come to other Tegra 4-powered devices eventually, but it'll still require the use of a controller – just something to keep in mind.




In this recently released real-time strategy game called Zombie Tycoon 2, which was directly ported from the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, you must choose your side in the zombie apocalypse. There is the “apprentice-gone-rogue Orville Tycoon and his army of heavy-duty zombies – or – his revenge-hungry mentor, Professor Brainhov, and his rioting mass of twitchy brain-munchers.” Whichever side you do choose, you can bet that there will be plenty of brain eating going on. 
Given that this is a straight port from the PS Vita and PlayStation 3, only the NVIDIA SHIELD and other Android devices with a builtin controller will be able to play it. So, we’re sorry about that. Maybe that will change down the road.
If you own a SHIELD, go check it out!
Play Link ($9.99)

You Can Now “Ok Google” Your Chromebook


Chromebook owners can enable this little hidden gem, allowing them to use the “Ok Google” command that Android users have been toying with for a while now. The command will allow users to open up their app launcher, and from there, open apps and complete limited tasks. 
According to the Googler that outed the feature, the “possibilities are endless” and we could see much further integration with the command going forward in ChromeOS. As a bonus, there is a voice recognizer plugin, allowing the feature to work while not connected to the web.
How to enable it:
If you’re on the Dev Channel now and have previously enabled the App Launcher Start Page hidden behind the experimental chrome://flags/#enable-app-launcher-start-page flag, it should work out the box. Just say “Ok Google” and search for something by saying it.
I’ll say it, Chromebooks are pretty sweet.
ViaChrome Story 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

The Physical Google Wallet Card Is Real, And You Can Order One Now

the physical Google Wallet card showed up in some APK teardowns only to be removed without a word from Google? Well, it's back and you can place an order for it right now. Google says the card should be delivered to interested parties in 10-12 days.
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The Wallet card will let you pay for items at any retailer, even those that don't have the little NFC kiosks Wallet has thus far relied upon. The charge should be relayed to your Wallet account just like you had used an NFC phone. It's unclear if that's just the Wallet balance, or if cards are included too. This fits nicely with Google's strategy of uncoupling the NFC payments in KitKat from the hardware secure element. Google is really making Wallet easier to use on multiple fronts.

 Here's a statement from the Wallet team clarifying a few things
Thank you for calling us about your interest in using Google Wallet Card as a replacement for your credit and debit cards.
The Google Wallet Card is a plastic MasterCard debit card, funded by your Google Wallet Balance. Each Google Wallet user may have one Google Wallet Card to help spend his or her Wallet Balance in even more places.
As of now, your credit/debit card is not directly linked to your Google Wallet Card; however, you can use your credit/debit card to add funds to your Google Wallet Balance.
You can also add money to your Google Wallet Balance from your payment methods in your Google Wallet (for example, a credit card or checking account) and also by receiving money sent via Gmail or the Google Wallet app. You can spend your Google Wallet Balance directly online or through the app, or you can spend it through your Google Wallet Card anywhere — online and off — that MasterCard debit cards are accepted, including ATMs. (For ATMs, fees apply.)
If your Wallet Balance won't cover a specific Wallet Card purchase, it will be declined. You can either add money to your Wallet Balance to cover the purchase, or you can "split tender," which means asking the cashier to take part of the total purchase amount from your Wallet Card and the rest from another payment method that you provide — for example, cash or another card.
(Please note that while the Google Wallet Card will let you spend your Wallet Balance wherever debit cards are accepted, it won't automatically apply your loyalty cards or Google Offers in the background, without your knowing. You'll choose exactly when you want to use those by displaying them separately to the cashier.)
If you have any more questions, please reply to this email and I'm happy to help.
Thanks!
April
The Google Wallet Team

Screen Shot 2013-11-20 at 1.33.34 PM g
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If you want your very own physical Google Wallet card, just log into the Wallet site, and there should be a banner at the top to place an order. Just make sure your info is right, and it will reach you in a week or two. Then activate it and you're good to go. Keep in mind, this is probably US-only. Update: It sounds like this is basically a Wallet-based debit card for now, not a way to connect your credit cards to Wallet.
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Here's the new Wallet card-aware Wallet APK v2.0-R141 (thanks, Landon Abney!). It also contains some updated assets, such as these pretty banners in My offers and My loyalty programs: :
Screenshot_2013-11-20-16-08-42 Screenshot_2013-11-20-16-08-05 Screenshot_2013-11-20-15-48-23
Source:AndroidPolice

Watching An Advertisement On Phone Will Give You Free Talk Time

Telecom Company Tata Docomo has come with an all new strategy to pump advertisements on its network. The company has launched a new service called “Get-Easy-Talk time” (GET) offering customers free talk time in exchange of watching advertisements. The company has brought this service in co-ordination with mAdcall under which user get 1min of talk time for every ad that the user watches.

This strategy is one its kind in the market, a campaign of this sort is never seen in India. With this service the company will be able to trace down outcome of the advertisement and the impact that it has on the target audience. Moreover, docomo will able to choose different ads for different target audiences depending upon the need.

To get benefits from this service all a Docomo user has to do is type “GET” in text message and send it to 52323, or one can choose to give a missed call to 52323. People with Androids and iPhones handy can download an application called GET from App Store or play store to avail this benefit, viewing the add will deduct internet usage charges if you do not have free internet on your phone. Users can also view the advert using WiFi, it will not incur any charges.

Quick Look: Official Nexus Wireless Charger for Nexus 5, 7, and 4


Did you pick up the official Nexus Wireless Charger that went on sale through Google Play yesterday? I can imagine that the $49.99 price tag made some of you hesitate on pulling on the trigger, so as always, we picked one (or two) up to give it a quick spin and share our thoughts. For those not familiar, the Nexus Wireless Charger (NWC) is officially supported by the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), and Nexus 4, since each has wireless charging built-in. 
In terms of wireless charging, the NWC seems to work really well with our Nexus 5. It sports a glass-like top that is a fingerprint magnet, soft-touch sides, and a super sticky bottom that helps it adhere to your desk. This is a charger that most definitely will not slip around once you give it a firm press. There appear to be magnets built in to help your phone latch onto it as well, we just found it a bit tricky to find the sweet spot to get it to actually charge anything.


Other than that, it’s a wireless charger. It doesn’t do anything else but wirelessly charge your phone should it support wireless charging. Google did throw in a premium “Nexus” branded charger, though, if that’s something that gets you going. It also carries a significant amount of weight that makes it feel premium and sturdy in hand. Overall, it’s a solid little wireless charger that runs $49.99.

Apex Launcher 2.2 Beta Enables Navigation And Notification Transparency On KitKat

As You Know Android KitKat 4.4 introduces a lot of much-needed features into Android, like better support for low-memory devices, a new storage framework, SMS integration with BLAH BLAH BLAH. We all know what the people want: transparent user interface elements! 

Following Nova Launcher's update to better visually match the KitKat launcher on the Nexus 5, popular alternative Apex Launcher now has a beta version that does much the same thing.


The beta version was released to the Apex Launcher Beta Google Group, which you can find here. Then click this link and follow the instructions to download the APK itself (it won't let you through if you're not a member). There don't appear to be many other substantive changes in version 2.2, though the developer has tweaked the default home screen icons and other visuals to match the homescreen in Android 4.4.
As with Nova, you won't get the nifty integration with Google Now found on Google's launcher, but for picky users (like yours truly) the bevy of customization and visual options that come from the third-party launcher more than make up for that. The developer hasn't said when these changes will make it to the general Play Store version, but I'd expect it will be sooner rather than later. 

Friday, November 8, 2013

Hermann Rorschach's 129th birthday marked by interactive inkblot Google doodle


Hermann Rorschach's 129th birthday is being celebrated by Google through an interactive doodle.

Born on 8 November 1884 in Zurich, Switzerland, Hermann Rorschach was a Freudian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, best known for inventing a projective test known as the Rorschach inkblot test.

The inkblot test - or the Rorschach test - is a psychological test using which a person's interpretations of inkblots are recorded and assessed through psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. The test is used by psychologists to analyse a person's personality traits and emotional functioning. It's also used for detecting underlying thought disorders, especially when individuals are hesitant to talk about their thinking processes openly.

Friday's interactive Google doodle honouring Hermann Rorschach features different inkblot patterns that can be browsed by clicking on them or on the navigation array keys. The doodle also features a 'Share what you see button' that allows you to share your interpretation of the inkblot on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. The doodle also features a sketch of Hermann Rorschach sitting and making notes.

Hermann Rorschach was fond of klecksography, the art of making inkblots  since his school days. He later studied under the guidance of eminent psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler. He first started psychoanalysis through inkblots by analysing response of school children to inkblots. Rorschach wrote a book called by the name of Psychodiagnostik in 1921, which is said to be the basis of the inkblot test. He studied and researched 300 mental patients and 100 control subjects for the book.

It is said that after experimenting with several hundred inkblots, Hermann Rorschach shortlisted a set of ten for their diagnostic value.

Rorschach died of peritonitis, which was likely due to a ruptured appendix, on April 1, 1922 at a young age of 37, just an year after writing Psychodiagnostik. 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Google celebrates CV Raman's 125th birthday with a doodle

Google on Thursday celebrated CV Raman's 125th birthday by dedicating a doodle on its homepage that shows his portrait along with light rays emitting from a source.



The doodle is available only on Google India pages. It also appears on the homepage ofGoogle Chrome users in India.

Born on November 7, 1888, in Trichinopoly in Madras province (in British India), Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was a renowned physicist who made significant contributions to the growth of science.

His interest in physics developed early. Pursuing his passion, CV Raman won the gold medal in physics in 1904 and passed his BA examination securing first place. He completed his MA in 1907 with distinctions.

CV Raman continued his research at IACS after joining the Indian Financial Service as an assistant auditor general for the government of India in 1907.

He established the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in 1948 entirely on his own without accepting a penny from the government. There was no electricity at RRI in the first year, but that did not deter Raman from conducting several optical experiments with sunlight, a few lenses and a pair of polaroids. He considered a beam of sunlight as the best source. A manually-operated heliostat, kept in operation by voice communication, produced astonishing results.

Science was a living religion for CV Raman and his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the Raman Effect, won him the Nobel Prize in 1930, making him the first Asian and first non-white to receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences.

To pay tribute to this unique mind, the nation observes National Science Day on February 28.

CV Raman died on November 21, 1970 in Bangalore.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Evolution of Google Nexus

The new Nexus 5 is here, and the GIF Rembrandts over at GadgetLove created this animation to show off the evolutionary stages of Google's Nexus phone up to present day.
The Nexus 5 is Google's latest and greatest phone, boasting a large 5-inch display and the new Android KitKat operating system. It even charges wirelessly, for crying out loud.
You can buy the phone from Google right here for $349, unlocked.

Pepsi Won Halloween With this Clever Ad


Pepsi Won Halloween With this Clever Ad. Advertising that directly mentions a competitor is always a bit risky, but this daring creation from Pepsi’s Belgian ad agency is pure genius.
pepsi Pepsi won Halloween with this clever ad
(Via Designtaxi, with a hat tip to @beastoftraal for practically writing the title.)
How could Coke respond?
This (seemingly unofficial) ad posted to 9Gag strikes back quite brilliantly. Though it doesn’t appear to be an ad that Coke or its agencies created, it’s a pretty cool response.
coke ad Pepsi won Halloween with this clever ad
Thumbnail image via meunierd / Shutterstock
Thanks to everyone who sent us the 9Gag link

Android KitKat Adds Google-Powered Caller ID

As if you needed another reason to lust after the Nexus 5 and/or Android 4.4, Google just announced a huge new feature for the default Phone app in KitKat. 

The new version of the dialer/contacts app will match incoming numbers against Google's various databases to provide an automatic caller ID for businesses using Google Places, as we've already seen. But starting next year, this feature will be applied to people as well.


The KitKat dialer will integrate with users of Google Apps for business, matching incoming numbers against contacts and employees (if their phone numbers are shared) in the Apps database. That could be a huge plus for business users who spend more time on their phone than off - it will certainly mean they'll have to manually enter numbers much less frequently. The listings will also work in reverse: you can search for Google Apps contacts or nearby businesses right from the dialer and see relevant results, which you can call with a single tap.
But the most exciting addition to the Phone app is yet to come. According to Google's Plus post, personal Google accounts will be integrated into the new caller ID system starting early next year. If you use an Android 4.4 phone and an incoming caller has verified his or her phone number on their Google Account (and allowed the discovery feature), their name and profile photo will show up on your phone. Again, I'd like to stress that this feature can be disabled in your Google Account settings page.
There have been several apps that have tried to set up this sort of system one user at a time, but with Google's massive database of Gmail and Google+ users (many of whom use their phones as a backup verification device), this could easily be the largest caller ID system on the planet. The yellow/white pages feature is just icing on the cake. Unfortunately, the Google+ post announcing these features heavily implies that they're going to stay exclusive to Android 4.4 and higher.
Source: Android Google+

Monday, November 4, 2013

Shakuntala Devi's 84th birthday celebrated with a doodle

Google, on Monday, celebrated mathematics wizard Shakuntala Devi's 84th birthday with a doodle.


She is dubbed as the world's fastest 'human computer' who made complex mental calculations.

Born on November 4, 1929, in Bangalore, to an orthodox priestly Brahmin family Devi had no access to proper schooling and food in her early years.

When she was only three, Devi began showing great affinity with numbers. By the time she was five, she became an expert in solving complex mental arithmetic.

Credited with solving some frightfully complicated arithmetic problems with apparent ease and astonishing speed, Shakuntala Devi's calculating skills stunned the world throughout the 1970s and 80s. Her sharpness often made sophisticated digital devices seem inadequate.

Shakuntala Devi figured in the Guiness Book of World Record for heroutstanding ability and wrote numerous books like 'Fun with Numbers', 'Astrology for You', 'Puzzles to Puzzle You', and 'Mathablit'.

At the age of six, she demonstrated her calculation skills in her first major public performance at the University of Mysore and two years later, she again proved herself successful as a child prodigy at Annamalai University.

In 1977, Shakuntala Devi extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number mentally. In the same year in Dallas, she competed with a computer to see who gives the cube root of 188138517 faster and she won.

Rated as one in 58 million for her stupendous mathematical feats by one of the fastest super-computers ever invented, the Univac-1108, Devi believed in using grey cells to silicon chips.

On June 18, 1980 she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She answered the question in 28 seconds flat. This event is mentioned in the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.

Shakuntala Devi died at Bangalore Hospital at 8:15am on April 21, 2013 at the age of 83. She was admitted to the hospital with respiratory difficulty, following which she acquired heart problems and endured a heart attack which proved fatal.

Today Google pays tribute to the mathematics wizard with a doodle.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Google Experience Launcher: What's New in It


Google finally announced the Nexus 5, Kit Kat, and all of the other goodies that came with them. One massive change they made is big improvements to the Google Experience launcher, which is just a fancy term for the stock Android launcher that comes on certain vanilla Android devices. If you have a device from Samsung or LG, then you are running a skinned version of the Android launcher, which isn’t bad, but just not exactly what Google would call their “experience.”
We want to go over all of the changes that Google made, so continue on to see what you should expect if you decided to load this onto your very own Android device. 
Android’s stock launcher has always been sort of simplistic, but this newest update basically redefines that meaning. Previously, when you opened the app drawer you would have two sections; your apps and your widgets. Starting with this launcher, like it was before Ice Cream Sandwich and Honeycomb, all you have is your apps in the drawer. They have created a separate section for widgets, which we are quite happy about. The icons are bright and bold, and it gives off an easy-to-see vibe that is enjoyable.
To access your widgets section, simply long press on your homescreen and you will be greeted by an entirely new interface. From here, you can choose a custom wallpaper, add widgets to your homescreen, and access the Settings menu for the launcher itself. To add a new homescreen, since you are started off with just one, you can drag one of your app icons or a new widget to the edge of your first homescreen, and you will then see a new homescreen pop up on the right side of your display. Once you see the new homescreen pop up, just drop the widget or icon where you would like it placed. You will then have multiple homescreens for adding all of your favorite widgets and folders.
Much like we saw in Jelly Bean, most widgets’ sizes can be customized and dragged to fit a certain space you are looking to fill. When moving widgets around each other, they will automatically move and get out of the way of whatever you are trying to place. And don’t forget that a simple flick of either a widget or icon can remove it from a homescreen, a feature that was also introduced in Jelly Bean.

In terms of the biggest change you will see, Google decided to integrate Google Now into the launcher, which was previously accessed by opening the Google Search app or hitting on the Google search bar on your homescreen. If you owned certain devices, you could also swipe up from the bottom of your display to access it. With this launcher, simply swipe right to open up Google Now which sits on the left of your main homescreen. It’s a very cool feature, and for those that didn’t fully take advantage of Google Now, then now you don’t have an excuse not to use it.
LauncherLauncher
Other things you will notice are changes to the UI when switching your wallpaper (which has been simplified), a different look and animations when opening and using folders on your homescreen, plus the addition of that “always-listening” Google Search widget they have permanently placed on your main screen. All of the changes they have made make for one exciting Android experience, and as you know, that’s what we are all about.
If you want to get the latest Google Experience launcher on your device, visit this post here to find the downloads. Trust us, it’s worth your time.

Screens:

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Friday, November 1, 2013

Android Kitkat 4.4 Overview

The time has come and Android 4.4 Kit Kat is here. This morning, Google announced the next version of Android, which brings a whole ton of new features, so let’s quickly go over what all is new for the developers. For the folks who want to know more about the cosmetic changes, don’t worry, we have another post coming up.


 Here is the end-user side of things. More new features than we can even count.
In Kit Kat, Google is attempting to make sure every Android device, even entry-level phones, can run the new OS. By streamlining the every single component, we should experience Android in a way we have never before.
Android 4.4 is designed to run fast, smooth, and responsively on a much broader range of devices than ever before — including on millions of entry-level devices around the world that have as little as 512MB RAM.
KitKat streamlines every major component to reduce memory use and introduces new APIs and tools to help you create innovative, responsive, memory-efficient applications.
Kit Kat also brings new platform support for NFC-based transactions through “Host Card Emulation.” This can be used for payments, loyalty programs, transit passes, and other services.
Android 4.4 introduces new platform support for secure NFC-based transactions through Host Card Emulation (HCE), for payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes, and other custom services. With HCE, any app on an Android device can emulate an NFC smart card, letting users tap to initiate transactions with an app of their choice — no provisioned secure element (SE) in the device is needed. Apps can also use a new Reader Mode to act as readers for HCE cards and other NFC-based transactions.
kk-print-land-n5
Users can now fully take advantage of Google Cloud Print. By building in printing framework in the OS, you can easily print any type of content over WiFi or Cloud-hosted services.
Android apps can now print any type of content over Wi-Fi or cloud-hosted services such as Google Cloud Print. In print-enabled apps, users can discover available printers, change paper sizes, choose specific pages to print, and print almost any kind of document, image, or file.
kk-saf2-n5kk-saf1-n5
Kit Kat intros a brand new storage access framework which makes it simple for users to open documents, images and other files across all of their document storage providers. The standard UI will give a consistent experience to users no matter what app they are using to store files.
A new storage access framework makes it simple for users to browse and open documents, images, and other files across all of their their preferred document storage providers. A standard, easy-to-use UI lets users browse files and access recents in a consistent way across apps and providers.
Google introduced low power sensors, which will allow the OS to monitor excessive sensor usage, to make sure your device’s power isn’t being consumed unnecessarily.
Android 4.4 introduces platform support for hardware sensor batching, a new optimization that can dramatically reduce power consumed by ongoing sensor activities.
With sensor batching, Android works with the device hardware to collect and deliver sensor events efficiently in batches, rather than individually as they are detected. This lets the device’s application processor remain in a low-power idle state until batches are delivered. You can request batched events from any sensor using a standard event listener, and you can control the interval at which you receive batches. You can also request immediate delivery of events between batch cycles.
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For you health nuts, Google baked in a step counter and step detector.
Android 4.4 also adds platform support for two new composite sensors — step detector and step counter — that let your app track steps when the user is walking, running, or climbing stairs. These new sensors are implemented in hardware for low power consumption.
kk-home
In terms of a major UI overhaul, Google has introduced a translucent system UI. As we have seen in various leaks, the notification bar is now completely transparent, and there is a slight transparency found around the on-screen buttons.
To get the most impact out of your content, you can now use new window styles and themes to request translucent system UI, including both the status bar and navigation bar. To ensure the legibility of navigation bar buttons or status bar information, subtle gradients is shown behind the system bars. A typical use-case would be an app that needs to show through to a wallpaper.
Android 4.4, KitKat, which comes on Nexus 5, will also soon be available on Nexus 4, 7, 10, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks.
A lot of work has gone under the hood for Kit Kat, which is incredibly important to this milestone release. For more info on all of that, plus a more detailed look at what’s new in Android 4.4, please check out the Android Developers page by following the via down below.

ViaAndroid Developers | Google

More New Android 4.4 “Kit Kat” Features – The User Side of Things

 Internet giant Google has released the latest version of Android, named KitKat. According the company, the new Android 4.4 is optimized for low-cost devices that "couldn't benefit from more recent Android releases due to memory (RAM) constraints."

Targeting the next billion smartphone users, Google has "slimmed down Android's memory footprint by removing unnecessary background services and reducing the memory consumption of features." This has not only been done for the Android platform, but also for Google services like Chrome and YouTube.


Google Jus announced Android 4.4 “Kit Kat,” In this post, we’re taking a look at all of the user-friendly additions that you’ll notice during daily usage. If you were at one time wondering whether or not this update was big enough to justify a name change, this should help you understand why Google went Kit Kat. This is a massive update – one of the biggest we have seen in some time. 
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.27.27 PM
In 4.4, you can now activate Google Search by saying “OK, Google.” Keep in mind that this is not like the Moto X, even though we have seen some reports suggesting that it is. Your phone cannot be locked – it has to be awake and on a home screen or in Google Now. It’s still cool, but not as powerful as it is on the Moto X. From there, you can search to your heart’s desire.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.30.05 PM
If you are Chromecasting items or listening to music, you’ll see beautiful new art when your phone is on the lockscreen. There are also some new ways to seek to specific moments while on the lock screen with a long press.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.31.12 PM
Yes, Emoji are now everywhere. You can even use them in a Gmail message since they are embedded into the new Google Keyboard.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.31.03 PM
With the new Hangouts, you can combine your SMS, MMS, and instant message conversations. We don’t know when the MMS part is coming, but a new update should enable SMS at least. At last, an all-in-one messaging solution on Android! Still no word on Google Voice integration, though.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.31.30 PM
Quickoffice is apparently now baked into Android. It’s odd, since Google has Drive, but hey, options are options.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.30.32 PM
Multi-tasking has been improved once again, so that it is now faster than ever. Google optimized memory and improved the touchscreen performance to make everything respond quicker. No hiccups to be seen here.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.30.44 PM
The new phone app prioritizes your contacts for you, based on who you talk to the most. You can also search more powerfully in the phone app by business, contact, or people in Google Apps domains. Yay, for Google Apps folks!
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.30.23 PM
If you are reading, playing a game, or watching a movie, you’ll now experience a full-screen mode that hides everything from view. This is greatly welcomed, and also a reason why on-screen buttons are the best. A simple swipe from the edge of your screen will bring it all back.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.30.50 PM
If you get a call from someone not in your contacts, the new caller ID will automatically look it up and try to find business and local listings on Google Maps. So no more secret or random callers. Pretty sweet, and a super underrated new feature.
Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.31.22 PM
Cloud printing from anywhere at any time! You can now print at any time with a printer connect to Google Cloud Print, HP ePrint printers, and to other printers that have apps in the Google Play store.

The other stuff:

  • Easy home screen switching:  If you have multiple 3rd party launchers installed, you can switch between them easily through Settings>Home.
  • Email app refresh:  The stock Email app (not Gmail) received an entire makeover.
  • Tap-to-pay, built a new way:  With a new open architecture for NFC payments, you should be able to make NFC payments with most phones, no matter who the carrier is.
  • Full-screen wallpapers with preview:  Wallpapers now extend through the notification and navigation areas. You can also preview it to see how it looks.
  • HDR+ photography:  With the Nexus 5, you can snap bursts of photos and combine then to get a single HDR shot.
  • Infrared blasting:  If you own a phone with an IR blaster, 4.4 supports the controlling of TVs.
  • Location in quick settings:  Quick access to location settings is now in the quick settings pulldown.
  • Location modes and monitoring:  Users will have better control over location settings. In Settings>location, you can switch between high accuracy and battery-saving location modes. You shouldn’t need to toggle GPS, WiFi and other network settings any longer.
  • Low-power audio playback:  On the Nexus 5, 4.4 lets you listen to music for up to 60 hours.
  • Music and movie-seeking from lock screen:  From your lock screen, you can now jump to specific parts of songs or movies. A long press of the play or pause button will let you select.
  • Step-counting:  Fitness freaks, Nexus 5 and an app called “Moves” will act as a pedometer and count your steps.
  • Chromecast support:  Nothing really new here.
  • Bluetooth MAP support:  Bluetooth-enabled cars can exchange messages with your devices.
  • Chrome web view:  Applications that embed web content now use Chrome to render web components accurately and quickly.
  • Close captioning:  Android 4.4 supports closed captioning and subtitles. Head into Settings>Accessibility to access this setting.
  • Device management:  Android Device Manager is built-in, but that’s not necessarily new.
  • Downloads app redesign:  The Downloads app no longer looks terrible and matches up to current Android design language.
  • Secure app sandboxes:  Application sandboxes have been hardened with Security-Enhanced Linux.
  • Touchscreen improvements:  Response on the Nexus 5 and 4.4 should be faster than any Android device before it.

ViaAndroid

 

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