Software : Google Hangouts for iOS approaches potential with major update |
- Google Hangouts for iOS approaches potential with major update
- Google Play to finally add newspaper subscriptions with Newsstand feature?
- Google Play Music adds 'I'm feeling lucky radio' to ease musical indecision
| Google Hangouts for iOS approaches potential with major update Posted:  The Google Hangouts app for iOS just got a lot better, especially for those in the US who can now make free phone calls with the all-encompassing, multi-platform messaging and video chat application. A new update arrived on Friday, essentially folding in Google Voice functionality and thus allowing users to make free calls to anyone in the US and Canada, and cheap calls internationally. Outgoing calls will come from the user's Google Voice number and incoming calls will be received through the Hangouts app. That feature isn't even available within the Android version of the app yet. Unfortunately for Brits Google Voice has never made its way across the pond, but fear not there are a few other improvements for users to enjoy. Musical reliefNamely, Hangouts will no longer halt music when incoming messages are received, which had proved a serious annoyance for some users. "Incoming messages will no longer stop your music. Instead of interrupting your groove, Google+ Hangouts will now temporarily duck your music, then crank the volume back up," wrote Kate Cushing on her Google+ page. The app update also sees the return of the green, orange and grey circles next to contacts to indicate who's available and who is idle or offline. And, perhaps most importantly, animated .gif files will now play in-line within conversations. Thank heavens for that. |
| Google Play to finally add newspaper subscriptions with Newsstand feature? Posted:  The Google Play store offers everything from TV shows to magazines, but thus far Android tablet owners have been unable to have their favourite newspapers delivered to their digital doorstep. That might all be about to change, according to AndroidPolice, which has spotted code for the long-rumoured Newsstand app within an upcoming revamp of the Google Play Store. After delving inside the APK for Google Play 4.4, the site reckons Google may be close to launching the feature, which may take the place of Google Play Magazines to form one all-encompassing apps. Like the Magazines app, it also appears from the code that free newspaper trials will be offered to users. A 'paper and a KitKat?"Your favourite magazines and news are right here on Google Play. Pick up the latest issues or try out a free trial subscription. Read instantly with the Play Newsstandapp, even offline," reads the introduction text. With the Nexus 5 and Android KitKat announcements seemingly just around the corner, this is probably as good a time as any for Google to roll out the feature which has been available to iPad owners for quite some time. The company has also scheduled a 'Play' themed event in New York on October 24. Watch this space. |
| Google Play Music adds 'I'm feeling lucky radio' to ease musical indecision Posted:  Google's 'I'm Feeling Lucky' search button, which takes users directly to the first page in the listing, has been around forever, but is thought to be deployed in less than 1 per cent of all queries. So the company will hope it finds a more appreciated home within the radio portion of Play Music app, for those users who just can't decide what they want to listen to. The new feature, spotted by the AndroidPolice site, will allow users to auto-generate a radio station based on their previous listening habits. In the current version of the app users need to select an artist or a genre in order to start a custom radio station. One genreAccording to AndroidPolice, the new button seems to serve up music from the user's most frequented genre, rather than offering up a mix, which seems to take away from the fun a little bit. It also appears, from various reports that the feature is limited to All Access subscribers at present. According to the site, the new version of the app will be rolling out to all users of the iTunes Radio rival in the next couple of weeks. |
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