Google Play gets new look

Google has pressed play on a new look for Google Play, as the online store becomes more like the app on your Android phone or tablet.
The Google Play Web Store now has a handy sidebar listing categories of stuff you might want to browse and download: apps, movies, music and so on, as well as a category for devices like the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 7.
Click on anything and the sidebar bounces around as the page changes. Each app or game now has larger screenshots and makes the most of the larger screen, complete with user reviews and similar apps to help you make your decision.
The home page includes a selection of personalised recommendations, a mix of apps, books and media, followed by featured content such as new releases or Disney classics.
Also on the home page are links to your wish list and gift card options.
Apps are great, aren't they? They're in everything from our tablets to our tellies these days. Who would have thought that the era of the app began just five years ago with the launch of the 2008 opening of the Apple App Store.
The Android Market followed in October 2008, and was renamed Google Play in March 2012. Check out our tribute to the app as we pick our favourite apps

Google Translate can now read images of text

The newest version of the Google Translate app can now translate text from photos, according to Android Central. The image feature works with all languages available in Translate, and allows users to highlight the text they want to convert to another language.
In the app, users take a photo of their foreign blurb of choice, and then swipe their fingers to highlight the text in the photo that needs to be translated. Google sends the image off to its servers and gives the user back the translated phrase. It can't auto-detect what language it's trying to read, however—that's your job.
The new functionality is similar to an iOS app released in December 2010 called Word Lens, which can translate text picked up by the iPhone's camera. Word Lens could display the translated text right in the viewfinder itself, but is still restricted to only three language packs for translating to and from English (Spanish, Italian, and French), each of which cost $4.99.
The new Google Translate is available now in the Google Play store for Android phones running 2.3 Gingerbread or later.

Facebook Introduces Mobile Ad Unit to Promote Apps

Just a few weeks after introducing its first mobile ad unit, Facebook has launched another one, this time designed to help mobile app developers market themselves.
Facebook is testing the new unit with a “limited set of beta partners” Vijaye Raji, a software engineer at the company, wrote on Facebook’s blog on Tuesday. The units drive users to new apps. If a user clicks on an ad and they don’t have the app already, they’ll be directed to the App Store or Google Play to download it.
The unit is automated; to buy an ad you merely have to fill out an online form and delineate which demo you’re trying to reach and what your budget is. Once you buy a unit, you can use Facebook’s analytics tools to assess its performance.
As Raji notes, there is clearly an audience for such a unit: In the past 30 days, Facebook has sent customers to the Apple App Store and Google Play 146 million times.
The introduction comes after Facebook introduced Sponsored Stories for the News Feed in June. A few independent studies have deemed the ads more effective than traditional desktop ads. Despite such success, investors appear skeptical of Facebook’s odds of maintaining its revenues via mobile ads.

After Focus for Android Brings DSLR-Like Options to Your Phone

Android: If you want your image backgrounds to blur or apply the Bokeh effect After Focus is a free and easy way to get effects usually reserved for much more expensive cameras.
After your shot is taken the app you can select which areas of your photo to blur and to what degree by drawing lines with your finger to indicate the point of focus. There are also several other image aftereffects.
There is a pro version for $1.99 that adds support for images up to 2048 pixels, edge-feathering, creating double photos, and more filters.
If you want some of the effects of Instagram but don't want a social network experience this app might be up your alley. With over 6,000 positive reviews on Google Play you may want to give it a try.

Google Updates The Gmail Android App, Now Works Better With 7-inch Tabs

The latest Gmail Android app update brings several new features, but this is a must-have for 7-inch tablets. Google slightly reworked the UI and it now works better with 7-inch tablets. Previously, when in landscape mode, the app would occasionally abruptly cut off messages. That’s now fixed for 7-inch tablets running Android 4.0 or later. But sorry, kids, the app is still missing pinch-to-zoom within messages.
The new version also brings a new label API for 3rd-party developers, a feature likely related to homescreen widgets.
This update comes a few weeks after Google released the Nexus 7 to the retail market. Users quickly discovered that Gmail, one of the Nexus 7′s core apps, wasn’t as polished as shiny as it should have been. The updated version is now available from Google Play, which should apply the appropriate sheen to the app.

Google Wallet Just Got A Huge Update That Lets You Use Any Major Credit Card

Google just announced it's launching a new version of its mobile payments app Google Wallet. The update now allows you to load any major U.S. credit or debit card to your phone.

Until now, Google Wallet would only let you use a Citi MasterCard or a pre-paid Google credit card.
The new Google Wallet is cloud-based, meaning you store all your cards online and access them on your phone or your web browser. You also have the option to disable Google Wallet on your phone in case it gets lost or stolen.

Google is able to do this because Wallet no longer stores credit card information on your phone. It's all stored online, just like Amazon and other shopping sites store your credit card data.

Google revamps Play Store developer rules, looks to banish intrusive advertising

Google has tweaked the developer policy for the Play Store with an eye on reducing intrusive advertising, spoof apps and clarifying subscription cancellations. Apps that pass themselves off as others, or are "confusingly similar" will now be pulled, so say goodbye to those thousand instances of Angry Byrdz. Adverts that pop up in your notifications window, like Airpush and KDDI's au one now make their way onto the verboten list. It's also clarifying that when users cancel their subscriptions, they won't be refunded for the current billing period, but will continue to receive what they'd paid for until the term expires. Developers now have 30 days to comply with the changes, after which point apps that are found to be in violation will be pulled by Mountain View's overlords.

Spotify brings Pandora-like free streaming to Android

Users can create stations, save songs they like, and personalize the offering by rating tracks.

Spotify is bringing Android users into its Pandora-like free streaming service.
The company announced this morning that Android-based Spotify users can now create stations through its application and listen to "millions of songs" from the program. After creating stations and listening to tracks, users can customize what plays by giving a track a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. In addition, users can save songs they like.
If this sounds familiar, it's because Pandora offers about the same functionality through its own service. And like Pandora, Spotify will play ads to nonpaying subscribers. Those who are Spotify Premium users will be able to listen to songs ad-free.
Spotify's free music service was brought to iOS last month. That application delivers the same functionality as the new Android app.
Spotify's app is available now in the Google Play store, for free.

16GB Nexus 7 back on Google Play Store

 

Well, that was fast. Just one week after the 16GB capacity Google Nexus 7 tablet suddenly ran out of stock, the higher-capacity version of Asus' critically-acclaimed Android tablet is back on the Google Play Store, with a current delivery estimate of 3-5 business days.
That's the same estimated delivery time as the 8GB Nexus 7.
Since the 16GB version only costs $50 more to order, it feels like a logical step-up for the versatile 7-inch tablet. While 8GB might be enough for some basic users, The Nexus 7 lacks an SD card slot or any other method of upgrading storage after purchase.