Google Play Editions are all the rage right now. After years of smartphone enthusiasts wishing that hardware makers would offer versions of their smartphones with a stock installation of Android as an option, the GPE versions of devices like the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 have proven predictably popular amongst enthusiasts. It's debatable whether the general phone-buying public even noticed, but that's not the point.
Google+, the company's often ignored social network is creeping its way into Google's other products left and right, and according to an announcement out of Mountain View, we're soon to see it feature more prominently in our Gmail inboxes.
With the current smartphone and tablet market seeing two big competitors duke it out for dominance in Apple and Google, it's probably fairly safe to say that one of the key differentiators for many people when choosing which to side with is the ecosystem that comes with them. Apps, music and video are all tightly tied to both iOS and Android, and they're largely incompatible with each other.
If you abstract away the advanced functionality that Google has bundled into the relatively small Glass eyewear - and look past the hype - then you are left with a pair of glasses that actually provide no benefit to individuals who actually need help with their vision on a daily basis. That limitation of Glass will hopefully be eradicated within the next few weeks, with Rochester Optical announcing that Glass compatible prescription frames will be available imminently.
It may have taken months to get to iOS, but Google's Music app isn't going to stand still now that it's finally on Apple's platform. Instead, just a month after its release the Google Play Music app has received a sizeable update, bringing it up to scratch with other apps that are designed with iOS 7 in mind.
Oppo's N1 is already a pretty interesting device, and not just because it's not made by one of the big manufacturers that most people will be used to seeing on the release schedule. With the likes of LG, Sony, HTC and Samsung usually dominating the landscape, it's always good to see a different name crop up every now and again.
One of the great things about the release of the Walter Isaacson biography detailing the life and times of Steve Jobs, was that we learned much more of events and instances that we'd only previously gathered the crux of. We hear names, we see keynotes, we enjoy products; but the ins and outs of what exactly goes on tend to remain obscured from the public eye - at least until another extensive book hits the market. Fred Vogelstein’s Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution, is a self-explanatory tale of two modern-day tech titans, and The Atlantic has posted an interesting piece dissecting a particular chapter about the release of the iPhone and notably, Google's reaction.
Google's Glass is the poster child of the smart glass boom, and as seen in the latest XE12 software update, things seem to be progressing exceptionally quickly. Although the extent to which we, the consumer, will take to the product is currently unknown, the snippet's we've seen so far of Glass in action across different fields has certainly helped to ramp up interest. In the latest, we're treated to a vicarious look at an MMA fight from the eyes of a referee, and whether or not this sport takes your fancy, the perspective from Glass is rather incredible.
Google Glass is really starting to grow beyond the cool concept that it was when it first launched, and as more and more Google Explorers get their hands on the device the number of apps available will only continue to grow. Today, Glass owners have been given a few new apps that add some cool features to those already announced yesterday.
Google Glass XE12 update has been made public today. With a whole bunch of exciting and useful features, it's not to be missed by any owner of the Big G's first major piece of wearable tech, and you can catch all of the details after the break!
