Google's new Android L may only be at preview stage, with the fact that it hasn't even been given a proper name yet being a testament to this, but nevertheless, we're already seeing some encouraging signs of improvements that have been made. Namely, the company is shooting for an all-new "Material Design" language, which is set to give the interface a more layered, vibrant feel, and although we're still quite away from the end user release, I'm sure many of you cannot wait to run Android L on your devices. If you don't fancy going ahead and installing the preview on the Nexus 7 or Nexus 5, then thankfully, there's a theme floating about that allows you to achieve a similar look on your current handset.
Great news for all Android Wear device owners out there: Google has just added to the momentum of the Wear freight train initiative by introducing the official Android Wear companion app for tablets and smartphones. The new app has been designed and developed to act as an intermediary piece of software that connects the user's phone or tablet with the Android Wear hardware, which at the moment will be either the Samsung Gear Live or the LG G Watch. The app is available to download immediately from the Play Store.
When Google announced Android L at Google I/O, one of the software's biggest headline new features was its heads-up notifications. Allowing developers to give their apps notifications that fall down from the top of the screen rather than simply living in the status bar, heads-up notifications are similar to the way iOS handles incoming notifications, and are surely an improvement over what came before. Unfortunately, with the early versions of Android L only available for Nexus devices, everyone else is left out in the cold.
We're always on the hunt for a good deal with apps, but because great apps mainly go free at the discretion of the developer, we often only get five or six freebies at any one go - and that's on a good day. Today, though, you can have yourself a grand total of 30 - yes, thirty - paid apps for no cost at all, and given how highly-rated most of these are, you won't want to be missing out. Below, we've got a full list of the apps, along with their original prices, and if you want to save around $100 on some really handy apps and enjoyable games, then join us after the leap!
Yo, the brainchild of an Israeli developer who managed to scoop an impressive $1 million in VC funding for his app that simply lets you say "Yo!" to your friends, has enjoyed a very encouraging start in its first couple of days as an iOS and Android instant messaging app. But even though its position at fourth on the App Store's list of freebies is good news for Yo founder Or Arbel, the launch has proven a bit of a double-edged sword, with a number of security bugs allowing a hacker to, for example, discover the phone number of a fellow Yo user.
Never the ones to miss a good game and movie tie-in, Hasbro has released its latest iOS, Android game on the App Store and Play Store, respectively.
Nike's FuelBand line-up has given fitness fanatics a novel way of logging calories burned, steps made, and general health improvements achieved in a very eye-catching, wrist-worn package. Given the iconic sportswear manufacturer's close relationship with Apple, it's no surprise that the companion app has only hitherto been released for those on iOS, but today - finally - Android users can join in with the experience courtesy of the new Nike+ FuelBand app released over at the Google Play Store.
In another attempt to try and neutralize the Snapchat threat, Facebook has today launched a new standalone app that it hopes will keep people away from the competition and firmly ensconced in its own ecosystem.
We never miss out on a good deal on an app going free for iOS or Android. And today, we’ve stumbled across a brilliant productivity app for iOS, and a word puzzle game for Android, both of which have gone free for a very limited time, and you should waste no time in downloading them before the developers bring it back to their original prices!
Facebook has just rolled out version 11 of its official app for those in ownership of an iOS device, and version 10 for those on Android, and although the run-down of features isn't as noteworthy as the version number would suggest, it still packs its fair share of socially-inclined quirks. The original changelog only mentioned rudimentary bug fixes and performance enhancements, but in actual fact, there's a lot more to it than that. Check out the key details after the fold.
