The below is a leaked screen shot from what looks like a cleaner and more refreshing look at the Play Store. Hopefully to wont be long before this update gets pushed to all those using android.
All posts by Gavin Fabiani-Laymond
Google takes on Evernote with Google Keep
Google Keep is Google’s new note taking app.
Quickly capture what’s on your mind and recall it easily wherever you are. Create a checklist, enter a voice note or snap a photo and annotate it. Everything you add is instantly available on all your devices – desktop and mobile.
With Google Keep you can:
• Keep track of your thoughts via notes, lists and photos
• Have voice notes transcribed automatically
• Use homescreen widgets to capture thoughts quickly
• Color-code your notes to help find them later
• Swipe to archive things you no longer need
• Turn a note into a checklist by adding checkboxes
• Use your notes from anywhere – they are safely stored in the cloud and available on the web at http://drive.google.com/keep
It’s all very fancy but I use Google’s existing 2 way Note option using either the built in Notes program on iOS and syncing this with the Notes label in gmail or if on android using the free app called GNotes
Question everyone also might be asking after Google Reader, is Google Keep a keeper.
Twitter patents itself
Judging by all the recent news of twitter taking back control of its platform and third party twitter apps disappearing, it should come as no surprise that twitter has patented it social service. That probably explains why it had to pull the reins in.
Netnewswire plans to get an long overdue update
Before Google Reader my favourite rss app was Netnewswire. I stopped using it because it didn’t function as well as Newsify which synced across my iPad and iPhone. So if I switched devices, I never read the same item as it kept in sync with Google Reader.
Now that Google Reader is being closed down, Netnewswire have confirmed they are working again on an update for both their OS X and iOS apps. I for one can’t wait to see the new versions.
Google’s removal of Reader might have been a big mistake.
Bookworm on iOS gets major update – my fav word game
I don’t normally blog about apps that often, but this game is worth checking out. It is an old time favourite of mine and it just got a big update. It’s universal now too. Available here.
What’s new in this big update is –
– retina display
– bug fixes
– universal
– iOS 6+ support
Weekend Competition – Win a Free Samsung Note 2 case
I like simple competitions where the chances of winning are reasonable.
To win the case below all you have to do if drop me a line on twitter @gavinfabiani and tell me why you should be the winner.
Draw will take place next Friday morning by 9am.
The decision of the judge, myself, is final.
Look out for tomorrow’s competition to win a case
Tomorrow starts the weekly weekend competition. It’s easy to enter. Full details will be provided tomorrow.
CyanogenMod’s team won’t be buying or supporting the Samsung S4
CyanogenMod’s custom Android ROMs won’t support the Samsung Galaxy S4 when it launches next month. CyanogenMod has confirmed that Team Hacksung, the group behind its Samsung ROMs, will not support the new flagship smartphone.
In a statement published on its website, CyanogenMod explains that Samsung devices are just too much of a pain to maintain. Furthermore, it says nobody in Team Hacksung plans to buy the new Galaxy S4:
Nobody at Team Hacksung (the team behind Galaxy S2, Note, S3, Note2, G Tabs… official CM ports) plans to buy it, neither develop for it. There are two variants which will be a pain to maintain, [and] the bugs we have on the S3 will probably be there on S4, too (camera), and we all know Samsung ability to release sources while staying in line with mainline. Yes Qualcomm releases sources, but Exynos sources we had were far from [working on] actual Galaxy products. I’m pretty sure the same will happen for this one.
I don’t blame them, especially after my Note 2 experience.
Update – following the publicity there might be a change of heart.
Apple’s Podcast App gets major update
Podcasts has had a big update. Podcasts 1.2 allows users to create custom stations of their favorite podcasts that update automatically with new episodes and choose whether the stations begin playing with the newest or oldest unplayed episode. Those stations are stored in iCloud, so they’re synced across all devices.
Listeners can create On-The-Go playlists on their iOS devices with their own list of episodes, and the Now Playing view has been redesigned with playback controls that Apple says are easier to use.
Also, the reel to reel effects have been removed and a new cleaner look as shown below is being used. This is a sign of what iOS will ultimately move towards.
Dropbox acquires Mailbox
Even their names sound like they were made for each other. Well it’s happens the highly publicised Mailbox service, which I personally did not see the benefit of, has been bought by Dropbox.
This is an interesting acquisition and would seem to have plans along the lines of creating a cloud email service. Whatever, we will see soon, and at $100m rumoured purchase price, expect there to be some costs involved in the new services.
